"Experiment? Ascension? Seven? Huh? What does that mean?" the girl asked curiously.

  "Uhm... I don't know. Maybe..." Ren's tone carried a hint of horror.

  "M-Maybe what?" The girl gulped, feeling uneasy.

  "Maybe they did various experiments on humans," Ren replied.

  "What k-kind?" She hesitated, dreading the answer.

  "Cruel, unspeakable, insane things... things so horrifying that if a mere mortal were to witness them, they would suffer until their very end." Ren turned to her with a sinister expression.

  "TNGHH!" The girl gasped, flabbergasted.

  "Hihihi, I'm just joking. Relax, look at that face! Haha." Ren burst into laughter.

  "Tch." The girl clicked her tongue, slightly frustrated by his joke.

  "Hmmm, let me take a look." Ren reached out to flip to the next page.

  But before he could, sudden footsteps echoed through the dimly lit library. The sound grew closer, each step heavy and deliberate. Both Ren and the girl tensed up in shock. Without a second thought, they scrambled to hide, though there was only one hiding place available—a large bookshelf.

  Panic set in as they realized the mysterious figure was drawing near.

  "Place? Place? Uh—HERE! Let's hide here!" Ren whispered urgently.

  "But hey, doesn't it look a little too small??" she whispered back, concern in her voice.

  "There's no other place that can hide us..." Ren replied, pressing himself against the narrow space.

  The footsteps halted right at the entrance.

  "Just try to fit through!" he whispered-yelled.

  "Argh—" The girl let out a small noise as Ren pulled her into the tight space where they barely had room to breathe.

  In the process, the book Ren had been holding slipped from his grasp, skidding several meters away before coming to a stop. They held their breath as the figure stepped closer—right beside the fallen book.

  Their hearts pounded wildly in their chests.

  Ren whispered, "Be careful..."

  "Aight..." she murmured back.

  Their eyes darted toward the source of the approaching footsteps, tension coiling in their chests. The sound grew louder, each deliberate step sending a fresh wave of fear through them. As the unknown figure neared both them and the fallen book, dread settled deep in their bones. Unable to face whatever danger lurked ahead, they instinctively shut their eyes, bracing for the worst.

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  The figure bent down, reaching for the book.

  Then, out of nowhere, a motherly voice spoke.

  "You both... What are you doing face to face so closely in that tight space?"

  Their eyes snapped open. They found themselves practically pressed against each other, their breaths mingling. Confusion and shock spread across their faces as they turned their heads toward the voice.

  "Ehh...?"

  "Miss Headmaster?!" they exclaimed in unison.

  "Oh, wait. Aren't you two... the students who were late today?!"

  The eerie tension dissolved in an instant as realization dawned upon them.

  "Young people nowadays don't care where to date, eh? At least not inside the school..." The Headmaster sighed, shaking her head.

  "NO NO NO NO NO, Headmaster, you misunderstood!" Both of them hurriedly protested in sync.

  "I don't buy it," she said, skeptical.

  "WE'RE CURIOUS ABOUT THIS OLD LIBRARY, SO I FOLLOWED HER," Ren blurted out.

  "WE'RE CURIOUS ABOUT THIS OLD LIBRARY, SO I BROUGHT HIM," the girl said at the exact same time.

  They continued in unison, "I JUST WANTED TO LOOK AROUND, NOTHING MORE! AND I VALUE MYSELF VERY HIGHLY! MOTHER (Ren) / FATHER (The Girl) SAID NO INTIMACY BEFORE MARRIAGE! THAT'S WHY—"

  "Alright, alright—" The Headmaster raised her hand to cut them off, exasperated.

  "So, what happened here? What's this book?" she asked, glancing between the two.

  The three of them exchanged confused glances, none quite sure how to explain the bizarre turn of events.

  Outside the library, the girl recounted their eerie experience to the Headmaster.

  "Tall man? Sudden emptiness? Hmmm... How odd. If I remember correctly, few days ago, everything were fine. This library should've been closed today since Miss May took a few days off due to a fever." The Headmaster furrowed her brows in thought.

