My heart thunders as I launch myself down the last flight of stairs, my footsteps tearing through the halls while a black abyss spills from the rooftop, swallowing the windows one by one. Students stand frozen in confusion as I barrel past them, their whispers dying the moment the light vanishes.
I risk a glance behind me.
Snow walks calmly through the chaos, her gaze locked onto me. One by one, the students turn, their confusion melting into something far worse, their eyes glowing a deep, violent red.
I sprint for the far end of the hall, lungs burning.
"Now!" she commands.
They move instantly.
"For the love of God—!" I shout as elongated hands lash out for me. I focus, twisting sharply to dodge the first, vaulting over the second, then sliding beneath the third as adrenaline floods my veins.
A breathless laugh escapes me.
I'm still alive.
"I did it!!"
I wonder if this would work…
I pivot sharply, skidding across the polished hallway floor as a hand slams down where my head was a second ago. The tiles crack like glass.
"NOPE—still alive!"
I sprint forward, vaulting over a fallen trash bin as claws rake the air behind me. Windows burst open one after another, metal doors peeling back as shadowy figures spill out, crawling along the walls like spiders.
"Yeah! Just ruin the hard work we students put into cleaning the place!" I shout, leaping sideways as one lunges from above.
I grab a rolling chair from an empty classroom mid-run and kick it backward. It slams into a creature's face, sending it tumbling down the hall in a tangled heap of limbs.
"Yes!" I pump my fist. "Office furniture—zero. Me—one."
The floor suddenly ripples.
I skid to a halt just as black hands burst through the tiles, fingers stretching and snapping shut inches from my ankles.
"Oh come on!" I lunge forward, barely catching myself on a stair railing. "Since when can floors do that?!"
I vault over the railing, sliding down the banister as shrieks echo above me. Something slams into the wall beside my head, embedding itself there with a wet crunch.
I don't look.
I never look.
Landing hard, I roll and come up running, breath ragged, heart pounding so loud it feels like it's trying to escape first. Down the hall, Snow walks calmly, her heels clicking against the floor, completely untouched by the chaos.
She looks at me and points. "Now, faster."
"Are you a broken record?" I question.
Every student freezes, then they move faster, too fast, as they surge forward all at once as a collective.
I scream, swerving into a sharp turn and kicking open the nearest classroom door. Inside, I dive over desks, sliding across tabletops as hands swipe at my heels. I grab a textbook and hurl it behind me. It hits one in the face, yet they still come.
"What were you expecting, Souta?" I burst back into the hall, ducking under a flying chair and sprinting past the vending machines.
An idea hits.
I slam my elbow into the button panel; cans and bottles explode outward like shrapnel. Creatures stumble, slipping on soda and crushed chips.
I laugh hysterically as I run. "GET CARBONATED, IDIOTS!"
Ahead, my classroom door shines as my Salvation. I run, slamming my shoulder into the door and tumbling inside, immediately shoving desks against it as something crashes into the other side. Breathing hard, I sag against the barricade.
"…Okay," I gasp. "Still alive. Minor cardio. Mild apocalypse."
Bag. Pills. Minito.
The voice reminds me. "Right. Mental health first, then Minito." I mutter, scrambling to my desk.
I drop to my knees beside my desk, flipping open my bag with practiced urgency. There, tucked away at the corner, I find the pill bottle. My hands fumble, spilling tablets across the floor like candy. I scoop one up and shove it into my mouth dry, gagging slightly.
I have no time to waste; Minito needs me, and this crazy, pretty bitch is still trying to kill me.
Swallowing, I wait. Five seconds pass, then ten. Nothing changes; the windows are still black, and there is a lot of sound coming from beyond the barricade door.
"…Huh." I stare at my hands, then at the pill bottle, then at the door, which very clearly dents inward as something slams against it. "Oh." My stomach drops.
So… not an episode.
The realization settles like ice water down my spine. I laugh weakly. "Okay. Cool. That's fine. Love that for me."
Another crash, and the door creaks on the verge of breaking.
"If this isn't an episode…" I mutter, backing away. "Then it has to be a dream, right?"
Right.
Because the alternative is that my life has officially derailed into a low-budget horror anime.
I squeeze my eyes shut and raise my hand dramatically.
"If this is a dream," I announce to absolutely no one, "then Stigma should work. And if it doesn't, I'm suing my subconscious or perhaps god."
[Stigma accessing]
"Yes!" I grin nervously. "Okay, dream logic confirmed."
"Construct authority!"
[Construct authority activating …]
"Give me…uh…something cool!" I shout. "A sword! No…armor! No—"
She is close.
I have no choice… I have to kill this bitch again.
The classroom lights flicker violently; the air hums and goes cold. From the pill bottle, a blue light submerges it, transforming it, just as the door bursts open, ice curling up the walls and snow rushes in.
"Goodbye, Souta Tanaka. "She lifts her sword, swinging it downwards at him.
"Shit!" I swipe up, preparing to use whatever it is as a weapon.
SQUEAKKK!!
[Rubber chicken]
[Lethality: 0%]
[Morale damage: Questionable]
Snow's eyes widen, as do mine, clashing with her sword, a rubber chicken slowly turning to ice.
[Madness point accumulated]
Attack again!
Right. Taking the chance, I send the hardest kick I can, propelling her back, taking the chance to move back. However, I am cornered; the creatures close around me, and Snow recovers quickly.
"Nowhere to go."
As much as I hate to admit it, she's right. I failed him. I failed myself.
"Wake up, Souta! Wake up!"
I slap my own face.
"Wake up now!"
Again.
"Come on!"
Again.
"Why isn't it working?" My voice breaks. "Why am I not waking up?!"
"Because this isn't a dream," an unfamiliar voice replies. "You've done well."
A blinding beam of light tears through the ceiling, freezing Snow and the advancing creatures in place.
Before I can even process what's happening, darkness creeps in from the edges of my vision and everything goes black.