October 12th — 3:12 AM
Location: Class C Dormitories, Kaiser's Room
Perspective: Kaiser Everhart
The world was warm. Bright, vibrant, and absolutely perfect.
I was standing in the middle of a massive, state-of-the-art laboratory. The walls were pristine white, the tables were lined with top-tier alchemical tools, and standing before me was an incredibly wealthy, generic-looking noble with a briefcase full of unlimited platinum coins.
"Mr. Everhart," the noble smiled warmly, shaking my hand. "The Imperial Treasury has decided to unconditionally fund your research for the rest of your life."
I gasped, my cold, calculating demeanor instantly dissolving into pure joy.
"You will receive free electricity," the noble listed, opening the briefcase. "Free water. Free food, delivered three times a day. Free shelter in a secure underground bunker. Free clothes tailored to your exact measurements. Free raw materials for your experiments. Free magical crystals. Free books. Free heating. Free internet, and free cleaning services."
Tears of absolute, pure happiness welled up in my eyes. I clasped my hands together, staring at the noble as if he were an angel descended from the heavens.
"This is the happiest day of my entire life," I whispered, my voice trembling with raw emotion. "I love 'free'. 'Free' is my favorite word in the dictionary."
"Everything is free for you, Kaiser," the noble beamed.
"Will you also pay my taxes?" I asked hopefully.
"Yes! Free tax evasion!" he cheered.
I smiled so brightly my cheeks actually hurt. It was impossible for a day to get any better than this. I reached out to grab the briefcase of unlimited funding—
But then, the pristine white walls of the laboratory began to crack. The bright lights flickered and died. The smiling noble morphed, his face twisting and melting into the shadows as the entire happy dream violently shattered, plunging me into complete and utter darkness.
When the world materialized again, the happiness was gone.
I was standing in a dark, dimly lit room. The air smelled of gun oil, metallic shavings, and cold steel. The only source of light was a single, swinging incandescent bulb hanging directly over a heavy steel workbench.
I was standing at the bench. My hands—my bigger, adult hands—were moving with terrifying, mechanical precision.
I looked down.
What am I doing? I thought to myself, feeling like a passenger in my own body.
My hands grabbed a forged lower receiver, locking it firmly into a vice grip. I didn't even have to look as my fingers retrieved the trigger group, dropping the sear and disconnect perfectly into the milled pocket before driving the retention pins home with a punch.
Click. Clack.
The sound of metal snapping into place echoed in the dark room.
I picked up the upper receiver. My hands smoothly slid the bolt carrier group into the chamber, followed by the charging handle, locking it in with a satisfying, metallic shhhk.
I grabbed a 16-inch rifled barrel, sliding it into the upper receiver and torquing the barrel nut down perfectly. I slid the gas block and gas tube into position, securing them before sliding a sleek, tactical handguard over the assembly. Finally, I threaded the buffer tube onto the back of the lower receiver, snapping an adjustable stock into place.
I picked up the finished weapon, feeling the cold, perfectly balanced weight of it in my hands.
It's a magic-counter ranged weapon. my inner monologue deduced, staring at the mechanical masterpiece. It fires aldermite bullets at speeds that transcend basic magical barriers. But... how do I know how to assemble this so flawlessly?
The dream skipped forward.
Suddenly, I wasn't just standing at the bench.
I was dressing myself for war.
I pulled a black, flame-retardant combat shirt over my torso, followed by a heavy tactical plate carrier. I strapped Level IV ceramic ballistic plates into the front and back holsters. I snapped a tactical chest rig over it, filled to the brim with 5.56mm magazine pouches, flashbangs, and a tactical combat knife.
I pulled on a pair of hardened combat boots, strapping a drop-leg Kydex holster to my right thigh, dropping a suppressed sidearm into it. I slid heavy tactical gloves onto my hands.
I grabbed a black balaclava, pulling it over my head to conceal my identity, leaving only my cold blue eyes visible. Finally, I picked up a ballistic combat helmet equipped with a heavy communications headset and a set of quad-tube GPNVG-18 panoramic night vision goggles.
I snapped the helmet on, pulling the goggles down over my eyes.
Why am I wearing this? I asked myself, feeling the heavy, suffocating weight of the tactical gear.
This is some serious, military-grade equipment. The kind used by elite, specialized gear I had hypothetically designed myself back when I was still a child. But... why do I know the names of all this gear?
I picked up the assembled rifle, racking the charging handle.
