Chapter 74 (Part 05)
The feeling did not leave him.
Not after minutes.
Not after hours.
Not even after he convinced himself it was nothing more than exhaustion.
Alok lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling as if answers might appear between the faint cracks in the paint.
The room was quiet too quiet and in that silence, the smallest sensations became impossible to ignore.
The pendant resting against his chest pulsed faintly.
Once.
Then again.
And then it stopped.
But the silence that followed was not empty.
It was waiting.
Something far away… was trying to reach him.
"Ceya…"
He spoke the name softly, almost afraid that saying it too loudly would break whatever fragile connection still existed.
The name felt different now.
Before, it had been simple.
A friend.
A familiar presence.
Someone he could walk up to, argue with, laugh with.
Someone real.
But now
It carried weight.
Distance.
Uncertainty.
He didn't know where she was.
Didn't know which school she attended.
Didn't even know if she was safe.
All he had… was a feeling.
And that frightened him more than anything he had faced inside the labyrinth.
Because this
This was something he could not fight.
The next morning, he didn't hesitate.
The moment school began, Alok headed straight for the administrative office.
The corridor felt longer than usual, each step echoing faintly, as if reminding him how little certainty he had left.
He stopped at the desk.
"Excuse me, miss… I need information about a transfer student. Her name is Ceya."
The teacher behind the desk looked up, adjusting her glasses slightly.
"Full name?"
The question struck harder than expected.
Alok hesitated.
"…Ceya. Just Ceya."
A pause.
Then a quiet sigh.
"We have hundreds of transfer records. Without full details, we can't help you."
"She transferred recently… to another country,"
he added quickly, as if that might somehow fill the gap.
"Which country?"
Silence.
The answer didn't come.
Because he didn't know.
That realization settled heavily in his chest.
His fingers curled slightly into his palm.
"…I don't know."
The teacher's expression softened, but her answer did not change.
"I'm sorry. We can't track students like that."
That was it.
A dead end.
Clear.
Unavoidable.
By lunchtime, the frustration hadn't faded.
Alok sat at the table, staring at his food without eating, his thoughts circling the same problem again and again no location, no contact, no trace.
Rihan noticed immediately.
"Bro… you look like you haven't slept."
Alok didn't deny it.
Instead, he spoke the one thing that had been repeating in his mind since last night.
"I need to find Ceya."
Tiru blinked, caught off guard.
"Out of nowhere?"
Sela leaned forward slightly.
"Did something happen?"
Alok hesitated.
The dream.
The voice.
The pendant's reaction.
How was he supposed to explain any of that without sounding insane?
He shook his head.
"I don't know how to explain it… but something's wrong."
That was enough.
Rihan's expression shifted, the casual tone disappearing.
"You think she's in danger?"
Alok didn't answer.
But the silence that followed carried more weight than any words could.
Kaile broke it quietly.
"Even if something is wrong… how do we find her?"
No one replied.
Because they all knew the truth.
Different country.
Unknown school.
No communication.
No direction.
It wasn't difficult.
It was impossible.
Until
"Wait."
Tiru suddenly straightened, snapping his fingers as something clicked in his mind.
"There is one way."
Everyone looked at him.
"Summer Inter-School Festival."
Alok frowned slightly.
"What?"
"It's not just local schools," Tiru explained quickly. "Major schools from different regions join. Boys' schools, girls' schools… even transfer students from other countries sometimes participate."
Rihan's eyes widened as he caught on.
"Oh… that event…"
Sela nodded.
"The sports and cultural one, right?"
Tiru grinned.
"Exactly. If she's studying somewhere in this region… there's a chance her school will be there."
For the first time
Something shifted inside Alok.
A possibility.
Small.
Uncertain.
But real.
His heartbeat quickened slightly.
Kaile crossed his arms.
"There's one problem."
Everyone turned toward him.
"Alok never joins those events."
Silence followed.
Then
Slowly
Every gaze shifted toward Alok.
Rihan smirked faintly.
"Yeah… you always avoid it."
Sela added with a light laugh,
"You called it 'too crowded and boring."
"And now suddenly you want to join?"
Tiru finished.
Alok didn't react to the teasing.
Didn't smile.
Didn't deny it.
He simply stood up.
The sound of the chair sliding back cut through the conversation.
"I'm joining."
The words were simple.
But the weight behind them was not.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Rihan blinked.
"…Wait. You're serious?"
Alok met his gaze directly.
"Yeah."
Tiru raised an eyebrow.
"Bro… this is historic."
Sela leaned back, half amused, half shocked.
"Alok… voluntarily joining a school event?"
Kaile shook his head.
"This is bigger than a miracle."
Alok glanced down at his hand.
The pendant beneath his shirt pulsed again.
Soft.
Faint.
But undeniable.
"I don't care about the event."
He lifted his head.
His eyes were no longer uncertain.
They were focused.
"If there's even a small chance she'll be there… I'm going."
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Rihan watched him for a moment.
Then smiled.
Slowly.
And stood up.
"Then I'm coming too."
Alok blinked.
"You don't have to"
"Shut up,"
Rihan replied casually.
"If something's wrong… we deal with it together."
That was enough.
Later that evening
Alok stood alone on the school rooftop.
The city stretched out before him, bathed in the fading orange light of sunset.
The world looked calm.
Too calm.
The wind moved gently, carrying with it the distant sounds of life below.
But his focus wasn't there.
It was inward.
On the faint glow beneath his shirt.
The pendant pulsed again.
Weak.
Distant.
But still connected.
He closed his eyes.
"Ceya…"
For a brief moment
Just a single moment
He felt it.
That same presence.
Far away.
Fading.
But not gone.
"Wait for me…"
Far beyond his reach
In another country
Under a different sky
Ceya suddenly stopped walking.
Her body froze for a fraction of a second.
Her fingers twitched.
Her eyes flickered.
Something deep inside her
Something buried
Responded.
"…Alok…?"
The word slipped out quietly.
Uncontrolled.
Unintended.
Then
It vanished.
Like it had never existed.
Her expression returned.
Perfect.
Calm.
Controlled.
And completely
Incorrect.