Godfire: The Split Soul-Chapter 177: SSS Hunter: Yung Chin

Across the main court of Vamus College, leaves spun around at the center, landing softly as if they were fed up with life.

Inside the male dormitory that was reserved for Hunter System trainees, the bald silver-eyed boy stood at the front of a closed door, one hand tucked into the pocket of his trousers, the other holding a folded striped paper.

"Interesting night," he murmured, then turned, his silver eyes drifting toward the rain-lashed windows at the end of the hallway.

Standing behind a metal door fitted beneath a staircase that had long been abandoned by most people, he gave a subtle sigh, then pushed the door open.

Inside, old paper, damp wood, dust, and cloths that looked too old to still exist hung on the walls.

At the center of the room, a single lamp remained seated on a black table that seemed to melt, black liquid dripping from it and dropping on the floor like water.

Beside the table were three chairs. On each chair sat three men dressed in black robes and wearing horned masks.

The bald boy's expression remained calm, almost as if it were just a normal place meant for humans.

The fire in the lamp flared upward when one of the three pulled down his mask, just enough for his eyes to show.

"You came, Cyprus." Black's voice echoed from the mask, then blasted in the room like thunder.

Cyprus—the silver-eyed boy—shut the door behind him, then moved a step forward. "Your note lacked some details."

Black turned his head at an unnatural angle. "And you still came."

A smile tore on Cyprus's face as he glanced at the other two men, then turned back in Black's direction. "You rarely invite students into archive rooms for harmless reasons."

Black's head tilted back into a normal angle, his eyes darting from the boy's sleeves to his face. "That depends on your understanding of harmless."

A wide smile tore on Black's face as he gave the other two men a side look.

Cyprus stepped closer to the melting table. "What is it about, this time?"

The room's stillness increased as Black inhaled deeply, his eyes closing.

A water-splashing sound filled the room as he cracked his eyes open, slammed his palm on the table, and then stood up from the chair.

Black walked toward the shadow behind him. And at that instant, the place which seemed to hold nothing began to turn into a wooden shelf as the darkness swelled inward, almost as if it had been patiently waiting.

Black pulled out a black-blood book that instantly turned darker when he extended it to Cyprus.

"You called me for this book?" Cyprus threw a confused expression from the book to Black.

"I called you," Black paused, then moved back to the table, "…because you were one of the first students to look at the boy properly on his first day."

Cyprus's eyes widened, but it maintained composure, almost like an alien learning normal human emotions.

"So, this is about Yung Chin K." His voice brushed over the book as he lowered his head, inhaling.

Black tilted his gaze away from the boy, then focused on a chair that was packed at the far side of the room.

In a flash, the chair moved, as if an invisible arm was dragging it, then stopped by the table where no chair had been.

A deep, crooked voice popped out of the second man seated beside Black. "That is the name he enrolled under."

Cyprus looked up, his sharp eyes slicing through the room and landing on the masked man. "You say that like it isn't his real name."

Black glanced at his colleague, then tapped. The lamp's light flashed out, sending the room into thick darkness. "Open the book."

Cyprus hesitated, staring at the book with the night vision his silver eyes granted him. He placed his right palm on it, then followed the pulse of his heart.

A skin-splattering sound lanced through the room as Cyprus flipped the cover open.

Inside was a black-and-white sheet that seemed to rot unnaturally.

Then, as Black's tapping sound echoed again, words began to take shape in the rotten sheet after the lamp's light began to light the room again.

Cyprus blinked countless times as he saw details from the Hunter System Scanner. At every section he glanced at, more words appeared as if an invisible pen was writing them.

Subject: Yung Chin K

Status: Accepted

Recommendation: Conceal irregularity pending authority review.

Cyprus's eyes narrowed as he re-read the statement, then focused on the word 'Irregularity'.

"What kind of irregularity?" He lifted his gaze to Black.

Black's face remained calm, almost unreadable. "Read the rest."

