Just like Sylvie, Elana sensed that something wasn't right. But unlike the princess, she had a solid reason to believe trouble was coming.

She often wandered the forest downhill, always on the lookout for something to hunt. To her, real combat was the best kind of training. Even during the mid-term exams—on the second day, no less—she was out there, training as usual. That's when she saw them.

They weren't tourists. They weren't travelers. These were trained fighters. The moment Elana got close, they vanished—erasing their presence so quickly and smoothly, it was clear they knew what they were doing. She couldn't catch them, and the academy's security hadn't found any trace of them either.

That's when it clicked. If they weren't hostile and hadn't attacked, then they must've been invited. And the school only brings in outside help when the Headmistress believes something truly dangerous is coming—something even she can't handle.

So, Elana had started preparing herself.

"You're really not going home?" Aries asked, walking beside her as they headed toward the exam hall.

Unlike most, Aries didn't mind Elana's cold attitude or how she usually kept her distance from others.

Elana let out a soft hum, offering no explanation.

She didn't have proof of an ambush. And since the academy had chosen to stay quiet, she wasn't going to start a panic.

Aries glanced at her, a spark of curiosity in her dark eyes. "Is it because of the Professor?"

Elana didn't flinch at the teasing. Her voice stayed calm. "I don't know what you're imagining, but to me, Professor Adrian is just a teacher."

Aries giggled, her smile widening as her eyes turned to crescents. "But I never said which Professor. Why did you think of him?"

*STOP*

*BLUSH*

*CONTINUES*

Aries laughed aloud this time. Can there be someone more obvious than her?

-------**-------

Adrian was inside the Time Chamber, deep in study—this time, focusing on the Third Thread.

Over the past few days, he had crafted twenty artifacts and already placed them exactly where they needed to be. Now, he had stopped making more. The heartstone supply was nearly gone, and he didn't have much time left anyway.

It was only the second day of exams. Three more to go—and then, two days after that, the ambush would come.

Ariana had already summoned a few Wardens for backup, and they had started to form a quiet, invisible ring of protection around the Academy. If everything went according to plan, no lives would be lost.

But Adrian knew his presence had slightly shifted the course of events. The plot had changed—just enough to make things unpredictable. He couldn't afford to take any chances.

'Let's see if I can manage to infiltrate my own mind…'

He had reached a point where he could successfully enter a subject's mind seventeen out of twenty tries. That was nearly forty percent of the Third Thread already.

It had been seventeen days since the system issued the challenge. He wanted to speed things up.

Of course, he wasn't being reckless. He wasn't diving deep—just probing the surface to test and learn.

Sitting cross-legged before the mirror, he closed his eyes.

People often said tuning their weapons for themselves wasn't effective. Most preferred to rely on others for that kind of precision. But Adrian had never struggled with it.

Steadying his breath, he sent a wave of mana flowing through his body.

The first step was simple: make the runesmith's mana resonate with the target's so the mind wouldn't reject the intrusion. Normally, this step takes the most effort.

But today, the runesmith was the target. So there was no resistance—just focus.

His magic flowed through his veins and into the processor, like a quiet current moving through still water.

Inside his mind—just like in Munrow's—it opened into a vast, endless space. Sounds, voices, memories, and images floated around him, overlapping and echoing like a half-remembered dream.

He had to stay focused. If he lost himself here, he might not find his way back.

"I need an anchor."

To ground himself in his own mind, Adrian had to latch onto a memory—something strong, something sharp enough to keep him rooted.

It didn't take long to find one.

His first heartbreak.

Not as Adrian… but as Lex.

He was in his third year of high school. Back then, he had someone—someone he loved. She was kind, sweet, and always smiling. On the night of the farewell party, she pulled him aside. Her voice trembled, but she looked him in the eye and told him she had cheated on him with several people.

He remembered the way his heart shattered in that moment. He had cursed her, said things he never thought he could say. Words that stung, sharp and angry, poured out of him.

Then he turned and walked away—out of her life—thinking she had never loved him at all.

A year later, he found out the truth.

She had been diagnosed with late-stage cancer. Back then, she already knew she wouldn't live much longer. She didn't want anyone, especially him, to carry the pain of losing her. So she lied… to make him hate her, so letting go would be easier.

Adrian had never cried the way he cried that day.

He broke down—every part of him torn apart by guilt and sorrow. The kind of pain that doesn't leave scars on the skin, but burns into the soul.

That memory became his anchor. Not because it was strong, but because it mattered.

Controlling his emotions, he started weaving through his memories…watching the fast-paced movie before him, trying to discern which emotion actually riles him up the most.

It was then, "The fuck…" He mumbled inwardly as he started to see…things…something which shouldn't be here.

A…dark space as if it were a workshop, but too untidy, and everything was scattered around. Well, he couldn't say anything to the person because his workshop also looked quite untidy.

However, this was too much.

However, the main question is: whose memories were they?

[Warning!]

[Host is exceeding the duration of the dive!]

[Emergency escape has been initiated!]

A shock ran down his whole body, an electric shock, and the connection was broken.

"Guh!"

Adrian groaned as he fell on his back and felt his mind turning numb.

Although he told the system to wake him up if he doesn't get out after three minutes...didn't the system wake him before three minutes?

But his focus didn't remain there for long. His mind went to those memories...whose memories were they exactly?

°°°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thank you for reading. Drop a comment.