Hasta was shocked when he saw his four friends in the school clinic. He didn't know what had happened, but their condition now looked noticeably better.
The four of them were sitting on two beds facing each other—Yoga and Yoan on one, Dion and Melvin on the other.
"What happened to you guys?" Hasta asked.
"Ask your friend behind you," Dion said.
"Why ask me? Isn't it obvious you all got terrorized?" Gantha replied.
"The one who attacked you wasn't you, right As?" Yoan asked.
"Me?" Hasta didn't understand why he was suddenly a suspect, especially since he hadn't even been at school earlier.
"We all got attacked—except Asta," Kala said.
"You know what happened, Gan?" Melvin asked.
"Tell me what kind of terror you guys got first," Gantha said.
"Me and Melvin were in the dance practice room. We practiced for a bit, got tired, then took a break. While resting, Melvin told me to head back, but suddenly the lights went out. I don't know what happened next—someone attacked us. I got hit on the back of my head. I was still conscious at first, and whoever it was slammed my head on the floor again. I'm sure it wasn't a ghost since it could touch me," Dion explained.
"Your turn, Vin," Gantha said.
"When we were resting, I looked in the mirror. My reflection looked like it was giving a creepy smile, so I rushed Dion to go back. And then the lights went out. Luckily, I had my phone and was about to use it as a flashlight, but then I got hit from behind and passed out," Melvin said.
"So it all started with the blackout. You two experienced the same thing, right?" Kala asked Yoga and Yoan.
"I didn't see clearly. When the lights went out, Yoan used his phone as a light to put back a book and told me to hide under the table," Yoga said.
"You bumped your neck on the table then," Gantha guessed.
"No. We got attacked in the library too when the lights went out. I heard a strange metallic scraping sound, and when I peeked, I saw a hooded figure dragging a katana. And that katana was used to attack us. But the weird thing is… that figure looked like Asta," Yoan said.
"B-but I wasn't even at school—I was running an errand for a teacher," Hasta said.
"It wasn't you, As. Me and Agan also saw something that looked like you," Kala said.
"You guys also got attacked? Was there a blackout too?" Yoga asked.
"No. This kid was accompanying me for a smoke on the rooftop. Then when we were going back to class, the whole school suddenly looked completely different. The students in the hallway had creepy pale faces, their uniforms were different, and the building looked old and falling apart," Gantha said.
"We met Lyo there, and we're sure he trapped us in that place. We instinctively chased him, but he kept vanishing. Then by accident, we saw Asta and Melvin on the rooftop of the other building—and suddenly Asta pushed Melvin off, then jumped after him," Kala said.
"So the one behind all of this is most likely Lyo?" Yoan asked.
"Obviously. The reason why… I'm still figuring out," Gantha said.
Kala and Yoan both turned to look at the red-haired young man. He was playing his role so well—maybe too well. Or maybe he was getting comfortable with it.
"Confident much? Planning to be the hero now?" Kala teased.
"Shut up," Gantha shot back.
"Let him be, Kal. Rare moment seeing Agan willingly take initiative. Might as well record this as historical evidence," Melvin said.
"You're so dramatic," Gantha huffed.
A teacher entered the clinic, surprising them all.
"What are you all doing here? You seem better now. The bell will ring soon, so please return to your classes," the teacher said.
"Yes, ma'am," they all replied.
~~~~~~~~
It was already three in the afternoon when Kala was at home watching a repairman fix his door.
It didn't take long.
"It's done, sir," the repairman said.
"Oh, okay. Thanks," Kala said as he checked the door. He paid the man and let him leave.
"Jeez, unbelievable. Hope this doesn't happen again," Kala muttered as he grabbed some snacks and headed to his room.
When he entered his room, he put the snacks on his study table.
"Push push, come in, kitty~"
A moment later, the balcony door opened from the outside, revealing a red-haired young man staring flatly at Kala.
"Seriously? You mistook me for a cat?" Gantha said.
"Well, why were you standing out there? Like a stray cat passing by," Kala replied.
"I passed your house earlier and saw a repairman," Gantha said, stepping inside.
"Oh that—he fixed the door because someone tried to break in," Kala said.
"So I got beaten to it by a burglar, huh?" Gantha said.
"Idiot," Kala snorted. "Not a thief. Someone who looks like me. A friend of mine saw him by accident."
Gantha nodded. "So what did he do to you?"
"From the CCTV, he just damaged the door but didn't enter the house," Kala said.
"He must be planning something," Gantha said.
"Yeah… but I feel like this is connected to the villa from the other day," Kala said.
"You wanna check it out?" Gantha asked.
"Yeah. I'll go to the villa after school tomorrow," Kala said.
Ding!
Their phones vibrated—a message from the Kaze group chat. Yoga asked them all to meet because he needed help.
~~~~~~~~~
At a café, all seven members of Kaze had gathered. They sat around one table.
"What's up, Yo? Your injury's okay now, right?" Dion asked.
"I'm fine. I just finished a check-up at the hospital," Yoga said.
"Good. I thought something happened again," Hasta said.
"Well… something did happen. One of my dad's employees was threatened at gunpoint. The attacker demanded the compass watch, even though it was explained that the watch is no longer produced. He still insisted on getting it. Luckily another employee heard the commotion and rushed in," Yoga said.
"But he's safe now, right?" Dion asked.
Yoga nodded. "The guy ran away. The police are searching for him, but the CCTV footage disappeared. That footage could've been the strongest evidence."
"Oh, I get it—you want us to find that footage," Yoan said.
"Why don't we investigate the whole thing? I'm curious why he wants the watch," Dion said.
"I'm down. Nice little side-case," Melvin said.
"Oh, by the way—my dad said one of you bought the last compass watch he ever made. It was you, right As?" Yoga asked.
"Yeah, I bought it as a gift for Kala," Hasta said.
"Oh, so Kala has it now," Yoga said.
"Yep. I still have it," Kala added.
"If possible, hide it. Just in case that guy knows," Yoga said.
"It's fine," Kala said with a small smile.
He now realized that the compass watch wasn't an ordinary watch. There was a hidden power within it—something that had allowed him and Gantha to escape another dimension.
And now someone was after it. Someone who wanted it so badly they didn't care if they had to kill for it.
Kala didn't know if he would be targeted or not. But if he was… maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. It would help him uncover the watch's true abilities.