Cyprus lowered his head, flipped the next page, then gave the sheet his full attention.

Basic resonance: ???

Hunter Compatibility: Locked.

Threat Level: Unable to classify.

Ancestral Ground: Unauthorized response.

System Remark: Subject Recognized.

Cyprus stopped, sweat dripping down his face. He lifted his head slowly, then looked at Black's brown eyes. "Recognized by what?"

Black's jaw shifted, then thinned. "The Hunter System."

Cyprus exhaled in an uncomfortable tone, shaking his head. "The Hunter System does not recognize people. It only evaluates. So how?"

For Cyprus, he had spent many years in college to know everything about the Hunter System, and deep down, with a clear understanding, he knew that wasn't possible.

While Cyprus's mind tried to bring things into meaning, footsteps echoed from behind the shelf the book had been taken from.

Out of the shadow, a hairy-faced man appeared, smiling. His appearance turned the room into chaos. Black and the two other masked men stood up and bowed, then greeted, "Welcome, Hunter Gile."

Cyprus, on the other hand, stood there, his bones cracking beneath his skin.

Gile's gaze slid to the flipped page that was still held under the grip of the boy's fingers. "Now you understand why your presence was requested."

Cyprus swallowed hard, then forced his bones to stop as he straightened. "Part of it?"

Black and the two men moved away from the table, then placed their hands behind their backs.

More of the melted portion of the table splashed on the ground as Gile moved two steps forward, almost as if the table itself was afraid of him.

Cyprus glanced at the details he had read, then turned his confused expression to the Hunter, swallowing every fear rising within him. "The system recognized Yung Chin K."

Gile gave a soft nod.

"How, and why?"

Gile looked at the bald boy, then smiled. "Because the system that governs Vamus College was not built merely to register students."

Gile turned his purple gaze to Black, then back at the bald boy. "Its oldest layers were designed to detect bloodline signatures tied to the founding Hunter branches and some restricted names."

Cyprus's fingers gripped the sheet harder. "Restricted names?"

Black crossed his palms in a prayer style. "When Yung Chin K was enrolled, the old layer was activated for less than two seconds before the modern system took over. Most of the officials didn't even notice."

"But someone did, right?" Cyprus asked in an unsettled tone.

"I did," Gile answered in a chilling tone. "And chose not to act too quickly without clear conclusions."

'Clear conclusions?' Cyprus thought, then locked his eyes on the Hunter. "So what was the name the system recognized?"

Gile stepped closer to the bald boy, then lowered a pale finger toward the book.

The sheets of the book went on flipping to the next until a dark sheet appeared with strange, inhuman sentences.

With the knowledge Cyprus had due to his easy understanding of language, he began to read the words.

Legacy access registry: Sealed.

Recognized Name: Yung Chin.

Status: Lost.

Associated file branch: Paternal archive.

Cyprus stared at the words like staring into the eyes of death. 'Yung Chin S. SSS-ranked Hunter.' The words looped in his head.

"So, the school already has records tied to the name Yung Chin," Cyprus whispered, then shook his head. "And the boy triggered it."

The tip of Gile's robes screeched against the black, flooded floor as he turned toward the table and sat in Black's chair.

Cyprus flipped the next page, found nothing, then focused on Black. "So, who was the original Yung Chin?"

A short, eerie laugh escaped Gile as he began to count his fingers, following the movement of the fire in the lamp.

"He was a man we once expected to return." His voice rolled low and went dry.

Cyprus closed the gap between him and the table, focusing on Gile's lips.

"He disappeared before his line could be closed. Before certain records could be completed. Before all our debts could be collected."

The fire in the lamp stopped moving, frozen, almost as if the name rambling beneath Gile's throat was a curse.

"His name was Yung Chin S. A Hunter of the SSS class, and a god among men."

Outside the abandoned archive, screams tore through the air as a bright light blasted, followed by deafening thunderstorms.