Arin
After the hell I went through this morning—after that strange girl clung to me with her sudden, unexpected request—I could barely think straight. She stayed attached to me during lunch break, laughing, talking, acting like we were already close. But the entire time, I felt something else—eyes stabbing into my back like cold blades.
When I turned around, I saw her. Lina. Staring at me with those frightening eyes. Her gaze made my chest tighten.
Did she find out the truth about me? No... that can't be. It's too soon. She couldn't know.
Later that evening, I returned to my room, hoping to escape the noise in my head. But I know you must be wondering—why did I even accept the strange girl's request to date?
There are two reasons.
The first: when I hesitated, I saw her eyes shimmer, and I could feel it—if I had rejected her, she would've transformed into an Emotica. Just like Oryn did, the moment he was broken. Something's wrong in this academy. I can feel it. Too many students are being crushed by the pressure—some even without knowing it.
The second reason? I needed to learn more about Oryn. Staying close to this girl might help me dig deeper into what happened to him... and maybe what's happening to everyone else.
I stood up, got dressed, and quietly slipped out of my room. That idiot roommate of mine was still snoring loudly, completely unaware.
I left the school grounds.
Tonight, I was going hunting.
Something had been tugging at my senses all day—a heavy pulse of negative energy drawing me eastward. I followed it like a trail of ash.
But what I found wasn't what I expected.
Bodies.
Dozens of dead Emotica lay in piles, their twisted expressions frozen in fear. Standing at the center of them, calm as dusk, was a man. Tall. Silent.
I froze.
"Who are you?" I demanded.
He turned to me slowly. "So we finally meet," he said.
His voice was deep, chilling.
"What do you want?" I asked again.
"Are you angry because I took your prey? I'm like you. I hunger."
I narrowed my eyes. This wasn't right. His negative energy was... refined. Powerful.
Whoever he was, he wasn't just another scavenger.
He smiled. "You're not ready to face me. Not yet. But we'll meet again. Soon."
And then—he vanished.
Just like that.
I shouted, ran after him—but it was pointless. He was already gone. No trace, no scent, no shadow.
My chest ached with frustration and confusion.
It had been too long since I'd last fed on an Emotica. The hunger had grown louder with every passing hour.
I kept searching.
Eventually, I found two more of them beyond the city limits. Alone. Wandering.
They didn't see me coming.
And then… silence. Peace.
But when I turned back, I saw it. My old city. My past.
Shrouded behind that cursed barrier, dark as ink.
I looked up at the sky, and whispered:
"I'm back."
---
Later That Night…
I returned to school under the cover of night, the taste of bitter energy still lingering in my mouth. I made my way back to the dorms, exhausted but strangely fulfilled.
My roommate was still asleep. Snoring. Blissfully unaware of everything.
I dropped onto the bed like a corpse, muscles aching. I'd quenched the hunger for now… but something deeper was stirring in me.
Sleep wouldn't come.
That man…
His face haunted me. His presence was too real. Too familiar.
How did he know me? Was he part of the Emotica Project?
Or did he have something to do with those shadowy figures I saw in that poor student's dying memory weeks ago?
He had power.
Not like mine.
Stronger. Cleaner. More dangerous.
Where did it come from? And how did he gain control of it?
I rolled onto my side and stared into the darkness.
I need answers.
He's not just some rogue hunter. He's tied to all of this—the mutations, the disappearances, the whispers in the night.
I can't let him stay a mystery.
And I definitely can't let him stay ahead of me.
Next time, I'll be ready.
I'll become something stronger.
Not for power.
But for the truth.
Because the shadows are moving again.
The hunger is growing.
And Emotica… is just the beginning.