"Congratulations, Lizzy! You're officially the Student Council President now."
The girl beamed with pride, her smile stretching wide. All the hard work she poured into yesterday's election had finally paid off — she had been chosen and inaugurated as the new President. Lizzy bowed, allowing the Headmaster to place the shoulder epaulet tassels onto both of her shoulders.
It was the symbol of authority in Diopside Academy: a pair of golden-and-diamond epaulets, each weighing a full hundred grams.
Once the Headmaster finished securing the mark of the academy's highest student office onto her, Lizzy turned around — standing tall before the one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three students of Diopside Academy. Pride radiated so brightly across her face it was almost blinding.
She truly couldn't believe it. She was the Student Council President. At Diopside Academy, the most elite and prestigious school on the entire continent. Who wouldn't be proud of such an achievement?
With this, Lizzy had climbed to the pinnacle of teenage social status. She was about to become the newest face on newspapers, ads, and even popular magazines. Rumor had it that her photo was already being displayed on the biggest billboard downtown earlier that morning.
Lizzy had really become someone famous. With this… surely that person would finally accept her feelings, right?
To be honest, Lizzy's reason for wanting to become Student Council President was embarrassingly shallow. All she wanted was the attention of the boy she liked. So she pushed herself relentlessly — becoming popular, strong, reliable. And in the end, she succeeded. She became captain of the Boxing Club, Student Council President, and a three-time champion of the academy's martial arts tournament.
With achievements this extraordinary, surely he had no reason to turn her down… right?
Yeah.
That was what Lizzy believed.
Unfortunately, reality was never as sweet as her hopes. After spending so long wishing and expecting — everything shattered in a single heartbeat.
"I'll be transferring schools next month, Lizzy."
Crack… wuuush…
It was the sound of Lizzy's heart breaking — her dreams swept away like dust in the wind. Her pupils trembled; her entire body froze. With stiff lips and a numb tongue, she forced herself to speak.
"W–why so sudden? Didn't… didn't we promise to stay in the same school together?"
The dignified aura she had during the ceremony vanished instantly. Lizzy couldn't control the shock written across her face.
The handsome boy sighed, placing a gentle hand on Lizzy's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Lizzy. My father has to move abroad for work. My family agreed to follow him. I can't do anything about it."
Lizzy's heart dropped. Her gaze fell to the floor, empty and hollow.
"You liar… Davies Bain…" she whispered weakly, unable to lift her head to look at him.
"I really am sorry. It's out of my control," Davies said with genuine regret. "But don't worry, Lizzy. This isn't goodbye. One day, we'll meet again. By then, we'll both be successful. You'll be a famous celebrity and I'll be a state diplomat. You still want to be a celebrity, don't you?" he asked, trying to comfort her with a bright, gentle smile.
Lizzy simply nodded faintly, still unable to look at him. Even when Davies began talking about their childhood dreams, she remained silent — merely listening. For some reason, everything he said felt like empty promises.
"That's why you shouldn't be sad, Lizzy. When the time comes, I'll definitely find you again. So you must keep working toward your dream, okay?"
Davies grinned widely and ruffled her hair. Lizzy had no choice but to nod and give him a tiny smile.
"Hm, all right."
"Good! You need to stay spirited! Show me that dignified look you had during the ceremony earlier!" Davies cheered, patting her shoulder again.
Reluctantly, Lizzy straightened her back and forced a proud smile. She reminded herself that she couldn't look miserable in front of the boy she liked. Besides, Davies had already promised they would meet again.
So she just had to work harder. That was all.
"As the Student Council President, I command you to meet me again once we're both successful, Cadet Davies Bain!" Lizzy declared boldly with a mischievous grin.
Davies burst into laughter. "Hahahaha — what? We're not knights."
His laughter was contagious. Lizzy soon found herself laughing too, forgetting her sadness for a moment. It had been so long since they laughed freely like this.
Lizzy savored the warmth of the moment and tucked it deep into her heart — a memory she was determined never to forget.
Regardless of the distance that would soon separate them, the two of them would still remain close friends, right? No matter where life took them, Davies Bain would always be her childhood friend—her closest companion.
"Until we meet again… take good care of yourself, Ellysia."
Lizzy's heart sank again — deeper this time. Her body trembled harder than before. A sudden unease crawled beneath her skin, something cold and heavy coiling in her chest.
What was this feeling? Why did it feel like something terrible was about to happen?
⊱⋅ ────◇✦◇──── ⋅⊰
Bak! Buk! Buak!
"Damn it!"
Buak! Bruak!
"W—waa… waa… waa… Lizzy! Stop! If you keep punching it like that, you'll crush the entire sandbag!" a small-statured girl cried out, grabbing both of Lizzy's fists just before she landed another blow. "Calm down, friend!"
