The night sky was still strung with wonder, planets glimmering like jewels on an invisible thread. But beneath the beauty, something stirred.
Lumeira's smile faded. A strange heaviness pressed against her chest, her senses prickling with unease. She glanced around just as her phone buzzed.
She lifted it quickly. "Yes, ma?"
On the other side, her mother's voice was taut with alarm. "Lumeira… I sense something. Something …."
"I do too," Lumeira whispered, clutching the phone tighter. "Some kind of force—"
The call cut off in a burst of static.
"Ma? …Ma?" The line was dead.
She lowered the phone, brows drawn tight.
"Problem?" Solace asked, leaning closer.
"No… just no signal," she said, though her voice was thin.
Yet even as she spoke, the faint tattoo beneath her right ear began to glow, soft and steady.
Solace's usual grin faltered. "Lumeira… hey, you okay?"
She touched the mark, eyes hardening. "Something's about to happen."
The ground trembled.
Solace braced himself, eyes wide. "An earthquake?!"
Elsewhere, Seul and Zeddy jolted upright on the grass.
"It's an earthquake!" Seul gasped, trying to steady himself.
"Talk about timing—this is bad!" Zeddy gritted his teeth, scanning the chaos.
Nearby, Selene clutched her camera to her chest, nearly toppling over. "Th-the earth's angry! Click—click—ah, not the best time for photos!"
"Put that down, Sel!" Karmine barked, dragging her upright and shielding her with her own body as the rumbling intensified.
Teachers shouted through the mic: "Students, stay calm! Move away from the ruins and head to the open field—quickly, but orderly!"
But before anyone could move, a flash of light erupted from the earth.
Not lightning—something else. Ethereal. It pulsed like a heartbeat.
Seul froze mid-step, his body locking as if bound by invisible threads. "…What—what's happening to me?!"
Zeddy lunged for him, but his own limbs seized. "Hey! I can't move—"
Karmine strained forward, legs trembling against unseen restraints. "Damn it, no! Sel—stay behind me!"
"Maybe it's the ghost!" Selene whimpered.
"Like hell I'm letting this take you!" Karmine snarled, fighting to shield Selene, even as light crawled up her body.
Lumeira's mark burned brighter, resonating with the glow beneath their feet.
"Lumeira!" Solace reached for her, panic flashing across his face as his arms stiffened. "Damn it—I can't… move!"
The six of them hung suspended in a blinding surge of light.
The ground gave way.
And together, they fell—plunging into the darkness of the ruins below.