Hyde was around the age of 14 when his hair began to form that black/blonde mix. He could hear the murmurs from class that he bleached his hair. Couple that with his sloppily put uniform and people just assumed he became a delinquent.

'Let them say what they want. Not my fault this is my normal color' he thought to himself.

At this point, nothing really seemed to faze him. He just coasted on his school life and just did the household chores when he got home. He'd receive the usual letters from his parents hoping the best for him despite their absence.

Letters about 'achieving your goals' or 'getting along with your friends' or 'taking care of yourself'. Well he can confirm he's doing one of those things well.

'A goal huh? I wonder when I'll actually have one for myself?'

He pushes that thought aside and starts sweeping the room, continuing the same routine he's been accustomed to.

Current Area: Silent Park

Even though Hyde left the Fountain in high spirits, he was still shaken after what he almost did to Orie. During his whole trek, he still felt the fear and anxieties of that moment.

'Why did my hand do that? All this time before, it protected me. So why now?'

As he was trying to wrap his head on all this, he found himself in the Silent Park. In just this month Hyde already had two prominent memories with parks, both of them unpleasant.

The first was when he helped this girl who got bitten by a void and carried her to a safe place. All those wild accusations she threw at him made it a memory he'd want to forget. Part of him still hoped she made it out okay at least.

The other memory was the night he met that hooded boy. It was because of him that he encountered Paradox and put him in that hostage situation in her manor. The boy could also be the reason Hyde felt stopping Paradox became personal.

'Linne said that boy was likely Kuon, her older brother. Hmm…'

Hyde shook his head as he began to check his surroundings.

'Now is not the time to be deep in thought. Harada is safe. That's all that matters. And I can still fight. I just need more experience to control my powers so that doesn't happen ag-'

His thoughts were interrupted when he sensed an attack coming. Summoning Insulator, he blocked a strike that came at him like a blur. In just a split second, Hyde could see a shadow who landed that surprise attack.

"Gah! Who're you!? And what the hell was that for?! That's dangerous!" He barked at the mystery attacker.

His attacker became visible as a boy close to his age. He had black hair with part of it being white similar to his own hair, wore a long black coat that covered his mouth, and had blue pants. In his hands were two blue daggers that gleamed through the night. To Hyde, he looked to be some kind of assassin.

"The companion of the Princess of the Night Blade, the 'Unknown Actor'. And the abominable Insulator. There's no mistaking it…" his attacker said.

"Princess? Are you talking about Linne? Who are you? And why are you so interested in my sword?" The fact that he knew of Linne gave Hyde an idea on who he could be. He did try to pay attention to Linne's crash course after all.

"Why introduce myself to someone who is about to become a corpse?" He replied plainly.

'Okay, he's definitely an assassin' Hyde was now on the defensive.

Heh, I guess I'll just have to persuade you to spill it then. And I can be VERY persuasive. Especially with THIS, which you seem to hate!" Hyde pointed his blade to his foe.

"You're little more than a new hatchling first discovering their EXS powers. Know your place! Mewling children like you are the reason we assassin's even exist." The assassin kept going.

"Hey! That's my line. Looks like you're the one causing trouble here. That's why on behalf of the Night Blade and Linne. I'll stop you!" Hyde had no idea if this boy had killed people. If he did, he needed to be stopped right now.

"Night Blade huh? I never thought I'd hear that name again. As for that being 'your line'. I'm afraid I have to disagree." The assassin closed his eyes. "For I, too, am descended from the Night Blade, and carry with me the burden of my sins"

'Huh. Well that confirms it then' Hyde put the pieces together on who this person actually is.

"You know, Linne mentioned there was someone descended from the Night Blade living in this city. Would that be you Seth?" Hyde decided to shoot his shot.

"Hmph. So The princess still remembers me. Regardless, I will be the one who will shoulder her burdens. A hatchling like you has no place in this Night" Seth glared at his opponent.

"I'll make you eat those words!" Hyde was ready to fight.

"Let's see how well your Insulator cuts. If you even get the chance." Seth then took his stance.

A battle of mutual ideals was about to begin.

IMMORTALIZE

Hyde versus Seth

In an instant, Seth vanished in the shadows

'Great… he's like Yuzu' Hyde focused and tried to find the murderous intent he felt earlier. Focus… focus… On his left!

'Now!'

Seth appeared like a flash and went for a quick slash, only for the swordsman to block it.

"Sinister!"

Hyde countered with a downward slash, only for Seth to zip by him. The two clashed blades twice before the assassin backflips away from an incoming heavy slash from Hyde. The exchange would end in both fighters jumping towards each other clashing blades again before ending on opposite sides.

"Hardly anything worth noting"

After Seth said that, he threw a dark blue energy ball and zipped away. The ball stayed there before firing a blue projectile at the swordsman's direction. Hyde dodged out of the way, only to be met with a surprise slash from Seth when he landed behind him.

"Gah! Why you!" Hyde tried to counter him, but Seth vanished once more before he could land a hit.

'Damn. He's even faster than Yuzu. What kind of training did he go through?'

Taking her lesson in his mind, Hyde focused his blade. He could not match Seth's speed, but that did not mean he couldn't catch him unawares. He just needed to find the right moment.

'Like so!'

He jumped back when the assassin came from above to strike him down.

