Chapter 34– Sparks Before the Storm
The dorm hallways still felt haunted. Three hundred voices had once filled them, laughter, arguments, hurried footsteps but now half of them were gone. Their absence clung to the walls like smoke after a fire.
Every empty bed was a reminder of what the competition had taken, and what it would keep taking.
Rika walked quietly with Hina at her side. The younger girl hummed nervously under her breath, a shaky tune that didn't match the steady rhythm of her steps. She was trying to act normal, to fill the silence, but the cracks showed in the way she clutched her notebook against her chest like a shield.
"Feels weird, doesn't it?" Hina finally whispered. "Like… if we breathe too loud, the walls will notice."
Rika nodded. "Yeah."
It was strange, how victory had never felt less like winning.