I looked into a cracked mirror on the wall, staring at the terrifying, heavily armed soldier reflecting back at me.
My mouth moved on its own. I pressed a finger to the comms headset on my helmet.
"Prepare for combat." my voice whispered, cold, ruthless, and devoid of any childish innocence.
"Tonight, the empire shall burn."
I gasped, my eyes flying open.
I shot up in bed, my chest heaving as I desperately gasped for air. I scrambled backward until my back hit the headboard, my hands instantly flying to my chest, checking for the heavy plate carrier.
Nothing. I was just wearing my standard, soft cotton pajamas.
I looked around frantically. I was in my dorm room at the academy. The moonlight was filtering gently through the curtains. There was no workbench. There was no rifle.
I ran a hand through my messy black hair, my heart pounding violently against my ribs.
What happened to my happy dream? I groaned internally, utterly disappointed. I was finally getting my free tax evasion! What was that hyper-serious weapons dream?!
I let out a long breath, trying to calm my racing heart.
That weapon... the rifle... it felt so incredibly familiar.
I closed my eyes, digging through my memories. I remembered it now.
When I was a little boy in the decaying foundation, scribbling in my notebooks, I had drawn a blueprint of that exact same weapon.
I had called it the "M4A1".
Later in the orphanage with Elfie I had listed its blueprint but never got the chance to work on it.
But why? Back then, I didn't have the materials, the tools, or the mechanical engineering skills to actually build such a hypothetical magic-counter weapon. It was just a drawing from a child's imagination.
So why did I dream of assembling it perfectly just now? Why did I know the exact military nomenclature of every single piece of gear I was wearing? Level IV plates? GPNVG-18s?
None of that existed in the Asura Empire.
It was all my hypothetical designs from my past...
They can actually exist?
My brain is clearly stressed of the gala. Rubbing my temples. Maybe I should remove the lingering anxiety of this dream by building a bomb. Yeah. Some nitrogen grenades sound really fun and relaxing right about now.
I threw the blankets off, planning to get up and head to my desk to blow off some steam.
Bzzzt.
My phone vibrated on the nightstand.
I paused. I picked up the device, turning the bright screen on.
It was a text message. From Rose.
Kaiser, are you awake...?
I stared at the screen. It was past 3:00 AM. Why hadn't she slept? Was she still anxious about the political implications of the gala?
Yeah, I'm awake. I texted back quickly.
A few seconds later, three typing dots appeared on the screen, followed by a new message.
Can you talk to me..? I'm really scared... I had a nightmare.
I frowned, my fingers hovering over the keyboard.
What kind of nightmare?
A horrible one, she replied almost instantly. I dreamt I was kidnapped... hurt and injured in a cold cell. I was so scared. I couldn't even use my magic. It was so loud, Kaiser. I don't know how to feel anymore. I'm shaking.
I stared at the text.
Nightmares were common after near-death experiences, like the assassination attempt we had just survived a few hours ago. Her brain was likely processing the trauma.
Can I call you? she texted again.
Why me, Rose? I asked logically. Why not wake your mother? She is better equipped for emotional support.
There was a long pause. The three typing dots appeared, disappeared, and then appeared again.
Because I saw you there too... she finally sent. You rescued me.
My heart skipped a beat.
The terrifying, military-grade gear. The M4A1. The cold whisper,
'Tonight, the empire shall burn.'
My dream.
I'm calling you, I typed, immediately hitting the audio call button.
The magical frequency rang for barely a second before she picked up.
"Kaiser...?" Rose's voice was small, trembling, and completely broken. She sounded like she had been crying.
"I'm here, Rose," I said softly, leaning back against my headboard. "I'm listening. Tell me everything."
"It... it felt so real," she whimpered, her voice incredibly detached, almost as if she was dissociating from the memory.
"It didn't feel like a dream. It felt like a memory of something that actually happened to me. But it couldn't have."
"Take a deep breath," I guided gently. "Who took you?"
"I don't know," she sniffled. "They looked like foreign royalty... they ambushed my carriage. They killed all my companions. They dragged me out and beat me until I couldn't walk. Then they made me kneel in front of this... this horrible Prince."
I listened closely, my mind racing through thousands of variables.
"He laughed at me," Rose cried quietly. "He said the Valentine bloodline was weak. He said they were going to publicly execute me to send a message to the Asura Empire. But... they didn't kill me right away."
"Where did they take you?" I asked, my voice remaining calm and steady to ground her.
