Hallway Outside the Shattered Classroom
Ayumi stood frozen, the last echoes of Mia's presence fading like smoke. The air was still vibrating faintly from the mirror's shatter, but Mia was no longer there...Just silence.
Yona stepped forward, his voice low, shaken.
"She disappeared," he said." Where did she go ?!"
He stopped himself. Shook his head. "She's gone."
Ayumi's breath hitched. The corners of her eyes twitched, trying to focus on anything..on the floor, the ceiling, the dust still hanging like mist in the air. But it all felt hollow.
"She didn't even look back," she murmured.
The lights above them flickered once, then pulsed red. Faint vibrations rolled beneath their feet. The building… no, whatever was wearing the building's skin… was shifting again.
Ayumi's jaw clenched. "This place is trying to pull us apart."
Yona turned to her. "But Lena's alive. You saw her?"
Ayumi nodded once, firm. "She was at the tower. Standing in front of it. She looked straight at me ..like she was trying to warn us."
He took a step closer. "Then we keep moving."
A sound groaned behind them, a low, bending creak, like bones under pressure. They both turned, but nothing was there. Ayumi didn't wait this time. She grabbed Yona's wrist and started moving.
"We don't stop again. Not until we find them"
The ground quaked under their feet as Ayumi and Yona ran, shadows peeling off the walls like smoke. The hallway stretched and contracted with every flicker of red light overhead. Doors shifted in and out of existence. Some breathed. Others watched.
Then...
A mirror appeared. Sudden. Silent. Blocking their path entirely. It rose from the floor like it had always belonged there.
Both froze.
It was tall, framed in something like bone, but too smooth. Too deliberate. And in its reflection...
Lena.
Yona took a step forward, eyes wide. "It's her," he breathed. "Lena. I see her."
Ayumi turned sharply toward him. "What?"
"She's right there," he said, voice trembling. "Standing in front of the black tower. She looks..." He swallowed hard. "She looks terrified. She's pressing her hands against the tower like she's trapped."
Ayumi's eyes locked on the mirror, but what she saw made the blood drain from her face. It wasn't Lena.
It was Yona ...Dead l..Lying limp on a cold tile floor, his eyes wide and lifeless, blood spreading fast from a gash in his chest. And crouched over him.
Mia.
Her hands coated in red. Her face blank and hollow. Blood dripping down her arms, staining her in silence. Her lips were moving. No sound. But Ayumi caught it.
"Finally… now I'll rest, you stupid fake Mia."
Ayumi's lips parted, but nothing came out. Not a scream. Not even breath.She stumbled backward, heart racing. Behind her, Yona stepped closer to the mirror, his hand brushing the glass.
"Lena…" he whispered again.
Then muttered, almost to himself, "Why is she wearing hospital clothes…?"
But then he froze...Turned...Looked directly at Ayumi. And the fear in his eyes changed. Shifted. Deepened. His voice dropped, quiet, barely more than a breath:
"That's not the same… your clothes."
Ayumi blinked, confused. "What?"
Yona stared at her, his eyes wide with something colder than fear. Ayumi looked down. At the mirror. And saw..Her shirt...Her sleeves. Stained. Wet. Red. Exactly like Mia in the mirror. Her hands began to tremble.
Then...Movement.
Something else in the reflection. Ayumi's gaze darted back. Mia was gone. But someone still stood in the reflection. Her...Ayumi...Not how she looked now, but wrong . Hollow-eyed. A knife gripped tight in her hand. And at her feet...
Noir.
Motionless. Sprawled on the floor. Blood blooming beneath his fur. Eyes open. Empty. Ayumi choked on a breath that didn't come. Her pulse thundered in her ears.
"No…" she whispered. "That's not real. That's not real."
Then...CRACK.
The mirror shattered without a sound. Shards floated around them like ash in slow motion.The hallway was still...Too still.
Yona and Ayumi stood there, breath caught in their throats, hearts pounding like war drums.And then, from somewhere deep in the corridor ahead..A voice. Soft. Familiar. Almost curious.
"Ayumi?"
It wasn't Yona's voice. It wasn't Lena's. It sounded like… Her own.
The shards slowly drifted to the floor, vanishing before they touched it..like snow melting in midair. The hallway remained unnaturally quiet, as though the building itself were holding its breath.
Ayumi stood frozen, staring at where the mirror had been. Her reflection.The blood.Noir. It clung to her skin even now, the image burned behind her eyes like a brand she couldn't scrub away.
Then... A slow step. Yona moved toward her, voice soft, barely a whisper.
"Ayumi… you okay?"
She didn't answer. Just turned to him suddenly, eyes wide, chest rising and falling too fast..like she'd been underwater too long. And without thinking.. She grabbed him. Clung to him like if she let go, something would take her too. Her voice was a breath against his shoulder.
"Yona…"
He didn't hesitate. Wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, steadying her as her fingers dug into the fabric of his jacket. He spoke low, calm, grounding.
"We'll get out of this place."
She didn't nod. Didn't move. But the trembling slowed.Ayumi didn't let go. She couldn't. Her voice trembled against his chest.
"I saw myself, Yona… in that mirror. A knife in my hand. Covered in blood."
A pause, then a breath that shook.
"It was Noir's. I think I killed him."
Yona stiffened. His arms were still around her, but his breath caught. Slowly, he pulled back just enough to look her in the face. His voice came low, quiet, but certain.
"I don't believe that."
Ayumi's eyes flicked up to his, still filled with that horrified shine. Yona shook his head gently.
"This place..it messes with us. Makes us see what it wants us to believe. The worst versions of ourselves."
He held her gaze.
