Alice froze in place as the sound echoed around her. Her hands tightened nervously around her sleeve while people smiled and clapped for her.
"I-I actually won…"
A judge approached her with a warm smile.
"Congratulations, Alice. Your project was incredible."
Alice gave an awkward smile back.
"T-Thank you…"
The judge glanced toward the large origami display behind her.
A massive paper city stood beneath the bright lights, surrounded by carefully folded ponds, bridges, and tiny paper lanterns.
The details were so precise that it almost looked real.
"What inspired you to create something like this?" the judge asked curiously.
Alice looked toward her project quietly.
For a few seconds, she didn't answer.
Then she scratched the back of her head awkwardly.
"I don't really know…"
The judge blinked.
Alice laughed nervously.
"I just wanted to make something that felt alive, I guess."
The judge smiled.
"Well, whatever your inspiration was, it clearly worked."
More applause filled the hall as people gathered around to look at her project more closely.
Alice wasn't used to this much attention.
Honestly…
it was overwhelming.
She stepped back slightly and looked around the crowded hall.
Cameras flashed.
People whispered excitedly.
Some younger kids stared at her creation with sparkling
Alice smiled genuinely.
Meanwhile At School.
The sound of chalk scraping against the board filled the classroom.
Nova rested his head against his hand, barely listening to the math teacher explain equations nobody cared about.
His eyes drifted across the room for a moment.
Toward Stacy.
She was focused on writing notes, completely unaware he was looking at her.
Nova quickly looked away before anyone noticed.
Then—
BEEEEEP.
The classroom speakers crackled loudly.
Everyone flinched.
The teacher frowned and looked toward the ceiling.
A shaky voice suddenly echoed through the entire school.
"Attention… all students and staff are to remain inside their classrooms immediately. This is not a drill."
The room instantly went silent.
Some students laughed nervously.
Others pulled out their phones.
Then the voice returned.
"There is an armed man inside the school building."
The classroom exploded into panic.
"What?!"
"Are you serious?!"
"Oh my God—"
Chairs screeched across the floor as students stood up in fear.
One girl immediately started crying.
The teacher quickly rushed toward the classroom door and locked it.
"Everyone stay calm!" he shouted.
But nobody was calm.
Students ducked beneath desks while others crowded into the corner of the room.
Nova's heart pounded violently.
An armed man…?
Suddenly—
BANG!
A gunshot echoed somewhere down the hallway.
Several students screamed.
Another shot followed.
Closer this time.
The sound of footsteps slowly approached the classroom.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Every student froze.
Nova could hear his own heartbeat.
The footsteps stopped directly outside the door.
For a moment—
silence.
Then—
BANG!
The lock exploded apart.
The classroom door slammed open violently.
A man stepped inside holding a gun.
Students screamed instantly.
"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" the man roared.
The room fell silent except for trembling breaths and quiet sobs.
The man's eyes scanned the classroom carefully before stopping on someone.
Stacy.
He slowly raised the gun toward her.
"Hand over that girl," he said coldly.
"And nobody gets hurt."
Stacy froze completely.
Her face turned pale.
Nova's mind raced.
Why Stacy…?
Nobody moved.
Nobody even dared breathe too loudly.
Nova clenched his fists beneath the desk.
He couldn't just sit there and do nothing.
But rushing him directly would be suicide.
His thoughts spiraled desperately.
Then—
he remembered last night.
The sword.
The coding.
The feeling of reality lagging.
Nova slowly slid beneath his desk while everyone else focused on the gunman.
His breathing became uneven.
This has to work…
Inside his mind, lines of imaginary code began forming rapidly.
Not a weapon this time.
Something else.
A button.
A single-use teleportation command.
Able to send anything anywhere instantly.
But usable only once every twenty-four hours.
Nova imagined every detail carefully.
Every condition.
Every limitation.
The air around him suddenly felt heavier again.
That strange feeling returned.
Like reality itself was glitching.
Then—
something appeared in his trembling hand.
A small black button.
Cold.
Real.
Nova stared at it in disbelief for half a second.
It worked.
It actually worked.
His heart pounded even faster now.
The gunman took another step toward Stacy.
"Hurry up!" he thought tensely .
Nova tightened his grip on the button.
He couldn't mess this up.
Slowly, carefully, he pressed it.
And imagined one thing.
China.
For a split second—
nothing happened.
Then suddenly—
the man vanished.
Gone.
Completely.
The entire classroom froze.
The gun.
The man.
Everything.
Gone.
Silence swallowed the room.
Nobody moved.
Nobody understood what had just happened.
"W-What…?" someone whispered.
The teacher stared at the empty space in horror.
Stacy remained frozen in place, shaking uncontrollably.
Nova quickly looked down at his empty hand.
The button had disappeared too.
Just like the sword.
His chest rose and fell rapidly.
He actually did it.
Sirens echoed outside moments later as police rushed into the school building.
But by then—
the armed man was nowhere to be found.
⸻
The incident spread across the internet within hours.
News channels exploded with theories.
Some claimed the man escaped.
Others believed police were hiding something.
Conspiracy videos flooded social media almost instantly.
But nobody could explain one thing.
How a man could disappear in the middle of a classroom.
Meanwhile, Nova stayed completely silent.
He knew better than to tell anyone the truth.
Because if people discovered what he could do—
best case scenario?
He becomes a government experiment.
Worst case?
He didn't even want to think about it.
The school was shut down for the next week.
Police officers were assigned to protect Stacy after discovering the gunman had specifically targeted her.
Her parents accepted immediately.
But Stacy herself barely spoke after the incident.
Every time she closed her eyes—
she remembered the gun pointed directly at her.