Slowly coming to a stop in front of the dark wood desk, Soren stood with his shoulders slouched, his heart beating in his ears. The nervousness he felt only seemed to amplify the strong sense of fear lingering in the air.

  Professor Hanami was currently looking through a stack of papers, from his current angle Soren couldn't make out exactly what they said, but they seemed to be research notes.

  Clearing his throat to get the man’s attention, Soren watched as indigo eyes coldly fixated on him.

  “Um… You wanted to see me, sir…”

  Setting the small stack of notes aside, Hanami stood from his desk. His sharp gaze never leaving Soren.

  “Yes. I wished to discuss a few things.”

  Soren’s pulse quickened, beads of sweat collected on his forehead. He wanted nothing more than to return to his dorm, crawl in the sheets and never come out.

  “I know I’m not performing as well as the rest of the class, but…”

  Soren was abruptly cut off.

  “What did Killian do to you?”

  Staring at him for a moment, Soren could barely comprehend what he had just been asked. Silence hung over them for a brief moment, eventually, he managed to choke out a simple reply.

  “… I'm sorry? What do you…”

  Once again, Hanami cut him off. His tall frame towered over Soren, as he took a few steps closer to Soren.

  “Your soul, what did Killian do to it?”

  His voice lost its dullness, instead now harboring frustration. Stumbling over his words, Soren timidly replied.

  “My soul? I don’t understand what you’re asking.”

  Hanami now stood only a foot or so away from Soren, the overwhelming fear that had been present before, transformed into a sea of terror. Frozen in place, Soren found himself drowning in that endless abyss.

  “I spent gods knows how many years studying under that man, learning his methods, his ambitions… And here you are, the living embodiment of his desire.”

  The atmosphere quickly shifted, just a few moments ago Soren was concerned about being dropped from the class. Now, he found himself being pestered for answers about his father of all people.

  ‘Wait! Did he say he studied under Killian?’

  With a small gulp, he attempted to ignore the harrowing fear as best as he could. Instead, he decided to press the fearsome instructor for answers of his own.

  “You knew him! What ambitions are you talking about? Do you know where he…”

  Cold velvet eyes searched his own, looking for something deeper… Sincerity maybe?

  The two of them stood there, neither saying a word. Soren wanted to back away, cower behind the nearest object he could find. But he held firm, no amount of fear would shade him away from the potential answers that lay before him.

  “What do you know?”

  Soren said firmly, his voice losing its shakiness.

  Staring at him for a prolonged moment, Hanami took a step back, his eyes never leaving Soren’s.

  “So… He is alive.”

  Hanami sounded almost relieved, like an invisible weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Finally breaking the intense stare they shared, he moved closer to the desk, leaning against it slightly.

  The hostility seemed to fade from his face, instead shifting back to its usual bleakness. Letting out a deep breath, Hanami spoke in a calm tone.

  “… I was one of his apprentices. Though, only for a short while.”

  Soren knew only a few of the people who studied under his father. Seline was the only one of them that he knew well. The rest had cut ties with anyone related to Killian, as to avoid scrutiny from their peers.

  ‘If he knew him, then why wait until now to bring up the topic?’

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  Something didn’t feel right about this. Soren had investigated all of Killian’s pupils, not once had he heard of this man… Just who is he really? Clearing his throat, Soren straightened up.

  “... Why tell me now, you could have said something before?”

  Tugging at his collar, Hanami seemed far more tense. He didn’t answer right away, a long pause preceded his response.

  “... In truth I had never intended on interacting with you. In the world of scholars you are seen as a bad omen.”

  Grimacing a little at the statement he made, Soren wanted to say something back, but he knew it was true. The mere mention of Killian put people off, their silent judgment was far worse than any hurtful words.

  “So then why? If you had no intention before, what changed?”

  The more they spoke, the more unsettling things seemed. Soren didn’t believe himself to be in danger, but the fact that this man was most definitely harboring unknown intentions for him was incredibly off-putting.

  The ever present fear kept Soren acutely aware of every slight movement Hanami made, making sure to keep up his guard as the suspicious man spoke.

  “… It was your soul. The moment I saw it, I needed to make sure you weren’t him.”

