The morning bell echoed through the corridors of the school, pulling students into their classrooms with the usual rush of footsteps and chatter. Aghorik slipped into his seat beside Ganbold, as he always did—quiet, composed, almost invisible despite the strange aura that often clung to him.
Ganbold, however, was far from quiet. The moment Aghorik settled down, he leaned closer and whispered in a tone meant to sound casual but carrying a spark of excitement."Bro, did you read that global message sent by the Detective Organisation yesterday? Tomorrow there's gonna be a meeting between Cipher-X and Andre Cavell… with some random guy called… Obliviscuthis-something."
Before Aghorik could even respond, another student sitting nearby cut in. He adjusted his glasses and spoke flatly, correcting without hesitation:"It's Obliviscythe, by the way."
Ganbold turned toward him, narrowing his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. But how do you know about him? Don't tell me you're slowly becoming a nerd."
The student rolled his eyes. "No, dude. My father reads a lot of news. Even if the name Obliviscythe isn't in our textbooks or syllabus, it's everywhere in the global media right now. You can't exactly ignore it."
Ganbold threw up his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. But seriously—who is this Obliviscythe guy?"
The question hung in the air for a moment, and Aghorik's expression remained steady, betraying nothing. Before the news-savvy student could open his mouth, Aghorik spoke up, his voice carrying a strange calmness—detached yet oddly convincing.
"According to what I know," he began carefully, "his name was mentioned in local reports several times before all this. I don't watch the news often, but I do skim it now and then through different media. From what I've gathered, he's a serial killer. He kills people brutally—almost ridiculously. Some posts even spread theories about him being a ghost, or some kind of supernatural figure."
His tone was logical, almost deductive, and yet not a single thread of doubt wavered in it. To the others, it sounded like he was piecing information together like a young detective. To him, it was simply a mask—hiding the truth in plain sight.
The student who had corrected Ganbold earlier blinked, considering the explanation. After a moment, he nodded slowly. "That… actually matches with some things I've heard."
Ganbold scratched the back of his head. "Hmm… fine, maybe you're right. But why the hell are we sitting here playing detectives? We're supposed to be worrying about homework, not serial killers." He huffed, then quickly changed the subject, diving into random school topics to steer the conversation back into familiar waters.
The light chatter dissolved the tension for a moment—until the door opened and their teacher entered. The room fell into silence at once.
The teacher placed a stack of books on the desk and looked at the class with a grave expression. "Quiet. I have an announcement." His voice cut through the air with a weight that made even the laziest students sit straighter. "The Detective Organisation has instructed all schools to provide teenagers with updated information regarding this figure known as Obliviscythe. A new chapter will be added to your syllabus, remodeling the material you have already been studying."
Groans rippled across the classroom. One voice in particular rose above the others—Jabari Okonjo, the bully who had scuffled with Ganbold yesterday. Despite his reputation, Jabari was also known as one of Aghorik's many casual friends. His complaint boomed across the room:"Ahh, not another chapter! Our syllabus was already long enough!"
The teacher's head snapped toward him, and his patience instantly shattered. "Shut up!" he roared, silencing the class in an instant.
The tension hung heavy. Aghorik sat perfectly still, his face composed, his posture unbothered. Yet inside, thoughts churned.
I am getting a lot of recognition, he admitted inwardly, his calm expression betraying none of the storm within. And this cannot possibly be good for me at all.
The name he had carved in blood and hidden behind masks was now being written into textbooks, etched into the awareness of the world. And Aghorik, the boy who sat quietly among them, could only wear his disguise tighter.