By the time they stepped back into the main ballroom, the feeling inside Nevermore Palace had shifted.
It was not louder.
It was heavier.
The kind of weight that pressed down on shoulders and straightened spines. The kind that made laughter sound thinner and footsteps more deliberate. The festival had crossed a line without announcing it. Everything before this had been warm up. Everything after would carry consequences.
Above the stage, a digital clock glowed.
4:41 PM
King Selection registration would close at five.
XH noticed how people moved now. Faster. More purposeful. Small groups broke apart and reformed, voices lowering when certain names drifted into conversation. Phones were checked constantly. Rumors traveled faster than footsteps.
JP adjusted his jacket, his earlier bravado dulled by the sharp edge of awareness. He looked better than before, but XH could still see the restless energy under his skin.
"We're late," JP said.
TZ glanced at the clock. "We're never early."
NS did not smile. His eyes were fixed on the far end of the hall, where the registration table stood like a quiet altar. A steady line formed there, thinning and thickening as people hesitated, committed, or backed away.
XH followed his gaze.
Engineering majors were gathered to the right, loud in confidence. Business students hovered near the center, polished and practiced. Computing majors lingered in the back, observant and unreadable.
Health track students were everywhere.
Watching.
Waiting.
Kitty stood near a marble column with NC and Jihye. She held a cup of soda she had not touched, her posture relaxed but alert. Her eyes tracked movement rather than faces.
June stood closer to the registration table, phone in hand, listening to Anna speak while her attention flicked constantly to the clock. She nodded, but her jaw tightened each time another name was written down.
XH felt the pull of both spaces without moving.
A staff member stepped up to the microphone.
"King Selection registration closes in twenty minutes."
The announcement rippled through the hall.
Someone from engineering stepped forward immediately and signed his name. Applause rose from his group. Another followed from business. Then computing.
Each name felt like a marker.
Each signature narrowed the path.
JP shifted his weight. "KM hasn't shown yet."
"He will," TZ said quietly.
HS nodded. "Guys like him don't miss stages."
As if summoned, the air near the entrance stirred.
KM arrived with the ease of someone who knew the room would make space for him. Two engineering students flanked him. His posture was relaxed, his smile faint but confident.
Eyes turned.
Phones lifted.
KM scanned the hall quickly, then his gaze passed over the health track group. His lips curved into a knowing smirk.
JP noticed immediately.
"Look at him," JP muttered. "Walking like the crown already fits."
XH did not respond.
KM moved straight toward the registration table. He signed without hesitation, the pen steady, his name written larger than necessary.
When he stepped back, a few cheers broke out from engineering.
KM inclined his head slightly.
Not gratitude.
Acknowledgment.
XH felt something settle in his chest.
Not anger.
Resolve.
The staff member checked the clock.
"Ten minutes remaining."
The line shortened rapidly now. Hesitation was no longer an option.
NS shifted closer to XH.
"You thinking about it," NS said.
XH exhaled slowly. "I wasn't planning to."
NS nodded. "Neither was I."
JP looked between them. "Then why do you both look like you already decided."
XH glanced toward the registration table. Then toward KM. Then back at JP.
"Because," XH said quietly, "if we don't show up, people like him decide the narrative."
NS added, "And because if only one of us goes in, JP will go nuclear."
JP opened his mouth to protest, then closed it.
"That fair," he admitted.
The clock ticked.
4:52 PM
A minor dispute broke out at the table. A staff member flipped through a binder, frowning. A name was questioned. Eligibility debated.
The delay tightened the room further.
June noticed.
She stepped closer to the edge of the registration area, eyes sharp, counting minutes in her head. Kitty straightened slightly, her gaze flicking between XH and NS now.
KM leaned back casually, arms crossed, watching.
Waiting.
The staff member resolved the issue and waved the next candidate forward.
"Five minutes."
NS met XH's eyes.
No words.
Just agreement.
They stepped forward together.
The movement drew attention immediately.
Conversations dipped. Heads turned. Even KM's smirk faded slightly.
JP straightened behind them. TZ grinned under his breath. HS stood taller.
XH and NS walked side by side.
Not rushing.
Not hesitating.
The registration table felt colder up close. The lights harsher. The silence heavier.
The staff member looked up, surprised. "Names."
NS spoke first.
Clear. Steady.
He wrote his name without flourish.
Then stepped aside.
XH followed.
The pen felt heavier than it should have. He wrote slowly, deliberately, aware of the quiet pressing in around him.
When he finished, he placed the pen back carefully.
No applause followed.
No jeers.
Just recognition.
KM's jaw tightened.
June released a breath she had not realized she was holding.
Kitty's fingers curled around her cup.
The clock ticked.
4:59 PM
The staff member looked up.
"Registration closed."
A wave moved through the hall. Relief. Disappointment. Speculation. The list was sealed.
King Selection was no longer theoretical.
JP let out a low breath. "You two really did that."
NS shrugged lightly. "Balance."
XH nodded. "Guidance."
JP snorted. "You sound like monks."
The stage lights shifted as staff began rearranging for the evening events. Music softened. The festival rolled forward.
KM looked at XH and NS once more, his expression unreadable now.
The contest had teeth.
XH felt it.
So did everyone else.
Whatever happened next would not be accidental.
And the names written at the edge of time would carry weight far beyond this room.