Will Wagner still vividly remembers his first day at knight school. Back then, he and the other candidates were thrown off a ship and had to fight their way back to the coast through the stormy seas. Wagner had never fought so hard for his survival before. The sea was rough and many students lost their lives that day. The teachers at the time said that this was normal and that “anyone who wants to become a knight must be prepared to give their life at any time”.

Things were very different for Wagner: Every day, he risked his life in deadly trials and daring training exercises. He was never prepared to die.

What was it all for? To become stronger? To become a capable knight?

No.

Each time, nobles sat on the spectator benches and feasted their eyes on the misery and death that unfolded before them. It may be fascination or bloodlust, but the torture Wagner and his comrades endured every day often served to amuse the rich and powerful.

At the end of his training, the title of knight no longer had any value for Wagner. Knighthood was a joke.

All he wanted was to avenge his deceased friends. He wanted to change the world by destroying the balance of power that had been created and consolidated by the Lacrimas. Because the most powerful Lacrimas are reserved for the nobility.

If only he could find a way to create these abilities artificially and distribute them fairly among the people... Then ordinary citizens would no longer have to suffer.

Then no more knights would have to lose their lives in the sea. These floods have burned themselves deep into Wagner's memory and he is currently reliving this horror.

The flames are devoured by the waves. The debris and remnants are dragged along by the current. After Nadir released his Lacrima and with it the torrential floods, Wagner had no choice but to hold on somewhere before he drowned.

It's like back then...

He has no time to remember the past as the current tugs at his body and the magical sword, which he tries with all his might to keep in his hands. It seems as if the raging sea wants to swallow him up, drag him into its depths and deprive him of all air.

“Where is he?”

There is no sign of Nadir. The warlord is literally submerged as the water bursts out from between the floorboards and drowns the library. To make matters worse, the extinguished flames create a thick wall of smoke. Water and dark fog: like fighting for your life in the open sea at night. Without knowing where the nearest shore is. Without knowing what lies beneath you.

Woosh!

Fulcalibur, Wagner's sword, is ripped from his hand by the floods. Like Nadir, it disappears into the depths. Now he is completely defenceless.

In the dark depths...

Where is the Warlord of Seas?

Will he attack from below?

Is Wagner going to see the masked man suddenly attack him from the dark water?

At the thought, Wagner feels nothing but overwhelming fear. Pure terror. It is the fear of the unknown lurking in the water:

Thalassophobia.

No, it won't end like this! I will not die like my comrades whom I want to avenge!

“MULLIGAN!!!” He screams against the raging tides. Waves hit him in the face and fill his mouth with water.

“URGH!” he gasps; trying to fight against this force of nature. He has to give it his all!

"COME ON MULLIGAN!!! COME OUT!!!"

At this moment, he is filled with all kinds of emotions: grief for his deceased friends, his hatred of the nobility, his determination to change the world by any means necessary.

“LET'S FINISH THIS!!!”

Then it happened very quickly.

The roar of the waves stops.

The water calms down.

Everything comes to a standstill.

Even Wagner himself freezes. Silently and without resistance, his own blade penetrates his chest and pierces his heart. Nadir stands at the other end, gripping the sword by the hilt. As if from nowhere, the warlord appears out of the water with Flucalibur and rams the blade into the professor.

“It's over, Professor Wagner.” There is melancholy in Nadir's voice.

Did you regret it in the end too?

Wagner grins. He just can't help it.

That's really not cool.

Back then he was still able to reach the coast and escape the deadly tides and now, years later, he's going to die because of them. As if the sea will haunt its victims for eternity until they are all swallowed up by its depths.

Life is cruel and ridiculous at the same time. The thought of his powerlessness in the face of fate forces Wagner to grin.

He stretches out his arms while his upper body still clings to the blade.

“C-Cyril Mulligan... Y-You-” The rest of his words are unintelligible as blood fills his throat and runs from his mouth.

You are and always will be a simpleton...

Wagner's eyes turn into his head. His body falls backwards, his chest sliding elegantly off the magical blade.

Thump!

The professor's lifeless body lands on the ground with a thud. His impact whirls water and ash through the air, which rain down on him as black droplets.

After a long struggle, calm finally returns. An oppressive silence falls over the library - only the falling drops of soaked debris can be heard.

Nadir silently observes the corpse at his feet. He had long known who the professor really was and had always been prepared to kill him one day. But at this moment he feels neither pride nor serenity. Although he has stopped a potential mass murderer, he feels empty.

Will he experience this feeling many more times?

His gaze falls on the sword that the professor called Fulcalibur. In the reflection of the blade, he sees a face. It is not the face of Cyril Mulligan, but Nadir, the Warlord of Seas.

Yes, Nadir killed that bastard - not Cyril. Only Nadir is a murderer. Only Nadir can feel the joy of this victory... right?

“Professor... Your dream of a just world is a noble goal... But your desire for change became greed, and with it, malice unfolded in your heart...”

Of course, he doesn't expect an answer from a dead man.

He slips his new sword into the holder of his old blade and looks up at the sky, through the huge hole that the flames have eaten through the roof. The bright rays of the sun shine down on the masked man. He feels its warmth and smiles gently.

“I'm sorry Sudri, but I guess the project assignment thing just fell through.”