"HUM?"

  With a sudden jolt, the agonizing sound of a witches' chant echoed through his head, the high-pitched voices rising in tone until the ritual finally ceased.

  "What am I doing here?" Giyo was on the floor, staring at his hands, bewildered by his surroundings: his old home. He was smaller now, and his clothes felt hauntingly familiar. "I'm... I'm a child again?"

  As the realization hit, his body began to tremble; he had reverted to his seven-year-old self. Confused, Giyo began to wander through the mansion, the air thick with nostalgia. The place was empty. Outside the windows, the sky was a void of white and the world was washed in shades of gray, as if he were in a different dimension.

  Then, a familiar voice reached his ears:

  "Hello... son."

  The shock surged through his body, paralyzing him where he stood. 'What is this? I can't move... not out of fear, but because I don't know if it's really him,' the boy thought. "H-hi... Dad."

  "I've returned from my mission. I hope you don't mind my being late, hahahaha!" The man approached, resting a heavy hand on his son's shoulder. "In the end, I kept our promise. Shall we prepare for your big day?"

  Giyo turned slowly, staring at the familiar face. The crimson hair, the weary eyes, the twin swords strapped to his back... there was no doubt. It was him.

  "Yes, Dad..."

  Holding his father's hand, they walked through the mansion. Giyo couldn't tear his eyes away, noting how healthy his father looked. The warmth of his hand, the vibration of his voice, that undeniable presence—it was all too real for an alternate world. They entered a room where the entire family was gathered around a large table.

  "Hello, dear. So you've finally returned, have you?" said the woman of striking beauty.

  "Hahaha, yes! It was tough, but I managed. Fought many beasts and enemies..."

  The boy took his seat, slowly scanning everyone in the room. 'I don't understand... what is all this? An alternate reality? An illusion? A dream? Wait... I'm starting to remember... I wasn't here before...' His thoughts began to gnaw at him.

  "Sweetie? Are you feeling alright?"

  Hearing his mother's voice, Giyo went numb. She had never cared about his well-being before.

  "Ah! Y-yes, Mother... I'm fine."

  "Perfect. Let's begin dinner. Your father has so much to tell us about his special mission..." she said with an enchanting smile.

  Everyone began to eat, but Giyo had no appetite. Looking across the table, he noticed his sister. Pan was silent, but she looked conscious—aware. She looked up, met his eyes for a split second, and then quickly looked away. Giyo knew then: something was profoundly wrong.

  Standing up, Giyo walked to the other side of the table and pulled his sister out of the room. No one at the table even blinked.

  "Pan... is it really you? Tell me, what's happening?"

  "So you're conscious too." She sighed, pressing her hand against her chest. "Look, this must be the Psychological Test Hiro mentioned. We're likely facing our greatest sins. In our case, the biggest problem is our own family."

  "This is impossible!" Giyo stepped closer, his eyes filled with worry, grabbing his sister's shoulders with desperate force. "How... how can it feel so real?"

  "I have no idea, but to get out of here, we have to let go of whatever is holding us captive..." Pan seemed increasingly on edge.

  "And what is that? Is it... Dad?"

  "No, I don't think so. It's probably something hidden deep inside you." Pan touched her brother's chest, calming him for a moment. "I have an idea of how to escape, but I can't guarantee you'll follow. Find what binds you to the past."

  Pan turned back to the dining room and took her seat. Giyo followed, listening to his parents' peaceful conversation. Suddenly, Pan stood up, speaking as if she were delivering lines in a play:

  "Mother! May I go play with Law and Akio?"

  Her parents exchanged looks with a warm smile.

  "Hahaha, of course, dear. No problem at all."

  Pan left the room with her older brothers, casting one last look at Giyo—a silent warning. He was left alone, listening to his parents talk, unable to find the courage to shatter this perfect reality.

  In the hallway, the brothers' masks slipped.

  "What do you want, sis? Looking for another fight?" Law's tough-guy act returned with a snide smirk.

  "That's right! Law and I are gonna give you a beating. Don't think you're safe just because Dad is back," Akio added.

  "Law... Akio... know that I have always despised you. You mistreated me, looked down on me, and in the end, you came up with this plan that only hurts others." She looked at the floor, gathering her strength. "I was forced to play your little game..." Her eyes snapped up to meet theirs, tears she had held back finally streaming down her face. "I was too afraid to back down because I didn't want to be abandoned like Giyo!"

  The two stood frozen in shock. Pan approached, her face flushed with rage and sorrow.

  "You're nothing but trash! I despise you and Mother both!" She dropped to her knees, her strength spent. "If Dad were really alive, maybe you wouldn't be like this... where are the boys who dreamed of being just like him?" She clenched her fists and, through her sobs, punched the floor. "You're pathetic!"

  Her brothers remained paralyzed, flickering like a glitching hologram, their bodies trembling and eyes darting wildly. Pan watched in shock as the same seal that brought her there manifested beneath her feet.

  'Giyo... I hope you can free yourself from your pain...'

  She began to levitate. Though her body felt weak, she reached out toward the dining room door as if trying to help him.

  "I trust you."

