The manager blinked, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing, then muttered:
"That's impossible."
He looked back at Dan, who was still looking at the number without saying anything.
"This changes everything," the principal said quietly, as if he was talking to himself. "This talent is so advanced that it's almost supernatural. It might be the reason the Void Assassin was created."
He looked at Dan again, but this time his eyes showed a different emotion: concern, interest, and maybe even a hint of fear.
"Dan, from now on, nobody must know this. Not even your colleagues, no one, and I'll handle it myself."
Dan paused, then asked:
"Am I in danger?"
The director replied without hesitation, sounding firm:
"You are in a very dangerous situation. From now on, you will be protect until I say otherwise."
He pressed a button on his desk, and the door opened. A knight of the academy, wearing a shield with the elite emblem, entered.
The director walked up to him and said in a clear voice:
"You will protect him at all times. Now take Dan to his room, gather his things, and then move him to the part of the academy where I live.
His safety is your top priority. Protect him with your life."
The knight showed respect by bowing, and he replied in a steady voice.
Dan left the principal's office with the knight, who hadn't said a word since he received the order. He didn't say anything, and his steps were quick and steady, like he was in a state of emergency, but he didn't say what the emergency was.
Dan didn't say anything either, thinking hard.
"I'm in danger. The Void Assassin was already following me, but why now?"
He looked upset as he thought:
"Maybe it's because I used the space element... but I went back in time. Can he know that?"
As he kept thinking, they reached the hallway leading to the student rooms. Dan saw some students whispering and looking at him strangely. It was unusual to see an elite knight with a student.
Dan opened the door to his room slowly. He was thinking about many questions. But what he saw inside made him stop. He felt like his heart was going to come out of his body.
There was a creature standing in the center of the room. It wore a torn black robe that looked like a cloak of shadows, and its face was hidden, as if the darkness had taken over its features. Nearby, there was a headless corpse.
Dan froze, then muttered in shock:
"Cain...".
The body belonged to one of his colleagues. He felt a stab of pain in his chest.
But what surprised him even more was not the dagger the Void Assassin used. It was the bracelet on his right hand. It was the same bracelet Dan had been wearing.
The knight immediately started running, his sword cutting through the air, but the Void Assassin didn't move. He suddenly appeared in front of the knight, as if he had skipped in time.
With his left hand, he stabbed the knight in the chest.
The knight was shocked and surprised when he coughed up blood and looked at the Void, not believing what he was seeing. There was a hole in his chest... Then, suddenly, he stopped moving.
He died.
The Void Assassin took his hand out of the knight's body, and the bracelet disappeared from his wrist... only to be replaced by a dagger.
Dan stood there, shocked, and his body was shaking from the horror of what he had just seen. He tried to pull out his sword, but he couldn't. He wasn't stopped by fear; he was stopped by helplessness.
He looked at his hand, but it wasn't there.
He looked down, his face showing pain... his right arm was lying on the ground, cut off at the shoulder.
"Aaah!!!"
Dan screamed in pain, holding his shoulder that was shaking uncontrollably.
The Void Assassin moved closer and grabbed Dan by the neck, lifting him up off the ground.
Dan tried to look at his face, but he couldn't see anything. There was no face at all. It's just darkness, like a hole in the fabric of the world.
Then, Dan heard a sound. It was something breaking.
He broke his neck.
And just like that...
Dan died