The Heart of Zero

For several days, Riyugi had been carrying an indescribable anxiety deep within her heart. The incident in the infirmary seemed to have passed on the surface, but the lingering questions in her mind would not fade. During class, she would often find her gaze drifting toward Shingin. His smile was always so calm—so calm that it unsettled her, as though nothing had ever happened. But what she saw that day... was it truly just an illusion?

After school, Myouka walked into the classroom to find Riyugi still seated, lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" Myouka gently tapped her shoulder, her voice carrying a faint, warm smile.

Riyugi snapped out of her daze, shaking her head with hesitation in her tone. "It's nothing. It's just that everything that's been happening lately feels stranger and stranger."

Myouka chuckled lightly, her tone breezy. "Ever since you fainted that day, you've been overly sensitive. I think you might've just seen an illusion."

Riyugi frowned. An illusion? She refused to believe it was all a trick of her mind. Myouka's attitude only deepened her suspicions. Myouka had been there that day too, so why had she never mentioned Shingin's behavior? Questions swirled deeper in Riyugi's heart: Does Myouka know something but isn't saying it?

From that day on, Riyugi began to observe Shingin's every move more closely. During class, her gaze would frequently land on him. Shingin sat quietly in his seat by the window, flipping through his textbook. Occasionally, he would look up and smile softly at her—a calm, serene smile that seemed unshakable. Yet it was this very calmness that made her heart more conflicted. She couldn't understand the true emotions behind it.

One day, as she passed through the hallway, Riyugi inadvertently locked eyes with Shingin. For a brief moment, it was as though they were probing each other's hearts. Riyugi's pulse quickened, and she felt an inexplicable pressure radiating from his gaze. Shingin seemed quieter than usual, as though carrying some unspoken secret.

"Maybe I should find out the truth." The thought took root in her mind.

After school, Riyugi didn't head home immediately. She lingered deliberately, waiting until the campus had grown eerily quiet. Shingin's silhouette gradually faded from view. Riyugi hesitated for a moment before deciding to follow him. The unease in her heart grew stronger, as though something unseen was driving her forward.

As the evening deepened, the alley lights dimmed to a weak amber glow. The damp air was heavy with the smell of mildew. The stone-paved road remained slick from the previous night's rain. Riyugi stepped cautiously, keeping her distance to avoid making a sound. Suddenly, she saw Shingin stop in front of a decrepit, abandoned warehouse.

Hiding behind the corner of a wall, Riyugi peered through a crack to observe him. The warehouse's paint had long since peeled away, and its rusted iron doors groaned against the weight of time. Insects buzzed in the air, and the faint stench of decay permeated the atmosphere. She could feel a chilling aura seeping from within the warehouse, as though the place had been forgotten for years—sealed away with untold secrets.

Shingin stood motionless in front of the warehouse door, his head lowered. The air around him seemed to freeze with his silence. Riyugi watched him, and a nameless feeling surged within her chest. She had never seen Shingin like this before—so serene and composed in class, but now cloaked in an indescribable loneliness. The warehouse's desolation mirrored the outline of his figure. The fading sunlight cast a golden glow upon him, yet it could not dispel the sorrow that clung to his form. That silent figure stood as though isolated from the world, as though speaking with a past long gone.

Riyugi instinctively held her breath. Shingin's silhouette appeared so solitary in the abandoned place, his quiet sorrow almost overwhelming. She couldn't shake the feeling that this warehouse carried more than just the weight of time; it felt like a corner of Shingin's soul—a place forgotten by the years yet never truly let go.

She dared not make a sound, pressing herself tightly against the wall. The surrounding stillness was unnerving, broken only by the rustling wind and the occasional hum of insects. Then, suddenly, Shingin turned his gaze toward where Riyugi was hiding. His eyes seemed to pierce through the night, stabbing straight into her soul. Riyugi froze, her breath nearly stopping. At that moment, a strange fear gripped her.

Seconds passed before Shingin looked away. He turned, pushed open the rusted iron door, and disappeared into the depths of the warehouse's shadows. Riyugi felt cold sweat trickle down her back, her heartbeat pounding wildly in her chest.

She knew she shouldn't follow him, but curiosity and unease bound her like invisible chains, urging her feet forward. The damp ground beneath her shoes felt slick and cold, with moss creeping over shattered stone tiles. The faint scraping of her footsteps seemed deafening in the silence, as though each step disturbed the stillness of the warehouse.

Approaching a broken window, Riyugi leaned in carefully. The glass had long shattered, leaving behind a rust-streaked frame overgrown with moss. When her fingers brushed the window ledge, she felt a wave of icy dampness.

She held her breath and peered cautiously inside. The warehouse was dark and silent, the air heavy with a musty stench of decay. Faint beams of light trickled through cracks in the ceiling, barely illuminating cobweb-covered shelves. Broken wooden planks were scattered on the dust-covered floor, with blotches of moss spreading across the surface. The occasional hum of insects echoed faintly in the shadows.

Riyugi's heart raced. The oppressive stillness in the warehouse seemed to trap the remnants of forgotten pain and sorrow.

With hesitant steps, she pushed open the iron door. A gust of cold wind rushed out to greet her, sending a chill down her spine. From the darkness came a deep voice, as though rising from a distant dream:

"You've finally come."

Riyugi's heart skipped a beat. A cold shiver crawled up her back as she froze in place, looking frantically into the dark. The blackness around her seemed alive, threatening to swallow her whole. Who was speaking? Shingin had vanished into the shadows, leaving her alone with nothing but the unknown and her own fear.