Deborah's sudden arrival nearly earned her a punch to the face. Fortunately, Lizzy managed to restrain herself just in time. Sadly, Deborah had gotten too close — making it hard for Lizzy to stop her movements completely.
Thud!
"Ow!" Deborah winced as a bright red mark appeared on her forehead — courtesy of Lizzy's sharp elbow, which had struck her unintentionally.
Lizzy froze, horrified. She quickly removed her boxing gloves and leaned forward, inspecting the mark she had caused. "I — I'm sorry, Debby! I didn't mean to!" she said, half–pleading. "Also, why did you suddenly pop up like that? You scared me!"
Deborah — the girl who dyed her hair into green — responded with a sharp glare. "Look at this girl. She apologizes and then immediately makes me annoyed again. Seriously — Queen Hulk."
"Okay, okay, it's my fault. You don't need to call me that, right?" Lizzy sighed. She had been teased like that plenty of times, but she never got used to it. Sometimes she felt like a muscle-headed monster who only knew how to fight.
Seaweed girl really knows how to push my buttons, Lizzy grumbled inwardly.
"Good to know you're aware," Deborah sniffed, crossing her arms. Lizzy only smiled sourly, secretly cursing her friend in her heart.
Lizzy had just sat down to wipe sweat from her face when Deborah suddenly shoved a stack of documents in front of her.
"These are the Student Council's financial reports. Below that is the list of students participating in next month's olympiad. Several clubs came to me asking for more funding. The Vice Principal also wants the social event proposals done soon. And then… blah, blah, blah…"
Lizzy's mind buzzed. Deborah was speaking beyond her processing capacity.
The petite girl kept explaining, page after page, while Lizzy's soul slowly left her body. Half an hour passed. It felt like she was trapped in an interrogation room, being forced to listen to shrill music nonstop until she confessed to a crime she didn't commit.
"Debby, I get it. You can go home now," Lizzy muttered weakly. She stood up and started looking through the pile of documents that Deborah had brought.
Deborah's expression instantly brightened — her eyes sparkling mischievously. It seemed she had been waiting for that sentence from the very beginning.
"The duties of a Student Council President are heavy. I'm sure you already knew that, right?"
Lizzy nodded with a defeated look. This was the price she paid for choosing this position. She should feel lucky — not just anyone with her average grades could become President at such an elite school.
She thought she was chosen for her bright personality and strong social skills. But perhaps the real reason was simpler: Lizzy had the most achievements in sports and martial arts tournaments.
"So, Lizzy. If you have a problem, you can talk to me or the other council members. You don't need to hide things and neglect your duties like this. If you keep this up, I and the others will get overwhelmed," Deborah said softly — almost touching.
Lizzy pursed her lips. "Are you trying to comfort me or insult me?"
Deborah smiled triumphantly and winked. "I'm serious. If anything's bothering you, tell us. As your reliable underlings, we'll help you, President."
Look at her lifting her chin proudly. The entire council is brave enough to talk back to me now, Lizzy groaned internally.
To be fair, Deborah did need to tilt her head up to look Lizzy in the eyes — their height difference was pretty significant.
"Yeah, yeah… just go see your cute femboy boyfriend already," Lizzy sighed, too tired to hear Deborah lecture her any longer.
Without warning, Deborah yanked Lizzy's long hair.
"Call my sweet dog that again and I'll blacklist you from my friend list."
She compared her boyfriend to a dog herself… isn't my nickname better? Lizzy muttered inwardly while brushing Deborah's hand away with ease.
"Not my business. If you don't want to be late for your date with the cutest boy in the next class, you'd better hurry home," Lizzy said, deliberately emphasizing the cutest boy in the next class.
Deborah's face turned bright red. "O-okay. I'll go. Don't overwork yourself," she mumbled before quickly leaving the boxing room.
When the door closed, the sounds of the world seemed to disappear. There was only Lizzy, her breathing, and the empty space that never answered.
Most students had gone home — it was already six in the evening. But as the Student Council President, Lizzy couldn't enjoy that luxury.
All of this was Davies Bain's fault. Absolutely his fault—
…At least that's what Lizzy wanted to believe.
But deep down, she knew the truth. This was all born from her own ambition… her own stubborn hope… and her refusal to accept reality — especially after learning the truth behind Davies' transfer.
It had been three months since Davies left the country, and just last week her older brother — Ernez — suddenly asked Lizzy a question that made her freeze.
"Lizet, did you congratulate Davies yet?"
Lizzy, who had absolutely no idea what her brother was talking about, merely shook her head. Then Ernez dropped a bomb she never saw coming.
"Huh? You didn't congratulate your best friend for getting engaged?"
