28th March 2025 – Midnight
"That movie was amazing..."
Kirito leaned back with a satisfied sigh as the credits rolled across the screen. Another ordinary summer night had come to an end.
The clock on the wall blinked.
1:00 A.M.
"Time to hit the bed... I just need to grab a water bottle first. Hope no one sees me sneaking around."
He quietly got to his feet.
A bracelet-like tracker rested around his wrist, its small display glowing faintly in the darkness. With his relatives visiting, moving through the house without being noticed had become surprisingly difficult.
Kirito slipped out of his room and carefully made his way through the hallway, trying not to make a sound.
It felt less like getting water and more like infiltrating a highly guarded facility.
Eventually, he managed to grab a bottle and return to his room.
Nothing strange happened.
At least, not yet.
2:30 A.M.
Kirito suddenly jolted awake.
His eyes opened to the darkness.
"Weird... I don't usually wake up like this. Guess I need water."
Still half-asleep, he turned toward the left side of the room.
His breath caught.
Someone was sitting at the table.
A man in a black coat sat perfectly still, his face partially concealed by the shadows.
Kirito froze.
A shadow?
No.
That was a person.
His pulse quickened.
Before he could even scream, the man slowly rose from his seat.
"Let's go, Kirito."
"WHAT?!"
The moment the words left Kirito's mouth, the world beneath him disappeared.
His stomach dropped.
Wind rushed violently past his body.
"Why am I in the air?! What the hell is going on?!"
He looked down.
There was nothing beneath him.
Only darkness and thousands of feet of empty air.
"This isn't a dream—this is REAL!"
At nearly 10,000 feet above the ground, the freezing wind howled around him. His clothes whipped violently in the air while his heart hammered against his chest.
The man in the black coat remained completely calm.
"That's enough."
He clapped his hands.
Reality seemed to bend.
In the blink of an eye, the screaming wind vanished.
Kirito found himself standing on solid ground.
He stumbled forward and looked around in disbelief.
"Wait... I'm on top of the Sky Tree?! What is this?!"
The man looked toward him.
"Let's talk. My name is Sam."
Kirito stared at him suspiciously.
"Are you God?"
"No."
"A devil?"
"Still no."
"A ghost?"
"I'm not dead yet, thanks."
"Then what the heck are you?"
"A human. Just like you."
Sam paused, then gave him a faint, knowing smirk.
"But I'm also the Eminence in Shadow."
Kirito blinked.
"Eminence... meaning superiority? And 'in shadow'... someone who controls things from the background?"
"Not quite."
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Sam folded his arms.
"The Eminence in Shadow controls their surroundings through hidden power—passed down through generations."
Kirito's expression slowly changed.
"Then why me? I'm nothing special. I've been sick most of my life... I can barely stand for ten minutes."
"You misunderstand."
Sam's voice became more serious.
"I'm not giving you this power..."
He looked directly into Kirito's eyes.
"You were born with it."
"What...?"
"You are the next Eminence in Shadow."
Kirito stared at him.
For a moment, his mind seemed to stop functioning.
Then—
"I... AM... EMINENCE?!"
And then Kirito woke up.
His eyes snapped open.
His room.
His bed.
The familiar ceiling.
For a few seconds, he simply stared upward, breathing heavily.
Was that... a dream?
It had felt far too real.
Later That Day
"Kirito, we're heading out!" his mother called from somewhere in the house.
"Okay, Mom."
Still distracted by the strange dream, Kirito stepped into the kitchen.
Then he stopped.
Sam was there.
Sitting casually as though he had every right to be inside the house.
"Sorry for the uninvited visit," Sam said. "You live alone?"
Kirito stared at him.
"No, I live with my family."
Sam glanced toward the other side of the room.
"She your sister?"
Kirito followed his gaze.
"Yeah. Allya."
Sam turned back toward him.
"I came to talk. About your power."
Kirito's heart sank.
So it wasn't a dream.
That day, Sam cooked lunch while explaining everything.
His power.
Its history.
Its connection to Kirito.
And the destiny that had already begun unfolding around him.
None of it sounded real.
Yet somehow, every answer only created more questions.
1st April 2025
Three days had passed.
Kirito had spent them training with Sam.
Nothing extravagant.
Just the basics.
Movement.
Control.
Endurance.
Learning how to understand the strange power within him.
"Oni-chan! Wake up or you'll be late!"
Allya's voice echoed through the house.
She opened the door.
The room was empty.
Kirito had already left for school.
Something had changed.
By the time Kirito reached school, students were already beginning to fill the corridors.
"Yo, why so early?" Neji asked.
Kirito shrugged.
"It's not a big deal. I'm a high school student now."
The first period soon began.
Footsteps approached from the hallway.
