The rtionship between humans and dark beings was one-way. This was a matter of fate, a concept not difficult to understand.
‘Humans can be dark beings, but dark beings cannot be human.’
This was a very simple and clear axiom as well as an unchangingw.
In this context, the term human included most of the intelligent races in the world.
Elves, beastmen, dwarves, and any intelligent being capable of using magic. Those who possessed emotions and rational thought.
Any being capable of using magic, whether it was a squirrel or a dog, could make a contract with the otherworld, offering their heart and turning their mana to ck.
In exchange for offering their heart, the mage transcended their natural abilities and gained extraordinary power and knowledge, and became attuned to the mysteries of the otherworld.
There was even a famous story about a certain mage who, in his curiosity while researching the Persona Gate, made a contract with a powerful Persona, but couldn''t withstand it and lost all of his knowledge and rationality.
However, obtaining great power required mages to sacrifice more than just their heart.
In many cases, they also sacrificed their emotions and even their rationality, losing the ability to live as humans.
They must consume the hearts of their original species before bing dark beings in order to survive.
For instance, a dark being born from an elf must consume the hearts of elves, and one born from a human must consume the hearts of humans.
There was an extremely rare exception.
With an abysmal 0.000001% probability, a child born between a dark being and a different species did not need to consume hearts to survive and was said to be born with both the dark being’s and human’s powers, and potentially stronger than both.
However, this story was nothing but a legend since no one had actually witnessed such a case.
Because dark beings were incapable of reproduction.
Even if such offspring were born, they would likely be killed at birth.
Dark beings did not wish to ept into their society those who were weak enough to breed with mere humans.
‘This covers the traits of the species.’
The Witch King.
Or the Sorcerer of Seasons.
Or the Worst Witch.
Or the mentor of the Green Tower Master.
Or... ‘Scarlet Maiden.’
Her milky white hair and golden eyes formed a stark contrast to her fierce name, Scarlet. She slowly processed and researched the knowledge stored in her mind.
Every race has its inherent racial traits. Elves were known to prefer vegetarianism, dwarves were skilled with their hands, and humans tended to form social groups.
However, these traits were not absolute and could vary depending on the individual.
For example, in the past century, thanks to a peculiar elf who enjoyed meat, many young elves started to enjoy eating meat.
There have also been dwarves who neglected their craftsmanship and focused solely on magic, as well as humans whopletely shut themselves off from society.
Depending on personal tendencies and external circumstances, these racial traits could change at any time.
But there was one thing that didn’t change.
The Fate of the Race.
The Mauro tribe, for instance, was born with an extraordinary trait—every individual was born with magic power at or above ss 3.
However, this trait came with a fatal w: they could never reach beyond ss 8, and if they didn’t reach ss 7 by the time they turned 50, they would disintegrate into mana and scatter into the air.
While the Mauro tribe thrived for a time due to their natural strength, over time fewer individuals were able to reach the seventh ss. As a result, the tribe went extinct 500 years ago, leaving only remnants of their civilization.
That was the fate of a race—an unchangeable, absolutew that no earthly being can alter.
Scarlet stared at Ane. She didn’t even bother to settle the fine hairs that stood on end.
Thud!
"What, what is this…!"
“Wait, wait a minute…!"
The first-year students from Ste, who were disguised as the vige people, dropped their staff and started to back away.
Were they scared?
Half of it was right, and half was wrong.
“I... Am human...”
The grotesque, ck, liquid-like form that had enveloped Ane began to peel away, revealing the small and innocent appearance of a young girl hidden inside.
The magic used by Scarlet on them wasn’t particrly special.
She had cast a suggestion on Ane’s eyes to make the Ste students appear as vigers, and had inserted Yu-Seol’s talisman into her heart, forcing her true appearance to be revealed.
In other words, it suppressed the Dark Mage’s appearance, which had been hidden through Dark Magic Suppression, making it impossible for her to hide her true form from them.
Having never seen the true form of a Dark Mage before, the Ste students merely thought of Ane as a monster, and naturally, they tried to hunt her down.
But now, that grotesque form of the Dark Mage was breaking apart and scattering.
Her sweat-soaked hair clung to her cheeks, and her small, delicate features were revealed.
No matter who looked at her, they would call her beautiful, angelic even. As Ane’s true, innocent form emerged from the monstrous exterior, the effect was magnified, and the Ste students instantly lost their will to fight.
No. That wasn''t it.
Scarlet shook her head. Her perfect spell could never break.
It was just that Ane’s true form had been revealed... It transitioned from the hideous Dark Mage to that of a human.
Something was wrong.
A Dark Mage’s true form couldn’t be that of a human.
That simply...
It simply couldn’t happen.
The world wasn’t meant to work that way.
Thud!
A loud, snapping sound echoed in the witch''s ears.
It wasn’t some yful metaphor like a ‘string of reason’ breaking.
It was one of the countless cogs that made up thews governing this world, intricately linked to create the story of this universe. One of those small but critical cogs had just crumbled.
A tinyw had been broken.
‘Water flows from higher ground to lower ground,’ or ‘The world will end in ten years’—importantws like these hadn''t changed.
However, the seemingly minorw that ‘Dark Mages can never be human’ had been shattered, falling out of the framework that held the world together.
Scarlet dropped her broom and covered her mouth with both hands as sheughed.
Her entire body broke out in goosebumps. It felt like her mind had been blown wide open.