It struck Lizzy like lightning in the middle of a barren desert storm. Her entire body went rigid. "W–what do you mean? Who got engaged?"
Ernez, who had been absorbed in his laptop, slowly raised his head — his expression shifting when he realized something was terribly off.
"Don't tell me he didn't tell you."
"Tell me what? Davies only said he moved because of his father's job." The coldness in Lizzy's voice made Ernez hesitate. But if he hid the truth any longer, Lizzy's hopes would only grow… and as her older brother, he couldn't let her hurt herself like that.
"Davies Bain's family business went bankrupt. So, to save their company, they arranged a marriage alliance with the daughter of a wealthy foreign businessman. Davies was matched with the youngest daughter, and… last night, they held their engagement party overseas."
Hearing the truth, Lizzy was swallowed by a storm of anger and sorrow that clung to her for days. She couldn't focus on anything — not schoolwork, not her responsibilities. All she could do was pour her frustration into the punching bag in the boxing club room.
She had worked so hard to enter an elite school like Diopside Academy… all to chase after Davies. She had pushed herself to become strong, reliable, popular — even Student Council President — just so that boy would finally turn his eyes toward her.
Yet now… after being carried so high by his promises, Lizzy was abandoned and lied to.
Is this what they call the price of misplaced devotion? Lizzy truly couldn't understand.
"When we finally meet again, I'll make sure he loses that proud handsome face — and maybe that fancy walking stick too. We'll see," Lizzy muttered with dark satisfaction curling at the edges of her smile.
⊱⋅ ────◇✦◇──── ⋅⊰
A seventeen-year-old girl staggered down the sidewalk. The sky was already pitch-black; the time was approaching nine at night. The last train had left an hour ago, leaving the bus as her only way home. Unfortunately, the next one wouldn't arrive for another fifteen minutes.
Damn it. Lizzy was exhausted. If she could've afforded a taxi, she'd have taken it in an instant. But when she checked her pockets, all she found were a few coins — barely enough to buy candy.
At least she still had her public transportation card.
She slumped onto a bench at the bus terminal, waiting for the long metal beast to take her home. Barely a minute had passed when her phone rang. Her brother's name flashed across the screen.
Even though she was tired, Lizzy picked up.
"Lizet… help me…"
Hearing her brother's weak voice, Lizzy straightened. "What? What's wrong? What happened?" she asked quickly.
"Please… buy food. I'm starving… we're out of everything."
Lizzy cursed silently. She should have known better than to fall for her brother's usual cheap tricks. As a hikikomori, he never met people, never left the house, and relied entirely on her. Without Lizzy, he'd probably rot inside the house and no one would even know he was dead.
"I don't have money. I'll order food when I get home," Lizzy snapped. Her head pounded — after dealing with council documents and being emotionally wrecked by Davies, she still had to deal with her antisocial brother.
"No, that's too long! I could die!"
Then go ahead and die! Lizzy screamed internally. But right after that, she inhaled sharply. Her brother was the only family she had left. She couldn't abandon him.
"…Fine. Send me some money to my e-wallet. Add extra so I can take a taxi."
"O-okay, Lizet dear. Thank you— tut!"
Lizzy stared at the phone with a disgusted shiver crawling up her spine. "…Gross," she muttered, grimacing at the screen.
With a deep sigh, she decided to head to the nearest convenience store. Lizzy had barely stepped out of the bus terminal when a faint, uneasy chill brushed the back of her neck — so light she thought it was just the night wind. She ignored it.
But as she walked, the world felt… slightly off.
The streetlights flickered once.
Then again.
Just enough to make her blink.
A stray cat on the sidewalk froze in place, staring past Lizzy — not at her, but behind her — before it bolted without a sound.
Lizzy rubbed her arms. "It's just cold," she whispered to herself. "I want white rice and warm teriyaki chicken… please don't let it be sold out." At least Ernez sent enough money — not just for food, but even extra she could use for snacks.
When she finally reached the convenience store, the glass doors reflected her dimly. For a split second — just a heartbeat — her reflection didn't move the same way she did. It lagged behind, as if deciding whether to follow.
Lizzy frowned. Blinked. The reflection returned to normal. At the convenience store entrance, she let out a small breath of relief; the inside was still moderately busy.
"Ugh… I'm just tired."
Without thinking much, she pushed the glass door open.
The moment the glass shifted under her hand, the last working streetlamp above her buzzed sharply — then went dead with a soft pop. Darkness rushed in around her like a breath held too long.
And then—
Everything vanished.
Her head spun violently as the air around her thinned. Lizzy couldn't open her eyes; she couldn't even feel the ground beneath her feet. The only sensation that remained was a cold, terrifying emptiness swallowing her whole.
Lizzy felt herself drifting—
Falling—
Being pulled into an endless void she had never known existed.