The next day arrived like nothing had happened.
Even though the final exams had already been cancelled and everyone was officially declared passed, the school had still ordered students to attend classes. Routine, they said. Normalcy. As if the city hadn't watched monsters tear through a public restaurant just one night ago.
Henry and Twilight were already sitting in their classroom, both unusually quiet.
Twilight sat with his chin resting on his hand, staring at the empty doorway. His eyes flicked to the clock again.
"Five minutes left," Henry muttered, tapping his pen on the desk. "They're late."
"They're never late," Twilight replied. That was what bothered him.
Most of the seats were still empty. The students who were usually punctual hadn't shown up at all. Whispers floated through the room—low, uneasy, nervous. Everyone felt it. Something had changed since last night.
Five minutes passed.
The class teacher entered.
She stopped mid-step, scanning the half-empty classroom. Her brows knit together in confusion.
No Chris.
No Lily.
A quiet realization settled in the room: they weren't coming.
The teacher placed her bag down and sighed, clearly disappointed. Just as she opened her mouth to speak—
"Ma'am, may we come in?"
Every head turned.
Lily stood at the door, holding Chris's hand tightly, almost protectively. Chris's face was pale, her eyes tired, but she was there. Alive. Standing.
A wave of murmurs rushed through the classroom.
The teacher stared for a moment, genuinely shocked. These were her favorite students—responsible, disciplined, never late.
She adjusted her glasses. "You're late."
"I'm sorry, ma'am," Lily said quickly.
The teacher sighed again, long and tired. "This is a warning. Don't let it happen again. Sit down."
"Thank you, ma'am," both girls said together and hurried to their seats.
As soon as they sat, Henry leaned forward and whispered, "Why were you late?"
Lily glanced at him, then at Chris, and whispered back, "Ask me at lunch."
Chris didn't say a word. She kept her eyes on the desk, fingers gripping the edge as if grounding herself.
The lunch bell rang like freedom.
The school corridors instantly turned chaotic—students laughing, shouting, running as if fear could be erased by noise.
The four of them gathered at their usual spot.
Lily spoke first. "When we woke up, it was already 6:30."
Chris added quietly, "Yeah… we were already too late. I even thought about taking leave today, but—"
"I forced her to come," Lily cut in, giving Chris a small smile.
Henry laughed, teasing. "Of course you did."
Twilight joined in, grinning. "If I were in your place, I wouldn't have gotten up at all."
They laughed together—real laughter. For a moment, it felt like last night had never happened. No monsters. No blood. No masked warrior.
Just four friends eating lunch.
But deep down, each of them knew the laughter was fragile.
After school, they all went their separate ways.
Twilight reached home first.
"I'm home," he called out.
A blur of white fur launched itself at him.
"Woah—Rony!" Twilight laughed as his rabbit jumped into his arms. He hugged him tightly. "Okay, okay, I'm home now."
For the first time that day, Twilight felt calm.
Chris shut her door behind her and dropped her bag.
"Pie… I'm home."
Her dog heard her voice instantly. He ran toward her at full speed and crashed straight into her legs.
"Hey—!" Chris laughed as she fell to the floor.
Pie licked her face nonstop, tail wagging wildly, as if scolding her for being gone too long.
"Okay, okay," she whispered, hugging him. "I'm fine. I'm here."
But her hands were shaking.
Lily reached her home and went straight to her room. She collapsed onto her bed, staring at the ceiling.
A soft rustling sound came from the corner.
"Nomi?" she called.
Her tiny hedgehog peeked out of his little house, blinking. The moment he saw her, he ran over clumsily.
Lily smiled and gently picked him up. "I missed you too."
For a second, the world felt safe again.
Henry arrived home last.
After today's match, all he wanted was silence—and his cat.
"Kate?" he called casually.
No response.
"She must be sleeping," he muttered.
He went upstairs to her usual room. Empty.
His chest tightened.
"Katie?" he called louder, checking downstairs, then upstairs again.
Nothing.
Panic crept in.
Finally, he pushed open the door to his own room.
And froze.
A guy was sitting on his bed.
Calm. Relaxed.
Kate was on his lap, purring as he played with her like he owned the place.
The guy looked up and smiled.
Henry's breath hitched.
"Ne… Neon?"
The guy chuckled. "Brother. It's been a long time."
Henry couldn't move. Couldn't speak.
Neon glanced down at the cat and smirked. "Can't believe you have a pet now."
Henry remained frozen.
For the first time in years, fear—not from monsters, not from chaos—but from the past—stood right in front of him.
And it smiled back.