"...Ugh."
A charming young girl slowly opened her heavy eyelids. Her vision was still blurred, as if veiled by a thin mist.
Golden hair spilled gently past her shoulders, framing her beautiful face.
A pair of pink irises gleamed like gemstones under the dim light. A throbbing pain stabbed at her head, forcing her slender fingers to press against her temples.
"System?"
[๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด! ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ผ๐๐]
"...Can you explain what happened?" she asked softly, yet clearly.
She wasn't sure why, but her instincts as an Assassin whispered that this was extremely important. Something had happened while she'd been unconscious...
[๐จ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ]
The System began explaining, revealing one hidden truth after another. As the words flowed, her beautiful face grew increasingly troubled.
"That's... truly astonishing."
Silence settled once the explanation ended. Her fingers gripped the edge of the blanket tightly.
So much had happened during her unconsciousness, especially the appearance of the Goddess of Life, who intended to make her a follower, or more precisely... her "child."
She knew of the Goddess of Life from various sources. This should have been a blessing, a Goddess offering her protection.
But she fell quiet, realizing something about this situation.
...Because she wasn't at all the innocent, pure child the Goddess believed her to be. What the Goddess had seen was merely the original character's template.
Essentially, she had deceived a goddess, a sin that might well be paid for with her life if that deception were ever uncovered.
But there was a more pressing matter at hand right now...
"Takamiya Mayuri..."
Lux โ or now Lux (Mayuri) โ spoke that name in an almost whispered tone.
Who would have thought Mayuri's original consciousness still remained, trying to reclaim her body?
Fortunately, she had the System. Without it, this body would surely have already fully belonged to the real Mayuri.
Lux (Mayuri) walked toward the mirror not far from where she'd been lying.
Her eyes narrowed, assessing herself.
The reflection of a beautiful girl stared back, dressed in an elegant, all-green outfit.
Without a doubt, this outfit had been the Goddess of Life's choice. Though beautiful and perfectly suited to her figure, something within her felt out of place wearing it.
Without hesitation, she waved her hand in a graceful motion.
A bright light enveloped her body. As the light faded, a white-and-black-striped sailor uniform had replaced the green gown. Black stockings perfectly hugged her slender legs up to mid-thigh.
Part of her blond hair was tied with a white ribbon, forming a small ponytail on the right side, while a pink school bag appeared in her hand.
The final touch was a pair of pearl earrings, now gleaming a clear blue in both her ears.
Staring at her reflection, Lux's (Mayuri's) expression remained calm, though inwardly she felt a flicker of surprise.
'...No wonder the Goddess of Life considers her so pure, because she really does look that way,' she thought, studying the figure in the mirror that appeared so innocent.
Her gaze shifted to the window, taking in the world waiting outside. In a voice as clear as crystal, she said:
"...I'm going out."
***
Dusk began to fall as Lux (Mayuri) sat on a park bench, her eyes fixed on the giant winged black sphere hanging in the sky, a phenomenon visible only to those with a certain special ability.
She carefully analyzed the information about the real Mayuri's power stored in her memory.
And indeed... this Spirit was extraordinarily powerful. Her Angel was capable of flattening entire mountain ranges in a single strike.
Mayuri's memories, now accessible to her, revealed a terrifying destructive power. But the problem lay in one crucial thing...
"I can't control it..." she whispered to the evening breeze.
Takamiya Mayuri was truly extraordinary thanks to her Angel. But ironically, that power often became a double-edged sword because of how difficult it was to control.
"๐๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐น," the term for a Spirit's power or weapon.
Spirits weren't an alien race or beings from another dimension. They had originally been humans who transformed after something called a Crystal Sephira was implanted within their bodies.
But Takamiya Mayuri was different. She wasn't a human turned into a Spirit.
She was a pure Spirit with a birth that was... unusual.
Her birth had been marked by six Spirits falling in love with the same young man. Their profound feelings created an uncontrollable fluctuation of reiryoku.
From that fusion of love and spiritual energy, Takamiya Mayuri was born, which also caused her to inherit part of the personality and emotions of those six Spirits.
Tragically, having inherited those six feelings, Mayuri became trapped in an intense cycle of jealousy, a powerful emotion that made her Angel nearly impossible to control.
To tame that Angel, her power had to be taken from her, an act equivalent to killing her.
But to protect the young man she loved... Mayuri had willingly chosen to vanish from the world forever...
"And now... I am Takamiya Mayuri. The girl who sacrificed herself for the man... she loved."
๐๐ฆ๐จ!
Lux's (Mayuri's) heart pounded fiercely.
Her breathing grew ragged as a wave of foreign emotion began surging within her chest, a love so profound it felt almost painful.
Truly, this feeling of love was so overwhelming it was almost irritating.
Lux took a deep breath, closing her eyes to find calm amid the storm of emotion.
If he weren't a man at heart, he might have already been completely swallowed by the identity of Takamiya Mayuri.
With full concentration, he calmed the surging emotions, putting on a mask of composure without the faintest smile.
The Divine Protection from the Goddess of Life did help him control the power, but that protection wouldn't last forever.
Lux (Mayuri) sighed inwardly.
It seemed... he needed to return to his original form.
Though the Takamiya Mayuri template was incredibly powerful, without perfect control over its strength, all of it was meaningless.
Mayuri's feelings of love were also a major problem. He could still hold them back for now, but he wasn't confident he could keep doing so forever.
The Divine Ice Emperor would be far more useful in a situation like this...
