Chapter 113 (Part 04)
The Castrone Grand Hotel lobby was a chaos of students, luggage, and last-minute goodbyes.
Bags lined the walls in neat rows, waiting to be loaded onto buses. Coaches shouted instructions over the noise. Students laughed, traded phone numbers, and promised to keep in touch.
The tournament was over, and everyone was preparing to return to their own corners of Lemuria.
Ceya sat on a bench near the main entrance, her hands folded neatly in her lap. Her uniform was spotless, her posture perfect, her expression calm and distant. To anyone watching, she looked like the picture of composure a model student from KUA Girls' High School, ready to return home.
But inside, she was anything but calm.
Emily, a girl with bright eyes and an even brighter smile, plopped down beside her. Her suitcase rolled to a stop at her feet, and she let out a dramatic sigh.
"I can't believe we're leaving already. It feels like we just got here."
Ceya didn't answer. She didn't need to. Emily was used to her silence.
Emily pulled out her phone, scrolling through photos from the tournament. Her thumb paused over one, and she zoomed in, squinting.
"Did you see the football final? Castrone versus Nordmark? I thought Nordmark was going to crush them, and then...." She let out a low whistle. "Wait, who's that?"
Ceya glanced at the screen. She didn't want to look. But her eyes moved anyway.
A blurry photo of the football field. Players in green and gold. And in the center, a familiar figure.
Alok.
Emily's eyes widened. She tapped the screen, zooming in further.
"Wait... this is the guy? The substitute player? The one who scored three goals? Look at him he's not even celebrating. He's just standing there like it was nothing."
Ceya said nothing. Her hands remained folded. Her expression remained blank.
Emily leaned closer to the screen, her voice rising with excitement.
"He wasn't even in the starting lineup! And he just... appeared? And destroyed Nordmark? What is he, some kind of secret weapon?" She laughed, shaking her head. "I heard the Nordmark captain was so mad he almost started a fight after the match."
Ceya's chest tightened. She felt something stir inside her something she had been trying to suppress for weeks.
Don't react, she told herself. Don't show anything.
Emily turned to her, grinning.
"Hey, do you know him? He's from Castrone, right? You're from Feilw Land, but you've been here a while. Have you seen him around?"
Ceya's lips parted. The words felt heavy in her throat, like stones she had to push out.
"He's..." She paused, carefully controlling her voice. "No. I don't know him."
Emily shrugged, turning back to her phone.
"Too bad. I was going to ask you to introduce me. He's kind of cute, in a creepy, serious way. I bet he's hiding a smile under all that brooding."
Ceya felt something crack inside her. Just a small fracture. Just enough for a single thought to slip through.
Creepy? No. He's not creepy. He's just... hiding.
She pushed the thought down.
Lisa's influence pressed against her mind, cold and sharp.
You feel nothing. You know nothing. He is nothing.
Ceya closed her eyes.
I know, she thought. I know.
...
Emily continued scrolling, oblivious to the storm inside Ceya.
A few students from another school passed by, and one of them was still talking about the football match.
"I'm telling you, that substitute player was insane. Three goals in one match? And he wasn't even on the roster? Who does that?"
"Maybe he's a professional in disguise," another student joked.
"Or maybe he's just some random guy from Castrone who decided to show off."
"Random guy? Did you see his movements? That wasn't random. That was trained."
The voices faded as the group moved toward the exit.
Emily turned to Ceya, her eyes bright with curiosity.
"They're still talking about him. What's his name again? I heard someone say it once, but I can't remember."
Ceya couldn't stop herself.
"Fanando," she said quietly. "Alok Fanando."
Emily blinked, surprised. "You know him?"
Ceya forced her expression to remain blank. Her voice was flat, rehearsed.
"The name was on the roster."
Emily tilted her head, studying her. "Huh. For a second, I thought you knew him personally. You said it like you were familiar."
Ceya didn't answer. She couldn't risk speaking again.
Lisa's voice, sharp and cold:
You are not to speak his name again. You are not to think of him. You are nothing. He is nothing.
Ceya nodded silently.
Yes, she thought. I am nothing.
Emily shrugged, looking back at her phone.
"Well, Alok Fanando. I'll definitely remember that name. He was insane in that match." She paused, scrolling further. "I wonder if he'll be at the next tournament. I'm definitely going to watch his matches if he does."
Ceya felt the weight of those words settle on her chest.
You don't know, she thought. None of you know what he's really fighting for.
She stood up, her movements smooth and controlled.
"I need to pack the rest of my things."
Emily waved her off. "I'll wait here. Don't take too long."
Ceya walked away, her steps measured, her face calm.
But inside, she was screaming.
...
POV SHIFT – Ceya (Private Moment)
The hotel room was empty.
Ceya closed the door behind her and leaned against it, her eyes closed. The mask she had worn for so long felt heavier than ever.
She opened her eyes and walked to the mirror.
The face staring back at her was her own. But it wasn't.
He won, she thought. He won the match. He showed them. He's still fighting.
She pressed her hand against the mirror.
I'm still here. I'm still inside. I haven't given up.
Her reflection didn't respond.
Lisa's voice whispered in the back of her mind, always present, always watching.
You are mine. Your body, your thoughts, your breath all mine. He cannot save you.
Ceya's hand trembled.
Maybe not, she thought. But he won't stop trying.
She let her hand fall and turned away from the mirror.
The mask returned to her face.
I have to go back. I have to wait. I have to survive.
She picked up her bag and walked out of the room.