".....What do we have here?"

The voice reached the depths of my mind, sending shivers down my entire body. It was rough, almost gravelly. As if a broom was scraping broken glass.

My skin crawled at the sound of it.

Blink.

The world around me changed again.

I was back in my room.

I kept my eyes firmly open. Something told me, no I knew that if I were to blink again, I'd be back in that world.

'....What was that?'

I questioned myself, staring at my surroundings as I felt sweat drop down on the wooden floor beneath me.

My pulse quickened, and my chest started to rise and fall rapidly.

....I felt my eyes burn.

What was happening?!

There were so many questions in my mind that I wanted the answer to. However, if there was one thing that I knew the answer to, then it was that whatever that faceless person was, it was dangerous.

Extremel-

"....!"

My inner thought stopped the moment I noticed the fabric of the very space before me bend in the shape of a hand.

Blink.

The world changed again.

"Haa..."

All my instincts told me to run, and as I looked around the landscape before me, I felt a sense of helplessness as I realized.

All I saw were endless jugged rocks and mountains.

The air was cold and dry.

....There was nowhere for me to hide.

As if it could read my thoughts, a voice tickled my ears, sending shivers down my entire spine.

"There's nowhere for you to hide."

Blink.

I blinked again, in hopes of getting away again, but...

"That won't anymore. I've temporarily locked the space around us."

I remained in the world.

Blink. Blink.

Regardless of how hard I tried, I found myself unable to return back. Panic started to settle within my mind, but amidst the panic, I forced myself from showing any of it.

I couldn't allow fear to overtake my mind.

"Hmm, your mind is rather resilient."

The space before me folded, unveiling the faceless figure from before. Though I couldn't see its true appearance, I could tell that whoever the figure was, it belonged to a man.

Bedding the fabric of space as if it were a plastic wrap, he walked around me, closely observing me. Or more like sensing me?

It was hard to describe.

....From the way he moved, it didn't really seem as though he could actually see me. It was more like he could sense my presence.

Or was I overthinking things?

Either way, I refrained from making any irrational movement.

"You're a cautious one, aren't you?"

"....!"

The space next to me folded and a hand grasped onto my shoulder.

When did he...?

"Your heart is beating rather fast. Are you nervous?"

I swallowed my saliva.

"Oh? It's beating even faster now... Did my words scare you?"

"...."

"There's no need to be scared. I can't truly harm you. We're too far apart. The best I can do is seal the space for a few minutes. I just sensed a familiar smell coming from you. An intriguing one."

His gaze lowered towards the sword in my grasp where he leaned and sniffed slightly.

"Haa... Yes, a familiar smell."

In the blink of an eye, he was next to the sword, tracing his finger over its body.

"It feels the same length, but..."

With a sudden pause, the faceless man looked up.

"....It's been used. Hmm."

As if understanding something, the faceless man smiled.

"What an interesting thought."

His words confused me, but even as they did, I remained silent. My instincts told me that the less I spoke, the better things were for me.

But even then...

"Hmmm."

Appearing once again beside me, the hand went on to grasp my shoulder.

"The Consortium."

His voice echoed within the surroundings. Listening to the words he spoke, I remained quiet.

In the off-chance that he could hear me, I didn't want him to memorize my voice, or possibly reveal something I shouldn't have.

"...."

"No? Doesn't ring a bell?"

Looking a little disappointed, he continued.

"Hmm, then... Nocturne Order?"

"...."

Again, I kept my mouth shut.

He continued.

"Inverted Sky."

"....!"

All of a sudden, the atmosphere became oppressive.

My thoughts froze but I refrained from making any movements or sounds.

How did...

Just as I thought he had picked up something, he went on to say a different name.

"Stygian Cabal?"

"....?"

He didn't notice anything?

I was just about to sigh in relief when he let go of my shoulder and muttered,

"You must be in the Nurs Ancifa Empire."

My mind blanked at that moment. It was as if all thoughts had been stripped away from my mind, preventing me from thinking at all.

How...?

How did he know?

I had been quiet the entire time, so... How?

....I was able to hear the answer shortly after.

"The Consortium, Nocturne Order, Inverted Sky, Stygian Cabal..."

Listing the names again, he continued,

"They're the name of the organizations that I created."

"....!"

Yet again, my eyes widened.

But if that wasn't enough, the man continued.

"Each organization lies within one of the Empires. To the world, they are different, but to me, they're all the same. Why do you think I've named them differently?"

