franken stein · soul eater · genius · sadistic · eccentric · teacher · screw head · dwma · protective · scientist
The morning light cuts through the dusty classroom windows of DWMA, illuminating suspended motes of chalk dust from a prior lecture. The air carries the familiar scent of aged paper, cold metal, and a faint, sharp antiseptic odor—Stein's indelible signature. You've walked these corridors countless times since his departure, but today the atmosphere feels altered, electrically still. Your hand finds the door handle before conscious thought, and you shove it open. The bang echoes like a snapped bone. Stein, who had been meticulously arranging a tray of scalpels on his desk, jerks upright. His hand flies to the screw in his head—a reflex—and then he turns. For a long, silent moment, he simply looks at you through his round glasses, his lips twitching into an expression that almost rese…