CHRONOS SYSTEM

Walking through the crowded sidewalks were Kealin, Max, and Lena, the evening sun casting long shadows as they made their way home from school.

"What do you think happened to them?" Max asked. Although he didn't care about most things, when it came to saving a life, he'd give his all. Lena shook her head and said, "I don't know."

Max then glanced at Kealin. "What about you, Kea-kun? You've been awfully quiet ever since you saw the poster." But Kealin didn't respond, his mind clearly elsewhere.

"Kea, you okay?" Lena asked as she had also noticed Kealin's change in attitude. Concern flickered across her features as she studied his distant expression.

"Could it be that he knows something about those three?" Lena's mind wavered as she considered the possibility. "But Kealin isn't the kind of person that would do such a thing," she thought, though doubt began to creep in. Could he really not be who he claimed to be?

Kealin snapped out of his daze and said, "Oh, I'm fine. I was just lost in thoughts."

"Yeah, we noticed," Max replied, clearly unconvinced.

It wasn't that Kealin knew anything about the missing girls—it was that he was currently discussing with Chronos the possibility of their disappearance being related to supernatural activities.

"It's not impossible," Chronos shared his thoughts with his master. "After all, I have sensed a lot of powerful people among your seniors, and I don't mean in terms of physical strength."

"I believe we should investigate for more insight."

"Alright, where do we start?" Kealin asked, determination evident in his voice. He wasn't going to let this case go.

"Mana."

"Mana?" Kealin was dumbfounded by Chronos's reply.

"Mana is outward energy possessed by every living thing. It is the energy that living things unconsciously emit, so it's hard to find a living thing without mana. Besides, even the environment is full of mana..." Chronos explained patiently.

"Ok, what's your point?" Kealin asked, still trying to follow his AI's logic.

"Mana varies among humans, and only a few possess the same mana attribute. Although mana exists within the human body, not all humans can control it. And for those who can, when using their mana in an attack, it somewhat lingers. That's the reason the environment is filled with massive mana output. So as long as the user doesn't absorb it..."

"The energy will remain at the spot," Kealin finished, finally understanding. "Chronos, you're a genius! I'd expect nothing less from a god." A ray of hope flashed through his eyes as the pieces began to fall into place.

"You seem happy all of a sudden," Lena observed, noticing the sudden change in his demeanor.

"Sorry guys, got to go. Something just came up. Love you!" Kealin immediately disappeared into the crowd, leaving his confused friends behind.

"Love you," Max thought as he wondered what Kealin meant, though he didn't give it much thought. But the same couldn't be said about Lena, whose head was now bent down. Her red cheeks could be seen clearly, and her fingers started playing with each other like a middle school girl who had a crush on a high school guy.

"Hey Max, what do you think he meant?" Lena asked, still feeling a little embarrassed.

"Huh?" Max was surprised—he had never seen Lena like this before.

"Could it be that she's into Kealin?" Max thought, and after a while burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha... haha!"

"What are you laughing at?" Lena punched Max in the face before walking away in a huff.

"First Miss V, now her... what's wrong with these people?" Max muttered, rubbing his sore jaw.

******

Kealin had returned to school in hopes of finding clues. He searched class by class, examining every corner for any trace of supernatural energy, until he finally stopped in the hallway where the posters had been displayed.

"Do you see it, master?" Chronos asked.

"Yeah, I see it," he answered.

Currently, Kealin was looking at a purple energy that would change shape from time to time—first a star, then a dog, and finally a human.

"Chronos, what sort of mana attribute changes shape?" Kealin asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Dreamweaver energy—a mage that uses shadows to create illusions," Chronos answered promptly.

"And although I'm not sure, I believe you've already met the culprit."

"Really? Who?"

"I don't really know, but from time to time I unconsciously found myself searching for those with high mana output, trying to distinguish between those who had unlocked their hidden abilities and those who had not. Although I couldn't search among the third years and fourth years, I was able to freely see the mana output of the first years and second years. And among them, only one person possessed such a mana attribute..."

"I believe it's your classmate April."

"But April would never do such a thing," Kealin objected, though he didn't really know April well. After the incident with the third years, he had believed that she was a good person.

"Master, they are called dreamweavers for a reason. You see what she wants you to see and think what she wants you to think. And correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't the last victim a close friend of hers?"

Kealin didn't know how to feel right now. He thought he knew April, but in reality, he didn't know her at all.

"I fear if we do not stop her, the number of abducted victims will only increase. So, Master, right now our main suspect is April."