It was strange… how a storm could begin in the middle of class as if the sky itself had lost patience.
The wind howled like something alive, slamming against the trees with violent force. Branches scraped the windows like claws trying to get in. Lightning tore through the sky, staining it in gray and black, followed by thunder so loud it felt like the world itself was trembling.
Rain fell in relentless sheets—
like the sky was crying too much to breathe.
— "Looks like we won't be leaving school anytime soon."
I glanced at Kim. We were lying side by side on the top-floor staircase, listening to the storm rage outside.
— "Yeah…" she murmured. "I've never liked storms. They scare me… especially because of what people say lives in them."
I sighed, annoyed.
— "You're really starting again? That's just fantasy, Kim. None of that exists."
She turned toward me.
I did the same.
Our eyes met—and for a moment, the storm disappeared.
— "Dark… can you promise me something?"
Her voice was softer now.
— "Yeah. What is it?"
She moved closer, wrapping her arms around me.
— "Will you stay with me… always?"
I gently touched her cheek.
— "You don't need to ask. I'll always be with you. You're the most important person in my life, Kim. If we ever die… I'd want it to be together. So I can keep protecting you. You, Alya… all of you."
She smiled, blushing slightly, then kissed my cheek.
— "You're important to me too… to both of us. Alya and I would bring down the stars for you. You're… special."
I smiled.
Even if my emotions were often a mess—unclear, tangled—I knew one thing for certain.
I cared about them.
In ways I couldn't fully understand.
— "I'd do the same."
The bell rang.
Reality returned.
We stood up and headed back to class.
The classroom was already full when we arrived.
Moments later—
Natasha entered.
— "Good morning, students. Today we'll be doing a group activity. Your task is to read this."
She pulled a book from her bag.
I recognized the title instantly.
— "Confessions of a Fallen Angel."
We said it at the same time.
She smiled.
Something about that smile lingered too long.
— "Let's begin. Miss Ailín, please read the opening passage."
Ailín nodded and started reading.
But halfway through—
Natasha staggered.
— "Excuse me… I'm not feeling well. I'll be right back."
She left the room.
Minutes passed.
Then she returned.
—
Something was wrong.
—
She wore a hood now.
Her face hidden.
And somehow—
no one questioned it.
Not even me.
Not even when the storm outside began casting shadows on the walls…
and hers—
had too many limbs.
—
— "Dark… continue reading. The section titled The Weight of Broken Wings."
She stood beside her desk.
Carving something into the wood with a thin blade.
Runes.
—
I swallowed.
Then began.
—
— "My wings, once bridges to heaven… had become chains dragging through the mud."
The words felt heavier than they should.
Outside, raindrops struck the glass—
but each drop…
formed symbols.
—
(Why am I so nervous…?)
My voice trembled.
My hands shook.
Sweat ran down my neck.
—
— "Each feather I lost bled light… and the light attracted vultures."
I looked at her.
I knew.
That wasn't Natasha.
—
— "Professor… this book… where did you get it?"
She smiled.
—
Not a human smile.
Not even a cruel one.
—
A wrong one.
—
She rubbed something across the page.
Black.
Thick.
—
Blood.
—
— "It was given to me… by a dear friend."
A pause.
— "She said… her son would read it someday."
She lit a cigarette.
No one reacted.
No one dared.
—
— "Continue. The next paragraph is… important."
My throat tightened.
But I kept reading.
—
— "But the deepest pain was not the fall…
—it was knowing my own child would pay for my sin."
—
Something moved.
Behind her.
—
A woman.
Her throat slit.
Her eyes gone.
—
Only I could see her.
—
— "RUN!" the specter screamed. "She cut my wings before she slit my throat—she enjoyed it!"
—
— "STOP!"
I grabbed my head, shouting.
— "It's not real! It's not here!"
I looked around—
My classmates—
Their eyes were black.
Their mouths stitched shut.
—
And she—
just kept writing.
With black blood.
Calm.
Focused.
—
— "What is this?! Make it stop—PLEASE!"
I tried to stand—
Dropped the book—
Pages stained.
Not red—
Gold.
—
— "This isn't real… it's not real…"
The room spun.
My body collapsed.
Convulsions took over.
Pain exploded inside my skull.
—
I screamed.
—
Something broke.
—
From my temples—
black roots burst out.
Twisting.
Growing.
Like serpents made of pain.
—
— "Beauty is always grotesque."
Her voice.
Closer now.
—
— "I expected more from you."
She crouched beside me.
Her voice lowered.
Almost gentle.
—
— "Do you see… what denying your blood does, little angel?"
She laughed.
Soft.
Cruel.
—
— "You've spent so long pretending… you forgot what you are."
Smoke curled from her lips.
—
— "Pain always seeks the light… even if you choose darkness."
She touched the roots.
Burned them with her fingers.
The smell—
charred flesh.
—
Scars formed.
Wing-shaped.
Rotten wings.
—
— "Shhh…"
Her hand touched my face.
—
— "This deserved to hurt."
—
Snap.
—
Darkness.
—
I woke up in the infirmary.
Kim was beside me.
The moment she saw me awake—
she hugged me tightly.
— "Dark! Are you okay?!"
I blinked, disoriented.
— "Kim… what happened?"
She hesitated.
— "You fainted in class. We brought you here. Natasha was here too, but she left—she said her stomach hurt. So… we had a free period."
—
I froze.
—
That couldn't be right.
—
I remembered someone teaching.
Reading.
Watching me.
—
…smiling.
—
(Was it a dream?)
(An illusion?)
(…or something else?)
—
My hand moved slowly to my temples.
—
Bandages.
—
Beneath them—
pain.
Real.
—
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
—
This wasn't over.
—
It had only just begun.
—
And somehow—
I knew—
every second from now on…
would be worse.