Lucas shoved the restroom door open with trembling hands.
BANG!
The empty room echoed with the sound.
His breathing was ragged.
Every heartbeat sent another wave of pain through his skull.
“…Haa…”
“…Haa…”
He staggered toward the nearest sink before gripping its edges tightly.
Cold sweat rolled down his forehead.
His reflection stared back at him.
Messy black hair.
Round glasses.
Pale skin.
And thin streams of crimson blood running slowly from both ears.
Lucas instinctively turned on the faucet.
Water rushed into the basin.
He cupped both hands beneath the stream before splashing the icy water across his face.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The cold should have calmed him.
Instead…
The pounding inside his head only grew stronger.
“…What’s happening to me…?”
His voice barely rose above a whisper.
The restroom remained silent.
Only the steady sound of running water answered him.
Lucas leaned closer to the mirror.
“…I’m not crazy…”
“…Right?”
His own reflection simply stared back.
For several long seconds…
Nothing happened.
He released a tired sigh.
“…Maybe Derek’s right.”
“…I’m just exhausted.”
He reached for a paper towel.
Then-
The fluorescent lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
The humming above him suddenly stopped.
Silence.
Lucas slowly raised his head.
The mirror…
Was changing.
Tiny crimson ripples spread across its surface like blood falling into still water.
“…?”
His reflection blurred.
Darkness swallowed the glass.
Ancient crimson symbols began appearing one after another.
Lucas instinctively stepped backward.
“W-What…”
The symbols gathered together. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Slowly.
Patiently.
As though something beyond the mirror were trying to communicate.
Then…
A small crimson window appeared above his head.
It was blurred.
Incomplete.
Almost transparent.
Lucas couldn’t understand most of it.
Only two words burned faintly across its surface.
[ ACCESS LOCKED ]
Lucas’s breathing stopped.
“…No…”
His trembling hand slowly reached toward the floating window.
The moment his fingertips were about to touch it-
The crimson screen flickered.
Then vanished.
Everything returned to normal.
The mirror once again reflected only his frightened face.
Silence.
Lucas blinked repeatedly.
“…Did I…”
“…really see that?”
He stepped closer.
Nothing.
No crimson light.
No floating window.
No strange symbols.
Only his exhausted reflection.
He adjusted his glasses before forcing out a bitter laugh.
“…I’m definitely losing my mind.”
Just then-
RRRRRIIIIIIINNNNGGGGG!!
The final school bell echoed throughout Westbridge University.
Students immediately poured into the hallways.
Laughter.
Conversations.
Footsteps.
Lockers slamming shut.
Life continued as though nothing unusual had happened.
Lucas remained where he was.
He couldn’t bring himself to move.
Slowly…
He slid down the tiled wall until he was sitting on the cold restroom floor.
His hands covered his face.
The moving equations…
The voices…
The empty classroom…
The blood…
And now…
That mysterious crimson window.
None of it made sense.
“…What…”
“…is happening to me?” This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Minutes passed.
Perhaps longer.
Gradually…
The sounds outside faded.
Teachers locked their classrooms.
Students left for home.
The once lively campus slowly fell into silence.
Eventually…
Lucas took a deep breath and forced himself back onto his feet.
“…I should go.”
He washed the remaining blood from his hands before giving the mirror one final glance.
Nothing unusual.
Just himself.
“…Maybe tomorrow…”
“…I’ll wake up and all of this will be over.”
He left the restroom.
The afternoon sunlight stretched across the nearly deserted corridors.
Only a handful of club members remained inside the school.
Some teachers walked toward the parking lot carrying stacks of papers.
The cheerful atmosphere from earlier had disappeared.
Lucas adjusted the strap of his backpack-
Then stopped.
“…My bag.”
He sighed.
“I left it in the classroom.”
Turning around, he began walking back toward Classroom 3-B.
His footsteps echoed through the empty hallway.
Everything felt strangely peaceful.
Until-
A faint voice drifted through the silence.
“…Please…”
Lucas stopped.
He looked around.
Nothing.
Again…
Softer this time.
“…Please…”
“…Give me a little more time…”
Lucas frowned.
The voice wasn’t inside his head.
It was real.
It sounded frightened.
Slowly…
He followed the sound down the old hallway leading toward the abandoned classrooms near the library wing.
With every step…
The pleading became clearer.
“…I said I’ll do it…”
“…Please…”
Lucas stopped before a half-open classroom door.
The voice…
Was coming from inside.
He slowly reached toward the handle.
And looked through the narrow opening.
His eyes widened.