Kai hadn't felt like this in a long time.
The room felt suffocating. Cold. Way too cold for a summer morning. He sat up in bed, the sheets tangled around his legs, his muscles stiff from the night's restless sleep. The shadows in the room looked wrong — stretched out, twisting across the floor like they were alive.
Something wasn't right.
He couldn't say what it was, but he could feel it.
A glance at the clock — 8:00 AM.
"Aira" was already gone. Probably left for university hours ago, as usual. No goodbye. No note. Just silence.
She didn't notice anymore.
Kai dragged himself out of bed, rubbing his face and forcing a breath into his lungs like it would clear out the heaviness in his chest.
Just another day.
Another dull, forgettable, absolutely worthless day.
He threw on his hoodie, grabbed his bike keys, and stepped outside.
The streets were loud — cars honking, vendors shouting, billboards flashing promises of things Kai could never afford. The same old chaos.
He kept pedaling, weaving through traffic with practiced ease, ignoring the bustle.
Until he saw it.
A massive digital billboard ahead flickered, then shifted.
And suddenly...
"Victor."
His face filled the entire screen.
Kai froze.
That smug, perfect grin. That confident tilt of the head.
It was like being punched in the gut.
Victor had always been everywhere — online, on news channels, in political parties — but seeing his face like this, unexpected and unavoidable, shook Kai more than he expected.
Memories bubbled up.
Flashback-
High school. The smell of old books and chalk. The constant buzz of laughter that wasn't meant to be kind.
Kai's desk had been at the back of the classroom, near the window. It was his only escape. He used to stare outside and pretend he was anywhere else.
Meanwhile, Victor was always at the front. Always surrounded by people. Always admired.
Golden hair. White smile. Sharp jawline.
Untouchable.
Next to him sat "Josh" — Victor's muscle. The guy who never stopped flexing. Even in school, Josh had been cruel, but now?
Now he was worse.
A personal trainer to the city's elite. Bigger, louder, and somehow even more arrogant.
Kai remembered being shoved in the locker room, cornered by laughter.
He remembered fists, jokes, bruises he couldn't explain at home.
And then there was "Senna".
The only one who had ever looked at him like he mattered.
Back then, she'd been soft-spoken, gentle. A neighborhood girl who offered quiet smiles.
But now?
Now she walked past him like he didn't exist.
Surrounded by friends. Eyes forward. Voice silent.
It was like he'd been erased.
And maybe... that was better.
Kai pedaled harder.
He had a delivery to make. It was a familiar address. Too familiar.
Josh's house.
The massive double-door loomed as he parked his bike.
He rang the bell.
The door swung open almost immediately.
There stood "Josh".
Bulkier. Taller. That same arrogant smirk carved onto his face.
"Well, well, look who's still riding a bike," Josh drawled, folding his arms across his chest.
Kai stayed still. "Just doing my job."
Josh chuckled, loud and mocking.
"A job? C'mon, man. Don't you want more than this?"
He leaned forward. His voice lowered.
"Don't you want to be someone?"
The words hit like stones.
Kai gritted his teeth. He wouldn't give Josh the satisfaction.
Josh grabbed the delivery bag and smirked. "At least you're good at something. Keep pedaling. It suits you."
Kai's fists clenched at his sides. "I'll get going."
The door slammed behind him.
He stood there for a moment. Breathing. Trying not to explode.
He cycled off, but the words followed.
They always followed.
"You're not like us, Kai. You never will be."
The streets blurred as he pedaled faster, pushing away the sting in his chest.
Cars passed. Faces blurred by. The world moved on like it didn't see him.
But something had shifted.
A sense of unease crawled up his spine.
He started noticing the little things.
Whispers on the streets.
People talking about a virus.
Not the flu. Not some normal outbreak.
Something weirder.
Hallucinations. People seeing things.
Skin changing color. People scratching at themselves like bugs were crawling under their skin.
Someone on the corner was shouting about it — a homeless man clutching his chest.
"They're changing! They're changing inside!"
Kai ignored it.
But something inside him stirred.
A dark chill in his gut.
Maybe it was nothing.
But maybe it was something.
For the first time in years, Kai felt like the world was tilting.
Not against him.
But with him.
Like the world was finally falling apart.
Just like he had, a long time ago.
He didn't know what was coming.
But whatever it was...
He wasn't sure he was ready.
And yet — some part of him welcomed it.
Because when the world breaks...
The broken have a chance to rise.