Chapter 106: Madness
[Starlight Academy]
Alice was in deep meditation inside Elysia’s room in the infirmary; it had become her usual routine, something she did without fail each day.
For the past three weeks, she had been quietly looking after Elysia. In the beginning, many people came by to visit the unconscious girl, bringing with them concern and flowers.
But as time passed, the number of visitors gradually decreased. Eventually, no one came anymore.
With fewer people to attend to, Alice’s responsibilities also began to shrink.
Other than the nurse, who arrived once every day to clean and inspect Elysia’s body, the room remained mostly silent. Occasionally, Ray would stop by—his visits never lasted long, and recently they had become even rarer.
She had heard that he was pushing himself harder than ever in training, likely trying to distract himself from the uncertainty surrounding Elysia.
Alice remained in her meditative state, breathing slowly and evenly, until a sudden jolt struck her heart like a bolt of lightning.
Her entire body tensed as a sharp, cold sensation ran through her spine, breaking her focus instantly.
Her eyes opened, not in surprise, but in quiet sorrow..
"What a pity... that young lad died," Alice muttered to herself, her voice soft but steady, almost emotionless—though her eyes carried the weight of what she felt.
Her words were not based on a vague feeling or some emotional instinct. The reason was simple—her mana contract with Ash had just been shattered.
The contract, created between her and Ash, was formed not out of sentiment, but as a practical measure.
It served as a monitoring link, a subtle thread that would inform her of any sudden changes to his life force. A contract like that only breaks if one of the parties dies.
And now, that bond had been severed.
"I suppose... this outcome was the most predictable one," she whispered, her tone more thoughtful than mournful.
Her expression didn’t change much, but her eyes held a quiet storm of thoughts.
She sat there silently, staring at the still, unmoving body of Elysia that lay peacefully in the bed.
A part of her felt the weight of the decision she had made when forming that contract—not out of interest, not out of care, but out of calculation.
Now that the contract was broken, she quietly asked herself, "So then... what should I do now?"
Her gaze lingered on Elysia for a few seconds longer before she slowly shook her head and closed her eyes.
I should inform Nichole first....
Without another word, Alice vanished from the room like a whisper carried away by the wind.
***
As this was happening silently on one continent, far away in a completely different part of the world, Ash—who had no idea that the mana contract he made with Alice had already been broken—stood tall and still, his expression unreadable.
His gaze was fixed on the King and Queen of Unicorns. He looked into their eyes without a trace of hesitation or fear, even though he was fully aware that these beings had the power to erase him from existence in a mere moment.
"You killed me without even listening to—"
Before he could finish the sentence, Solareth’s eyes glowed, and in the very next moment, Ash’s skull exploded once again.
His head burst apart like a fragile object shattering under immense pressure, splattering blood and bone in the air.
But something was different now.
His body didn’t fall this time. It remained standing, still and upright.
Because now, the power of his Rune of Death had activated. It wouldn’t let him die.
And while the Rune of Death prevented his soul from leaving his body, the Rune of Life began its work.
It started mending every shattered bone, every torn muscle, and every destroyed organ with terrifying precision, rebuilding his head and healing his body as if time itself had reversed.
He had died again, but he had also come back.
Ash opened his eyes slowly.
A chill passed through his body, not from the cold, but from the deep realization that he had just experienced death again.
Not figuratively, but literally.
Yet even in the face of that truth, he took a step forward.
He walked with more confidence.
With each breath, he carried the weight of that experience. His steps echoed in the silence, quiet but full of defiance.
"I know—"
SPLAT!!!!
Once again, his skull ruptured. Blood sprayed. His head burst apart.
And yet, just like before, it healed. Flesh grew back. Bones reshaped themselves. The pain was real, but so was the revival.
"You are angry—"
SPLAT!!
More blood splattered across the air. His eyes vanished for a second, then returned as his head reformed once more, refusing to stay broken.
"Because someone, uninvited came into your domain. You are angry especially because of your child—"
SPLAT!!
His entire body shook. The sound of bone snapping echoed again. But the Runes inside him didn’t allow him to die.
"You don’t want anyone near him. You see threats in every corner—"
SPLAT!!
