Evelyn walked slowly through the dim corridor of the library annex, the leather strap of her satchel digging into her shoulder. Her eyes burned from hours of reading mana theory, bloodline records, and old hunter journals. None of it helped.
Infinite Replication.
That was what Athena called it. But no book explained what that meant. There were replication arts, duplication illusions, and mimic spells... but none were infinite. Her ability didn’t fit into any known type.
She exhaled softly, stepping out into the wide stone corridor lined with tall glass windows. The morning sun poured through them, golden and silent, illuminating drifting specks of dust.
She didn’t even need to look up to know who it was.
Garrick Thorn stood there, leaning against a pillar with one leg crossed over the other, arms folded, head tilted just slightly as he watched her with those cold grey eyes. His uniform was crisp as always, a silver pin of House Thorn gleaming on his chest.
"Well, if it isn’t the academy’s favourite pity project," he said softly, his voice curling around each word like a blade sliding from its sheath.
Evelyn kept her head down, trying to walk past him.
He moved instantly, stepping into her path, forcing her to stop. Her heart thudded hard against her ribs, anger and fear mixing like poison in her veins.
"Move, Garrick," she said quietly.
He smirked, tilting his head as he pretended to look thoughtful. "Move... no, I don’t think I will. You know, I’ve been thinking about you a lot since the party. Since that night."
She stiffened. Her fingers tightened around her satchel strap.
Garrick’s eyes darkened, the smile fading as anger flickered behind his gaze. "Do you think you’re something now, Evelyn? Just because you’re Class Zero? Just because you got that boy to fight your battles for you?"
"Leave me alone," she said, trying to step to the side.
He moved with her, mirroring her step perfectly.
"You think Class Zero makes you untouchable?" he whispered. "That boy... Lucian, right? He’s not always gonna be around. And when he’s gone, you’ll still just be Evelyn Merrin. Little nobody girl from a third-branch family."
"Garrick, stop it," she said, her voice shaking. "I don’t want to do this."
His hand shot out, grabbing her wrist hard. She gasped, wincing at the pain as his fingers dug into her skin.
"You’re going to listen to me," he hissed. "You’re going to remember who you were before all this. Before Class Zero. Before your pathetic little awakening."
She tried to pull back. "Let me go—"
He tightened his grip, pulling her closer until their faces were inches apart. His breath smelled faintly of mint and bitter mana tonic.
"No," he said softly. "Not until you learn some respect."
Her heart raced so fast it made her dizzy. She tried to yank her arm away again, but he didn’t budge. Tears stung her eyes as anger burned through her chest.
"Stop... just stop... please..."
Garrick laughed, low and cruel. "What’s wrong, Evelyn? Don’t you have your little clone trick? Why don’t you use it on me?"
He ignored her, his other hand reaching up to grab her chin roughly.
"That’s right," he said, smirking. "Look at me when I’m talking to you—"
And then something snapped.
The fear, the trembling, the tears—it all burned away in a single breath, leaving only cold, blinding fury.
Her hand shot up, grabbing his wrist so hard his smirk faltered instantly.
Her eyes glowed faint silver as mana surged through her veins. A flicker. A pulse. Something shifted deep inside her chest, like a lock clicking open for the first time.
[Ability Replication – Lightning Descent: Permanent Acquisition]
Garrick’s eyes widened.
Her body moved on its own, reacting to his instinctive flinch as he tried to pull back. Mana crackled around her legs, bright white arcs crawling up her skin with sharp electric snaps.
A loud CRACK tore through the hallway as Evelyn reappeared behind him in a flash of lightning. The stone floor scorched where she had stood, the scent of ozone filling the corridor.
Garrick stumbled forward, his wrist released, eyes wide with shock.
She turned slowly, hair drifting in the residual static. Her breathing was ragged, her eyes glowing faintly as arcs of electricity licked her arms and legs.
He spun to face her, his expression twisted with confusion and rage.
"How did you do that?! That’s my ability! That’s Lightning Descent! That’s a Thorn bloodline skill—you can’t just—"
She stepped forward, her footfalls silent despite the sparks flickering under her boots.
"Don’t touch me again," she said softly.
Garrick grit his teeth, his hand trembling as mana gathered along his skin. "You—!"
He lunged at her, fist crackling with lightning.
Evelyn didn’t move. Didn’t flinch.
She simply raised her hand and, in the same instant, disappeared again with another deafening CRACK of thunder.
She reappeared beside him, her palm slamming against his chest. The force wasn’t enough to injure him—but the burst of electricity that exploded from her touch sent him sprawling across the corridor, crashing into a bookshelf with a loud bang. Ancient tomes rained down on his head as he lay gasping, stunned by the current still dancing across his nerves.
The mana lights flickered above them as Evelyn stood there, her breathing ragged, static curling through her hair and shimmering around her fingers.
Garrick groaned, trying to sit up, but his arms gave out. His hair stood in wild spikes from the static, his eyes wide with terrified disbelief.
She looked down at him, her chest rising and falling with each shuddering breath.
"Don’t come near me again," she whispered.
He didn’t answer. Couldn’t. His limbs twitched weakly, his eyes glassy.
Her knees felt weak, her head spinning as the mana settled back into her veins, the arcs fading into faint glimmers before disappearing completely. She stumbled a little as she walked away, one hand clutching her satchel strap, the other still trembling with leftover voltage.
But for the first time since her awakening, Evelyn felt something deep in her chest that wasn’t fear.
It wasn’t power, either.
It was... understanding.
Replication... it’s not just copies...
Her eyes burned with quiet tears as she stepped into the sunlight streaming through the far windows.
I... I can take what’s theirs... make it mine... forever...
She exhaled shakily, her hair drifting across her cheek in the cold morning breeze seeping in from the library’s outer arches.
Behind her, Garrick Thorn lay crumpled on the marble floor, staring at the ceiling with blank, terrified eyes.
And Evelyn Merrin walked away, lightning still echoing faintly in her veins, her steps silent against the stone as she disappeared into the rising sun.
Because for the first time—
She wasn’t running away.
She was walking toward something.