His name was Zeyn Tendou Zaine.
An eighteen-year-old freshmen who had, just yesterday, fallen asleep at the edge of a café like it was the most natural thing in the world.
At a glance, there was nothing remarkable about him. A fairly tall young man with a pointed chin and the kind of face everybody could easily lose in a crowd. His blackish-grey hair curved in a loose comma shape, slightly messy.
And his eyes…
Sharp. Cold. Ruby-red.
People often mistook them for something supernatural. But Zeyn, he preferred a simpler explanation: illness.
After class, he rarely went straight home. Instead, he wandered. No destination, no urgency. Just quiet steps along the corridors, one hand brushing lightly against the windows as he passed, careful not to bump into anyone.
Careful… but never certain.
He could feel the world around him, yes- but that didn't guarantee anything. Colliding with someone would only waste time. Apologies. Questions. Explanations he had no interest in giving.
Not bringing his glasses today only made things worse. Forgetting things had always been his specialty.
Zeyn stopped for a moment and glanced at his wrist.
A bracelet. A gift from his adoptive father.
"This thing… still as ordinary as ever," he muttered under his breath. "Julius probably just wanted to mess with me."
He had worn it for years and nothing had changed. No hidden function, no suppressed power, no mysterious reaction.
"And if it's really this meaningless… then there's no reason to hold back."
A quiet breath escaped his lips.
His senses sharpened.
Though his eyes failed him, something else took their place.
Figures moved like drifting lights, their forms dissolving into colors and faint distortions. The people around him no longer looked like people, but like flowing auras- each one pulsing with a different rhythm.
And beyond them… things that shouldn't exist.
Zeyn blinked once, letting his perception settle. Slowly, he began to walk again, forcing his movements to appear natural despite the warped reality only he could see.
"Okay… that's better."
Unfortunately, a sudden presence rushed toward him—from the left.
THUD—
They collided.
"Hwah!"
A sharp, high-pitched cry cut through the air from his left. And before the person he bumped into could complain, Zeyn flicked his finger.
Bzzztth—Whung!
And the world… broke.
Everything slowed.
Students mid-step drifted like puppets underwater. A mosquito hovered nearby, its wings trembling in impossibly slow motion, each vibration hanging in the air like glass about to shatter. Even the trees outside the windows stood frozen, leaves suspended as though time itself had forgotten to move them.
"Huff…" Zeyn exhaled, irritation slipping through. "Not again."
A door earlier had already been enough.
Without thinking, he reached out. His hand caught the girl by the waist before she could fall.
Books and papers scattered between them, drifting lazily as if gravity had lost interest. He also crouched, gathering them one by one.
He moved normally, as if he alone had been excluded from whatever had just happened to the world.
And then-
"Are you okay?"
"Huh?" the girl blinked.
Time snapped back. Sound rushed in. Movement returned. The world resumed as if nothing had ever happened. Students walked past them, unaware and unbothered.
"Are you okay?" Zeyn repeated.
"Eh? Huh? I…"
It was her. The same girl who had arrived earlier with the student council president.
* *
Ten minutes earlier.
Along the second-floor corridor of Building B, Aidera walked at an unhurried pace, her steps light despite the absurd amount of snacks she carried in both arms.
Two ice creams. Five bags of potato chips. Four cups of soft drinks.
"Morning, Ai. You looked pretty today."
"Hi Aidera. How're you doing?"
"Eh? Do you need some help with that?"
Voices called out as she passed, some greeting her, others teasing. Aidera responded with casual waves and half-hearted grins, unfazed.
What they didn't know… every single one of those snacks was for her.
*Brrrt!
Her wrist vibrated, and she stopped mid-step.
Aidera shifted the pile slightly and glanced at her watch. The name flashing on the screen made her click her tongue.
Of course.
Carefully, she set all her snacks down on top of a nearby locker, stacking them with surprising precision. Then she swiped to answer.
"Hello, sweetpea. What are you doing?" Dellon's voice came through.
Aidera rolled her eyes instantly. "Hm? Can't you hear the sound of me enjoying my life? And now you're ruining it."
"Relaxing during organization hours doesn't exist," he shot back. "You should know that."
Aidera sighed, long and dramatic.
"So anyway, about the draft documents for the freshmen- the ones that got mixed up yesterday? They're being reviewed today by the Head of the History Education Department."
Aidera blinked.
"Oh. That list? For Ms. Grecia, right? When does she need it?"
"Now."
She froze. "…Wait. Now as in… now-now?"
"Yes, now. She's in Building A. Do you still have the documents?"
Aidera stared blankly ahead for a second, processing.
Then she groaned.
"Ugh, you've got to be kidding me…"
"If you can, deliver it immediately. I'll handle the soft files later."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it."
Without wasting another second, she ended the call, grabbed all her snacks in one sweeping motion, and spun on her heel.
Plans changed. Snacks later. Responsibility first.
Well… reluctantly.
"I'll drop by the classroom first, then head to Building A," she muttered to herself. "Might as well return those library books too…"
"Aight then," Dellon's voice echoed faintly before the call ended completely.
* *
Well, that was the reason why she was here in the first place. Because she was in a hurry, she ended up bumping into someone.
But for some reason, she didn't fall.
Zeyn casually handed over the stack of books he was holding, which only made Aidera even more startled.
"Are you okay?" he asked, once again.
"Um… yeah. Sorry, I just… uhh…"
She clumsily took the books. It was then that their gazes met, lingering for a moment as they silently stared at each other.
He stepped past her, ready to leave as if nothing about this encounter mattered.
"Wait!"
The moment she got a clearer look at him, something clicked.
Aidera had seen him before. Just once, during the student orientation for another department. A passing glance. Nothing more.
He was a freshmen. The badge on his right arm made that obvious. Which meant, he should be listed somewhere in the registry book she was holding.
And yet…
Her fingers tightened around it. Her body trembled. It came without warning.
"H-huh?"
A faint tightness wrapped around her chest, stealing her breath. Not pain, but something stranger. Something heavier. Her heartbeat stuttered, then quickened, as if trying to catch up to something she didn't understand. A strange, fragile sense of familiarity.
Like finding something she had lost… without ever remembering when she lost it.
"Have we… met before?" she added.
Zeyn stopped.
Silence slipped in between them.
Slowly, he turned back. His gaze settled on her, but not quite on her. Her figure remained slightly blurred in his vision, edges indistinct, details slipping away before they could fully form.
He studied her for a brief moment. Her face felt foreign. Yet, there was something… off about her. For the briefest second, it felt like he wasn't the one looking, but being looked at.
From somewhere far beyond her. Something very powerful, cruel, and terrifying.
Zeyn's expression didn't change. "No. I don't know you."
"Oh… I see." Aidera forced a small laugh, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Sorry. And… thank you. For helping me."
"Hm..."
And once again, Zeyn intended to leave. If anything, his steps grew slightly faster- as if staying any longer would only invite something unnecessary.
Aidera remained where she stood.
Silent.
Her gaze followed his back as he walked further down the corridor, growing smaller with each step. Her fingers curled tighter around the book in her arms.
This was new. She wasn't the type to feel awkward around strangers.
Why did he feel… familiar?
Not in the way of recognition. But in the way of something… unfinished. A lingering thread, stretched across time, waiting to be tied.
A debt? A memory?
"W-wait. Are you- " She took a step forward.
Too late. The corridor ahead was empty. He was already gone.
* * * *