Vashuki was sitting alone on a bench. He was drawing strange lines in his book with complete focus.
After a moment, he slowly raised his hand forward, as if he was imagining something invisible in front of him.
"I want to understand what all of this really is…" he said quietly.
He then turned a page and drew a circle on it.
"Alright… now I'll describe this too. I'll explain what it truly is."
Vashuki looked around the classroom. The silence felt strangely heavy.
He slowly pushed his glasses upward. Suddenly, the lenses of his glasses began to shine.
Without saying another word, Vashuki stood up and walked out of the class.
Mara finally reached the Alpha Core.
"Sir…" he called out.
Alpha slowly turned around.
After a brief silence, Mara quietly asked, "Where is Atura?"
Suddenly, Alpha spoke with arrogance.
"How would I know where Atura is? And who even is Atura?"
Mara looked confused.
"You remember him… the boy who was always scared. The one who was with us."
Alpha narrowed his eyes.
"What? Do you think I hid him somewhere?"
"No…" Mara replied softly.
"Then what?" Alpha said coldly. "And besides, after Redmoon, he probably went back home."
Alpha's expression suddenly became angry.
"And you don't even know anything about your own friend? Wasn't it your responsibility to bring him safely to Earth?"
He looked away for a moment before speaking again.
"Looks like he was nothing more than a coward."
Alpha raised his hand toward Mara and silently signaled him to leave.
Mara's expression turned dull. He slowly turned around and began walking away.
A few moments later, he stepped out of the principal's office.
His head was lowered, as if he was lost in deep thought.
Suddenly, he heard the voice of a boy nearby.
"People often reveal their true selves when the right time comes."
Hearing those words, Mara looked ahead in shock.
It was Vashuki.
Mara walked toward him and quickly spoke, "Do you know that a boy named Atura is missing?"
"People are saying that he ran away and returned home… but that place is so dangerous that escaping alone feels impossible."
Once again, the school bell rang through the hallway.
Hearing it, Mara and Vashuki quietly started walking toward their class.
A few moments later, they were sitting inside the classroom.
Suddenly, Atirika ma'am entered the room. Seeing her, all the students immediately stood up.
After a few seconds, everyone sat down again.
Ma'am opened her book and looked at the class calmly.
"There is a special power hidden within our fingers," she said. "A power deeply connected to our minds."
"In our tradition, the five elements exist within these fingers."
"So today… we will learn about them."
Atirika took a deep breath before speaking again.
"The Thumb represents Fire."
"The Index Finger represents Air."
"The Middle Finger represents Space."
"The Ring Finger represents Earth."
"And the Little Finger represents Water."
The entire classroom became silent as the students listened carefully to her words.
Hearing this, Mara looked shocked.
"Then ma'am… what are they used for?" he asked.
Atirika calmly replied, "When one finger touches another, a special energy is created."
"There are three major mudras where the fingers become the most powerful."
She paused for a moment.
"And the most mysterious thing is… no one has ever fully mastered all three of those mudras."
The entire classroom suddenly became silent.
Atirika slowly looked around the room before continuing.
"The power within those three states is so dangerous… that even if a child used it carelessly, an entire village could be destroyed."
Mara quietly spoke within his mind,
"Hurry and tell us, ma'am… I want to master them too, no matter how hard I have to work."
Suddenly, Atirika said, "However, you can only master them after obtaining the Red Moon."
The moment the students heard that, many of them became frustrated.
Vashuki thought to himself,
"If we weren't even supposed to learn it now… then why did they make us work so hard?"
Atirika looked at the class and continued,
"Before that… today we will first give you your ratings."
"Everyone, come to the ground immediately," Atirika ordered.
The students quickly rushed toward the school ground.
A few moments later, the entire class had gathered outside.
Atirika continued walking ahead with the others, but Vashuki was still moving slowly behind them.
Suddenly, Atirika shouted, "Hey boy! Hurry up and come here!"
Vashuki immediately started running toward the group.
Seeing him run, Pasito laughed loudly.
"What are you doing? Riding a bicycle?" he mocked. "Hey, look at Vashuki running!"
Without paying attention to Pasito, Vashuki quietly stepped onto the ground.
He stood a little far away from the crowd.
"Am I really bad at running? No… that's not it," he thought to himself.
"They want to break me… but I want to understand this world."
Atirika ma'am then called Pasito toward her.
"Now, we will discover which spirit exists within him," she said. "And we will also see how many people that spirit has killed."
Hearing those words, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Atirika took out her phone and made a call.
After the call was received, she spoke, "Hello, Alpha sir, please come quickly. We have to give the students their ratings."
Alpha replied, "Yes… I'll arrive soon."
For a moment, a strange expression appeared on Atirika's face, as if she could not understand what Alpha was trying to say.
A few seconds later, Alpha suddenly ended the call.
It was then revealed that Alpha Core had been eating lunch the entire time.
After finishing his lunch, Alpha suddenly began running.
A few moments later, he entered an office room and looked around carefully, as if he was searching for something.
Then, he noticed a white-colored sack placed in the corner.
Alpha grabbed the small bag with one hand and slowly walked down the stairs.
Soon, he arrived at the ground where all the students were waiting.
Alpha opened the sack and took out strange red-colored soil from inside it.
He then turned his eyes toward Pasito.
The moment Pasito saw Alpha standing before him, he thought nervously,
"He looks so terrifying… and ugly."
Suddenly, Alpha threw the red soil directly onto Pasito's face.
Pasito quietly muttered, "Did he hear my thoughts?"
And then… something horrifying began happening to Pasito.