Outside the house, night still lingered. It was silent—eerily so. The Field of Destiny Anastashia had cast earlier had now faded, leaving behind only the cold breeze that drifted through the streets, brushing softly against the stillness.
Inside, in Yuki's room, Levi sat alone on the floor. His back rested against the wall, head buried in his hands, body quiet, unmoving.
Moments passed.
Then—he slowly lowered his hands and raised his head, eyes open now, calm and heavy with thought. His voice barely escaped his lips, soft and steady.
"I'll catch up to you guys there… later."
Grim Archives, Chapter 6: Levi's new destiny.
Levi stood at the door of Yuki's room, silent. He had just gotten up and walked, now stopping at the doorway, eyeing the staircase. Downstairs was bright. Too bright. Unlike the dark, cold upper floor where he was.
He descended slowly. With each step, the lights grew warmer. The TV was on, faint sound in the background. The entire lower floor was lit—kitchen lights included—but no one was there.
He walked through the hallway, then paused. A faint sizzling sound echoed from the kitchen. Steam drifted into view.
"Mom?" he thought instinctively, uncertain.
Then, someone stepped out.
It was Anastashia, holding a plate of creamy mushroom and bacon pasta.
"Oh, you're done?" she said casually. "How was it?"
Levi didn't answer right away—just stared, still processing. Anastashia raised her eyebrows slightly.
"Ah, right. I turned the lights on—it was dark earlier. Hope you don't mind. I also made this for you. Thought you might need the energy."
She set the plate on the table with a fork on the side.
"Go ahead. It's yours."
Levi sat down quietly, eyes on the dish. He glanced up at Anastashia across from him, and his eyes widened a little.
"She reminds me of... Mom," he thought.
The warmth in his eyes faded quickly, giving way to tiredness. He looked at her again, more serious now. "Miss Anastashia… do you know what's happening? I get the feeling... you do."
Anastashia looked at him for a moment, then gave a soft, knowing smile. "Have you tried looking deep into your will, first?" Anastashia asked suddenly. Levi blinked, caught off guard. "What do you mean, exactly?"
Without another word, Anastashia slowly raised her index finger and pointed directly at his chest.
"Your will is telling you something."
Still unsure, Levi glanced down, then placed his hand over the spot she pointed to.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You've accepted it," she continued. "Which means you've completed the trial. And that means the presence of a Zen'en Art is now within you—just waiting for you to acknowledge it." Her words lingered in the air, and Levi sat there silently, staring at his hand on his chest.
"So… I completed the trial? Just like what they told me… And now there's something inside me? A Zen'en Art?"
It all sounded too strange to believe.
Anastashia stood from her seat and reached across the table, her index finger once again gently pressing against his chest. Her smile was calm, steady.
"Close your eyes," she said softly. "Let yourself be pulled in. Whatever's calling out—listen." Levi stared at her finger for a second longer, then slowly closed his eyes.
And there—it appeared.
A vast, misty space flooded with a white-yellow hue, like light filtered through fog. It was expansive, warm... and oddly familiar. He opened his eyes suddenly, startled.
"W-What was that?" he asked under his breath.
"Let it flow into you more," Anastashia said. "It's your will. And it's speaking to you. Let it guide you." he closed his eyes again. The vision returned instantly—an endless realm of glowing auras, shifting gently like waves in a breeze.
"So… this is my will?" he thought.
"It feels… comforting." As he focused more, the aura responded—growing brighter, denser.
Then, without warning—he was pulled.
"Woah—!" Levi shouted in his mind, the sensation sudden and fast.
"Wait—hey, hold on!" he cried out again, dragged deeper by an invisible current.
And then... it stopped.
He stood now in a space within his own will. Surrounded by the soft, glowing mist, he looked ahead—and there it was. A radiant, pulsing light, larger and brighter than anything around it. The aura called to him.
In the real world, Levi's eyes opened slowly.
"…True Awakening." he whispered. The words echoed in the quiet. That was its name. The name of his Zen'en Art.
Anastashia, now seated again, let out a gentle breath, her expression touched by relief—and a faint glimmer of excitement.
"That," she said softly, "is your Zen'en Art."
After hearing her words, Levi was still stunned—but this time, it was a quiet kind of awe.
"Zen'en Art, huh..." he muttered in his thoughts, still trying to process it all.
But despite the weight of this revelation, he quickly shifted the topic—there were more pressing questions flooding his mind.
"Miss Anastashia," he began, voice calm but laced with urgency, "we can talk more about this later, but first... I need to know what's going on. What is this trial? What actually happened to my family? Why is any of this happening? Am I just dreaming?"