  Ren and the girl exchanged looks filled with curiosity and unease.

  "Anyway, this book—yours?" The Headmaster extended it toward Ren.

  "Eh?" Ren hesitated before taking it. "It's not ours, but it's interesting. And... it's the only book left out."

  "Is that so? Keep it then... By the way, before I forget, may I know your names?" she asked.

  "I'm Ren! And this girl here is...?"

  "The name is Eirlys Lumière," she answered.

  "Uuuuu, what a cool name..." Ren and the Headmaster complimented in unison.

  "Eh...?- T-Thanks!" Eirlys stammered, looking away in shyness.

  Ren, wanting to uncover more, flipped the book open. As he read the first page, both Eirlys and the Headmaster noticed the curiosity in his eyes shift into something else—shock.

  Ren began reading , "The experiment was done to help humankind overcome death... Furthermore, this process has a chance to grant abilities or advantages to the subject based on how the brain struggles to revive the body. The hypothesis states that with proper experimentation on developing subjects, the brain may gain that ability, activating superior genes or induce random mutations, resulting in an enhanced human being in terms of physical attributes."

  Eirlys and the Headmaster listened intently.

  Ren continued, "On average, the brain flashes all important memories and information for 7 minutes. One theory suggests this is the brain's way of comforting us, urging us to wake up. However, the most accepted explanation is that the brain panics, desperately searching for a solution to avoid the inevitable fate of death."

  The final sentence sent shivers down Ren's spine.

  "The problem is... 99.9% of humans won't survive because they have never experienced death, and thus, the brain cannot find a solution."

  Eirlys and the Headmaster sat frozen, the weight of the words settling in.

  "Terrifying..." Eirlys murmured. The Headmaster silently nodded in agreement.

  Then, suddenly, Ren's expression contorted in disbelief. His body tensed, and he clutched his head as nausea and pain took over.

  "Sweetheart, are you okay?" The Headmaster asked, concerned.

  Ren stammered, "W-WHAT CRUELTY IS TH—ARGHH!"

  A splitting headache wracked his skull, and his vision blurred.

  He could hear the sound of a crying baby, a desperate woman's voice, and blurry figures—doctors in masks, shadowy figures running away while holding something—holding him.

  Blood dripped from his nose.

  "Blood... BLOOD?! Ren, What happened?!" Eirlys screamed in alarm.

  At that moment, the pain became unbearable, and Ren collapsed.

  "HEY?!" Eirlys panicked.

  "HURRY, WE NEED TO BRING HIM TO THE MEDICAL ROOM!" The Headmaster commanded firmly.

  Just before he lost consciousness, a deep old man voice echoed in his mind.

  "The catastrophe is just the beginning... The chosen one will—"

  Then, darkness.

  ---

  Hours later...

  "My son...?" A familiar yet eerily electronic voice spoke.

  "Thank goodness... You survived... You're strong. I missed you so much. One day before they—"

  "Honey?!" A woman's voice cut in.

  "Mom?" Ren murmured groggily as he opened his eyes.

  "Thank god you're awake! What happened?!" His mother's voice was full of concern.

  Ren's mind spun. "Where's Lumière? The Headmaster?"

  "Ren, Rest..... Headmaster has returned to the office. Eirlys Lumière? The long black hair girl?" She asked.

  "Uh, Yeah." Ren replied.

  "That girl showed me where you're at before she returned home" His mother explained

  "Uh? Home? Wha- wait the school has ended?" Ren, full of confusion.

  "Ye Sweetheart, its been 3 hours since it's ended. Right now it's 5pm. You've been fainting for nearly 8 hours". She elaborated.

  Ren's blood ran cold. "Hadn't it only been a few seconds?"

  Meanwhile, inside Eirlys' apartment, she had just finished her bath and was about to change. But before that, her eyes landed on the book sitting on her table—the one she brought home after Ren fainted. Curiosity and unease swirled inside her as she hesitated for a moment. Then, with a determined look, she reached for the book and slowly flipped it open... To find out what Ren really saw.