The classroom door slammed shut behind them.
Kairo and Leina stood side by side, facing the front of a blood-streaked blackboard. The room was colder than before. The light buzzed dimly. Something about the air felt thicker—like the School itself was holding its breath.
A sharp electronic tone rang out.
Trial 2: Pairs. Trust is Optional.Attendance confirmed: 19 students.Pairs required: 9. Survivors required: 18.
Kairo frowned.
Nine pairs meant eighteen students. But there were nineteen of them.
A second tone. The screen glitched briefly.
Pairing Imbalance Detected.
Everyone stiffened.
At the far left of the room, a pale boy—skinny, with huge glasses—looked around in confusion. No one was standing next to him.
He took a step back. "Wait, what? I thought I was—"
Unpaired student detected: Student #03 — Eric Han.Unfit for trial. Eliminated.
Before he could scream, the floor beneath him opened with a sharp crack.
He vanished.
A crunch echoed from below.
Then silence.
No one dared move.
A fresh trail of blood seeped up through the cracks in the floor.
Student Eliminated. 18 remain.Form your pairs.
Kairo's heart thudded. It wasn't a test. It was a warning.
He gripped Leina's wrist without thinking. She didn't pull away.
The rest of the class grouped up fast. No one wanted to be the next "unpaired."
Aria stood calmly with the same smug boy from before, his bandaged hand shoved in his pocket. A few students looked lost, some made deals with their eyes.
Once everyone was paired, the blackboard lit up.
Trial Objective:In each pair, one student must tell the truth. The other must lie.You will be asked the same question.If your answers match — both die.If only one lies — both survive.If both lie — punishment is possible.Choose wisely.
A cold sweat rolled down Kairo's spine.
Lie or die.
The lights flickered.
Desks scraped loudly apart. Each pair was forced to sit on opposite ends of the room. Heavy glass barriers rose between them.
Kairo and Leina locked eyes across the divider.
A red button blinked in front of him.
Student #17 — TRUTH or LIE?Choose.
Kairo hesitated.
He pressed TRUTH.
Question:Have you killed anyone before coming here?
He blinked at the screen. Where the hell had this question come from?
He looked up. Leina looked haunted. She slowly reached forward and made her selection.
3…2…1…
"Kairo Venn: No.Leina Mars: Yes."
The glass barrier hissed and lowered.
No buzz. No scream. They were alive.
Leina sighed. "I lied," she whispered.
"I know."
A scream erupted from somewhere behind them.
Everyone turned.
A girl with short blue hair and her partner sat frozen in their booths. Blood trickled from their ears. Their wrists smoked.
Pair Failure.Both answered truthfully. Eliminated.
Their heads hit the desk in perfect sync.
Dead.
Kairo looked away.
Trial by trial, the rest of the class made it through.
Most survived.
Barely.
One student vomited after his round. Another screamed at his partner for almost getting them killed.
Aria strolled out from her booth, untouched, smiling faintly. Her partner looked like he'd aged ten years.
When the final pair finished, the monitors flickered again.
The Headmaster's masked face appeared.
"Well done, Class D.Trust is the first casualty of survival.Nineteen students entered.Sixteen remain."
Kairo stared at the floor. Blood from the girl who died was still spreading toward his feet like it had a mind of its own.
Then his bracelet pulsed.
Student #17 – Trait Fluctuation Detected.Status: Fragmented. Awakening Pending...
The whispers returned.
Soft, slithering, unintelligible.
But they were there.
He looked up.
Across the room, Aria stared straight at him.
That smile again.
Like she knew exactly what he was becoming.
Later, in the hallway, students walked like shadows.
Leina walked beside him in silence.
After a while, she finally asked, "Why did you pick truth?"
"I don't know," he said honestly. "I just felt like lying would break something."
She nodded slowly. "Then I'm glad I lied."
They separated.
At his door, Kairo froze.
Down the hall, a door blinked into existence.
It pulsed red — and then vanished.
He didn't imagine it.
He looked at his bracelet.
Still glowing.
Still… watching.