The hum of the old ceiling fan buzzed overhead, struggling against the heat of a packed classroom. Sunlight filtered through cracked blinds, casting thin, jagged shadows across the desks. John, a young man in his early twenties, sat in the middle row, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded. His dark eyes were fixed on the professor at the front, though his mind wandered, as it often did, to the distant dreams he had yet to chase. He absently twirled his pen between his fingers, his sharp features set in a bored expression, as the drone of the lecture filled the stale air.
"…and as we've discussed, submit your assignment after class " the professor's voice echoed, his words barely cutting through the murmurs of restless students. John's gaze drifted to the window, where the sky outside stretched endlessly, a reminder of the world beyond these suffocating walls. He wondered, not for the first time, if he was meant for something more – something greater than the ordinary life laid out before him.
A sudden, sharp flick of paper snapped him from his thoughts. Riku, his seatmate, leaned over with a sly grin, his hand cupped around his mouth. "Hey, you awake over there, man? You look like you're plotting your great escape." John smirked, his lips twitching into a rare smile. "Maybe I am. This place can't hold me forever."
As the lecture droned on, John mind returned to the strange dreams that had haunted him for weeks – fleeting images of shadowy figures moving like ghosts through moonlit forests, the whisper of blades slicing through the air, and the distant echoes of an unfamiliar, ancient language. It felt absurd, but the dreams left him with a lingering sense of purpose, as if his destiny lay somewhere far beyond the reach of this classroom.
Suddenly, the room shuddered, the lights flickering as a distant rumble rolled through the building. Startled gasps erupted from the students, and the professor froze mid-sentence, his chalk clattering to the floor. John's heart raced, his instincts flaring to life as the ground trembled beneath his feet. He barely had time to register the screams around him before the world tilted violently, the ceiling cracking overhead as the walls groaned under invisible pressure.
Time slowed, the sharp sound of glass shattering filling his ears as chaos erupted around him. John felt his chair lurch backward, his vision blurring as he tumbled into darkness. His final, panicked thought echoed in the void – Is this how it ends?
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