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Chapter 1: The Awakening
The corridors of the Safa school were unnervingly silent. Shadows stretched unnaturally across the cracked floors, elongating with every flicker of the dim lights above. Nalo walked alone, his footsteps echoing like distant drums. Outside, the sky churned in impossible hues, colors he could not name bleeding into one another. Something invisible seemed to press against him, urging him forward, yet warning him to stay back.
Then, without warning, a glowing red apple fell from the ceiling, spinning slowly before landing perfectly in his hands. It radiated a strange warmth, a pulsing energy that seemed alive. Nalo stared at it for a moment, hesitating. He knew instinctively that this was no ordinary fruit. And yet, curiosity overpowered caution. He took a bite.
The taste was electric, a rush that filled his veins with both power and disorientation. Suddenly, the walls trembled as if acknowledging his act. The air vibrated around him, resonating with memories he didn't know he had. The corridors twisted, stretching impossibly, folding over themselves. Reality itself seemed to quiver.
Nalo wasn't alone for long. He soon realized that seven others had experienced the same phenomenon, each in isolated rooms, each with their own sudden surge of power. They arrived at the same place, drawn together by an unseen force. Among them were youths of varied temperaments: some fierce and quick-tempered, some silent and calculating, others anxious and indecisive.
The first encounter with the new reality was immediate and brutal. Shadows sprang from the walls, taking shapes of things they feared most: distorted figures of loved ones lost, distorted faces of bullies from school, warped creatures that seemed to merge memory and nightmare. Nalo acted instinctively, blocking an attack with his newfound reflexes, dragging a terrified comrade to safety. The act defined him—not by words, but by courage, decisiveness, and awareness.
As the eight explored further, the corridors became more treacherous. One wrong step sent a floor panel crumbling beneath a teammate, forcing another to leap and save them. Creatures appeared and vanished without pattern, shadows that responded to fear as much as to movement. Nalo's decisions shaped outcomes. Each moment became a test: act, survive, or falter. Philosophy was lived here, in action alone.
By the end of the night, the eight understood something terrifying. The apple had given them power, yes—but it had also marked them. Their abilities tethered them to this growing labyrinth of rooms, to the manifestations of human fear and emotion. Every choice mattered. Every hesitation could be fatal. Survival would not be given; it had to be earned through courage, awareness, and relentless action.
The first day in the awakened world ended, leaving Nalo and his companions exhausted but enlightened. They had gained power, yes—but more importantly, they had begun to understand the weight of that power, and the shadows that would always follow them.