Where on earth has that rascal Kyle run off to?
I just can't figure it out. Evil Entity usually doesn't go back to attack underage kids, but this time it seemed to perceive Kyle and Yass' presence even before it noticed me. Could it be that their awareness has evolved?
"Damn it... Kyle!!!"
I wanted to rush forward to stop him, but I was a step too late. Suddenly, the suspended orb in the air burst with blinding light.
I just felt a sudden flash before my eyes and then lost consciousness.
When I woke up again, I found myself in a restroom that resembled a school.
For some reason, I felt a slight chill in my body at this moment, lying on the floor felt like lying in a cold storage room, and the eerie darkness around me was quite unsettling.
Using my hands for support, I struggled to get up from the damp and cold ground.
No wonder it's so cold, it's the restroom's tiled floor... Tiled floor?
I seemed to have been lying on a tiled floor just now. How strange. Wasn't this kind of floor outdated ten years ago?
To figure out where I was, I brushed off the dust on me and groped around.
Reaching up to touch my cheek, I could feel the grooves of the tiles on my face.
Why am I lying on the restroom floor of a school? Unfortunately, no matter how hard I try to recall, I can't remember.
My mind was in chaos. Why? This is my childhood school; I spent six years here, I shouldn't forget.
The restroom light had long gone out, and I could faintly see a not-so-prominent switch on the wall, surrounded by an unusually quiet atmosphere.
What on earth happened? In my foggy state of mind, I could only rely on the 'Light of the Gods' for 'redemption.'
"Could it be that I've been corrupted by the Evil Entity?!"
I wouldn't do something so stupid, right? I just need to check... What time is it now? I took out my phone to check the time.
"XX month, XX day... Year XXXX?!"
What's going on?
This is the place where I just entered the school eleven years ago. Did the Evil Entity really swallow me up?
Oh... right. This might actually be a good opportunity to slowly sort out this chaotic memory, right?
That year, for volunteer service, our class leader asked everyone to come to school on the weekend for a discussion.
Around 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the responsible students gathered in the classroom, brought out their drinking water, and began the discussion.
The meeting was long and tedious, with discussions on street cleaning and assignments to various communities. Some suggested adding more brooms, others wanted more air fresheners, and reaching a consensus was difficult due to differing opinions.
As the discussions reached a stalemate, the class leader suggested taking a fifteen-minute break.
Some went for a walk outside, while others went to buy hot milk tea.
There was no assignment for me in the corner of the classroom. Honestly, when there's nothing to do and time to kill, there's always a bit of a sense of needing to use the restroom, so I left the classroom and walked towards the public restroom on the east side... *click*!!!
Suddenly, the memory was abruptly cut off here. I was just about to find out. Did I slip inside and then faint?
What a waste, back then...
I should hurry back or Yukari will worry. So I brushed off the dust on me again and walked towards the restroom's entrance.
No, something's wrong—wait, something must have gone wrong!
I opened my phone again, and this time the time had changed to midnight.
In less than three minutes, why did the time jump back by several hours again?
"The spiritual world of the Evil Entity is too terrifying, am I unable to keep up with the pace at all?"
What's even stranger is that it's so dark here without the lights on. When I entered the bathroom, the lights were definitely on.
Were they turned off by someone, or is there a power outage... as far as I know, there shouldn't be any mandatory power outages on our campus at night.
(Gradually, my mind has been taken over by the Evil Entity)
But even if there really is a power outage, it shouldn't be this dark. I just can't understand why all these strange things are happening to me?
Everything is making me shudder in fear.
Whether it's the bathroom or the windows outside the classroom, everything is pitch black, like the windows of a basement.
The sun has long set by this time, after all, it's midnight.
I approached the window full of fear. Isn't this pitch-black place too eerie?
"Is this an attempt to wear me down mentally in a battle of attrition?"
I have to admit, this Evil Entity is really powerful, on a different level from a normal thunderstorm!
"The sky at this time has no twinkling stars, no moon, and there isn't even a single dark cloud."
I awkwardly smiled, maybe this is the only downside in this environment?
I couldn't see the various buildings on campus projected onto the window, the outside looked like it was filled with pitch-black ink.
That silent darkness seems endless, like it can swallow everything around it... including me!