Not even a ss 9 mage, the Twelve Divine Moons, divine beasts, dragons, or even the Progenitor Mage could aplish such a thing.
And yet, one mere boy had not only toyed with fate but had alsopletely shattered one of the fundamentalws of the world.
Scarlet hastily sought out Baek Yu-Seol’s location. He had just arrived near the vige by walking down a remote path with Hong Bi-Yeon.
Baek Yu-Seol had likely seen the guideline message. If he had wanted to, he could have arrived at this ce right away.
Scarlet had expected him to do so.
In fact, it appeared like Baek Yu-Seol had been moving quickly at first. At that pace, she had thought he would reach the vige in about three hours.
But surprisingly, even after the other first-year students arrived, Baek Yu-Seol didn''t show up. He only reached the vige after three whole days had passed and after Ane had already be human.
At that moment, Scarlet felt a strange sense of bewilderment.
She had set up this small stage, this Persona Gate, specifically to test Baek Yu-Seol.
But the boy hadn’t moved ording to her n. Instead, he took his time, leisurely made his way here, and only arrived after everything had been resolved.
It was as if... He had intentionally dyed his arrival just to mock her.
A bitterugh escaped her lips.
For hundreds of years, Scarlet had lived as a witch. She had even manipted ss 9 mages like puppets. And now, someone was running free, outside her carefullyid chessboard. The situation was both shocking and unfamiliar to her.
“What’s going on?”
“... Those are the other students.”
Baek Yu-Seol and Hong Bi-Yeon finally joined the group of 10 students. The moment Baek Yu-Seol saw Ane, his eyes widened in shock.
"Ane? What is she doing here?"
He hurriedly ran over, sher the magic binding Ane with his sword, and hugged her while checking her pulse. He could feel that she was barely hanging on.
The other students noticed Baek Yu-Seol''s reaction. They were confused and asked.
"Baek Yu-Seol, do you know her?"
"Uh... Yeah. She was an exchange student during the summer break."
"What?"
"Wait! How can a real person be inside the Persona Gate?"
"When we came in, it was just us. How did she get in...?"
While the other students were shocked for different reasons, Baek Yu-Seol was in disbelief for another.
''What is this...?
[Currently, the ‘Dark Mage''s energy'' has beenpletely removed from ''Ane.'']
[Species: Human.]
[Confirmed to be 99% human.]
Her appearance hadn''t changed at all; it was just that the dark mana had disappeared, leaving Ane fully human.
It wasn’t supposed to be this time yet.
The process of turning Ane back into a human was supposed to be arduous, requiring a significant investment of time and preparation.
He had been too busy to pay any attention to her, and now, without him doing anything, Ane had returned to being human on her own.
''Could this also be a butterfly effect?''
As he absentmindedly brushed her cheek, Ane''s eyebrows trembled, and she slowly opened her eyes.
"... Ah."
A faint smile appeared on Ane’s lips.
"Hello..."
"Wait. Don’t talk just yet."
As Baek Yu-Seol searched for a healing potion, Ane lost consciousness again. Someone behind him lightly tapped his arm.
"Step aside,moner."
"Huh? Why..."
"Emergency treatment kit."
"Ah..."
As Hong Bi-Yeon lifted the pure white first aid kit, Baek Yu-Seol spread out a care nket with recovery functions on the ground and gentlyid Ane on it.
Once Hong Bi-Yeon started treating her, even the other students, including Ban Di-Yeon who had been silently watching from behind, rushed over to help with Ane''s treatment.
Fortunately, although Ane had lost a lot of blood, her injuries weren''t fatal, and with enough care, she could recover.
After the students finished treating her, wiping the sweat from their brows, a Persona Gate guideline message appeared in the air.
[The girl who wanted to be human spent many lonely nights in the forest, crying because of her hideous appearance.]
[She yearned for the love of the vigers, but what she received in return was abuse and hatred.]
[In the end, the girl passed away on a cold winter night, buried under fallen leaves and snow in a ce unknown to anyone...]
That was the original story.
[Congrattions!]
[You have sessfully rewritten the ''Shadow Cast by the Wind'' into a beautiful story!]
[May the girl who achieved her dream of bing human find happiness in that world.]
[The world is now closing.]
The sky darkened, and the space around them began to fade.
The Persona Gate was fully closing.
They had sessfully conquered the Danger Level 3 Persona perfectly.
Baek Yu-Seol exchanged nces with Hong Bi-Yeon and awkwardly smiled.
"In the end, we took our time and didn’t do much, huh?"
"... Sorry."
"No need to apologize. We still had a fun time, right?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Baek Yu-Seol smiled as if it was no big deal, and Hong Bi-Yeon nodded, smiling along with him.
In the end, she couldn''t bring herself to say ‘me too,’ and swallowed the words back down her throat.
Not yet... She didn''t have the courage to say it just yet.
"Let’s head back."
As Baek Yu-Seol carried Ane and started leaving the Persona Gate, the witch, who was watching her own figure fade along with the world, sighed in regret.
Since her true body couldn''t move, the witch had summoned an illusionary clone to act in her stead.
However, after creating a small Persona Gate and toying with the talisman, she ended up exhausting too much mana, leaving herpletely drained of energy.
Smiling faintly, the witch took onest look at Baek Yu-Seol who was carrying Ane in his arms.
If he’s able to change not just small fates, but even grand destinies...
With that, the witch''s figure fully vanished along with the Persona Gate.