Seira Kaeval.
Who didn't know her?
A student famous for her long list of achievements and her brilliance in academics. Ranking first every year made her known by almost everyone in the school.
She was considered a role model that every child should follow—at least according to the parents who were amazed by her academic skills.
"Seriously, my mom knows about Seira and asked me to be friends with that nerd? Ew, annoying."
"Ugh, same. I wish she'd just disappear. My ears burn from constantly being compared to her. What's so great about Seira, anyway? All she does is suck up to the teachers!"
Behind her popularity as a top student, not many people actually liked her. Most saw her as the reason their parents kept comparing them to her.
But—
'If you don't want to be compared, then work harder too!
It's your parents who started it, but I'm the one who gets blamed? How empty-headed!'
Seira fumed in silence.
She let out a heavy sigh and rubbed her face for a moment, as her thoughts drifted back to the people at school who hated her. Final exams were getting closer, yet the flood of insults kept replaying in her mind, shattering the focus she had just begun to build on her studies.
This couldn't go on.
She had to concentrate, to study hard, and forget the pointless chatter of those empty-headed fish in her class.
'Focus, Seira! FOCUS!' she cheered herself on.
— RINGG
Her phone buzzed from inside the pocket of her school uniform. Curious, Seira took it out, only to find a new message from her father.
Dad:
Seira, don't go to the library after school, okay? I just got some extra cash from overtime yesterday. Let's have dinner out with everyone tonight, alright?
A small smile crept onto Seira's face. She typed a reply before slipping the phone back into her pocket.
That simple message warmed her heart again. Reinvigorated, she focused back on her studies and returned to the book she had been peacefully reading in the library.
Until that peace suddenly shattered—
The furniture around her began to tremble in unison, followed by a violent vibration in the floor beneath her. Seira lost her balance.
'An earthquake!' she panicked.
Screams echoed across the library, mixing with cries from outside. Without hesitation, Seira ducked under a table and covered herself for protection.
The tremors grew stronger. Furniture toppled. Glass windows shattered all at once. The sound of breaking glass and screaming students filled the air like a death knell.
"Please protect me, my family... Protect us all. Don't let us be taken by danger or death. Keep us safe. No matter what," she whispered in fear and hope.
— CCRRRAKK
Her eyes caught sight of a small crack forming on the library floor.
It widened rapidly… crawling toward where she was hiding.
'Wait—that crack…! I'm going to fall!'
Her thoughts cut off—
as the floor beneath the library gave way completely.
With one sharp breath, Seira plummeted into the darkness below, alongside the others, screaming in pure terror:
"AAAAAAAAAAA!"
Before her eyes finally closed, Seira made a silent wish:
'I hope they're all safe.
And I hope…
they can find me.'
Then, she was swallowed by endless darkness.
Alone.
For twenty long years—
Or perhaps, forever(?).