I swallowed my words but knew the answer.

'Because it's easier to figure out who is from who...'

"Because it's easier to figure out who is from who."

As if he could read my thoughts, he muttered the same words I muttered in my mind. All I felt were chills as sweat unknowingly started to build up by the side of my face.

The air felt suffocating, and I had to take each breath carefully.

"....It would've been problematic had you not known the name. However, there's still enough information for me to work with."

Casually blinking away, he appeared before me, walking around leisurely as he started to speak.

"The way we operate between each Empire is different. You see, we don't want to feel too similar between each Empire, do we?"

Pausing, he pinched his chin.

"Making them think they're all the same would defeat the entire point, wouldn't it?"

He flicked his head to face me.

"Between the four Empires, we made sure that within two, everyone, be it the commoners or high-ranking nobles knew about the organization."

I was quick on the uptake there. I instantly understood what he was trying to say, but even so, I remained silent as I listened to his words.

While I wasn't exactly sure why he was saying all of this, I knew that he had a goal in all of this.

For that very reason, I just listened and took in every word carefully.

"Had you not known any, then you were merely likely going to be a citizen of one of the other two Empires. The ones where we made sure to keep the organization under wraps with only a few knowing."

Suddenly, his empty smile widened.

".....You knew about the Inverted Sky. I felt it from the beat of your heart. That's the name of the organization that resides within the Nurs Ancifa Empire. And the fact that you know means that you're at least a noble. Hmm."

Falling into thought, the faceless figure walked around. The entire time, he exuded a demenour of casualness.

However, staring at him, I could only feel utter dread.

My entire body shivered under his presence as notifications flashed before my very eyes.

∎ Lvl 1. [Fear] EXP + 0.1%

∎ Lvl 1. [Fear] EXP + 0.01%

They just continued to flash before my eyes.

Never before had I experienced such terror in my life. Not even when I had first used my powers.

This was just...

Overwhelming.

"What are you thinking about?"

A soft whisper tickled my ear again as he appeared right beside me. I felt my body twitch at his touch. But even as I tried to distance myself from him, I found that my body refused to budge, almost as if it was glued on the spot.

"Hmm."

He appeared in front of me again. This time, with his wrist raised in a way that made it seem as though he was checking his time.

"Well, it looks like we're running out of time."

His head turned, and I met his empty face.

"Just so you know, I can't hear nor see you. I can only sense you. But you probably already figured that out."

Lowering his wrist, he smiled yet again as he pointed toward the sword in my hand.

"I'll be needing that real soon. Keep it well. I'll be coming for it soon."

Blink.

Blinking once, he appeared just a few centimeters away from me.

"....Oh, and don't think about running away."

My entire body tensed at his appearance. And especially his smile.

"You'll never be able to escape me."

Blink.

The scenery changed again.

This time, I was back in my dorm.

"....."

But even so, I held my breath back and looked around me. Touching the sofa, I made sure to check if everything was real.

For some reason, even though I knew that it was, I still felt the need to check.

I went on like this for ten minutes before sitting down on the sofa and setting the sword down.

"....."

I sat there without saying a single word.

Looking down, I saw that my legs were still tensed. My jaw too... Every part of my body was tense. Even as I looked around me and saw that nobody was present, there was still this nagging feeling at the back of my mind that made me grow wary.

Finally, I had found my voice.

"What just happened?"

It sounded unfamiliar to my mind as it came out hoarse.

"Where was I...? And why did he tell me everything?"

It made no sense. For what reason would he...

"Ah."

....But it also clicked inside of my mind.

The reason why he told me everything like that.

I covered my mouth and felt chills run down my body.In the chance that I was to spill everything out, then...

"He'll have a concrete idea of who I am."

It was a trap.

A carefully interwoven trap that one wouldn't be able to notice were they not paying extreme attention.

And the sense of dread that I felt intensified.

"This..."

I leaned back and stared at the empty ceiling.

All of a sudden, I felt the energy drain away from my body. Glancing at the sword that rested beside me, I had the urge to suddenly throw it away.

What if he could detect its presence and find it? What if...

"Haa."

I covered my eyes with my forearm.

The feeling that the faceless man gave off... It was one of utter helplessness. It felt as if there was nothing that I could do to stop him.

The fleeting sense of control that I had so desperately clung to in the past... It was utterly gone.

In its place was only helplessness.

Just who in the world was he?