It started with the light.
Flickering.
The classroom lights buzzed, then dimmed—just for a second.
Everyone paused.
Then it was back.
Laughter returned. The teacher kept talking.
But Takeshi felt it.
A shift in the air.
Like Nehvarra had exhaled.
---
At lunch, the sky turned gray.
No wind.
No birds.
Just clouds sitting low, heavy like a warning.
Takeshi stood by the vending machine, staring at the sky.
Asami joined him, holding a canned coffee.
> "You feel it too, right?" she asked.
> "It's not just the weather."
She didn't answer. Just sipped quietly.
Then—
A scream.
---
Students ran to the main hallway.
Crowding. Whispers. Phones out.
Takeshi pushed through.
At the center was a girl.
Second year.
She stood frozen, eyes wide, lips trembling.
> "It… it touched me," she whispered. "Something cold. It was… standing behind me…"
But no one else saw anything.
Just the chill.
---
Takeshi stepped back.
His wrist burned faintly.
He turned to look at Asami.
She was already watching him.
Nodding.
---
That night, Rei stayed late at school.
In the library.
Digging through old files.
Old symbols.
Trying to make sense of what was happening.
He pulled out a page.
A photo from a fire incident years ago.
In the ashes, a single carving was found.
Same mark.
Same shape.
Same glow.
> "What the hell is going on…" he whispered.
---
And in his backpack, his own wrist—unseen—began to warm.
---
End of Chapter 27