Divine Ice Emperor โ the Talent that froze his emotions down to absolute zero, making him immune to any emotional turmoil.
Unfortunately, his abilities as "Lux Frost" didn't function within this Template Character.
Just as Lux (Mayuri) was about to decide to release his Template Character...
A wave of foreign emotion suddenly struck him.
'This feeling...'
Hatred? Anger? Vengeance?
He froze.
This dark emotion wasn't his own, nor did it belong to the real Mayuri, who knew nothing of hatred. It wasn't part of the inheritance from the six Spirits who had given birth to her.
Driven by curiosity, Lux (Mayuri) rose and followed his instincts.
He walked gracefully down the street, each step almost silent. Not a single passerby he walked past looked his way, as if he didn't exist at all.
This worked to his advantage. Lux (Mayuri) had no wish to draw excessive attention with a beauty that was nearly inhuman.
***
"Why... WHY DID YOU BETRAY ME! ANSWER ME, KALDIA!"
A scream full of despair shattered the silence of the night.
Shou, a young man with fury blazing in his eyes, stared at the girl he loved, now wrapped in another man's embrace.
Shou was one of the few students who had managed to awaken a Talent. Unfortunately, his Talent was nearly useless, considered outright trash, which made him a constant target of mockery and ridicule.
He hadn't worried about it too much before. Because by his side, there had always been a beautiful girl who loved him, or so he'd believed.
But now his world had collapsed. The girl he adored, the one he'd staked all his love and trust upon, was now locked in another man's affectionate embrace!
The sight tore into his soul down to its very core.
"Why am I asking? Isn't it obvious?"
The girl looked at him with a piercing, cold gaze. There wasn't a trace of tenderness left in her eyes.
"You're too weak and too poor. I doubt I could survive living with you."
Every word felt like a dagger plunging into Shou's chest.
His chest heaved, his breath ragged. Rage and disappointment mixed into a poison burning through every cell in his body.
"YOU! YOU!" Shou could barely find the words.
The only thing he could think of now was the desire to kill the traitor before him!
"Enough, darling. He might actually die from being this angry," said the man embracing the girl, his tone mocking.
"But it's true, living with you would only bring him misery. Just give up..."
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
Shou lunged forward, his fist raised, ready to slam into that arrogant face!
But a massive hand caught his punch in midair.
Shou flinched, turning with a shocked expression.
A hulking, pot-bellied man stood beside him, sneering repulsively.
The handsome man shook his head. "Fighting me? You think you're worthy of that?"
Then he nodded to his bodyguard. "Teach him a lesson until he understands he's nothing but trash."
"Yes, Boss."
The fat man grinned widely before delivering a devastating blow to Shou's chest.
Shou's thin body was sent flying like a rag doll, slamming hard onto the asphalt.
Fresh blood sprayed from his mouth as he coughed, clutching his chest, which felt utterly crushed. He was certain several of his ribs were broken.
Through blurred vision, he watched the silhouettes of his ex-girlfriend and that man slowly walking away.
Hatred surged in his chest, giving him one last burst of strength to scream:
"I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET EVER BEING BORN INTO THIS WORLD! JUST WAITโ"
"SHUT UP!"
๐ฝ๐ผ๐!
A heavy boot stomped down on his head without mercy, smashing it against the concrete until it cracked.
The fat man spat on his bloodied face.
"Be grateful the Young Master didn't intend to kill you. Otherwise, you'd already be food for stray dogs!"
With a look of disgust, the man continued raining blow after blow until Shou's body no longer moved.
Satisfied at last, he spat once more before leaving, abandoning the helpless figure in the dark alley.
Seconds turned into minutes. Minutes rolled into hours. Slowly, Shou's fingers twitched.
With barely perceptible movements, he desperately tried to crawl, broken, yet consumed by a vengeance that burned down to the marrow of his bones.
'Damn it... damn it... DAMN IT ALL! I SWEAR I'LL KILL EVERYONE WHO LOOKED DOWN ON ME!'
His inner scream echoed through the silence of the night, but beneath his rage lay pure despair.
How could someone with a trash Talent like his ever take revenge on a powerful Hunter?
He wasn't even stronger than a Goblin!
Yet... just as hope was about to vanish completely, a voice chimed within his mind...
[๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด! ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ!]
[๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด! ๐๐น๐น๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐บ๐๐๐ฒ๐น๐ณ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ'๐ ๐ป๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ '๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ.' ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ป๐ผ๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ!]
A transparent panel suddenly appeared before him.
Shou froze for a moment, trying to grasp the situation. Then... a maniacal laugh burst from his cracked lips.
Who said he couldn't take revenge?
Who said he was too weak?
Who said he couldn't win a beautiful girl?
With this System, every dream would become reality!
Shou could barely contain his eagerness to explore the panel before him, but the awareness of his shattered body forced him to hold back.
With iron resolve, he dragged his broken body, searching for a safe place to recover.
Unbeknownst to him, a pair of eyes had been watching him from beginning to end.
On the rooftop of a building not far away, Lux (Mayuri) sat calmly, one leg elegantly folded beneath her.
Without a flicker of change in her expression, she watched the drama that had just unfolded below.
A lollipop spun between her lips as she closed her eyes, listening to a voice only she could hear.
[๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด! ๐ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ!]
The shadow of dusk stretched across her beautiful face, concealing the dangerous glint that flickered briefly in her pink eyes as the night breeze brushed through her golden hair...