The first thing Luka noticed when he woke up was the frost.
It laced the edges of his bedroom window, thin cracks of ice creeping outward like tiny, frozen rivers. He sat up, blinking at it, heart thudding. He hadn't left the window open, and it wasn't even cold last night—it was mid-spring, the air supposed to be warm.
Rubbing his eyes, Luka muttered, "Weird." His breath puffed out in a faint fog, and that made him freeze. Okay… that's even weirder.
He tried to shake it off, convincing himself he was imagining things, but a knot of unease lodged in his chest. Memories of the sanctuary lingered like a dream he couldn't quite let go of—the glowing altar, the light, the sudden blackout.
It had felt real. Too real.
Kira was already leaning against the bike rack when Luka arrived at school that morning, earbuds dangling around his neck, hair sticking out like he hadn't bothered to comb it. He looked more restless than usual, eyes darting toward every flickering streetlight on the way in.
"You look like crap," Luka greeted, tossing his backpack against the rack.
"Thanks, ice boy." Kira smirked, though there was no humor in his tone. "You ever wake up and feel like your whole body's buzzing? Like you stuck your finger in a socket or something?"
Luka gave him a sideways glance. "That's… oddly specific. And no."
Kira tugged at the strap of his backpack, jaw tightening. "Yeah, well, I do. And the weirdest part? Whenever I touch my phone, it glitches out. Froze three times before I even got out of bed. It's like my whole room's haunted by static."
Before Luka could respond, Fey and Auriana appeared, walking up together. Fey had her hair pulled into a loose braid, a water bottle in hand. Auriana carried a sketchbook tucked against her chest, her eyes bright and curious as always.
"You two look like you didn't sleep," Fey said, raising an eyebrow.
"Didn't," Kira admitted. "Got fried by phantom electricity all night."
"Okay… but tell me this isn't strange." Fey lifted her water bottle and gave it a shake. A thin stream of water dribbled down her wrist—though the cap was screwed on tight. She twisted it again, frowning. "I checked three times before leaving. It's leaking, even though it shouldn't."
Auriana leaned closer, brushing her brown hair behind her ear. "You think that's strange? When I passed the school courtyard, the ivy on the wall literally moved. Like, it reached toward me."
The group fell into silence.
Each of them knew it wasn't just bad luck or random chance. Their thoughts went the same way, circling back to last night—the ruins, the light, the collapse into darkness.
"It was a dream," Luka said quickly, as though saying it out loud could make it true. "That's all. Just a really freaky dream we all somehow had."
"Uh-huh." Kira crossed his arms, smirk curling back. "Sure, ice boy. If it was just a dream, then explain why your breath looks like you're standing in a freezer."
Luka froze. He hadn't noticed it, but when he exhaled, a faint cloud of mist left his lips. His stomach dropped.
Auriana's voice softened, almost hesitant. "What if it wasn't a dream? What if… something happened down there?"
No one answered.
The bell rang, sharp and jarring, forcing them to move. They drifted into the building, each lost in their own thoughts, each pretending they weren't terrified. But the feeling clung to them like a shadow: something had changed.
And the more they tried to ignore it, the more it refused to be ignored.
By lunch, Luka had already broken a pencil by accident—the wood cracking after it froze solid in his hand. He shoved it into his bag before anyone noticed, but his fingers still tingled with cold.
Across the cafeteria, Fey stared down at her tray, where her water cup rippled even though no one had touched it. Auriana kept brushing her fingers against the potted plant by the window, watching its leaves twitch toward her skin. And Kira—Kira's hair sparked faintly every time he laughed, a faint crackle of static dancing across the tips.
The four of them exchanged wary looks across the room.
Something was happening. Something big.
And none of them were ready for it.
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