Nightwalker

Silence pierced among the children. They had mixed feelings toward this king; however, it was clear on their faces that they resented him.

"Nevertheless, that may not be the case," the teacher said. One of the children asked curiously, "How so?"

"Ah... Legends are stories of the past, and stories can be twisted, by adding or removing some facts. So, we might never know what really happened. To be frank, I don't believe everything written in this book. A lot of things just don't make sense. Don't you agree?"

"Like what, teacher?"

The children exchanged looks, more confused than ever, and the teacher had conflicted emotions. He continued,

"I always tell you to seek the facts and not judge people on one scale. And things like..."

His sentence stopped in the middle as he realized he was carried away. He smiled, putting his forefinger on his lips.

"Well, unfortunately, matters like this are off discussion... Kids, what I said just now is a secret between us."

Before anyone could reply, he added,

"Oh, look at the time! Okay, kids, we'll stop here until another day... It's time to go home."

"Ahh...!"

They clamored, upset about ending the lesson at the most interesting part.

"Come on! Before your parents start nagging me for keeping you here this long."

Disappointed, they got up, quickly chatting with each other about what he had said earlier on their way out.

After seeing them off, the teacher rubbed his chin and sighed, unaware that one of the kids was still sitting on the floor, staring at the storybook. When he glanced over, the four-year-old boy grinned in embarrassment. He got up and ran toward a young girl with dark black hair and light honey-colored eyes. Lifting him up, she spun him in circles while laughing.

"Did you have fun?" she asked.

"Mm-hmm," he nodded with a wide smile.

The teacher smiled at the sight of the brother-sister pair. Ever since their oldest half-brother left a year ago, she had always come to pick him up.

"Good morning, te... ah, I mean, Doctor Sam."

"Morning, Sky. How are you doing these days?"

Sky, the young girl who had smiled purely seconds ago, sighed in distress. She looked troubled.

"I've had better days. Uncle Jin's son keeps messing up the garden. The plants I grew for his mother are misshapen now, and... he... um... I'm so mad right now!" Her tone sharpened, and she was furious.

Sam chuckled, then pulled an envelope and handed it to her.

"Here, take this..."

"What's this?"

"It's not much help, but you'll need money since you're leaving for the academy next week."

Sky looked at the money in embarrassment, knowing they were struggling every day and needed money more than anything. Like the rest of the villagers, they didn't have much. That's why she always wore the same set of clothes every day. Sam noticed that.

"But I..."

"No need to worry. I promised Dante I would help you two whenever I could. It's also my personal ego since I cherish his mother as well."

"Of all people, you like that witch too?!"

Sky's expression showed a lot of disappointment at the mention of Dante's—her half-brother's—mother.

"I heard she's single now, and guess what? So am I. I'm sure Dante would approve of me being his stepdad. We share this special bond."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I can tell he doesn't care much about her since she gave him away."

Sam sobbed at the hard truth.

"Alas... a man can only dream..."

He couldn't help but think of how unfortunate Dante was. To his surprise, the Logen family took care of him, welcoming him as a son. Seventeen years had passed since then. He had grown up so well and was about to graduate from the academy to become a nightwalker.

"By the way, did you contact Dante about the entrance exam?"

Sky rubbed her neck, feeling pain as her little brother kept pulling on the edge of her dress to grab her attention, tightening the collar and making it difficult to breathe.

"N-no, cut it out! Ugh! Your sister will choke at this rate! Dean!"

He stopped at her request and looked down. She then turned to Sam.

"I asked the chief about it. He kept calling him, but he's unreachable. The connection is off for some reason."

Sam suddenly beamed and smiled like a Cheshire cat. He grabbed Sky's shoulders.

"Well, that's good news!" he shouted.

She was startled. "Wha...?"

"Well, I don't know about your entrance exams, but this only happens when they want to replace the chip's data with an advanced type!"

Seeing that she didn't follow, he stepped back, faked a cough, and restored his dignity before continuing,

"It means Dante passed the final exams."

Hearing that, her eyes sparkled, and out of joy, they started jumping up and down like monkeys.

Sky and Dean dashed home and delivered the good news to everyone. They were thrilled, and her mother cried from happiness.

"See! I told you!"

And their father shouted in joy.

"Annie! Our son is a genius! Haha! He never fails to meet my expectations!"

Sky's mother, Annie, nodded, wiping away her tears. She turned to Sky.

"Our Sky, too. She will pass the entrance test successfully, right?"

"Mm-hmm, sister is a genius too, like big brother," Dean agreed with his mother.

On the other hand, her father, Logan, had a different opinion. He stood for a moment with a harsh expression, withdrew from the conversation, and walked to the door, slamming it behind him, leaving the three of them stunned.

Annie walked to her daughter, who looked downcast, giving her a hug and caressing her back.

"Don't be sad, my little Sky. I'm sure Dante can convince him."

Sky knew her dad was stubborn when it came to this matter. Every time she mentioned it, he either ran away or ignored her completely. It was the same until now.

Despite that, whether he liked it or not, she had already decided to do whatever she wanted at this point and would totally blame Dante, claiming it was his idea, like always.

"Now, how about we... get things ready to celebrate this occasion when he comes back?"

Annie then took Dean's hand and went to the kitchen.

Sky stood in front of the door, staring at the gray horizon that slowly shifted into shades of black fog with each passing second. This was the curse laid down by King Lionel upon Camo.

Not only did they live in darkness, but they also couldn't use mana directly. In the world, mana was the basis of life, no less significant than a breath or a drop of water.

Nevertheless, the citizens didn't stop fighting back against this curse. They made weapons and tools that generated purifying channels through which mana flowed. Unfortunately, there was a limit to mana's usage. Though research and tests continued, over time, they found something—a clue. There was something different about those born after the curse: they bore what was later called a "Soul Core." It could generate pure mana from the surroundings.

With this discovery, they started involving the younger generation in training, hoping to tame the Soul Core. Those aged sixteen and above went to special training centers and were then directed to work in different sectors inside and outside Camo.

The ones who graduated from these training centers were called Nightwalkers. They were classified into different grades and specialties, under the guidance of council members in the academy and the higher-ups, the ancient families.

"Sky!!!"

Suddenly, Annie cut Sky's thoughts short, asking her to come and help in the kitchen.

"Coming!" she shouted.