"Orbiter!"

Hyde threw the projectile which made the assassin try to vanish until the swordsmen held Insulator with both hands.

"Dark Lotus!"

The energy disc exploding caught the assassin off guard as the blast was in his direction. The attack landed, causing him to jump back a bit.

"Hmph. Lucky shot. Let's see if you can keep up." The assassin said, brushing off the attack.

Seth countered with a straight slash at a speed that left him as a white line. Despite that, Hyde still blocked the attack, and tried to follow it up with an upward slash. Seth leaped out of the way, causing Hyde to then run up to him and try a dashing slash. The assassin once more vanished, causing Hyde to get more and more frustrated.

'He really likes running around, I'll give him that much'

Seth would then reappear and the two would clash blades once more before the assassin pushed him back with a kick. As Hyde stumbled, he didn't realize an orb was placed in front of him until it was too late. The projectile landed, causing the swordsman to get stunned.

"Unrefined."

Hyde suffered a slash to his side..

"Sluggish."

Seth easily dodged a counter slash.

"And worst of all, Naive."

With a glint in his eye, the assassin rushes forward and slashes Hyde multiple times before kicking him up in the air. He finishes his onslaught with a series of slashes so fast, a second Seth was seen as it ended. The assassin landed back on his feet, leaving his opponent falling down to the hard concrete.

"You really think you're worthy of carrying the Insulator– the Night Blade's masterpiece?" Seth looked down at his opponent as he was writhing in pain.

Hyde struggled to get up. Everything hurts. Not only was this boy chewing him out this whole fight, he had the skill to back it up. He wasn't unlike any fighter up until now. He was in it for the kill and nothing else. Hyde wondered if this was the end.

"Haha! That was fun wouldn't you say?"

'Tsurugi…'

"Big sis will be waiting for you kiddo."

'Yuzu...'

"Just promise me that you'll stay safe."

'Harada...'

"Hah! I look forward to your growth, Boy."

'Old Man…'

"Hyde. All I ask is that you stay alive."

'Linne…'

Yeah… That's right. He can't afford to die! He already made promises. And dammit, once he makes them, he never stops fighting until he fulfills them! He punched the ground as he began to force himself up.

"I don't think- I know. I can carry anything the Night Blade throws at me" Hyde wiped off some blood off his face. "Including Linne's wish." He pointed his sword at his opponent, a look of renewed determination on his face.

"Hm. Looks like that gave you some moxie. Not like that will mean much"

Seth vanished in the shadows once more, but Hyde was ready. He held his sword close and shut his eyes. At this point, he just took a deep breath and began seeing where the trails of EXS and murderous intent would. The moment he found it, he made his move.

Seth appeared from behind, ready to go for the killing blow when all of a sudden, Hyde jumped. Now above the assassin, he placed Insulator below him and uttered his attack.

"Dark Lotus!"

The explosion detonated below him, trapping Seth in the process. But the Unknown Actor was not done yet.

"Vacant Shift!"

He kept the rush going with three uppercut slashes, sending him down with the final hit. Before Seth could recover, Hyde slammed Insulator on the ground. The blade glowed a vibrant red as Hyde uttered his finishing move.

"Gyre Vortex!"

A massive vortex of red energy swirled around him as the assassin was dragged upon it. Taking the full force of the attack, Seth was sent plummeting down once the attack ended..

Before falling however, Seth was able to land on his feet. He tried to get back on his stance, but soon fell on one knee. He was unable to battle.

"It seems you do have promise after all…" Seth muttered as he struggled to stand up.

"Just what is your deal? Aren't we supposed to be on the same side?" Hyde asked.

"You couldn't understand. I've been training for years to fulfill the princess' wish and here you are. A novice who was given the legendary Insulator." Seth said with disgust.

"Hey I didn't ask for this life!" Hyde barked back. "But I still decided that this is something I'm going to do. No, something I'm CHOOSING to do. It doesn't matter what you say, here I am. Getting bit sucked, sure. But it has opened up so much for me as a person. It made me want to be better!"

Having people to welcome him home, bonding with Yuzu again, better understanding Orie, and having the strength to protect the people he cares for. All that was made possible because of this power.

"Hmph, how naive. But clearly it must mean something if you were able to best me. I will retreat for now, but this isn't over." With that, the assassin vanished in the darkness.

When he no longer felt anyone nearby, Hyde fell to his knees completely exhausted.

"I have no idea how I won that…" Hyde said in breaths.

If Seth was his first opponent in the Night, he would have had no chance of beating him. He owed it to the experience he's had so far and his drive to prove him wrong to squeeze in this victory. The biggest thing he was glad for was Seth's crippling weakness. His speed and skill were amazing, but he had little to no defense. Once Hyde got a good rush in, he was down for the count.

'Still, don't let this get over my head. Time to fix myself up. Real glad I brought this bag along.'

After patching his wounds and giving his body a little stretch and prepared to keep going. As he walked, a thought was still aching his mind.

'My hand followed my movements this time. So now it works properly? Why did it act on its own with Harada then?'

Hyde was still confused about what caused that moment to happen. But that thought was pushed to the side as he began to feel strong traces of EXS in his direction.

'The Gate must be nearby. I have to keep going!'

Putting his worries aside, the Unknown Actor pressed on.