"A cellar," she whispered, her breath hitching. "It was so cold, Kaiser. They put this heavy metal collar around my neck... it suppressed all my mana. I couldn't spark even a tiny flame. They chained my hands to the wall. I was so helpless."
I clenched my jaw, a dark, protective anger bubbling in my chest.
"They only gave me one meal a day," Rose continued, her voice sounding frighteningly numb. "They threw it on the floor... and told me to eat like a dog. If I didn't, I starved. So I ate it. I ate it off the filthy floor because I just wanted to survive."
"You did what you had to do..." I reassured her.
"They interrogated me," she sobbed. "But they didn't even ask questions. They just... they just wanted to hurt me. They slapped me. They pulled my fingernails out one by one... and when I was dying from the pain, a healer would step in, heal my wounds, and then they'd start all over again."
My eyes widened in pure horror.
That's psychological and physical torture.
That's not a standard nightmare.
"I didn't fight back," Rose cried, the guilt pouring out of her. "I was too scared. When they... when they forcefully touched me while I was defenseless... I just... I didn't cry or scream at first. I just stared at the wall, waiting for it to end. I didn't understand why I was there. I just wanted it to stop..."
"Rose, listen to me." I said firmly, my voice cutting through her panic. "It was a dream... It's over now, okay?"
"I know... I know..." she sniffled, taking a deep, shaky breath. "Then... it was the last night. The night before they were going to publicly execute me. I was finally crying in my cell, alone in the dark. And then... the noises started."
"What noises?" I asked, my heart pounding as my own dream began to align with hers.
"Explosions," Rose whispered. "Massive explosions outside the palace. The ground was shaking violently. One of the cell guards ran down the stairs, screaming that it was raining bombs from the sky."
Breaching charges?
Air support.
"Then there were shouts," Rose described, her voice trembling with leftover fear. "And... and this sound I've never heard before. It wasn't magic. It wasn't the sound of fireballs or lightning. It was a sharp, repetitive popping sound. Rat-tat-tat-tat. It was deafening. Every time that sound echoed, I heard people screaming and dying."
Suppressed automatic gunfire.
"I heard heavy, synchronized boots running down the halls," Rose continued. "The guards panicked. Two of them came into my cell to move me somewhere else. But before they could even unlock my chains... the door exploded open."
I sat up straight in my bed, hanging onto her every word.
"One of the guards just... his head just jerked back, and he fell to the floor, dead," Rose gasped. "The other guard drew his sword and turned around, but before he could swing, there were three quiet pfft, pfft, pfft sounds, and he dropped dead too."
The double-tap drill.
"And then... the person who shot them walked in," Rose said, her voice dropping to a terrified whisper. "He was covered in blood. He was wearing this horrible, heavy black armor. He had these four green, glowing tubes over his eyes like some kind of monster. And he was holding this... this black metal weapon that spat fire."
A plate carrier.
GPNVG-18 panoramic night vision goggles.
The M4A1.
It was a perfect match to my dream.
"I was so terrified," Rose sobbed. "I crawled backward until my back hit the wall. I thought he was going to kill me too. I just started begging him."
"What did you say?" I asked quietly.
"I stuttered... I couldn't breathe," she cried. "'P-Please... please don't hurt me. I'll be quiet! I-I won't run away! Just p-please don't touch me! Don't kill me!'"
My heart shattered at the sound of her raw, broken pleas.
"But he didn't hurt me." Rose whispered. "He reached up... and he pulled the glowing green goggles off his face. And I saw his eyes. They were cold, icy blue... just like mine."
She paused, taking a shaky breath.
"It was you, Kaiser."
I was speechless.
My entire worldview was shifting, colliding with a reality I couldn't fully comprehend yet.
"You weren't alone," Rose continued. "There were others in the hall, dressed just like you. But you were the one who walked up to me. You shattered my magical chains with your bare hands. You had this weird ranged weapon... anyone you shot with it, they couldn't heal. They couldn't fight back. They just died instantly."
Because bullets are faster than incantations. Aldermite bullets absorb their mana... making healing useless. I realized grimly.
"You were so scary, Kaiser..." Rose cried softly. "But... you held my hand the entire time. You pulled me out of the cellar, through the burning palace, and you rescued me."
The line went quiet, save for the sound of her soft, exhausted sniffles.
"I woke up right after we got outside." Rose whispered. "I was so terrified. My heart is still beating so fast. I've never had a dream like that before. The torture... the weapons... it felt so real."