One after another, the questions poured out of him each. His expression, though calmer, was still worn. His eyes—tired. Restless. Seeking.
Anastashia paused for a while. The room fell completely silent, the quietness even more apparent as the night outside remained still. She seemed to be thinking.
"…Well," she finally said, "it makes sense to tell you everything now." Her gaze shifted gently toward him. "Alright then. Are you ready?"
Levi hesitated. Just for a second. Then nodded.
"Yeah."
The air inside the living room was quiet, heavy—but expectant. Levi sat still, his eyes locked onto Anastashia. She, on the other hand, remained relaxed, calm—her eyes closed briefly before she spoke again.
"What you went through was called the Zen Trial. Sick name, right?" she said with a slight smirk. "It's a trial that tests your entire existence, whether or not it can accept and endure your life's greatest hardship."
She leaned back slightly, her tone more serious now. "Whether it's losing someone you love, drowning in an existential crisis, or just feeling lost in your own life... the Zen Trial takes the most significant burden in your soul and makes you confront it directly—inside your own mind. All of it, personalized. All of it, real."
Levi sat still, absorbing every word.
"And while you're inside," she continued, "your will—your true self—calls out to you. It's quiet at first. Distant. But it's always there. Waiting for you to listen. To accept. That's the key."
"I bet the first time you found yourself inside your own mind… it was just darkness, wasn't it?That's because the trial hadn't started yet," Anastashia explained. "But once it began… you were with them, weren't you? Your family."
Hearing Anastashia's words, Levi was left stunned—eyes slightly widened, brows raised, lips shut tight.
"Y-Yeah, but… how did you know all of this?" he asked.
Anastashia let out a soft smirk.
"When you passed out at the Grim Archives, I brought you to a room to rest, right?" she said calmly. "That was when I saw it. Your will. It was roaring… full of both passion and guilt. But it balanced itself into something else entirely. A dream. A dream of salvation, buried deep… just waiting to awaken."
She paused briefly, still maintaining her usual composed tone.
"Oh, and by the way—your Life Essence and Spiritual Essence? Far stronger than the average person. They were active, even in your unconscious state."
Levi's eyes widened even more. Something clicked in his mind. He leaned forward, hands pressing against the table.
"Wait—what about my family?! Where are they?! What happened to them?" he asked urgently.
Anastashia exhaled quietly, her expression softening just a little.
"Unfortunately... that's the one thing I still can't give you a clear answer on," she said. "I'm sorry. Their whereabouts and what really happened—it's still beyond my grasp."
Levi sat back, sighing deeply as disappointment washed over him. His eyes fell, staring blankly at the table. Then, he reached for the fork beside the plate, his fingers wrapping around it slowly. He gently pressed the fork into the pasta, the prongs sinking into the creamy layers of noodles, mushrooms, and crisp bits of bacon. A small trail of steam rose as he lifted a bite, the rich aroma hitting him first. Then, without a word, he brought it to his mouth and took a bite slowly, carefully.
The moment the flavor hit his tongue, his eyebrows lifted slightly. His eyes lingered on the food. And then… tears welled up.
But not from sadness.
He was crying because he was finally tasting something good again—something that reminded him of home. Of warmth. Of his mother's cooking.
Anastashia noticed. Her lips curved into a gentle smile, eyes closing briefly in quiet relief.
Levi kept eating, his motions soft, unhurried.
"Told you my cooking's good," Anastashia said with a light, proud tone. "That's why I made the Grim Archives part restaurant. Would've been a crime not to share my utterly flawless talent in the kitchen."
Levi chuckled faintly through teary eyes. A small, grateful smile curled on his lips as he continued eating. Then,
"Do you want to know what really happened to your family?" Anastashia asked gently.
Levi froze for a moment, fork midair. The room went still. A bite rested near his lips.
"…Yeah," he said quietly. "I'd like to know. Whatever it takes."
Anastashia's tone softened further.
"Even if it becomes a journey?"
Levi nodded, eyes calm, yet focused.
"Even if it means that."
She stood and extended her hand toward him—palm open, steady.
"We can help you," she said. "Even be your secondary family, if that's what you need. So… do you want to join the Grim Archives?"
Levi stared at her hand for a moment, unmoving. He didn't speak right away. "…Is this really what I'm meant for?" he thought. "To search for…"
He reached forward and gently placed his hand in hers, fingers wrapping around hers with quiet resolve.
"…Answers," he finished.
Thus, the Zen Trial arc, spanning chapters 1 to 6, comes to a close.