When Kazama Rei stepped through the gates of Sacred Oath Academy, a strange sense of oppression hung in the air. This was no ordinary campus — the buildings appeared to be corroded by time and spiritual energy, and their darkened brick walls radiated a cold aura. Li, who was carrying his luggage, felt a flicker of unease. He had transferred schools several times before, but never had a school made him feel so unusual on his very first day.
'Welcome to Sacred Oath Academy, Kazama Rei,' a female teacher in a white uniform greeted him, smiling stiffly. Li nodded, inwardly noting that the teachers here seemed cold and inhuman.
The enrolment ceremony took place in the academy's grand auditorium. The hall was magnificent, with moonlight streaming through stained-glass windows and casting strange patterns on the floor like flowing spirit runes. Li scanned the crowd. The students' expressions varied — some were curious, some indifferent and some wary of him.
'Today marks a new beginning in your lives, and your integration into the coexistence order of spirits and humans,' the principal's deep, resonant voice echoed. Standing at the podium, he was framed by a portrait whose eyes appeared to watch silently from the shadows. A chill ran down Li's spine, making him stiffen slightly.
After the ceremony, Li was led to the dormitory area. Night had fallen heavily, the moonlight obscured by thick clouds. The moment he stepped inside, the campus alarm blared — piercing and shrill, tearing through the air. Doors and windows locked automatically and the corridor lights flickered erratically.
"What's happening?" Li asked, but the surrounding students only exchanged bewildered glances and remained silent.
"Lockdown... No one is permitted to leave before midnight.' The dormitory supervisor's voice came over the intercom. Its calmness was chilling.
Rei heart skipped a beat. He moved instinctively towards the window and gazed at the academy's restricted zone — a fenced-off clearing deep within the campus that was normally marked as 'No Entry'. Tonight, however, a faint spiritual glow flickered at the centre of the clearing under the moonlight, as if someone were murmuring softly.
"Is anyone there?" Li murmured, his feet moving involuntarily towards the exit. The lock on the dormitory door had been enchanted, and he soon found that he was unable to return; it was as if the entire campus was pulling him forward.
He approached the restricted zone slowly, feeling his spiritual energy stir restlessly within him. Suddenly, his left eye grew warm and a faint glow emerged within his pupil. Rei froze. Pale red patterns began to weave across his vision, like blood flowing through the air.
In the centre of the clearing, a figure swayed faintly, shrouded in spirit light. Rei held his breath. The figure seemed to sense his presence and slowly turned, its features blurred and its outline shimmering like a wavering shadow. Yet it carried an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
Rei's heart raced and his left eye throbbed as if pierced by needles. He tried to retreat, but his feet were as if magnetically anchored to the ground, unable to move. The figure suddenly murmured, its voice hoarse and coiling: 'Fengjian Li... the Opener.'
Those three words struck his mind like ice spikes. Li stumbled backwards and collapsed to the ground. In the moonlight, he watched the figure's outline gradually dissolve, leaving only a chill seeping into his bones.
He noticed a faint, intricate pattern emerging on his palm, glowing faintly yet distinctly, as if etched into his skin. An inexplicable fear rose within him—was this his own, or some kind of warning?
The dorm door finally unlocked the instant his finger touched it. He slumped onto his bed with his back pressed against the wall, his heart still pounding like a drum. He knew that tonight's events were no coincidence.
The dorm door finally unlocked the instant his finger touched it. He collapsed onto his bed with his back pressed against the wall, feeling his heart still pounding like a drum. He knew that tonight's events were no coincidence.
Gripping the luggage beside his bed, he had a thought: This school was far more complex than he had imagined. Perhaps, starting today, he would no longer be just an ordinary student.
Rei couldn't sleep. Moonlight slanted through the dorm window and cast elongated shadows on the wall. His thoughts kept returning to the phantom he had seen moments earlier, and the whispering voice he had heard. His left eye still burned as though flames were churning within his pupil.
He couldn't resist reaching up and lightly touching his left eye with his fingers. Suddenly, an abnormal spiritual pressure surged from within him, causing the surrounding air to tremble. The light in the room flickered and the dust in the corners seemed to be drawn to this force. Rei 's heart tightened — who exactly was he? Why did he possess such power?
The dormitory corridor was eerily quiet in the dead of night. His instincts told him that there were more than just students on campus. Determined to see what was happening in the restricted zone, he decided to venture out. He quietly opened the window, climbed onto the sill and stepped onto the cold stone slab below. The entire campus seemed to breathe with a life of its own.
As he approached the restricted area, the air became heavier and heavier. In the moonlight, the shimmering, spirit-lit figure reappeared, clearer than ever before. Rei 's left eye throbbed intensely. Patterns like veins spread across its surface, reflecting the shadow's outline: a blurred human form with jet-black hair and sleeves fluttering in the wind, but no distinct face.
"Who... are you?" His voice was low but trembling.
The figure leaned slightly, its whisper echoing once more: "The Opener... Judgment approaches.'
Rei 's pupils dilated as the patterns in his left eye burned like flames. He felt a powerful call, not just for strength, but for responsibility too. This force seemed to demand that he see what others could not.
The next instant, the figure dissolved like smoke and the night sky returned to stillness. Rei stood at the edge of the restricted zone, the mark on his palm still faintly glowing. A thought crystallised within him: he would never be an ordinary student.