The academy was wrapped in a thin veil of mist. Rain from the night before had left puddles scattered across the grounds. Somewhere above, the sun tried to pierce through, but the sky stayed an endless gray.
Reika stood still in the courtyard.
The bell had rung again.
Only he could truly feel it—deep in his chest, in the roots of his mind. Like claws scraping the inside of his skull. It wasn't physical. It wasn't even loud.
But it was… breaking.
Kairo snapped his fingers in front of him. "Yo, Earth to pretty-boy. You good?"
Reika blinked out of it, just barely. "It rang again."
Mira's orb pulsed beside her as she turned, alert. "That's the third time this week."
Aira joined them, hair tied up today, a file in her hand. "Two more students collapsed overnight. Same symptoms—unconscious, unresponsive, but not dead."
"Yet," Vivi muttered.
---
By midday, the group had spread out. They were moving like a small strike team—questioning professors, scanning the training fields, sifting through old academy records.
Reika tried to focus, but every time the bell rang, his vision blurred.
He kept it to himself.
For now.
---
The room smelled like old parchment and forgotten storms. Mira was flipping through war journals while Vivi tapped her foot beside her, impatient.
"Are we really sure this is a bell?" Vivi asked.
"It fits. Psychic resonance, staggered collapses, mental wear," Aira replied, leaning against a dusty cabinet. "It's like an old battlefield relic—designed to wear enemies down over time."
Kairo groaned from the doorway. "Who the hell rings a murder bell for five days before killing people? That's cartoon villain behavior."
"It's psychological," Mira said quietly. "It breaks hope first."
Reika leaned against the wall, breathing through his nose. His hands trembled slightly.
None of them saw it. Except Kairo.
"You sure you're okay?" he asked under his breath.
Reika nodded, not convincingly.
---
The fourth toll came just after sunset.
Reika dropped to one knee instantly.
The girls rushed to him, shouting his name, but he waved them off. "I'm still here," he muttered. "But it's getting harder."
Vivi clenched her fists. "This thing is targeting you."
Aira nodded. "The others are unconscious. But Reika's still standing… which means he's being tested."
Mira looked pale. "Or... worn down for something worse."
---
In a hidden annex of the archives, Aira finally found it.
An ancient war codex. Marked with blood.
She read aloud:
"The Bell of Dissolution. Five days, five tolls. Each ring steals a piece of the mind. On the fifth toll, all who have heard it shall perish—body and soul devoured by the void."
No one spoke.
The room was silent—except for the sound of Reika's shallow breathing.
Kairo broke the silence. "Tomorrow is the fifth day."
---
Lightning flashed across the sky.
Reika looked up, rain hitting his face. His eyes were hard, but behind them—cracks were forming.
"If I fall," he said softly, "don't waste time arguing over me."
The girls all looked at each other—guilt in their throats.
"No," Mira said finally, voice low. "You're not falling."
The bell hadn't rung yet.
But it was coming.