Finally reaching the window, I reached out towards the outside.
The window was wide open, and outside was surrounded by pure black sponge, or could it be... smoke? Is there a fire outside?
No, if it was smoke from a fire, the smoke should have rushed into the room from the window instead. Perhaps I would have been... hehehe, I forgot, I'm not human anymore...
I had no choice but to reach out my hand to feel it myself, and then I touched something cold and hard.
"What is this?!"
I couldn't help but quickly retract my hand, is this... a joke?
Outside the window was actually an indistinguishable colored wall, not some thick black mist!
It was filled with hard objects, feeling like rough marble... No, it seems to be the cement wall originally used for building houses, and...
"It's so solid, what's the point of it being here?"
It's impossible to know the thickness of the wall just by touch, it seems like an endless corridor extending outwards.
What's happening? Did the Evil Entity seal off the outside world with cement? Why would it do that?!
Am I trapped in my own world?
"No, this can't be!" My brain was starting to run wild.
But on second thought, the Evil Entity doesn't have the ability to control human thoughts. The only thing they can do is make people recall their worst memories, beyond that, in their spiritual world, they can't harm anything.
Just then, some details in the originally pristine white bathroom suddenly changed. The clean floor and walls immediately vanished, as if wiped clean like stains.
"!!!"
The bloodstains on the floor became more and more prominent, as if a battle had taken place here, startling me.
In the quiet restroom, the only sound I could hear was the beating of my own heart. Apart from that, there was not even the sound of a dripping faucet in the sink.
It's way too silent in here, can't hear the sound of water flowing or the faint breeze. Even in the quietest late night, you would hear some subtle noises—sounds of clothes rubbing, car horns passing by on the street outside, etc.
However, now all I can hear is silence, as if I'm the only person existing in this world. Just the thought of it sends a chill down my spine—this place might be a nightmare from which I'll never wake up!!!
"Maybe I should wait here a bit longer?" Even though I still can't figure out the current situation, I know something is definitely wrong.
The men's restroom where I am should have sunlight and fluorescent lighting, with several stalls and the last one for cleaning supplies.
Normally a plain and simple place for me, but suddenly it has turned into a frightening and eerie world.
Anyway, better leave this place. Even though I don't know what strange things are happening, staying here any longer is too risky.
So, I start searching for an exit, running towards the hallway slowly, my footsteps sounding strangely deafening.
"God, is there really no other relaxing sound here?" Indeed, there have been many significant changes around me, the chalkboard next to the entrance now in ruins, its pieces scattered on the ground.
Stepping on it produces a crisp sound, yes, this is the only sound besides my footsteps currently.
The hallway lights are still off, but it's much better than before, at least now I can see some faint red lights slowly.
But it's really dark, even the hallway windows are pitch black, with some of the glass panes broken, making it just as dark outside.
Finally reaching the bottom floor, it's still pitch black outside, and feeling almost exhausted, I say disheartenedly, "Oh no... is the outside of this window all walls too?!"
If that's the case, the entire building might be... I really can't get out? No way?
I wonder how Kyle and Yas are doing, the Evil Entity shouldn't harm them for now. It can't be just me trapped in this Evil Entity's world, right? It's too terrifying to imagine being the only one stuck in such a strange world!
I run back to the classroom where I used to attend lessons, suppressing my nervousness as I open the door.
"Hmm? I feel like I sensed something."
Of course, I dare not think about the luxury of going back to take a shower and sleep. I might not get to enjoy these comforts later. But I hope someone will burn some paper money for me in the end, that would be enough for me!
Suddenly, I furrow my brows tightly, as I vaguely hear a sound of something gnawing.
"...Wait, is that the sound of a large fire burning? No, it can't be right?"
...
"Sister..."
Kyle softly calls out for his sister in his dream, then closes his eyes tiredly.
"Ugh... I'm so tired."
Although the cold wind is still blowing outside, where Kyle is, the eaves above are covered by wooden walls and tiles to shield from wind and rain.
Hence, even though it's freezing, he still feels a trace of warmth.
"So comfortable, is it really the end of the world?"
As the saying goes, the birds have begun building nests on the trees, heralding the imminent end of the cold winter.