"But you love Noir. Anyone could see it."
Her bottom lip trembled. Still pressed close, she whispered, "I saw you too, Yona."
A beat.
"Dead. Mia… she killed you."
Yona's eyes widened, a flicker of fear breaking through his calm. He didn't answer immediately. The words lodged in his throat. Ayumi's grip tightened. Her voice cracked.
"There was so much blood… she was just standing over you. And then…"
She shook her head hard, eyes squeezing shut like she could still see it burned onto the inside of her skull. Yona's heart pounded so loudly he was sure she could hear it.
But he didn't pull away..Didn't question. He leaned his forehead to hers, closing his eyes for a breath. Then he said, softly but firmly...
"That's not going to happen. Do you hear me?"
"We're not going to let it."
Ayumi opened her eyes slowly. Her voice was barely more than a breath. "…But what if I do become that person?"
Yona didn't flinch.
"Then I'll remind you who you really are. And I'll keep reminding you until this place lets you go."
Ayumi leaned into Yona's voice, into the comfort of it. His words. His warmth. His presence. But as she looked up at him.. Her breath hitched.
It wasn't yona's face.It was Noir's.
His voice, his tone, his kindness, but spoken through Yona's lips. Her heart skipped, staggered. For a split second, her body forgot how to breathe.
"You okay now?"the voice asked again..gentle, genuine.
Ayumi blinked. And it was Yona again. Noir was gone. Reality, or something pretending to be it, had returned.
She quickly stepped back, nodding. "Yeah… thanks, Yona."
But inside, she wasn't okay. Not even close. The blood, the mirror, the shifting faces..every step forward felt like walking deeper into a dream that didn't want to end.
Still, they walked. Down the corridor that twisted like roots. Past doorways that led to nowhere. Until... They reached the exit . Rusty metal doors pushed open with a groan, spilling them outside.
And the moment their feet hit cracked pavement, Yona stopped cold. It was morning. The sky above was pale and overexposed, sunlight filtering through paper-thin clouds.
But not a single sound stirred.No birds.No footsteps.No cars. No wind. The world felt… paused. A silence too perfect to trust.
Yona's voice broke it. "It's morning, but...where is everyone?"
Ayumi stepped forward, slowly scanning the empty street. The buildings looked familiar, but their windows were too dark. Their shadows angled wrong, like they belonged to something else.
She exhaled quietly."I think this world is upside down," she murmured. "Day here feels like night in our world. Like they live when it's dark… and disappear when the light comes." She glanced up at the empty sky. "They're not awake now. They're… sleeping. Or maybe hiding."
Yona turned toward her, frowning. "So what do we do now?"
Ayumi didn't answer right away. She stood there, still. Listening. Thinking. Feeling the weight of the vision behind her eyes...Noir's body, the knife, the blood on her hands. Then softly... "I want to check something."
Yona looked over. "Check what?"
She hesitated. Then met his eyes, voice almost a whisper. "Can you come with me?"
Concern crept into his tone. "Come where?"
Ayumi's eyes didn't leave his. "Noir's house."
Yona froze...A breath...
Then he nodded, steady. "Let's go"
They walked in silence. The streets felt too wide. The air too still. Shadows stretched unnaturally long across cracked pavement, pointing in directions the sun didn't support.
Ayumi kept her eyes forward, but her mind raced backward...To the mirror. Beside her, Yona's steps slowed. She stopped.
Turned to him. "What's wrong?"
Yona didn't answer right away. His eyes were scanning the buildings, like something invisible was tugging at him. Then...he looked at her, hesitant.
"Ayumi… I need to go somewhere too."
Ayumi blinked. "Where?"
He didn't give a name. Just said, quietly,
"There's something I need to see. Something I have to understand."
She studied him...his posture, his voice, the strange weight behind his words.
Then slowly, she nodded. "I get it."
A faint smile tugged at one corner of her lips...something sad and sincere.
"We both need to understand what's happening here."
Yona looked at her for a long moment, like he wanted to say more. But then he just nodded. They stood there..two silhouettes in a ghost-town morning. Then Yona turned and walked away.
Ayumi watched him disappear down the block until the mist swallowed him whole. She let out a quiet breath, gripped her sleeves tighter… and started toward Noir's house.
Each step echoed louder than it should've. Each window she passed felt like eyes behind glass. Something about the streets bent wrong, like the world it self was holding its breath for what she might find next . But she didn't stopped... until she reached his house .
Ayumi stopped in front of Noir's house. It looked the same. Same fence. Same chipped paint. Same ivy clinging to the walls like veins. But the windows were too dark. The air too still. Just a silence that pressed against her skin.
She hesitated. Her hand hovered over the door.
Then...Knock.
The sound echoed unnaturally in the stillness. She waited. No answer.
Knock.
Still nothing. The house seemed to swallow the sound whole.
A third time...Knock.
The wood felt colder than it should've. Like it wasn't really wood at all. She stood there for a moment, hand falling back to her side. Something in her chest twisted. Maybe it was foolish to come. Maybe it was...
Crrrreeeeak.
Ayumi froze. The door cracked open behind her. She turned slowly, heart thudding against her ribs. Standing in the doorway was... Herself.
Ayumi stared. And the girl stared back..her same face, same shape, same eyes. But colder. Paler. Like she hadn't seen sunlight in years. Her hair was damp, clinging to her skin as if she'd just stepped out of water. Her eyes held none of Ayumi's warmth. Only silence.
Both girls stared, wide-eyed, unmoving. The air around them thickened.
Ayumi vs. Ayumi.
Two pieces of the same puzzle..one real, one reflection.
To be continue ...