The shadow smiled.
Kael's chest tightened.
His eyes locked on the floor beside his desk.
The shadow stretched—
SCRRRRK.
The sharp sound of chalk scraping across the board cut through the room.
Kael blinked.
The shadow was gone.
Just a normal shadow. Still. Flat. Harmless.
At the front of the class, the professor stood with his back turned, calmly writing across the board:
INTRODUCTION TO WORLD HISTORY
White chalk dust coated his fingers.
Students shifted in their seats. Someone yawned. Someone whispered.
Everything was normal.
Painfully normal.
Kael exhaled slowly.
I imagined it.
The professor tapped the duster twice against the board ledge and turned.
"Good morning," he said.
His voice wasn't eerie now. It wasn't ancient or heavy or strange.
It was clear. Grounded. Almost warm.
"My name is Professor Arven," he continued, writing it neatly on the board. "I'll be taking over this course for the term."
A murmur passed through the class.
"Didn't we have Professor Halv?""Yeah, what happened to him?""No idea."
Professor Arven didn't acknowledge the whispers. He simply brushed chalk from his sleeve and looked around the room.
Not scanning.
Observing.
His gaze moved slowly from student to student, like he was memorizing them.
When his eyes reached Kael—
They paused.
Just for a second.
Then moved on.
"History," he said, clasping his hands behind his back, "is not the study of the past."
Some students straightened.
"It is the study of patterns."
He walked slowly between the rows.
"Kingdoms rise."Step."They fall."Step."Empires conquer."Step."They vanish."
He stopped beside Kael's desk.
"Power appears," he said softly."And power… disappears."
Kael felt a faint chill run down his spine.
The professor continued walking as if nothing had happened.
"If you want to understand the future," Arven said, returning to the front, "you must first understand what the world is capable of becoming."
Silence.
Not bored silence.
Thinking silence.
Then he picked up the attendance sheet.
"Let's learn names."
Students answered one by one.
When he reached the middle—
"Kael."
Kael looked up. "Here."
Professor Arven looked directly at him.
Not intensely. Not threateningly.
Just… knowingly.
"Good," he said quietly.
And moved on.
The Feeling
Kael frowned slightly.
That feeling again.
Not fear.Not danger.
Recognition.
Like meeting someone for the first time… who somehow already knew you.
He shook it off.
You're overthinking.
For the rest of the lecture, nothing strange happened.
No moving shadows.No whispers.No impossible things.
Just chalk on board. Pages turning. A normal class.
Still—
Kael couldn't stop noticing something.
Every time Professor Arven explained something complicated…
he explained it while looking at him.
After Class
The bell rang.
Chairs scraped. Conversations burst open. Bags zipped.
Kael stood and slung his strap over his shoulder.
Outside in the courtyard, sunlight warmed the stone paths. Beneath the large tree near the fountain sat the only group he naturally drifted toward.
The old fig tree.
Three people sat beneath it.
They weren't loud.They weren't popular.They weren't trying to be noticed.
Which was exactly why Kael liked them.
"Late," said the girl without looking up from her book.
Mira.
Sharp eyes. Calm voice. The kind of person who noticed everything but only spoke when it mattered.
"I wasn't late," Kael said. "Time just moved faster for you."
She turned a page. "Time doesn't move faster."
From beside her, a boy with messy hair snorted.
Ryn.
Energy of a storm. Attention span of a squirrel. Smile like he knew trouble personally.
"Don't argue with her," Ryn said. "She once corrected a clock."
"I corrected its owner," Mira replied.
On the other side sat the third.
Leaning back. Arms folded. Eyes half-closed like he was asleep.
Lio.
No one knew if he was lazy… or just too smart to bother.
Without opening his eyes he said,
"You're standing in my sunlight."
Kael shifted one step.
Lio nodded. "Thank you."
They were quiet together.
Comfortably quiet.
Not awkward silence.Not forced conversation.
Just… ease.
Most people never experienced silence like that.
Ryn suddenly leaned forward. "Important topic. New professor. Thoughts."
"Suspicious," Mira said.
"Cool coat," Ryn added.
"Unusual aura," Lio murmured.
Kael blinked. "Aura?"
Lio finally opened one eye.
"You didn't feel it?"
Kael hesitated.
"…Maybe."
Mira looked at him.
Not casually.
Carefully.
"What kind of maybe?"
Kael shrugged. "Like he already knew something about everyone."
The three exchanged a glance.
Quick. Silent. Meaningful.
Then Ryn grinned. "Maybe he's psychic."
"Or ancient," Lio said.
"Or dramatic," Mira added.
They laughed.
But none of them said:
Or dangerous.
Across the courtyard—
A group of loud students shoved a smaller boy. His books fell. Laughter rose.
Ryn's smile faded slightly.
"Hate that," he muttered.
Mira's fingers tightened on her book spine.
Lio didn't move.
But the air around him grew faintly colder.
Kael noticed.
He always noticed things others didn't.
"Relax," Kael said quietly. "We'd just get in trouble."
Ryn exhaled. "Yeah… I know."
Mira closed her book.
"You ever get the feeling," she said quietly, "that something is about to change?"
Ryn shrugged. "Every exam season."
"I mean really change."
Silence.
A breeze passed.
Kael felt it again—
That strange sensation.
Like the world had taken a breath…
and forgotten to release it.
After Classes
The day passed normally.
Lessons. Notes. Bells. Conversations.
Nothing supernatural.
Nothing impossible.
Just life.
The final bell rang.
Freedom.
Students poured into halls celebrating survival.
Ryn stretched. "I'm going home, eating everything in my kitchen, and entering a coma."
"You mean sleeping," Mira said.
"I prefer dramatic accuracy."
"I'm doing nothing," Lio added.
"That's not a plan," Mira said.
"That's a lifestyle."
She looked at Kael. "You?"
"I'm going hiking."
Ryn grinned. "Of course you are. Lone explorer energy."
"Where?" Lio asked.
"Old trail past Ridgewood Forest," Kael said. "Hardly anyone goes there."
Mira's eyes lifted slowly.
"Ridgewood?"
Something unreadable crossed her expression.
"I think I've heard of that place," she said.
"Haunted?" Ryn asked hopefully.
"Abandoned."
"Even better."
Above Them
Unseen—
From the upper corridor—
Professor Arven stood in shadow.
Listening.
When Kael said Ridgewood Forest—
Something shifted in his eyes.
The group walked toward the gate together.
Sunset painted the campus gold.
Ryn nudged Kael. "If you find treasure, bring snacks."
"If I find treasure, I'm not sharing."
"Heartless."
They laughed.
At the gate, Kael paused.
He didn't know why.
But for a moment—
He felt watched.
He turned.
The balcony above was empty.
No professor.
No one.
"…Weird," he murmured.
"Coming, forest boy?" Ryn called.
Kael looked once more at the building.
Then walked away.
Final Scene
Inside the silent corridor—
Professor Arven stepped out from the shadows.
His calm expression was gone.
In its place—
anticipation.
He looked toward the distant tree line beyond the city.
And whispered:
"So it begins."
What hidden paths will Kael discover inside Ridgewood Forest?Why did the professor react to its name like someone recognizing a forgotten warning?