Sylus squinted more, the faint shadow moving behind the window disappeared as if it had never existed. He blinked, heart pounding but mind alert. Ghosts? Or some trick of his eyes? He didn't believe in either.
The sound of chatter and scraping chairs filled the room, but Sylus's attention was elsewhere. He moved toward his desk, keeping his shoulders loose, his movements calm. Two boys near the aisle noticed him first. One nudged the other, smirking.
"Look who finally decided to show up," one said, voice dripping with amusement.
A few heads turned, some chuckles echoing off the walls.
"Chair monitor, bring him two chairs. One for him, one for his bones," another called from the back.
Sylus ignored them, pulling out his chair and sitting down with a calm precision that drew almost no notice. His bag thumped onto the floor beside the desk.
A paper ball bounced off his shoulder. He looked down, lifting it slowly. Crushed notebook paper, blank and neat. He set it aside without a word.
Kai, sliding into the empty chair next to him, waved with a grin.
"Sy!"
A few groans rippled across the room.
"Why are you friends with that guy?" someone muttered, but Kai ignored it.
"You came late again," Kai whispered, leaning closer.
Sylus nodded once, no smile, no acknowledgment beyond the faint dip of his head.
Kai pulled out his phone, fingers dancing across the screen. "You downloaded it yet?"
Sylus didn't answer, he felt the shift before Kai could finish. Above Kai's head, faint, transparent letters appeared, drifted like smoke:
[ Emotion Tag: Loyalty — 62% ]
[ Fear — 18% ]
[ Greed — 20% ]
[ Regret — 7% ]
Sylus's eyes narrowed, but outwardly, he remained expressionless.
Kai's voice continued, oblivious. "They said rankings sync across servers. Imagine hitting the top hundred before exams finish."
Sylus exhaled quietly, confirming what he already suspected: his sight wasn't broken. It wasn't imagination, he could see what others couldn't. The threads of their emotions, raw and exposed, moving just above their heads.
Kai noticed the silence. "…you okay?"
Sylus's nod was barely noticeable. "I'm fine."
He turned his gaze across the room. Every student's head now carried faint, glowing letters. A girl by the window:
[ Envy — 48% ]
[ Desire — 32% ]
Two boys arguing over a glowing screen:
[ Greed — 71% ]
Someone laughed loudly, a nervous twinge in their chest.
[ Fear — 55% ]
Sylus's eyes moved methodically, analyzing each tag, measuring intent and strength. Most were scattered, weak, and directionless.
Then came a sudden, harsh collision.
"Move."
Jun, tall, muscular, the kind of boy whose presence alone could bend the room to his discomfort, shoved past Sylus's desk unnecessarily hard. Books rattled and a few snickers escaped from nearby students.
Sylus glanced up slowly, trying to confirm what he had been seeing. Above Jun's head, the tag reflected violently:
[ Anger — 63% ]
[ Fear — 49% ]
[ Pain — 41% ]
Pain?
Sylus's brow furrowed slightly. He lowered his gaze as a flash crossed his vision: a man's raised hand, a belt, and Jun flinching. The memory vanished instantly, but the weight of it lingered.
Jun dropped into his seat, casually kicking Sylus's chair. "Stop blocking the aisle."
Sylus shifted his chair, silent.
Jun scoffed. "Pathetic."
The word, meant to hurt him, barely grazed Sylus. Pity filled him instead, not empathy or friendship, just detached observation. That flash of pain explained Jun's cruelty. It didn't excuse it, but it painted a pattern. Cause and effect. Emotional debt accumulated.
[ Emotional Debt accumulates through actions taken under dominant emotional influence. Harm creates debt; kindness creates obligations. ]
Jun deserved to be punished. Sylus told himself that again and again, as if repetition could make it unquestionable.
Sylus folded his hands on the desk with careful precision, slipping a finger between his teeth as if he were bored.
Observing these threads, measuring weaknesses, he realized the survival odds for his classmates in this "Game" were abysmally low. Most wouldn't last a week if truly people died from the game.