I sat in the dark, my mind reeling.
We both shared the same vision. The same nightmare.
"Rose, listen to me," I spoke, my voice softer, warmer, and far more genuine than the cold analytical tone I usually used. "It was just a dream. You are safe. You are in your bed, in the Asura Empire, and no one is coming to take you."
"I know..." Rose sniffled, though her breathing was starting to even out.
"And for the record," I added, staring at the dark ceiling. "I had the exact same dream right before I woke up. The weapons. The gear. The breach."
"You did?" she asked, sounding genuinely surprised.
"I did," I confirmed gently. "It was likely a shared psychological stress response to the Gala today. We did spend the entire night together. Our brains probably synchronized a trauma response."
It was a logical lie, but it worked. I could hear her letting out a long sigh of relief, the tension leaving her body.
"That makes sense," she whispered.
We fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments. The only sound was the faint static of the magical connection and her soft breathing.
But then, Rose spoke again, her voice incredibly vulnerable.
"Kaiser...?"
"Yes?"
"Even though I know it's impossible in the real world..." Rose started, hesitating. "What if... what if one day I actually did get kidnapped? By a foreign nation, or an enemy empire?"
I listened.
"What would you do?" she asked, her voice small. "Would you... would you help the empire try to negotiate my return? Or at least... would you care?"
It was a vulnerable question from a girl who had spent her entire life surrounded by political vipers and conditional love. She was unsure of my loyalty, simply because I was a cold, calculating machine most of the time.
My blue eyes narrowed in the dark.
"If anyone ever touches my sister." I said. "I will burn their empire to the ground."
Rose gasped softly on the other end of the line.
"I would not negotiate. I would not ask for help from the Asura Empire. I would not wait even a day..." I vowed coldly.
"I would walk into enemy territory alone. I would slaughter every single soldier, mage, beyonder and noble that stands in my way."
"Kaiser..."
"I would tear their palaces apart with my massacre." I continued ruthlessly. "I would scream 'WHERE IS MY SISTER?' until I find you. And if they even shed a single drop of your blood, Rose... I will end their entire bloodline. I will wipe their nation off the map."
I paused, letting the absolute certainty of my words sink in.
"That is why I'll bring war to those who hurt you."
There was a long, stunned silence on the other end of the line. And then, I heard a soft, watery laugh.
"You would do all that... for me?" she whispered affectionately.
"You are my sister," I stated simply. "And you need me."
"I do need you," Rose sniffled, her voice overflowing with warmth. "And I'm your sister, too, right? I'll look after you, Kaiser. I'll make sure no one ever hurts you either."
I smirked in the dark.
"Does looking after me include free electricity?" I asked, completely ruining the emotional moment.
"Huh?" Rose asked, confused.
"In my half of the dream, before the weapons showed up, a noble offered me free electricity, free food, and free tax evasion," I explained deadpan. "As my sister and future Empress, will you grant me these things?"
Rose burst into genuine, bubbly laughter. The fear from her nightmare was completely gone.
"Yessss!" she giggled happily. "I promise you'll get all the free tax evasion you want, Kaiser!"
"Excellent," I nodded in satisfaction. "Now, we should both go back to sleep. You have exams to deal with, and I have a caloric deficit to recover from."
"Okay," Rose smiled softly. "Goodnight, Kaiser. And... I love you, brother."
I was slightly surprised by the sudden, open affection.
I hadn't heard those words directed at me in a very, very long time. But I didn't overthink it.
I just smiled.
"I love you too, my little sister." I replied warmly.
The call ended with a soft click.
I placed the phone back on my nightstand and laid back against my pillows, staring up at the ceiling.
We shared the exact same dream.
Was it a coincidence? Did our mana actually synchronize to create a shared hallucination? Or... have we experienced this before? In another life?
I closed my eyes, running through the military gear from the dream.
The M4A1 Carbine. Level IV Ceramic Plates. GPNVG-18s. The FAST Ballistic Helmet. Flashbangs. Suppressors. The Kydex Holster. The Plate Carrier. Combat Boots. The Comms Headset.
10 pieces of highly advanced, non-magical, modern military equipment.
I made blueprints of them in the orphanage long ago. I confessed to myself in the dark. I knew it was theoretically possible to craft a semi-automatic rifle with Aldermite bullets to kill anyone. It was during the tragedy when Elfie was abducted by the cult... I was desperate to save her. I designed those weapons to kill mages without relying on mana.
