***
The mask fell.
For a heartbeat, even the wind seemed to stop breathing.
"No—!"
The scream echoed, crashing against the walls before dissolving into silence.
The figure before him burned into his sight, as if an entire world had been set alight inside his chest.
"Why…?" he shouted, his voice breaking. "I never thought you would be the Anomaly."
***
It was an ordinary early morning. It was the season in which people didn't want to be outside. Still, a few people were jogging and walking; most of them were usually going to school or work. Among them, a boy was also walking.
He wore a coat, a scarf wrapped around his neck, and a bag hanging carelessly over his shoulders. The cool breeze teased his long hair. Ghostly clouds of breath escaped his lips as he shivered under the cold air. He had a lone-wolf vibe.
"Hey, Kisame!!" a shout came.
Kisame paused and looked behind to find a boy.
He had bright red hair, the same brown eyes as Kisame, wore heavy armor against the cold, and looked energetic even at this early hour. He gave off a friendly feeling, appearing well-mannered, with something guarded beneath the surface.
For a brief moment, everything stopped and stared at the loud voice, then continued as it was supposed to.
Kisame sighed, as he usually met this sound almost every morning.
"Hey, Ali," Kisame said. "Do you really have to be this loud in the early morning?"
"Can't help it," Ali said.
Ali moved closer to Kisame. As Kisame waited for him, the moment Ali reached his side, they began walking forward. The sound of their steps was almost identical—no echo, perfectly matching—as they had been coming to school together for years.
The street grew narrower; it was the narrow spine of Quetta.
"Hey, did you do your homework?" Ali asked. "If so, I'll copy it later."
Kisame nodded.
At the end of the street, another road joined it. On the left, hammers and machines echoed. On the right, it was completely plain—nothing out of the ordinary. The wind came smoothly from the horizon. Ahead stood a hell for almost all students.
The school was large, like a prestigious castle from medieval times. People were going inside—some alone, some in packs like wolves. Some scrolled through their phones, some talked to each other, and some were forced to be present. The sound of chit-chat filled the place.
"Such a pain," Ali cursed under his breath.
"It's not like we can escape the matrix anytime soon," Kisame said.
Birds sang in the trees as a black cat passed by Kisame's feet. To the left of the school, there was a parking area. Bicycles dominated the place, but something was missing. Although many vehicles were present, the elephant couldn't be seen.
"Seems like the bus is going to be late again," Ali mocked. "Even though it's a prestigious school, it has some shitty service."
Kisame chuckled.
They went inside the school. The schoolyard was a large open box. The winds became stronger inside the schoolyard. They continued to walk and got inside; the school hall was populated with people talking to each other.
"Take care," Ali said. "I am going to my class. See you later."
"Sure," Kisame replied.
Kisame went inside Class 3C. It had a few people with a familiar sense. Kisame found his seat and leaned his forehead down.
Then—a feeling of a tap came from behind his head.
Kisame looked up to see a girl.
She was beautiful, having purple hair with matching eyes. She was elegant and cared for everyone. She was very famous in the school and held a deep place in everyone's heart, as she helped others even in storms.
"Don't slack off in class today," she said, with a pouty face, then a warm smile.
"Okay, Lily," Kisame said. An automatic smile appeared on his lips.
She smiled back and sat at her assigned seat—or, to be exact, she was Kisame's neighbor in class.
Kisame looked outside instead of sleeping in class—how could he sleep after that?
He kept looking outside, then—
A blink—
There was a green barrier surrounding the school. The barrier was translucent, reflecting its green light from the sun. The barrier stretched around the school in a perfect circle, like a living prison enclosing its prisoners.
Kisame looked confused. One by one, everyone started to notice it.
One student rushed toward the school entrance to find what it was. He punched it, but it was completely solid and gave an effect after his punch, like water splashing repeatedly when struck.
Everyone started going downstairs, including Kisame. The atmosphere was chaotic; people rushed to touch the barrier or find something that could explain this.
Some people started recording it—a typical human behavior, doing so even before solving the problem. Some tried to call environmental guardians but failed—there was no signal to connect them with the police. Some just stood there, wasting time or creating more drama.
Kisame observed what was happening. To his left, Ali was there.
"Hey, Kisame, do you know something?" Ali said with a shaky voice.
"How in the hell would I know?" Kisame said. "If anything, I want to know too."
It felt very familiar, like something straight out of fantasy novels and anime. Kisame and Ali had fantasized about millions of fantasy worlds, including this.
Ali pulled his own cheeks, not wanting to believe this was real, as last night he had been reading a similar novel.
"Ow, it hurt. It's definitely not an illusion," Ali said.
"What is that in the sky!?" a scream echoed.
Something was watching over the school.
It had skin white as snow. Two tentacle-like appendages swayed from its head. It had black eyes with red pupils and black veins spread all around its body. It wore black jeans with no shirt.
It flew effortlessly, wearing an arrogant expression, smiling pleasantly.
Everyone turned to face it. Some recorded it, some passed comments and questions as if it were a streamer.
It ignored the questions, like a preeminent being ignoring insects.
"Hello, my seedlings." A voice came from everywhere and nowhere, as if the atmosphere itself had spoken. "I am Hyeong Jin."
"Let's begin a small game," it said.
People were shocked, wanting answers. Did it create the barrier? They shouted to get its attention but were met with silence. Rage spread as they saw how prideful it seemed.
"Hey, we are so cooked," Ali said. "I know what's going to happen next."
"Yeah, we're cooked," Kisame said.
Hyeong Jin snapped its fingers, then—
A blue screen appeared in front of everyone, floating and almost impossible to ignore. It was translucent and could pass through anything. Something was written on it:
[Trial 1][System]
[Get to the safe zone before the timer]
Objective: [Find safe zones before the timer]Timer: [5 minutes]Failure: [???]
People started to figure out what the system was. Was it a test? A prank? They touched the system, trying to figure out how to start the trial, acting like cavemen discovering fire.
"Safe zones…?" Ali muttered, thinking of millions of novels.
Kisame looked at him as he zoned out.
"Hey, wake up to the present," Kisame said.
Ali looked at him.
"Oh… right. Sorry, I wandered off…" Ali looked at the creature sarcastically, doubting its intelligence. Even it couldn't find a better trial than millions of similar anime and novels, he thought.
"Let your worth be decided," it said.
The timer started.
04:5904:58