  With a flash, Pan vanished from the alternate world, leaving her greatest fear behind.

  Giyo remained seated at the table. His parents looked so close, so happy. Memories of his own suffering flashed through his mind like old photographs; the image of his father smiling while his mother looked down on him gnawed at his soul.

  He stood up abruptly, slamming his hands onto the table.

  "Mother! I... I have a question. I want you to be honest and answer me with everything you feel!"

  His parents stopped talking instantly. His mother stared directly into his eyes.

  "Of course, my dear. You can ask me anything."

  Giyo stared back at her, his eyes brimming with unshed tears.

  "Why? Why did you treat me that way? I swear I tried my best to be better, to show you I wasn't a burden!" The boy shouted, thumping his chest, desperate to prove his worth. "And yet... you mistreated me, humiliated me, and spat on me just because I was... sick."

  "Oh, my son... that's because... you are weak."

  The words echoed in his skull. His trembling eyes locked onto hers, searching for any other answer.

  "Do you really think I have an obligation to care for a worm like you?" She smiled mockingly. "HAHAHA, what a joke!"

  The boy was stunned, trembling, unable to believe what he was hearing.

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  "Look at you. Covered in marks, riddled with flaws... full of pain. I could never love a mistake like you. Don't call me your mother; I would never give birth to a failed project." She adjusted herself gracefully, crossing her legs and exuding confidence. "Look at your brothers; they have everything I ever wanted. But you... you have nothing! You're just a sick, pathetic little boy."

  Rage boiled over within Giyo. Drowning in sorrow, he climbed onto the table, his eyes wet with tears, screaming in pure agony.

  "THIS MAKES NO SENSE! If my father had truly returned from his mission, you wouldn't be like this! My brothers would never mistreat me, and our lives would have stayed the way they were!" He clenched his fists, shaking with fury. "I will never believe he's dead! My father would never lose to anyone! He... he proved he was too strong for that!"

  "Poor child. Your father is dead, and you must accept it. If you truly believe he's still alive and that you can change the course of this story, then I must tell you: you are just a child clinging to false hope." She stood up, looking down her nose at him. "Don't delude yourself with mere possibilities. If you ever manage to prove me wrong, I might consider calling you 'useless' instead of a 'worm'."

  This time... the boy reached his breaking point.

  The marks on his skin ignited his body in a fit of rage. He lunged at his mother, his fists striking that perfect face and clawing at her skin. He felt a twisted sense of relief and intensified his assault! But... that reality could never give him what he truly wanted. As a mere illusion, his mother's face didn't bleed, and she felt no pain; she simply maintained that look of pure disgust.

  Giyo kept striking. The sound of bones snapping, the sound of her head colliding with the floor... he sobbed with every blow, and yet, nothing changed. His mother began to laugh in his face, mocking his weakness, which only drove him to hit harder. The flames engulfing his body began to burn him slowly. He ignored the pain, consumed by his own fury, until... a hand touched his shoulder.

  In an instant, he was pulled from that room and into the vast, flowery garden he loved so much. Lifting his head, Giyo looked into the face of his father, who had stopped him from going any further.

  "Giyo, stop this at once... I know, you're in agony, aren't you? I can see it in the tears on your face and hear it in your sighs." The morning breeze and sunlight seemed to soothe the boy; he choked back his sobs, trying not to show weakness. "I wasn't a good father, but I can be a good counselor. Change, Giyo—change while you still can. Fight while you still have strength. Stand up while there are still people to lean on... This isn't who you are, my son. I know you, and I know you would never surrender to vengeance and despair. With your innocent smile and your fragile frame, you are pure—pure enough to change people."

  The boy looked at his father again, trying to grasp why he had endured all of this.

  "Remember, my son: the flame in your heart can change everything. You just have to believe." His father reached out to cup his face and wipe away the tears he had held in for so long. "Giyo, you changed who I am... because I believed in you. You are... my hope."

  Asuna's Test...

  In that moment, Giyo finally let it all out, sobbing as he threw his arms around his father. The flames died down, and he let out a scream that felt as though it were tearing him apart from the inside. His father stroked his hair, easing all his pain...

  Then, the magic seal manifested beneath his feet, whisking him away from that world in a flash of light!

  The morning sun cast its light over ruins—abandoned buildings and houses overtaken by overgrown vegetation. The whistling wind and the chirping of crickets set the stage for the young girl's trial.

  "Hmph." She looked annoyed. "So my test is just sitting here with you? Give me a break." Asuna stood up from the stone wall where she had been sitting and marched down the deserted streets, the figure following closely behind.

  Suddenly, the figure began to flicker and distort, startling her.

  "H-hey! Why are you glitching?"

  "I... I thought we could take a walk. But clearly, you don't want to."

  "Come on, Dad. Do you really think a 'walk' is what I need? What I want is to get stronger—to have enough power to defeat you one day."

  "Daughter, power is a complicated thing. You have no idea what you're asking for..."

  "I know! You told me that once already. 'Power is a dish best served cold; eventually, you'll realize the value of what you lost.'" Asuna mimicked his voice. "If you think a lecture is going to change my mind, you're dead wrong."

