The training dome of Min Academy was alive with noise.
Hundreds of students gathered around the marble dueling stage, where glowing thread formations spiraled above like halos of woven light. The annual Resonance Evaluation Program — a duel-based assessment of skill and control — had finally begun.
Each pair was chosen to test contrast. Power against precision. Experience against instinct.
And for Rank 2 Kaito Fei — fate had chosen a name that made his pulse tighten.
Liora Vex.
The instructor's voice echoed:
"Rank 2, Kaito Fei, versus Rank 2, Liora Vex. Step forward."
Kaito's eyes narrowed slightly.
Snow-white hair. Skin pale as moonlight. Eyes—icy blue, clear and endless. Every man in the academy had, at some point, tried to get her attention. None succeeded.
She walked like a ghost sculpted from perfection — calm, distant, untouchable.
And yet, in his previous life, that same girl—or rather, her reincarnated predecessor—had wielded a thread that sealed his godhood.
The Thread of Seals.
The very power that imprisoned divine essence itself.
Kaito stepped forward. His expression remained still, but inside, his mind was racing.
Thread of Seals… this can't be coincidence.
To meet her here, reborn in mortal flesh… perhaps destiny was giving him another chance.
Liora bowed slightly, her voice soft and melodic.
"Kaito Fei. I've been… curious about you."
Her words carried an emotion she tried to hide, but Kaito heard it — hesitation.
His eyes flickered briefly crimson. Hesitation… during a duel? Dangerous.
The instructor raised his hand.
"Begin!"
Threads ignited.
Liora's blue aura flared like a glacier bursting into light. Sealing sigils formed around her, ancient symbols interlocking with precision. Each movement of her fingers drew invisible circles of restraint.
Kaito watched carefully. Her control was flawless — elegant, almost divine. Just like before.
Then — hesitation.
A flicker in her rhythm, a tiny pause before a thread formation. Kaito noticed instantly.
His eyes sharpened. Why did you hold back?
Liora's lips parted slightly. "I—"
Too slow.
Kaito moved. His black-and-red Karma Thread surged forward, bending the light around it. It slipped through her sealing circle like smoke through cracks, wrapping around her threads, analyzing, adapting.
Liora gasped as her formation destabilized.
"You—how are you—"
Kaito's calm voice cut through the hum. "Your seal loses focus when your heart falters."
Her blue eyes widened. "You noticed…"
He tilted his head slightly. "You hesitated. Why?"
She froze — visibly flustered. "I—It's nothing."
Kaito took a step closer, their threads clashing midair in luminous arcs.
Every strike she made, he deflected effortlessly. Every weave she attempted, he disrupted. But his mind wasn't focused on victory — it was on her trembling focus.
Her aura shimmered unevenly. She didn't want to hurt him.
That realization struck him like a whisper from the past.
She's holding back… for me.
Impossible. Unthinkable. And yet—real.
Liora's next weave faltered again. Her thread cracked mid-sequence.
Kaito, with surgical precision, used his Karma Thread to reroute her energy back into her own seal, making it collapse harmlessly.
The shockwave pushed her back — she stumbled, falling to her knees as the barrier dimmed.
The instructor raised a hand. "Duel—!"
But before the announcement finished, Kaito spoke quietly, his voice steady:
"I win."
Silence.
The audience gasped softly — both stunned and entranced by the effortless end.
Liora knelt there, trembling, her snow-white hair covering her face.
Kaito walked toward her, offering his hand.
Her fingers trembled as she took it. When she looked up, their eyes met — blue meeting crimson.
For a brief second, time felt like it had been sealed itself.
"Are you all right?" he asked softly.
Her lips parted. "You… noticed my hesitation."
"I notice everything," Kaito replied. "But that wasn't fear. You hesitated for a reason."
Her face turned pink. She looked away, biting her lip.
"I… didn't want to hurt you."
Kaito's gaze flickered. "You're too kind for a Weaver."
