"What... Ashra?" Again Kenji shouted, but his voice was swallowed by the emptiness.The screens shifted, scrolling with ancient data as if reading his very soul.[Over thousands of years, you have carried a Blood-Bound Contract within your veins. Before your previous death, you foresaw the betrayal. You knew one of the gods forsook you. You knew your memories would be wiped clean upon rebirth.]A new screen flared a deep, visceral crimson, larger than the others.[To circumvent the gods, you sacrificed your own blood to forge this contract. It was designed for one purpose: Rebirth. It is the vessel for your lost memories and your true power.]The thrumming grew louder, vibrating in Kenji's bones.[We are the Architects of that Contract. We are here to guide and train you, young master, until you fully reclaim yourself.]Kenji looked around at the pulsating screens, his eyes wide with confusion. He wasn't sure if he could believe the words of this mysterious System. He recalled the las

Azure repeated softly, "Your eyes... you welled with tears for the remaining minutes you sat in meditation."From behind, Genz stood at the doorstep with her arms folded, having gone unnoticed the entire time. She had felt a rush of energy surging through Kenji over the last few minutes. She couldn't pinpoint the source, but judging by the scene before her, something didn't add up.Unconscious, welling in tears, and a sudden burst of energy, she thought, a smirk tugging at her lips. Without a word, she turned and disappeared into the depths of the basement.Kenji rubbed his eyes. To his surprise, a sheen of moisture coated his arm. Looking down, he saw the damp spots where his tears had soaked into his sleeve. He snapped his head up to look at Azure."Uh, what happened? And you—your eyes!"Azure's eyes widened, and she took a hasty step back. She hadn't realized her own emotions had reacted so visibly to his state. "Uhm, it's nothing! Nothing!" she stammered, hurrying toward the exit.

Soon, Cornell called for the attention from the seated audience that went completely silent after seeing the man dragged out. They sat calmly and in laser focus at the forefront. Meanwhile, what happened still remained unclear to the judges and most audience, but once some heads turned to some ranking association members seated among them, a chill ran down their spine, sensing the tension. Barr Cornell finally addressed Lyhan: "Vice Captain Lyhan, you can stand down. Your testimony establishes his former identity. Now, we move to the central issue." Lyhan, already boiling in rage at the crowd's insolence, yelled loudly, "I said he is him!" She stepped forward to the center where Kenji was standing sluggishly, constrained by the chains and the dampening monoto-device. She clutched Kenji's arm tightly and felt his dullness but ignored it. A white aura—Lyhan's specific Essence—enveloped her palms as she scratched Kenji's thumb with a specialized tool hidden in her glove. A tip o