I walked beside Kim.
We had spent hours together, talking… remembering.
Time slipped quietly into dusk, and eventually, we sat down on a bench to watch the sunset.
For a moment—
Everything felt… peaceful.
Then my phone rang.
I picked it up.
A message.
From Xia.
"Kim, if you're with Dark, come to our house. Now."
We looked at each other.
And without a word—
We ran.
Because while we had been reliving the past…
Something had already begun.
Airi walked alone through the streets, holding a bag of food.
—"I wonder if they'll like what I bought…"
She smiled softly, glancing at the contents.
—"Maybe I should've bought more… I could've invited Kim and Dark too."
She sighed.
And kept walking.
—"Oh…"
She stopped.
A small shop window caught her attention.
Glasses.
—"I should come back later…"
She moved on.
Passing by the school—
She looked up.
And froze.
The rooftop…
Was covered in crows.
Hundreds.
No—
Thousands.
Her breath caught in her throat.
—"This… reminds me of that time…"
Her voice trembled.
Suddenly—
The crows rose into the sky.
A black storm of wings.
They moved—
Not randomly.
But in patterns.
Dancing.
Twisting.
Like a ritual.
One crow broke formation.
It dove straight toward her.
Fast.
Too fast.
It struck—
And something hit her face.
Airi touched her cheek.
Her fingers trembled.
Slowly—
She looked at her hand.
Blood.
Her eyes widened.
And then—
She saw it.
An eye.
A human eye.
Still wet.
Still… fresh.
—"W-what… what is happening…?"
Her voice broke.
She looked up again.
The crows had formed a symbol.
Not a letter.
Not a word.
But something intentional.
An E.
Each crow moved in perfect synchronization.
As if guided.
As if controlled.
And then—
She appeared.
Standing above them.
On the rooftop.
Professor Eclipse
Her arms were raised.
Conducting the crows like an orchestra.
Her black dress merged with the shadows.
A single crow descended…
Landing on her hand.
Without hesitation—
She cut her own arm.
Blood flowed.
The crow drank.
—"My little one… it's time to deliver a message."
A soft smile curved her lips.
Not warm.
Not kind.
Malicious.
She handed something to the crow.
It turned its head.
And spoke.
In Luminari.
—"Pontifex sangrä'ir."
Her voice followed, barely a whisper:
—"Hodiä sangrä effundär."
(Today, blood shall be spilled.)
The crow took flight.
And dropped the object at Airi's feet.
She knelt slowly.
Her hands shaking.
A bone.
Half of a human femur.
Her body froze.
A scream tried to escape—
But died in her throat.
She gagged.
And vomited.
When she looked up again—
Eclipse was watching her.
Smiling.
Then—
She raised a finger to her lips.
Silence.
And vanished.
Consumed by the storm of crows.
Airi picked up the bone.
Runes carved into it.
Written in blood.
«𖤢𖦁𖥿𖦈𖤞𖤗 𖦈𖥶𖥿𖦇'𖤛»
Panic took over.
But then—
She remembered.
Minho.
She ran.
—"I need to hurry…"
By the time Kim and I arrived, we were exhausted.
We reached the door—
But before we could knock—
It opened.
Xia stood there.
She pulled us inside.
—"What happened?" Kim asked, breathing heavily.
—"Airi came back about thirty minutes ago. She was terrified… before she could explain anything, she fainted. She was holding half of a femur. It had Luminari inscriptions. We're waiting for her to wake up so Minho can translate it."
Kim and I exchanged a glance.
And nodded.
—"Then we wait."
We sat down.
Xia handed us water.
We drank it quickly.
—"Thanks…"
Upstairs—
Airi trembled in her sleep.
Sweat covered her skin.
Her body twisted—
As something unfolded inside her mind.
Six doors.
Ancient.
Decaying.
They opened.
One by one.
From the first—
A red mist flooded the room.
From the second—
Tentacles reached outward.
Searching.
From the third—
A black liquid poured endlessly.
From the fourth—
A massive eye stared directly at her.
From the fifth—
Only darkness.
Pure.
Absolute.
And from the sixth—
A whisper.
Soft.
Close.
—"Darkür."
(Dark.)
Airi woke up screaming.
She ran downstairs.
—"Airi, are you okay?!"
—"Just translate that damn bone!"
Her voice shook.
Not with fear.
But with something else.
Fury.
Minho and Won-ho rushed in.
Minho took the bone.
—"Pontifex sangrä'ir…"
He spoke quietly.
—"The bridge must bleed."
Silence.
—"That's what it says."
Xia stood up abruptly.
—"It's a metaphor. It has to be. Something's going to happen… something important."
I stepped closer.
Touched the bone.
It pulsed.
Like a heart.
The runes glowed violet.
New words formed—
This time…
In our language.
—"The ritual has begun."
Our phones rang.
At the same time.
A news alert.
We opened it.
Silence filled the room.
We fell.
Speechless.
—"We should tell the authorities," Airi said.
Won-ho sighed.
—"And say what? That our literature teacher caused it?"
—"We have the bone. And Min—"
—"Yeah, sure. Like they'll believe a blood-covered bone predicted it. We don't even understand Luminari. There's no record of it. And Minho learned it in dreams."
His voice hardened.
—"She's a witch. We don't know her path. Her level. If we make one mistake… we die."
Silence.
They all looked down.
Powerless.
I stood up.
—"I'm going to confront her."
And before anyone could stop me—
I ran.