The door clicked open, and the teacher entered, carrying papers and muttering numbers under her breath. The classroom noise was reduced. Sylus's gaze, however, did not drift toward the board. It moved towards the window, where movement teased the corner of his sight.
That same figure emerged outside, the letters floating clearly above its head:
[ Regret Demon ]
Sylus blinked, shocked. His heart rate didn't spike but the chill crawling up his spine was undeniable.
The creature looked human at a glance: a long coat drifting as if it were woven from smoke, features blurred, face refusing clarity, but the eyes… deep, black, unblinking, watched him constantly.
[ If a Regret Demon roams around, there's a suicidal person nearby. ]
Sylus's lips pressed into a thin line, his fingers flexed subtly. A feeling of unease shot through his chest. He had seen monsters before, in code, in some game's interface, in his dreams, but nothing this solid and real.
Kai nudged him.
"Hey, Sy."
Sylus turned.
Kai chuckled, but quieter this time. "You zoned out again."
"I heard everything."
Kai rolled his eyes before continuing.
"They say weird stuff about the game," Kai lowered his voice. "Someone at another school collapsed after playing it yesterday."
Sylus said nothing.
"Heart attack, maybe. Or something," Kai continued. "Probably just rumors."
Sylus's eyes drifted back toward the window. The Regret Demon hadn't moved, but its presence was strong, a weight beyond the physical, a pull at his memory and instinct alike.
Sylus slid his hand into his pocket. His phone lit up briefly and he locked it without checking.
The "Installment" ads kept appearing lately, far too often to feel random.
Kai blinked. "You're not checking?"
"No," Sylus said, voice flat.
Kai frowned. "You're weird lately."
Weird?
It's more like he was going crazy, because how is he seeing ghosts when nobody else is?
The bell rang, splitting the tension immediately. Students rose, noise exploding through the room. Relief washed over many, but Sylus stayed seated, shoulders straight, eyes tracking shadows.
Kai gathered his bag. "You coming to the cafeteria?"
Sylus shook his head. "No, I need to read for the upcoming tests."
"Ugh, you and your tests. Just don't skip lunch again, okay?"
"I won't."
Kai accepted it reluctantly and left.
Sylus's gaze returned to the window. The Regret Demon lingered, and this time, Sylus noticed a subtle detail he had missed before: the figure's coat wasn't just drifting, it was embroidered with faint faces, human faces, each twisted in a silent scream.
He leaned back, heart steady but senses sharp.
Another screen flickered in his pocket: a notification. He resisted the urge to look, it wasn't necessary. The app ad messages were predictable. Debt, reward, rank, popularity, progress, but this… this was different.
[ Emotional Disturbance Detected — Regret Energy Flux Rising ]
A chill lanced through him. Sylus exhaled, slow and steady.
Observation. Analysis. Patience.
He repeated the steps in his mind like a mantra. Panic wouldn't help him in this situation.
The classroom buzz faded into the background. Sylus's mind traced connections, calculated probabilities. The Regret Demon wasn't attacking yet; it wasn't even acknowledged. But the pattern, the presence, and the fluctuating energy signatures spoke of inevitability.
He could see other threads now, subtle and tangled: students whose faces seemed serene but whose tags suggested desperation, suppressed guilt, and lurking fear.
Sylus's lips twitched slightly. So it wasn't random, the demon followed patterns. Human vulnerabilities, emotional thresholds, signs of fractured intent.
A faint tremor passed through the air. The glass window reflected the classroom light, but the demon's image didn't align. Half a step delayed, and then… closer.
[ WARNING: EMOTIONAL THRESHOLD NEARING ]
Sylus's fingers flexed on the desk. Another student laughed, a carefree sound, fleeting, but Sylus noticed: the Regret Demon's attention flicked ever so slightly toward that laughter. Not the student, but the energy behind it.
A faint crease crossed Sylus's face, almost unnoticed, then the screen of his phone vibrated once.
[ EMOTIONAL ANOMALY DETECTED — ACTION REQUIRED ]