"Welcome to the Hall of Glory, heroes. It's a pleasure to meet you."
At the center of the vast hall, surrounded by towering pillars that seemed to touch the sky, floated a white-haired woman with flawless features and two white wings on her back.
Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked upon the forty teenagers before her.
Among them, a black-haired boy with a gloomy expression widened his eyes.
He stared up at the floating woman, caught between awe and fear.
"What... exactly happened?"
...
Bang!
At the back of the quiet room, a sixteen-year-old boy drove his fist into the stomach of the boy in front of him.
"Hahaha! What's wrong, man? Why the face? I didn't even hit you that hard. Come on, get up!"
On either side of him, his two friends stared at the boy with mocking smiles and dismissive eyes.
"Johan, I seriously don't get it," said the teen on his right. "He's tall, but so weak. Maybe his daily routine is watching adult videos and wasting tissues?"
"Hahaha!" The one on Johan's left burst out laughing. "Damn, that's brutal—but it fits. Just look at him—tall, skinny, pathetic. I bet he watches three a day."
Johan and the other boy laughed until tears welled up in their eyes.
Still chuckling, Johan shook his head and stepped closer. He leaned down slightly and grabbed the boy by the collar.
His gaze locked onto the boy's violet eyes as he threatened, "Don't say a word to the teacher. If you open your mouth, I'll deal with you tomorrow. And don't forget the payment. I'll be waiting at the usual spot."
With that, he released the boy's collar and gave him a small shove—just hard enough to send him crashing into the cabinet behind him.
Without another word, Johan and his two friends turned and walked out of the room.
"Damn..." The boy muttered under his breath, his voice thick with anger.
But the anger didn't last long. It quickly gave way to that all-too-familiar feeling of helplessness.
He rose slowly, brushing the dust and dirt off his rumpled school uniform.
'Mom's definitely going to scold me later,' he murmured, his voice tinged with sadness.
His name was Shin Arthur—a first-year high school student on the verge of moving up to second year.
Unfortunately, high school life had been far from kind. Just like today, he had been bullied again—by the same three classmates who never left him alone.
Johan, the ringleader, along with his two friends—Daniel and Kael—had made him their target since his very first day at school.
For a whole year, he had lived under their shadow, trapped in a cycle of daily harassment.
They stole his pocket money nearly every day, Monday through Friday, leaving him barely enough to buy lunch.
'That punch... really hurt,' he whispered through clenched teeth.
He pressed a hand to his stomach. A sharp pain radiated through his body.
"I'm probably going to be in pain all night because of this..." he muttered, shaking his head in resignation.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the room and made his way back to class.
Break time was nearly over. If he didn't return soon, the teacher's punishment might be even worse.
As he entered the classroom, his eyes immediately found Johan, Daniel, and Kael sitting in the corner, laughing and joking like nothing had happened.
But the moment they noticed him, all three turned their heads at once—grinning with mockery, their smiles laced with unspoken threats.
Shin swallowed hard, quickly looked away, and walked over to his seat at the far right corner of the room.
There were still fifteen minutes before the next lesson began. Normally, he would use that time to read.
But after what had just happened, he couldn't focus. The pain in his stomach throbbed constantly, clouding his thoughts.
Just then, the voices of two classmates nearby drifted into his ears.
"By the way, it's been two years since the last spiritual phenomenon, right? It should be about time for another one. Who do you think the next victim will be?"
"Hmm... hard to say. They happen at random, and no one knows which country will be hit next. But if I remember right, our country was the one affected two years ago, wasn't it?"
"That's right. Back then, the victims were students from Colbern Middle School, located in the southern part of the city. They say forty students just vanished. It was terrifying."
The two continued chatting, unaware that behind them, Shin had clenched his fists, his anger quietly boiling beneath the surface.
'Spiritual phenomena…' he muttered, his expression dark and pained.
Spiritual phenomena were mysterious occurrences with no known cause.
The first incident happened in a Western European country, where forty people disappeared without a trace.
The news quickly became a global sensation. But what made it even more terrifying was how these incidents kept repeating in different countries—always with the same pattern, and exactly every two years.
Two years ago, it was his country's turn. Among the victims was his younger sister, Shin Melissa.
From that moment, his life took a sharp turn. His mother lost her sanity and had to undergo specialized treatment. Although she had since recovered, her illness occasionally relapsed—and during those times, she would strike Shin uncontrollably.
As a child, he had no strength to resist. All he could do was remain silent and endure, becoming his mother's punching bag for the past two years.
"Shin? Hello? Did you hear me calling?"
A girl's voice suddenly snapped him out of his thoughts. Shin turned to his left and saw a beautiful girl looking at him.
The girl had long black hair tied in a ponytail. She was rather petite—about 158 centimeters—but possessed a feature most girls her age lacked: a well-proportioned figure with a prominent chest and slender hips.
Her eyes were as blue as the ocean—mesmerizing to anyone who looked into them.
She was the belle of the class: Shion Elaris.
Many boys secretly admired her, including Shin. However, his feelings weren't quite love—more like admiration and quiet fondness.
For a teenager his age, Shion was the image of near-perfection.
Snapping out of his daze, Shin forced a smile and asked, "What's wrong, Shion? Do you need something?"
Shion puffed her cheeks in mock annoyance, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I'm going around collecting homework from everyone in class. It's your turn now. So, can you hand yours over?"
Shin quickly took out his notebook and passed it to her.
"Thank you," Shion said with a satisfied smile. But then her expression shifted—concern flickered in her eyes as she hesitantly asked, "By the way… why do you look so pale? Are you okay?"
Startled, Shin instinctively reached up and rubbed his face.
"Pale? That can't be right." He shook his head quickly, trying to brush it off. "You're probably just imagining it."
"Are you sure?" Shion raised an eyebrow but didn't press further. Instead, she let out a small sigh and said, "If you're not feeling well, you should go to the infirmary. I'll tell the teacher for you."
Without waiting for a response, Shion stepped over to the next desk.
Shin could only shake his head with a wry smile.
'She's still as kind as ever,' he murmured to himself.
Ding dong!
The bell rang, signaling the end of break time. All the students in Shin's class had returned to their seats.
But strangely, five minutes passed without any sign of the teacher.
"Did the English teacher oversleep? Why isn't she here yet?" one of the students asked, puzzled.
"Maybe," another replied. "Does that mean we're free from class?"
The moment those words were spoken, the classroom atmosphere shifted. A wave of excitement rippled through the room as several students began cheering.
But then, Shion suddenly stood up and slammed her palm on the table.
"Quiet!" she shouted, her voice ringing through the room. Her gaze swept across the class before she added in a casual tone, "I'll go call the teacher."
Groans of disappointment rippled through the room, but no one protested. Instead, they muttered complaints under their breath.
As Shion stepped out from her seat and made her way toward the classroom door, something unexpected happened.
A strange circle suddenly formed on the ceiling. Moments later, a bright white light burst forth, flooding the entire room.
In the blink of an eye, every student vanished from their seats—leaving the classroom eerily silent and completely empty.
...
Authour's Note: Every night, I imagined writing this novel—and now, it has finally come to life. I hope you enjoy it, as it will be quite different from the one before. Thank you!