I even called them the "Mage-Killers."
But it didn't come to that. I hadn't needed to build them. She was safe when I tracked her down using my intellect and traps.
That was all that mattered.
Even so.
Why did I share... the exact same dream as my twin sister?
I closed my eyes, the cold, icy blue eyes from the vision flashing in my mind.
I don't know...
*
Perspective: Rose Valentine
Location: Academy Dorms, Rose's Room
Sometimes I feel like I'm not normal... what is normal anyway, right? I guess I'm just like everyone else. I get these strange, overwhelming thoughts sometimes, and I keep them to myself because I don't want anyone thinking I'm a weirdo. I wonder if everyone gets strange thoughts but just doesn't want to admit it.
I rolled over onto my stomach, kicking my legs up in the air as I buried my burning face into my silk pillow. I was blushing so hard my cheeks felt like they were on fire.
I didn't tell him... I didn't tell him how I really felt after he said those things.
I think we all get strange thoughts. You want to know what kind of thoughts I get? Well, I can't tell you, because it's too embarrassing. It is. I just can't. I mean, do you ever have a thought where your mind just wanders off into some unknown world, and it captivates you for a minute or two, and then suddenly you snap out of it because you realize it's a messed up thought?
That was exactly what was happening to me.
I didn't tell him that the way he promised to protect me felt so surreal... so incredibly genuine.
I squeezed my pillow tighter, a massive, goofy smile plastered across my face.
This isn't at all where I pictured us being a few days ago. It feels like I've been in a constant state of waiting when it comes to Kaiser. Waiting for him to accept me. Waiting for him to trust me. All I've ever wanted from him was confirmation and reassurance that he actually cared, but it was so hard to find because we were strangers. But now I know we're twins... and I love him so much, which is why it took me so long to see past his cold, calculating exterior.
But tonight... hearing him say he would burn the empire down for me? Hearing him say he would slaughter anyone who stood in his way, just to find me?
My heart fluttered wildly in my chest.
I know if he wanted to, he could actually do it. With his intellect and his capabilities, he could become the terrifying monster I saw in that dream. But hearing him vow to do it in person... it felt completely different...
I giggled softly into my pillow, rolling onto my back and pulling out my phone.
There were dozens of pictures circulating on the elite social networks from the Founder's Day Gala. I scrolled through them, my smile widening as I found several high-quality magical photographs of our dance together.
In the picture, Kaiser was looking at me with those cold, sharp blue eyes, while I was smiling up at him, entirely captivated. We looked so perfect together.
I quickly tapped the screen, setting the picture of Kaiser and me dancing as my phone's wallpaper.
So cute. I beamed, staring at the screen.
But as I stared at his face, my smile slowly began to fade, replaced by a deep, profound sadness that seemed to echo from a place far beyond my current life.
Why did you say we'll meet in a different life at the end of the dream...? I asked myself, my thumb gently tracing his cheek on the screen.
After everything... after you slaughtered everyone in that horrible palace... you saved me, but you couldn't save yourself...
My mind drifted back to the dark, hazy memories that had been locked away inside me since before I was even born.
I held memories even in the womb...
I had a wondrous memory... I remember those voices. The doctors. The mages. They were telling me to let you go. They were trying to erase you. But I felt you disappearing when I let go.
I knew you'd disappear forever...
So I held you in my hand... I held onto you as tightly as I could... till we were separated. You were thrown into the Decaying Foundation, and I was taken home, trained underground in the dark...
I pulled the phone to my chest, staring up at the grand, painted ceiling of my bedroom.
Was this a second chance? I wondered, the strange, disjointed memories of my past lives blending together with my present reality.
Are we meant to fix what we couldn't before?
I closed my eyes, letting out a soft, shaky breath.
I don't know...
*
[Author & Narrator Note]
Can second chances truly exist in a world bound by tragedy?
Was it simply a bad dream born from shared trauma... or were those vivid, blood-soaked visions glimpses of a forgotten past? A memory of a life that once was, or a cruel premonition of a fate yet to come?
Dear readers, Asura Academy will be going on a short break for a few weeks! During this hiatus, I'll be working on a special IF Story exploring this very possibility.
Keep an eye on my profile—the first chapter of this alternate universe side-story will be dropping in just a few days. Prepare yourselves to dive into an alternate reality where the past was the present, and the rules of the world were written in steel and gunfire.
Thank you all for the incredible support, and see you in the IF story!