Gasp!
Air rushed into lungs that had forgotten how to breathe.
Ethan stumbled backward, his sneakers scraping violently against the rough gravel of the rooftop. His hands flew out, grasping blindly until they found the cold, rusted metal of the safety railing.
He squeezed the metal tight. He squeezed it until his knuckles turned white, anchoring himself to the solid world.
His chest heaved. His heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird, frantic and wild.
Badump. Badump. Badump.
Ethan stared wide-eyed at the abyss beyond the railing. Just moments ago, that drop had looked like a solution, the welcoming embrace of peace.
But now?
Vertigo. A cold, sharp shiver of pure vertigo shot down his spine. He scrambled further away from the edge, his legs shaking uncontrollably.
Staring blankly at the edge of the roof that was about to claim his life, Ethan took a few seconds to compose himself.
"What..."
His voice cracked. It sounded dry and unused.
"What the hell was I doing?"
Confusion washed over him, thick and disorienting. He looked at his trembling hands, then back at the dark emptiness of the drop.
Recollection wasn't the right now.
The memories were all there, sharp and clear. The bullying. His failings as a magician. The mocking laughter in the hallways. The feeling of being utterly, hopelessly alone in a city of millions.
He remembered walking up the stairs of the classroom building. He remembered reconciling with himself as he carried his feet towards the edge.
And yet...
As he stood there now, shivering in the rooftop breeze, those thoughts and feelings felt distant.
They felt like memories of a bad dream that was rapidly fading in the morning light. He knew the sadness had been real, but he couldn't grasp it anymore. He could no longer feel that dull ache in his heart.
"Was I... possessed?" he whispered to the empty air.
It was the only explanation that made sense. Had a devil taken hold of his mind? Had some dark spirit whispered that madness into his ear? Encouraged him to take his own life?
Because surely, the person standing here now—this Ethan who could feel the biting cold of the wind and the blood pumping through his veins—would never have done such a thing.
To throw away his own life like this? To embrace nothingness without putting up a fight?
It was true that times had been tough, but no matter how tough they had been, to think that he would make such a decision was…
Impossible!
The very thought was repugnant. It went against every fiber of his being.
Ethan took a deep breath. He couldn't help but think about the current situation more seriously. It seemed like… his way of thinking underwent a drastic change out of nowhere.
But how could such a thing happen?
In this world filled with magic, the existence of ghosts and the like wasn't totally unbelievable. Had he really been possessed by an evil spirit all this time? Or did going face to face with death awaken something inside of him?
He had many theories but none of them were particularly convincing.
Moreover, he started feeling a dull ache in his head. The more he sought to explain the changes within him, the more intense the headache became.
Ethan shook his head. It didn't look like a real answer would come to him any time soon.
Not to mention, he had other things to worry about right now. While it may be true that he was no longer intent on taking his own life, that did not mean that all his problems just disappeared.
Quite the contrary, in fact. He would now have to face those problems in some way or another. His face contorted into a frown when he thought of the future that awaited him. Life would truly not be easy.
And speaking of problems…
Beep!
A sharp electronic chirp shattered the silence of the rooftop. The sound was sudden, piercing through his moment of reflection.
Instinct took over. Before he even processed what the sound was, his hand moved on its own. It was a muscle memory, ingrained and automatic.
Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
The screen lit up, casting a harsh, artificial glow against the gloom of the rooftop. Ethan tapped the icon for the messenger app. He already had a faint idea who the sender might be.
Immediately, the chat list loaded. And there, sitting at the very top, was a name that haunted his nightmares.
Braden.
In the past—perhaps even just ten minutes ago—seeing that name would have sent a jolt of panic through his body. It would have inspired pure, unadulterated terror. But now?
Ethan's expression didn't waver. Nor did his face didn't crumble into fear.
Instead, his eyes grew cold.
The sudden shift in Ethan's personality was remarkable. Braden was the main reason he had been driven to this point. He was the architect of the despair that had nearly pushed Ethan off the ledge. Yet, looking at the name now, he felt nothing but a chilling detachment.
His gaze drifted downward to the latest message. It wasn't a text. It was a picture.
A visual reminder of the humiliation that had taken place earlier that afternoon.
For Ethan, the bullying itself wasn't new. Braden and his little band of followers had targeted him for a long time now. It had been going on for several months at this point, a relentless campaign of torment that had slowly chipped away at his will to live.
He had grown numb to it.
In the beginning, he had tried to resist it. He had tried to fight back. But he later realized that his resistance only seemed to fuel their amusement, adding oil to the fire.
Realizing that fighting back was futile, he had recently adopted a different strategy. Indifference.
He tried to become as stoic as he could, burying his feelings deep within. He tried his best to not give them the reaction they craved.
For a while, they got frustrated. Ethan thought it was working. He thought he had found a way out.
But he was wrong. Dead wrong.
Their frustration did not lead to boredom followed by abandonment like he had hoped. Instead, it led to anger. Instead of ending the bullying, things got worse than before. Their actions escalated, becoming more vicious and more personal with each passing day.
And the events of today marked the limits of Ethan's tolerance. What happened a few hours ago pushed his mind decisively over the edge, mercilessly snuffing out the flame that burned weakly within him.