Scene 1 — Morning Hallway
The hallways of Anden High were unusually quiet. Students moved slowly, whispers barely audible:
> "Did you see it?"
"I swear… his shadow… it moved on its own."
"No one should be alive to tell it…"
Akira sat at her desk, brow furrowed. Something about yesterday hadn't felt ordinary. Something about Kylori hadn't felt human.
She glanced toward his empty seat. The boy who didn't cast a normal shadow hadn't arrived yet.
---
Flashback — The Orphanage
A cold wind howled through the broken windows of the orphanage. A young Kylori, no older than eight, huddled in the corner, thin blanket wrapped around him.
The other children screamed—some playful, some cruel—but the adults were worse.
> "Control yourselves!"
The orphanage head shouted, a cane in hand.
Young Kylori flinched as the punishment fell on another child. Whispers of God and damnation filled the room. He learned early: no one would protect him. No one understood.
That night, he lay awake on the hard cot, staring at the cracks in the ceiling. Shadows moved in ways no child should see. Shapes whispered, their forms twisting and impossible.
> Do you wish to be stronger?
Do you wish to see beyond the veil?
Kylori didn't answer—they already knew. But he remembered every whisper, every shadow, every cruelty.
It was then he understood: the world was not meant for ordinary children. And he was no ordinary child.
A tendril of darkness seemed to coil near his bed, almost sentient, almost protective. And for the first time, he did not feel alone.
---
Snap Back — Present
The hallways of Anden High returned abruptly. Students passed, murmuring about yesterday's strange events.
Kylori entered the classroom quietly, footsteps measured, almost imperceptible. Shadows pooled near his chair, faintly writhing as if alive.
Akira's brow furrowed. Her curiosity flared. Something about him hadn't been human yesterday. Something about him still wasn't.
> "Hey…" she whispered.
Kylori's eyes flicked toward her. Nothing. Just calm, precise awareness.
He sat, the air around him heavier. Shadows shifted, almost imperceptibly. Akira noticed the edges of reality bend subtly, light dimming, colors muted.
---
Scene 2 — Whispers in the Classroom
Students whispered tales of disappearing classmates, of hallways that felt "wrong" yesterday. No one mentioned the predator by name, but fear was palpable.
Akira leaned closer to her friend:
> "Something's… really wrong with him. But I don't think he's dangerous… at least, not like we think."
The shadows near Kylori swirled subtly, responding to him silently.
> Good. Kylori thought. Curiosity keeps them alive longer.
---
Scene 3 — After Class
Students spilled into the hallways. Kylori walked with precise, elegant steps toward the exit. Akira fell in step beside him:
> "You know… the shadow thing yesterday… that was insane. I don't get it. What are you?"
Kylori tilted his head, eyes catching hers briefly:
> "Some things are… better left unseen," he said softly, voice like silk over steel.
Akira frowned.
> "I'm not scared of you. I just… want to understand."
> Not yet… Kylori thought.
The shadows near him pulsed subtly, alive and obedient.
---
Scene 4 — Evening
Kylori returned home. The whispers of his eldritch puppets stirred, calling softly:
> "We hunger."
"We see."
"We follow."
He ignored them—they were his servants, his fragments of horror.
A small tendril-creature slithered from his form and sank back into his shadow.
>"Patience,"he murmured.
"Curiosity… is the key."
Outside, Akira walked home, glancing back at the school. Something about Kylori lingered in her mind, a magnetic darkness she couldn't pull away from.
Night fell. The school corridors remained empty, yet alive with whispers of a predator who had never truly left.