He leaned closer. "Or too attached."
She froze. "A-attached?"
His tone was calm, almost curious. "You were thinking of me, not the duel."
Her cheeks flushed deeply. "I—I wasn't—"
"Liora Vex," he said, voice soft but heavy with intent. "We should talk."
---
Later, in the evening breeze of the academy gardens, the two stood beneath the starlit sky.
The lamps glowed faintly against the blue mist that swirled through the walkways.
Liora fidgeted, her usual calm replaced by a nervous stillness. "Why did you want to meet me?"
Kaito folded his arms, gazing at the moonlight threading through the leaves.
"You hesitated. That interests me."
Her eyes darted up. "You're… analyzing me even now?"
"I analyze everything."
Then, turning toward her — "But you're an exception. The Thread of Seals… only you possess it."
Her breath caught. "You know of it?"
"More than you think," Kaito said quietly. "It once defeated someone far beyond your understanding."
She blinked. "Someone like you?"
He smirked faintly. "Someone like me… in another life."
Her expression softened. "You talk like an old soul."
"I am."
Liora smiled nervously. "Then maybe that's why I…" She stopped herself.
Kaito stepped closer, eyes half-lidded. "Why you what?"
She looked away, face red. "Why I couldn't fight you seriously. I don't know why, but… from the first day, I felt like I'd known you."
He watched her carefully. The sincerity in her tone. The way her fingers trembled as she spoke. It wasn't manipulation. It was genuine affection.
He spoke gently, almost whispering, "You shouldn't feel that way toward your rival."
"I can't control it," she said quietly. "Every time you look at me… I feel like I'm being seen—not as a Weaver, not as a Vex… just as Liora."
Her words hung in the air. Soft, vulnerable, dangerous.
Kaito looked down, his mind spinning.
Love? For me?
He almost laughed aloud. A Rank 2 Weaver from the Vex Clan and the main reason I lost to the twelve gods … in love with me?
He hid his smirk beneath a sigh. How convenient.
He stepped forward, closing the distance between them. His tone softened, feigned sincerity masking his calculation.
"Then perhaps… you're not the only one who feels that."
Her breath hitched. "Kaito…"
He smiled faintly. "Liora, I've watched you too. Your precision, your silence… it reminded me of something I'd lost."
Her blue eyes shimmered, the moonlight catching them like glass. "You mean that?"
"I wouldn't say it otherwise."
Her composure cracked entirely. "I—I don't know how to respond to that…"
"Then don't think," he said softly. "Just answer with your heart."
Liora's face turned scarlet. She tried to speak, failed, and faintly nodded.
"I… think I'm in love with you."
Silence.
Even the night wind seemed to pause.
Kaito's expression didn't change — calm, measured. But inside, laughter echoed.
The most beautiful woman in the academy, the Vex heir, in love with me… fate truly is generous this time.
He caught her hands gently. "Then… be mine."
Her heart skipped. "Wh-what…?"
He leaned slightly closer. "Be my girlfriend."
Her pale cheeks turned crimson, her lips trembling. "You're serious…?"
"As serious as my silence," Kaito said, his voice smooth.
Her knees weakened; her mind spun in disbelief. Then, softly, she whispered,
"Then… yes. From now on… I'm yours."
Kaito smiled faintly. "Then I'll protect you."
She blushed deeper, her heart racing. "You're… nothing like I imagined."
He looked away toward the glowing threads above them, his tone calm yet cold beneath the surface.
"People rarely imagine truth correctly."
---
That night, as she left, her mind was consumed with wonder, warmth, and an emotion she'd never known before.
Kaito, however, stood by the window, eyes glowing faintly red, a thin smile curving his lips.
"Thread of Seals," he murmured. "The one power that once chained me. And now… the girl who bears it has chained herself to me instead."
The Karma Thread pulsed within his chest, steady, satisfied.
Love — another form of control.
Outside, the stars wove their eternal pattern.
Inside, Kaito began to rewrite it.