His head exploded again.
"Because you’ve already lost someone before, haven’t you?"
This time, the silence that followed was different.
His voice returned, slower, more thoughtful. "You think if you lose him too... your entire world might collapse. You’re afraid."
SPLAT!!
"But I’m not your enemy."
SPLAT!!
"And I also have... someone I want to protect."
Hearing that strange silence filled the surroundings but it was broken by Ash steps,
He didn’t stop, he continued walking towards them.
Not even when his mind cracked under the pain he was feeling.
"Someone... whose smile makes my entire world feel real."
Still, Solareth didn’t stop his attacks.
SPLAT!!
Despite the urge to throw up and the psychological pressure of dying so many times, Ash still walked.
"I’m not here... to harm your son."
SPLAT!!
Ash staggered forward, each step shaky but determined. Blood trickled from the corner of his lips, and though his skull was still in the process of reforming itself, he refused to slow down or stop.
"I was just passing by," he said, his voice hoarse yet steady. "If you let me go, I’m willing to form a contract right now... one that binds me to silence about your presence here. I won’t speak a word."
Seeing that Solareth was again about to attack, Lumielle came forward to stop this madness.
"S-Stop, Solareth... that’s enough!" Lumielle’s voice trembled, barely holding itself together. Her eyes were wide with horror, unable to bear the sight of what was unfolding right in front of her.
"What do you mean stop, you know how dangerou-"
"Shut up!" she snapped, cutting him off. "Just look at him! Look how scared Eric is right now!!"
Her words cut through the air like a blade.
Startled, Solareth’s gaze dropped. He saw Eric, standing frozen in place, eyes overflowing with tears, his small frame shaking uncontrollably from fear.
And in that moment, it felt as though a million invisible needles pierced straight through Solareth’s chest. Something inside him cracked.
Take him away, he said through the mental link, his voice low and strained.
Lumielle immediately nodded and, in a flash of light, disappeared from the scene with Eric in her mouth.
But just before leaving, her gaze lingered—drawn to Ash, who stood alone, bloodied from head to toe, yet his eyes remained like unmoving frost, cold and devoid of expression.
That blank, broken stare sent a chill running down her spine.
She didn’t fear him because of his strength. No, in truth, he was still very weak compared to them.
What terrified her was the look in his eyes—eyes that didn’t care about consequences. Eyes that had accepted pain, death, and madness without flinching.
Mad enough to walk straight into death itself without hesitation, even when escape was an option.
It wasn’t his power she feared.
It was his resolve.
Taking one last glance, she vanished with Eric, leaving only silence in her wake.
Now, only Solareth and Ash remained.
Solareth’s gaze returned to Ash, who had now stopped walking, standing just a few steps away.
The path behind him was littered with blood, brain matter, and fragments of flesh—clear evidence of how many times his body had died and then regenerated during this march forward.
It was disturbingly similar to that first time Ash had been brought back—when time itself had seemed to twist, bringing him back from death.
But this time, it wasn’t the work of time or miracles. His body had regenerated each time from scratch, as if rejecting the very concept of dying.
Solareth stared into Ash’s eyes. Neither of them spoke, but the silence was heavy.
And within that silence, Solareth noticed it—the defiance burning in the boy’s gaze. Defiance not just against him, but against the entire world, against fate itself.
He didn’t understand why Ash’s eyes looked like that. What could make a child carry such weight behind his gaze?
Then finally, Ash broke the silence, his voice hoarse and almost cracking.
"So... can I leave now?"
His words were slow and dragged, as if each syllable hurt to speak. He hadn’t used Omni Thought to block out the pain.
He hadn’t used Omni Thought to suppress his suffering—he didn’t want to. He had chosen to feel it all. Every second of agony.
Because he wanted to remember. He wanted to understand the pain Elysia must have gone through in her previous life.
Solareth opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything, Ash’s body tilted forward and collapsed.
But before he could hit the ground, a soft rainbow hue enveloped him. His unconscious body began to float, gently suspended in the air.
Solareth let out a long, tired sigh as he looked at the boy’s battered form.
"...What a troublesome lad," he muttered under his breath, his voice a mix of annoyance and reluctant admiration.
***