The classroom door opened.
"Everyone stand!"
The class monitor's voice immediately silenced the room.
The students rose from their seats.
"Ohayo, students."
The teacher entered with a calm smile.
"I'm Sam. I'll be your class teacher."
Kirito nearly choked.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
He stared at Sam in disbelief.
First powers, and now this motherfucker will teach us.
My high school life was already destroyed on the first day.
Sam continued as if nothing unusual had happened.
"We've got two transfers today. Come in, please."
A girl stepped into the classroom.
"Ohayo, everyone! I'm Asuna Akabane!"
The room instantly became livelier.
"She's so cute..."
"She's literally waifu material..."
Asuna smiled awkwardly at the attention.
A second student entered behind her.
"Good morning. I'm Reno Tachibana."
His expression was noticeably more serious.
Someone whispered from the back of the classroom.
"Who's this guy with all the attitude?"
The entire class erupted into quiet murmurs.
Kirito watched the two newcomers carefully.
Something told him this wasn't going to be an ordinary school year.
After Class
Sam called Kirito, Asuna, and Reno into his office.
Kirito knocked on the door before entering.
"Excuse me."
"Oh, come in. I've been waiting."
Sam gestured toward the chairs.
"Come, take a seat."
The three students sat down.
Sam looked at them one by one.
"I want to discuss something."
He leaned back slightly.
"As you know, you three have special powers. From today, you're officially Team 7 under the Organization."
Kirito's expression stiffened.
"Get to know each other—you'll start training in two hours."
Around 2:00 P.M.
The three gathered inside the gym.
The large training area echoed with their footsteps as they stood several meters apart.
Sam stood before them with a mischievous smile.
"Today I will check if you're really capable of combat."
Kirito frowned.
"Are you kidding me, this is going to..."
He never finished.
Sam suddenly moved.
Kirito barely had time to react before Sam seized his wrist, twisted his momentum against him, and sent him crashing onto the floor.
The impact knocked the breath from his lungs.
"Now how are you going to save yourself?" Sam asked.
Kirito gritted his teeth.
"What a fool. He thinks he can take down an Awakened on his own," Reno said.
Asuna glanced toward Kirito.
"Hmm... are you okay?"
Sam smiled with the calmness of a gentleman.
Then his body double moved.
Before either Asuna or Reno could properly react, both were knocked to the floor in the same manner as Kirito.
The gym fell quiet.
Sam looked down at the three of them.
"To start, you have to learn how to work as a team."
His expression remained relaxed.
"Today we're going to work on your teamwork."
Evening – Around 7:30 P.M.
Kirito finally returned home.
The moment he stepped inside, something felt wrong.
He stopped.
"What is that noise?"
A strange silence followed.
Then—
Screams.
Gunfire.
Kirito's eyes widened.
"M-Mom?!"
He rushed forward.
His mother lay motionless beside the sink.
A gunshot wound marked the terrible scene.
Standing nearby was his father.
A smoking gun hung in his hand.
Kirito's entire body went rigid.
"ALLYA!!"
Allya was nearby, blood running from her arm.
Kirito's shock instantly turned into rage.
"You bastard!!"
He rushed forward.
A shot came toward him, but Kirito managed to block it and strike his father squarely in the face.
He immediately grabbed Allya.
"Hold on!"
Using his slime power, Kirito sealed the wound on her arm.
His hands trembled.
His breathing became uneven.
"Please... let this be a dream..."
Another gunshot rang through the house.
Two bullets struck Kirito in the back.
His body staggered.
He collapsed, instinctively positioning himself between Allya and the gunfire.
"You adopted bastard," his father snarled. "Tonight, both of you die."
Kirito struggled to remain conscious.
His arms tightened around Allya.
"Please... let her live..."
Another shot tore through his shoulder.
Pain exploded through his body.
"Now die!"
The final gunshot echoed through the house.
Then everything became distant.
Sirens approached from outside.
Flashing lights illuminated the windows.
Police officers rushed into the house.
"Killer has been eliminated."
"Searching for survivors."
"Shit."
Far away, on the roof of another building, a man in a black coat watched the scene unfold.
Takoi.
Behind him stood another person dressed in black.
"Sir, possession did not succeed as planned," the figure said.
Takoi's expression darkened before twisting into a demonic smile.
"I know that, but the mission was a success."
His eyes remained fixed on the building below.
"Now we know where they were hiding them."
On the other hand, Kirito's consciousness continued to fade.
The sounds around him became distant.
The flashing lights blurred.
His body felt impossibly heavy.
As Kirito slowly lost consciousness, he looked upward.
Someone was standing there.
A familiar figure.
Sam.
Kirito's fading eyes widened slightly.
His lips barely moved.
"Thank... God..."