The weather over Vija Academy had taken a strange turn.
Not the thunderstorm kind of strange. More like the sky itself had caught a bug. The clouds moved in odd, almost circular patterns. The light from the sun flickered once, like a faulty mana lamp. Students began whispering. Birds didn’t fly. Even the wind paused to listen.
Jay, of course, was asleep.
He was lying flat on the academy rooftop, eyes closed, sandwich half-eaten in one hand, the other tucked under his head. His system panel flickered faintly in the air next to him—just soft enough to be mistaken for a heat shimmer.
Across the rooftop, Rei sat in absolute silence.
Not his usual brooding silence.
This one felt... heavy. Like he was bracing for a storm only he could see.
Jay cracked one eye open.
"...You glitchin’ again?"
He stared at Rei for a moment. The guy was sitting stiffly upright, hands on his lap, eyes open but unfocused. A faint blue glow pulsed behind his irises.
Jay sighed. "Y’know, for someone sent to assassinate me, you’re way too dramatic about it."
That was when Jay noticed something new.
Rei’s hand. It was trembling. Barely perceptible, but definitely not voluntary.
Jay sat up slowly, brushing crumbs from his uniform. "Alright. What’s going on in that overclocked head of yours?"
He stood, walked toward Rei, and waved a hand in front of his face.
But not toward Jay. Not toward anything.
He stood straight up—rigid, unnatural. Like a puppet being pulled by invisible wires.
His eyes glowed completely now, drowning in pale blue static. A deep hum filled the air.
A HUD screen flashed briefly beside him. Jay didn’t catch the whole thing, but he saw two words:
Jay frowned. "Well. That can’t be good."
And then Rei raised his arm.
His palm began to glow—energy crackling wildly in a tight, unstable sphere.
Jay’s instincts screamed, but he didn’t move. He didn’t need to.
Because Rei didn’t attack.
Instead, Rei’s arm shook. His legs buckled.
And then—his palm slammed into the rooftop beside Jay, carving a half-meter crater in the stone.
Jay just stood there.
"...You’re seriously having a breakdown right now?" he asked quietly.
Rei’s body spasmed once.
Then fell to its knees.
He clutched his own head, blue sparks flashing across his skin, flickering like a corrupted spell rune.
From behind him, Jay could hear students gasping through the fence.
Alicia had just arrived, sword half-drawn, scanning the rooftop like a hawk.
"What happened?! Is he attacking you?" she demanded.
Jay shook his head. "No. I think..."
He looked down at Rei.
"...He’s attacking himself."
Later That Night – Clock Tower Shadows
Far above, unnoticed by all but the most sensitive magical sensors, a tear in the sky flickered open for exactly six seconds. A circle of glowing symbols rotated silently in the clouds.
An invisible voice whispered.
> "Dreamer Protocol Phase II deployed."
"Subject-03 remains active."
"Unit Rei is destabilizing."
"Observe. Record. Adjust."