The classroom hummed with the restless pulse of a Monday morning. Sunlight spilled through tall windows, sketching gold across desks buried under textbooks and half-finished doodles.
Ren leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, his sharp gaze flickering with quiet intensity. Beside him, Alex perched on the edge of a desk, grinning like he had just discovered the universe's greatest secret.
"Ren, Multiverse theory—mind-blowing, isn't it?" Alex's voice crackled with excitement. "Infinite worlds, each with their own physics and their own law of nature, maybe even other versions of us exist. How's that not cool?"
Ren narrowed his eyes, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "I already heard it before. Why do you keep telling me the same thing from yesterday? Why are you so fascinated by this crap?" His tone was sharp, tinged with boredom, like someone already tired of the game.
Alex waved his hands dramatically. "Dude! Imagine a world where gravity's optional, or we're, like, emperors of galaxies or we are the Gods. That doesn't spark anything in you?"
Ren's gaze drifted across the room, landing on Dianca by the window. Her long hair caught the light like a dark waterfall, her pen moving steadily across her notebook. Her focus was a stark contrast to Alex's restless energy.
Ren's smirk softened into something warmer before he turned back. "First of all the way u are talking that's not how multiverse work. It's work on Logic and Probabilities, not possibilities."
Alex groaned, collapsing onto his desk. "Well, possibilities gave us the freedom while probabilities restrict us. You have zero imagination."
Ren's eyes drifted back toward Dianca by the window. Alex caught the look and smirked. "You love Dianca so much, don't you?"
Ren gave a small nod, his voice steady but thoughtful. "Yeah. It's been two years since we've been together, and I love her. But… even now, I can't say I fully understand her or maybe I am thinking too much."
The door creaked open, and Miss Sofia entered, her usual tired smile accompanied by a stack of papers. "Alright, everyone, settle down. Time for announcements."
The chatter dulled but didn't vanish. At the back, Noah sprawled in his chair, feet propped up, mocking Alex's earlier gestures with exaggerated flair. Leo snickered beside him.
Bianca, the class president, rose from her front-row seat, posture rigid. "Quiet down for Miss Sofia, please," she ordered, her voice sharp with authority.
Noah slammed his feet to the floor with a smirk. "Easy, Prez. Bell hasn't even rung yet. Most of us sitting down before first period? That's a miracle."
Leo's lips turned. "Yeah, cool down Prez. Nobody listens to announcements anyway."
Bianca's face starts getting red, fists clenching. "It's called respect, Noah and Leo. Something you both clearly don't understand."
"Respect's earned, not demanded," Noah shot back. "Maybe if the announcements weren't so boring—like which teacher finally quit—I'd care."
Miss Sofia pinched the bridge of her nose. "Noah, enough. Bianca, thank you, but sit down. Let's try to have a calm morning."
The usual tension simmered in the air, but before anyone could respond—everything shifted.
The lights flickered, then died. A biting wind tore through the room, scattering papers like leaves in a storm. Shadows writhed unnaturally across the walls and ceiling, stretching, twisting, merging into a swirling black cloud at the center of the room.
"What the hell—?!" Noah shouted.
Miss Sofia raised her voice, trying for calm, failing. "Everyone, stay—"
CRACK.
A bolt of blue lightning slammed into the floor. The shockwave shattered desks, hurled chairs, and flung bodies like ragdolls.
Ren's instincts surged. He pulled Dianca close, shielding her with his body as the world dissolved into blinding light—
—and when the light receded, they were no longer in school.
A vast chamber surrounded them. The floor, polished crystal. Pillars of silver and stone reaching for a ceiling lost to shadow. At the far end, a throne carved from obsidian and ivory.
And on it—a queen.
Her presence pressed down like a storm. Regal. Beautiful. Oppressive.
Dianca trembled, clutching her notebook as if it could tether her to reality. Ren stepped forward, blocking her from the throne's gaze. "Stay behind me," he managed, his voice a low steadiness betrayed only by the subtle tremor in his hands. He bit his tongue, hard, forcing his fear deep down under layers of steel.
A faint touch on his arm. Dianca's voice was a whisper, meant only for him. "I'm okay, Ren." Her eyes, wide with her own terror, yet saw straight through his brave front. "Just take a breath."
Miss Sofia, pale, voice shaking, called out, "Why are we here? Who are you?"
The queen did not answer. Instead, robed advisors stepped forward, their faces carved into unreadable calm. Runes shimmered faintly along their sleeves.
"Welcome, people of another world," they intoned together. "Welcome to Melincia."
The words struck like thunder.
"What do you mean another world?!"
"Send us back!"
"This is kidnapping!"
Bianca, trembling but unbowed, stepped forward. "Release us. My father has influence. You don't know what mistake you're making—"
One advisor only smiled. "Return is impossible. From this moment, you belong to Melincia. This world is your new home."
The classroom dissolved into panic—shouts, sobs, desperate demands.
And then the queen rose.
Slow. Deliberate. Air bending around her as if refusing her weight. Students dropped to their knees, their wills buckling under invisible pressure. Alex collapsed, fighting but failing to resist.
Ren locked his jaw, refusing. He would not kneel. His hand tightened around Dianca's trembling fingers.
The queen's voice rolled across the chamber, deep and resonant, carried by something more than mortal breath.
"People of another world. You were summoned because Melincia suffers. We stand at the edge of ruin. You will fight for us… or if you resist, we will have to execute you all because you all will be dead weights."
She raised her hand.
The floor split open. From crystal rose a cherry blossom tree, vast and radiant, its petals glowing as they drifted into the air. Its beauty was disarming—too much so. The warmth it radiated wasn't comfort. It was invasion, seeping into minds, numbing fear, drowning panic beneath an unnatural calm.
Ren felt it press against him, cloying, heavy. His teeth grit. No. I won't bend.
But his body faltered, knees growing weak. Dianca's tears stopped, her eyes hazy. "Ren… I'm sorry…"
"Stay awake," he whispered, voice hard. His own vision blurred.
One by one, his classmates sank into blissful sleep.
Ren's last sight before darkness claimed him was the queen's smile—serene, certain, like a player who had already won.