Kim and Roger didn't look back.
They couldn't.
The thing behind them was too close, too real, its presence crawling across the walls like a living shadow. Every step they took echoed through the endless corridor, bouncing off the cold tiles and disappearing into the dark ahead of them.
Roger's breath broke into pieces.
Kim's heartbeat felt like it was ripping through his chest.
They turned left.
Another hallway.
They turned right.
Another darkness.
Every corner betrayed them, leading not to escape… but to more shadows.
It was like the whole corridor wanted them lost.
It wanted them slow.
It wanted them caught.
The air behind them grew heavier, colder, as if the thing was breathing down their necks. Kim could hear faint footsteps—soft, but getting louder—like someone was walking with broken bones that clicked with every step.
Roger squeezed his hand harder.
"Don't stop—don't look—just run—!"
Kim didn't need to be told twice.
They sprinted like the darkness was swallowing their shadows.
But the truth was more terrifying:
It was.
Meanwhile… the classroom
Tin pressed his ear against the cold wall again.
Nothing.
No whisper.
No voice.
Just silence.
But all four of them had heard it.
A wind.
A whisper.
A message trying to claw its way into their minds.
Samy hugged her arms around herself.
"It felt like… someone calling out for help," she whispered, staring at the broken teacher's desk.
Tony shook his head, unconvinced.
"No. It didn't sound human. It felt hungry."
Jet leaned against the scratched blackboard, her jaw tight.
"Or maybe," she said, voice low, "it's just another trap this place throws at us. Something to confuse us."
Tin looked between all of them.
"Either way… something wanted us to hear it."
Four different minds.
Four different interpretations.
Four different fears.
But one thing was certain:
None of them understood the whisper.
And maybe that was the scariest part.
The classroom felt colder than before.
The pictures on the walls—those disturbing smiling class photos—seemed to stare at them with hollow eyes, as if waiting for them to make the wrong move.
Jet exhaled slowly.
"We need to focus. The whisper—whatever it was—won't help us unless we know why it came."
Samy nodded reluctantly.
"Maybe it's… warning us?"
Tony snorted, but softly.
"A warning in this place? That'll be the day."
Tin didn't respond.
He was staring at the faint blood stain near the teacher's desk again.
It hadn't been there before.
Or had it?
Nothing in this classroom could be trusted.
Not the files.
Not the desks.
Not the photographs.
And definitely not the wind.
The Shadows
Far from both the classrooms and the corridors, the two shadows finally stopped moving.
Not fighting.
Not chasing.
Not attacking.
Just… standing.
Exhausted.
For the first time since they began tearing the realm apart, they breathed—not like humans, but like something that had been holding its existence together for too long.
The white shadow looked down at the ground beneath its feet.
A glass-like surface.
Reflective.
Clear as crystal water.
It saw itself.
And for a moment—just a moment—it hesitated, like there was a memory deep inside its glowing shape… something it almost recognized.
The black shadow watched it closely.
Silent.
Calculating.
Then, softly—too softly—it said:
"Let's continue."
The white shadow slowly lifted its head.
And then they both rushed at each other—
Clashing so hard the entire realm shook.
Every blow sent shockwaves across the corridors and the classroom.
Every strike felt like thunder echoing through the worlds.
Every movement made the air heavier, made the unseen wind scream like a living creature.
Their fight wasn't just a battle anymore.
It was a warning.
Something was coming.
Something bigger.
Something that wanted all six of them.
Back to Kim & Roger
Roger stumbled, nearly falling, but Kim held her arm and pulled her forward.
Their legs were trembling so much it almost felt unreal.
Their lungs burned.
Their vision blurred.
They had never run like this.
Not in school.
Not in memories.
Not in real life.
But the thing behind them didn't slow down.
Every time they turned a corner, it came closer.
Every time they sprinted harder, the corridor stretched longer.
The lights above flickered, humming like they were about to explode.
Shadows crawled across the ceiling, twisting like living ropes trying to drop down on them.
Roger gasped, her voice sharp with fear.
"Why won't it stop following us?!"
Kim didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
He didn't know what it was.
He didn't know why it wanted them.
He didn't know how to escape.
All he knew was—
If they stopped running, they would die.
The corridor split suddenly—left or right.
Kim grabbed Roger and yanked her to the right.
But the moment they stepped into the turn—
the corridor behind them collapsed into darkness.
Like it was erasing itself.
Roger cried out as the darkness tried to pull her foot in. Kim grabbed her waist, dragging her forward.
They slammed into the wall of the next hallway.
Roger panted, shaking.
"K-Kim… it's getting closer… I can feel it breathing…"
Kim looked back.
He saw nothing.
But he felt everything.
The pressure.
The cold.
The presence.
And then—
A long, slow, dragging sound echoed behind them.
Like fingers scraping along the walls.
Roger's eyes widened.
"RUN!"
And they sprinted again.
The thing's footsteps grew louder.
Faster.
Closer.
Something brushed Kim's shoulder—cold as ice—and he nearly screamed.
Roger grabbed him and shoved him forward.
"Move, Kim! MOVE!"
Kim stumbled but kept going.
The hallway twisted again, turning into the familiar entrance corridor—the one they had stepped into when they first entered the school realm.
Same broken lockers.
Same flickering lights.
Same emptiness.
But this time—
it wasn't empty.
A shadow stretched across the far end.
Long.
Human-shaped.
Crawling across the floor like it was alive.
Roger grabbed Kim's arm.
"Don't look at it.
Don't stop.
Just run."
And so they did.
Running for their lives.
Running for answers.
Running because something behind them wanted them to stay forever.
And the thing chasing them…
wasn't slowing down.