Popping out from behind the crumbling pillar, Siti leaned her head dangerously close to his ear. "Are you thinking of something really good, Krai-san?"
Without breaking his gaze from the blue screen, he nodded again.
"Un, un."
Heavy boots stomped against the rotted floor. Ruke marched right up to the group, gripping his splintered wooden club with both hands. A wild, reckless grin stretched across his dirty face.
"Hey Krai, do you want to spar with me?" Ruke pointed the crude weapon toward the ceiling. "I finally figured out a new stance. I am going to show you my ultimate sword technique!"
"Un, un."
Krai did not hear a single syllable leaving their mouths. The deafening noise of the orphans, the biting cold of the draft, the smell of the mud—all of it faded into the background.
His entire conscious mind was focused solely on the countdown. He desperately wanted a hot shower. He wanted to throw these scratchy, lice-infested clothes into an incinerator and bury himself in his incredibly expensive, custom-stuffed mattress and sleep for a week.
00:09:47.
"Really?" Ruke bounced on his toes, his eyes practically sparking with excitement. "Let's go outside! We can spar right now!"
00:09:01.
"Un, un," Krai muttered.
"This is really going to be exciting," Ruke laughed loudly. He swung the club through the air, completely ignoring how close the heavy wood came to Krai's nose. "I get to spar with the sky-man. I bet your techniques are crazy."
00:08:30.
"Un, un."
From the other side of the hall, Lushi shoved her way through a crowd of screaming toddlers. She marched up to the group and slapped the back of Ruke's head with her open palm.
"Ouch! What was that for?" Ruke complained, rubbing his scalp.
"Leave him alone, Ruke," Lushi yelled. She planted her hands on her hips and glared at the redhead. "That newbie is probably not hearing a single word you are saying right now. He is just daydreaming with his eyes open."
Standing silently by the cracked window, Anz crossed his massive arms.
"Umu."
A chill ran down Krai's spine despite his total detachment. Lushi was terrifyingly accurate. Even as a child in a filthy slum, her instincts were razor-sharp. It was almost as if she could perfectly read his pathetic mood through the thick wall of his fake nods.
Not wanting to break his rhythm, Krai simply nodded at Lushi.
"Un, un."
00:05:47.
The chaos in the orphanage swelled. A hundred voices echoed off the rotting wood, creating a huge headache right behind his eyes. He did not care so he ignored the fighting over breadcrumbs and the shivering, and stared at the glowing blue numbers.
00:00:04.
Holding his breath, Krai started the final countdown in his own head.
Three...
Two...
One...
Zero. I am finally going home.
00:00:00.
A deafening, bone-rattling howl ripped through the freezing air.
The sound did not come from the SYSTEM. It came from outside. Sitting at the absolute edge of the residential zone, the ruined house had no neighbors to block the noise. The horrifying roar echoed clearly across the desolate wasteland and slammed into the broken walls of the mansion like a physical weight.
Inside the hall, dead silence fell instantly.
A hundred children froze in place. The half-chewed pieces of bread dropped from their small hands. Then, a second, deeper roar violently shook the remaining glass in the window panes.
Panic erupted.
The orphans scrambled backward and tripped over each other in a desperate bid to hide under the broken tables and behind the crumbling pillars.
"What was that?!" several children screamed. "Lushi, what is out there?"