  Asuna kept walking, quickening her pace to distance herself. The man tried to keep up, a silent struggle of footsteps between them.

  "I think I get it now..." Asuna stopped, breathless from the long walk. "My fear is not having you around, isn't it?"

  "Exactly... I'm glad you understand."

  Asuna leaned on her knees, panting, her bravado fading into shyness.

  "Since I was little, you never cared about me. All you cared about was training and finding someone stronger to crush." She looked over her shoulder at him. "So tell me... why is it that despite all this anger, I can't bring myself to truly hate you?"

  They locked eyes. Asuna searched for an answer, but her father's image stood frozen, unable to react.

  "I don't get it," Asuna said, gazing at the sunrise, her hair fluttering in the breeze. "I've fought my whole life, I grew up alone, and yet... you're telling me my greatest fear is being lonely?"

  "I can't confirm anything. I am merely a projection created by your own mind," he said, examining his fading hands. "If there is one thing I can say... I'm sorry."

  "Ha... haha... hahahahaha!" She laughed. It was an ironic, hollow laugh, but the tears streaming down her face told the true story. "That doesn't help. You're just a projection." She gripped her trembling arm, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "In the end, I've already found someone to take your place. That boy... he was the only one to fight me without looking down on me or being afraid." She smiled at the silhouette. "Dad... I can tell that something incredible is coming."

  The seal manifested beneath her feet, whisking her away in a flash. Her father's silhouette remained, closing its eyes and evaporating like ash, a final smile gracing his face before he vanished completely.

  Kirio's Test...

  In a dark cavern, the sound of dripping water echoed through the vast space. The cold seeped into the boy's body as he stood before the void.

  "I see. So this is the psychological test," Kirio muttered, looking around for an exit. "Dad didn't warn me about this; I expected it to happen tomorrow."

  "Sweetie? Where are you?"

  A familiar feminine voice echoed through the cave. Kirio froze. His steps became sluggish as he moved toward the sound.

  "N-no, it can't be..." When he finally drew close, he saw the woman standing before him. "M-mother?!"

  She turned to face him. Her crystalline hair swayed gracefully, reflecting the glow of the cave's minerals.

  "That's right. I've been looking for you for so long... I've finally found you," she said with a faint smile. "So? How are things with your father? Does he still practice his martial arts?"

  Kirio recoiled instantly, stumbling back.

  "Impossible! You shouldn't be here. What happened? Why aren't you dead?!"

  The woman drew closer, reaching out to cup her son's face.

  "I think you've already figured it out... I'm an illusion born from your mind. Your greatest fear," she said with a hint of bitterness, stepping back elegantly. "You can't get over losing me, can you?"

  Kirio dropped to his knees in shock, his body trembling.

  "No... when you died, I was only five. That man was foaming with rage, and you used yourself as a shield to protect me..." He leaned forward, searching for reality in her eyes. "I can't accept it. It should have been me! I was the one who should have died that day!"

  "Dearest..." She knelt delicately and pulled Kirio into an embrace. "You are mistaken. I would never have allowed that. What I did that day was offer my life for yours—a trade no mother would ever refuse." She touched his chest, soothing him. "I love you. I won't have you speaking such nonsense."

  The boy broke down, unable to hold back his tears.

  "I know... even if you're an illusion, you comfort me just like she did."

  "Know that I am here, my dear. Not as a ghost, but as a part of you." She forced him to meet her gaze. "I know that deep down, you can handle this. Can you do it one more time? Can you stand up and fight for Mother?"

  Kirio wiped his tears, though his breath was still shaky from sobbing.

  "Yes... I think so." He looked around the cave with a sense of deep nostalgia. "Mother, I met a strange boy. He protected my honor and was kind to me. Everyone else was afraid of me because I'm the Headmaster's son, but him... he didn't care. He protected me and made me hold my head high." Kirio smiled, showing a side of himself he usually kept hidden. "I think we're going to be good friends."

  The magic circle appeared beneath his feet. He stole one last look at his mother, a single tear rolling down his cheek, knowing this was their final goodbye. With a flash, he vanished.

  Back in the real world, students were beginning to stir. Giyo, Asuna, Pan, and Kirio all woke up at almost the same time, their faces stained with tears. Overwhelmed by embarrassment, they quickly turned away from each other to hide their emotions.

  "Seems like we made it through the final test... do you think we passed?" Giyo asked.

  "Definitely. We did well in all three phases. But man, we need to stay on our toes; that last one caught us completely off guard," Kirio replied.

  They noticed Petra was still on the ground, muttering and twitching in her nightmare. Hiro appeared out of nowhere and snapped his fingers; everyone woke up instantly, freed from the cycle of illusion.

  "I see that only a few of you managed to pass the final test unscathed. I know I caught you unprepared, but it was necessary," Hiro said, crossing his arms with a grim expression. "Be aware that even if you failed this phase, the previous two still carry weight. Return tomorrow morning to receive your results."

  With those blunt words, Hiro turned and left. The students, still dazed and processing their trauma, began to file out as the school evaluation day finally came to an end.