"That guy Fay had a pretty unusual ability. It was like... something mirror-like."

"Oh, you mean the one who made copies of people?"

"Yeah, that one."

"I remember too. During the first test, someone who looked exactly like Ishias appeared in front of her and suddenly used her ability. She was so startled she almost fell over."

As he listened to the talking members, Yuder quietly observed their faces.

‘So it is the same guy I remember.’

In his past life, he had been granted the surname Failan—known as Fay Failan.

The first time Yuder saw Fay, he had already been transferred from the Northern branch to the capital due to the uniqueness and potential of his ability.

He could create a doppelgänger of someone by using a part of their body—like hair or nails. The copy could use the original’s powers and even speak a few phrases, following Fay’s commands. It was essentially like a mirrored replica.

It sounded like an incredible ability, but in his past life, Fay had been treated like dead weight for several years after joining the Cavalry. The main reason was that the duration of his copies was extremely short—only a few seconds—and he couldn't activate his power without obtaining part of someone’s body. On top of that, the stronger or more complex the original person's power was, the harder it was to replicate, and even harder to make the copy actually use those powers. In other words, someone like Yudrain was impossible for him to duplicate.

‘And he couldn’t make a copy of himself either, which only made things worse.’

Still, after grinding through a few years in the Cavalry, Fay’s ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) ability began to evolve. The once-nervous recruit who couldn’t meet Yudrain’s eyes during training eventually started looking him straight in the face. One day, he even managed to create a doppelgänger of Yuder during a real battle, throwing the enemy into chaos. Of course, it only lasted about a second and disappeared before doing anything—but even that brief shock was enough for the real Yuder to strike and kill.

By the time Fay could maintain a copy of Yuder for about ten seconds, he became Sub-Commander of the Cavalry. After that, he could replicate the abilities of most members with ease, though the duration was still limited. Still, many began to regard his power with awe.

That’s when the nickname One-Man Cavalry stuck—because having him alone was like having the entire force.

Fay was particularly adept at copying elemental Awakener powers. Yuder suspected it was because he had spent so much time trying to recreate his own nature-based ability.

‘Using the powers of others as one’s own... in that sense, he’s similar to that fake Sage, Diemon.’

Fay remained Sub-Commander until the day Yuder died. Naturally, he never once believed Yuder’s warnings about the abnormal rifts or the coming apocalypse. In fact, one day, he said this:

“The failure rate of Cavalry missions keeps increasing, and more members are dying. Both the Commander and Sub-Commander are dead, yet you insist on clinging to this meaningless investigation. Do you really think everyone will stay silent forever like they did?”

Fay never spoke to Yuder outside of official matters, so the sharpness of that one sentence was striking.

That was their final conversation.

Shortly afterward, Yuder left the Cavalry once again, continuing to search for any traces of the rifts. He next saw Fay on the day of his execution—standing next to the empty throne, holding the red mana-stone staff that had once been the symbol of the Cavalry Commander—his symbol.

He doesn’t clearly remember Fay’s expression anymore. After that burning fury of having something taken from him by a subordinate faded, he’d stopped caring altogether.

While Yuder recalled all this, the Northern branch members continued speaking.

“He’s quiet. Doesn’t talk much. Weliven said he seemed timid, and Shuseiner said he kept people at arm’s length but didn’t seem bad at his core.”

“Oh, but I did see him talking passionately once. When the Cavalry came up.”

Yuder frowned slightly.

“What do you mean? Tell me more.”

“Haha, curious, are you?”

They exchanged sly glances and chuckled before answering.

“Most new recruits tend to admire the first-generation members, but Fay really stood out in that regard. Every time your name or the Commander’s came up, his eyes would light up, and he’d start asking all sorts of questions.”

“...Mine and the Commander’s?”

“Yeah. He said he’d always admired the Commander—makes sense, I guess, since he’s from the North. But he even had your achievements memorized, which surprised us.”

“He wanted to meet the Commander badly, but they missed each other and he got sent to the capital instead. He must’ve been crushed.”

“Hey, don’t make it sound like he’s some shady fanatic. Anyway! We just mean he had that unexpectedly passionate side to him.”

Ishias jumped in, smacking the others’ backs when she noticed Yuder frowning silently. She seemed to think he was irritated.

But Yuder’s frown wasn’t because of annoyance. It was because of the dissonance between the Fay he remembered and the Fay he was hearing about now.

‘He said he admired Kishiar from the start? I never heard a word of that in my previous life.’

Sure, it was possible. As someone from the North, he might have heard of Kishiar, the Duke of Peleta and former Commander. But Fay had never once spoken about him, not even in casual conversation.

‘...Could this be one of those memories related to Kishiar that were erased from me? No... that doesn’t seem right.’

“Oh! That reminds me—there was one more thing Weliven said about him.”

“What? That was everything I knew. What else?”

“Not much. After Fay got selected, Weliven looked over the application again and saw his hometown and family info. He said it reminded him of young Sir Zuckerman. Said it made sense that the kid seemed timid.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Like I said, not much. Fay’s hometown seemed to be a really remote place. I figured Weliven meant he acted timid because he grew up somewhere isolated.”

“Stop dumping every little detail on Yuder. Just give him the important stuff.”

But to Yuder, that was the most important part.

‘Nathan Zuckerman’s childhood. A remote village. A comment about timidity... I think I get it now.’

Yuder politely humored the continuing chatter about the other recruits and slipped away. Naturally, he went straight to Weliven.

He found him at the Cavalry headquarters near Castle Peleta. When Weliven saw him, he stood abruptly in surprise.

“Oh. What brings such an honored guest here...?”

“I’d like to ask you about one of the new Northern branch recruits—Fay.”

Weliven blinked in confusion. Yuder could tell from that look alone that he remembered Fay.

“I do remember him... but what exactly are you asking?”

“I’ll be blunt.”

Yuder met the gaze of the veteran captain—his sharp, hawkish eyes—and asked directly:

“Was Fay of Southern Nation descent?”

Yes. This was what Yuder had deduced by piecing together the comments Weliven had made.

Nathan Zuckerman had been born to Southern Nation parents and spent his childhood in a segregated village for Southern prisoners. If he hadn’t met Kishiar during a brief convalescence in the South, he might have lived his life in hiding, constantly controlled and judged as the child of captives.

If anyone knew that history, it would be Weliven, who had taken care of Nathan since he came to Peleta. If Fay’s hometown had triggered that memory in Weliven, then what else could it mean but Southern heritage?

‘Fay didn’t look Southern... but then again, neither did Naham.’

If Naham hadn’t revealed it himself, no one would have guessed his bloodline. Without meeting him, Yuder might never have even considered this possibility.

He watched Weliven’s face shift slowly. The seasoned knight’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but for a moment no words came out. Then, with difficulty, he finally spoke.

“...Yes. That’s correct. How did you know?”

Just as he thought.

Yuder felt a piece of the truth he’d never known fall perfectly into place in his chest.