The deafening ring of the bell announcing 11 o'clock echoed through the classroom. The teacher snapped his book shut with a single motion, marking the end of the lecture.
Chairs scraped. Students rose, bored, tired, eyes already drifting to the glow of their phone screens as if their entire existence were depending on the little devices. At the back of the room, a lone student remained seated. His dark navy blazer draped perfectly over a lean, sculpted frame. Cream trousers and polished black shoes completed the clean image of a striking high schooler. His skin was pale, almost too pale. His lips, red as blood. Long, sharp eyes, outlined in faint black, hid behind a curtain of jet-dark hair.
But he wasn't looking at anyone. Or anything.
His gaze was fixed beyond the window, caught in the glow of a flawless summer sky. Rays of light poured in, painting his still face in cold fire. His chin rested lightly in the palm of his hand. He didn't blink. He didn't move. The room quickly emptied. Only the soft sound of his breath remained, echoing the large space.
Justice is the balance that punishes those blinded by greed. Those who forget their soul in selfish desires will perish in fire. Without that truth, there is only suffering.
A whisper, a voice as old as times, not heard in the room, but in his ears. He leaned on his back, putting his palms face down on the table and closed his eyes. The words lingered.
- Eiri, are you okay? The class ended twenty minutes ago, the teacher asked, peering from the doorway.
The boy opened his dull eyes and gave a small nod. Slowly, he stood, picked up his bag, carefully placing his books inside before heading toward the door. The hallways were eerily empty, like everyone had vanished to somewhere important.
- Eiri… Eiri…
His name echoed again through the school's empty corridors, but he didn't turn toward the voice that called him. Heavy footsteps echoed on the pale green concrete floor, drawing closer until they stopped right behind the dark-haired boy. A moment later, a slow, strained breath cut through the silence, and a hand rested on his shoulder. A young man appeared behind him with copper-hair color, wearing the same school uniform, having the purest and lightest blue eyes someone can imagine.
- Eiri, he said again, this time softly. Linda disappeared last night. Her parents are desperate… It's all over the news. Did anyone say anything in class today about her? He hesitated, with his gaze full of concern. I'm sorry… I know you liked her.
But the dark-haired boy said nothing. His face remained hidden behind strands of black hair, his arms hanging loosely at his sides, articulating his back firmly.
- Who told you I liked her? Said Eiri with a deeper, raspy, calm, and unsettling tone. It came from nowhere and everywhere.
The redhead pulled his hand away and took a step back, startled.
- I saw the way you looked at her. For a month, your eyes followed her. I thought…
Silence.
Eiri slowly lifted his head, turning toward his classmate. This time, his gaze didn't drift, it locked directly into those bright blue eyes. There was something terrifying in them. Eyes so black, so still, they didn't reflect the world around them. Only darkness. A darkness so deep.
- You're wrong, Eiri said calmly. I didn't watch her because I liked her. I watched her because I pitied her.
A breeze whispered through the hallway, even though the windows were sealed shut. The redhead looked down, shivering. It was the middle of summer, but something around them had gone cold.
- What do you mean…? He asked softly now. Almost as if afraid of the answer.
Eiri's voice this time was not the rough one from before. This one was gentle. Melodic. Like honey melting into the wind. Like perfume carried through the spring mountain fields.
- Because she was already gone, he said. Long before she disappeared. Her days were spent chasing illusions…
- Eiri… The redhead stood frozen in front of him, throat dry.
From somewhere distant, maybe inside the dark-haired own mind, maybe far above the school's roof, he heard a voice.
"Judgment begins when truth is ignored."
Eiri walked past him without a word. But the redhead turned to watch him go, his pulse racing. An unsettling feeling taking over.