  His eyes widened. The more Hanami spoke, the more questions Soren had.

  “This is the second time you’ve mentioned my soul, yet you haven’t explained what you mean… And when you say you saw my soul, are you saying that you…”

  Hanami slowly nodded.

  “I don’t intend on going into detail about it, but yes, I possess the ability to see souls. Which is why I was so off-put when seeing yours… The size is far too unnatural.”

  For a long time now, Soren believed he had lost a big chunk of his lifespan that night. It was part of the reason he acted so recklessly, there was no need to be careful when you didn’t have long to live.

  Soren stood speechless for a moment, then hesitantly, he asked possibly the most important question in his life.

  “My soul? The size? How small is it exactly?”

  He had learned how to gauge the amount of soul he had after the incident, so in truth Soren did not know himself. He had nothing to compare it to, making it hard to tell whether or not the amount of soul was normal.

  Hanami stared at him for a moment, a small bit of confusion creeped onto his face.

  “Kid, I don’t think you understand… What put me off was just how massive it is.”

  … What?

  That couldn’t be right! Soren was left speechless as Hanami continued.

  “You really didn’t know?”

  Soren silently shook his head, his mouth slightly ajar.

  “My soul… j-just how large is it?”

  The tension in the air was so thick, it could be cut with a blade. All the previous resolve Soren had gained crumbled away, as desperation crept in. Keeping his guard up didn’t matter anymore, the sudden need for more answers won over the concerns previously at play.

  Breaking the silence, Hanami spoke, this time in a softer tone. It was a small change, barely noticeable. As if he sensed the shift in Soren’s mood.

  “Several times larger… by my best guess it’s around five times larger. Originally I had assumed that Killian did this to you, but when you used resonance, part of me believed you to be him.”

  Resonance? He was Killian? Five times larger! Soren felt light headed… He felt as though he would vomit.

  ‘Insane… He has to be insane! But why would he lie though? What would he gain from lying to me about this… No. He must be telling the truth.’

  Stumbling back, Soren slumped down into one of the first row seats. Covering his mouth tightly with his hand, he took in a few deep breaths.

  After taking a moment to collect himself, Soren looked back to Hanami. The slender man had remained mostly the same, still as stoic as always. It was almost unsettling just how calm he was, his expressionless face made it seem as if he was made of stone.

  Soren wanted to leave this moment, forget everything he heard. But he needed to know, answers were the only reason he kept on going. No matter how gruesome. No matter how horrible it was. He needed to know… For them.

  “Why… Why tell me all this?! Why damnit!?”

  Ubruptly standing from his seat, Soren marched over to Hanami.

  His anger was palpable. The lack of clear answers. Being left in the dark. He hated it all. Everyone around him treated Soren as a monster, like he had done it, like he was no better than his father.

  ‘To hell with them! I’m too close now, I refuse to be at the mercy of anyone else!”

  Shooting his hands forwards, he firmly gripped the collar of Hanami’s shirt.

  “Enough of this game! Tell me everything… No more cryptic bullshit, I want answers!”

  Seemingly unfazed by Soren’s roughness, Hanami coldly looked down at him.

  “Are you sure you want to know? Once you learn the truth… Nothing will be the same. Living a normal life, making friends, falling in love. You’ll have none of it… This road only leads one way, you won’t like what you find at the end of it.”

  Pain, suffering, anger, hatred… He had been walking this road a long time, determined to reach the end. Where it took him… Death most likely. But as long as Killian went with him, then every painful experience, every wound suffered, all the things he would endure. They would be worth it.

  ‘I don’t want to know honestly. I wish I could forget all of it. I don’t even know if doing any of this will ease this overwhelming guilt… I want nothing more than to be dead. But I can’t die yet… I lost that choice long ago, I wish it could have been someone else. Anyone other than me, but this world isn’t so kind.”

  Clenching his hands so tightly that his knuckles turned white, Soren grit his teeth. He wanted to scream, pummel this man until he stopped breathing. But he forced those feelings down, this was his chance. In front of him were answers, knowledge that could potentially change everything.

  All he needed to do was ask.

  Taking in a deep breath. Soren met Hanami’s indigo gaze.

  “… Tell me everything.”