Silence.
Tsubasa's headless body lay twisted on the black stage, blood soaking into the boards like ink spilled across a script. The smell of iron and smoke clung to the air.
The altar of candles trembled. Another flame was gone. Only Toru's pale flame still burned steady, cruel, and defiant.
Sayaka broke first. She dropped to her knees, laughter cracking into sobs.
"It wasn't me… it wasn't me! You all thought I was next, didn't you? But look! I'm still here!"
Ayaka pressed both hands to her mouth, eyes wide, tears streaming. "He… he was the only one who kept us calm… and now he's—" Her words died into a whimper.
Reina chuckled, slow and sweet. "The calmest voice silenced by his own scream. Oh, Grimm, you do know how to keep the stage exciting."
"Shut up!" Yume screamed, her throat raw. She clung to Toru, shaking, her tears wetting his sleeve. "Why him?! Why not her?! He didn't deserve this!"
Sayaka's head snapped up. Her gaze burned with hate, locking onto Toru.
"This is your fault," she spat. "Your cursed candle—always steady, never shaking! You're not human, are you?"
Her words rippled through the room. Eyes darted toward Toru's pale flame, unwavering while the others flickered in fear.
Before Toru could speak, another voice cracked through the silence.
"Stop it! Please—stop fighting each other!"
Everyone turned.
Ms. Kaori staggered forward from the edge of the group, her blouse stained with tears and dust. The teacher's face was pale, her hands trembling.
"You're classmates—you can't turn on each other like this. We just need to think, to stay together—"
Sayaka's laugh was sharp, venomous. "Together? Don't make me laugh, Sensei. You couldn't save Haruto. You couldn't save Mika. You couldn't save Tsubasa. What good are you?!"
Ms. Kaori flinched, as though struck. Her lips quivered. "I… I tried—"
Reina's smirk deepened. "Even teachers are puppets on this stage. How delightful."
The tension cracked wider as other voices joined in.
From the side corridor, Kaito, the athlete, shouted at another boy, Junpei. "Shut your damn mouth before I shut it for you!"
Junpei sneered back, his voice echoing. "What, you gonna punch your way out of here? Go ahead, try—maybe the mansion likes watching fights too."
Their clash made the atmosphere vibrate with fresh hostility.
Nearby, Renji, leaning lazily against the wall, let out a humorless laugh. "Heh. Maybe the house just likes Toru's candle. I would, too. It's got star power."
Sayaka spun on him, shrieking, "Don't joke about this!"
In the corner, Mina, a timid girl, whimpered and covered her ears. "Please… please stop yelling…" Her trembling made her candle sputter dangerously.
"Quiet down, Mina!" snapped Emiko, the fashion queen, her mascara running from tears. "You'll make it worse!"
"She's right to pray," another voice cut in—Naomi, clutching a silver cross around her neck, whispering rapidly. "This is punishment from above. We have sinned, and the house is our judge."
"Shut up with your god crap!" Kaito barked from across the room, his fists clenched. "You think prayers will save us?"
The mansion pulsed with their voices. The chandeliers rattled. The walls groaned, as if feeding on the chaos.
Toru stood frozen, Yume gripping his arm, Ayaka sobbing softly.
And then—it happened.
The wallpaper behind Mina rippled. A shadow peeled free, slithering across the wall like liquid ink. It rose tall and faceless behind her, its mouthless head hissing in silence.
Mina's scream cut the air. "H-help!"
Toru lunged forward instinctively. "Get down!" He yanked her aside just as the shadow's claw slashed where her throat had been. The wall split with the impact, wood cracking like bone.
The students screamed. Yume dragged Toru back, Sayaka stumbled against the wall, Emiko shrieked uncontrollably.
Renji muttered, "Well, guess the house doesn't wait for curtain calls anymore."
The shadow hissed, jerking unnaturally before sliding back into the wall. Gone.
Mina sobbed on the floor, her candle shaking violently in her hands. "It—it was going to kill me…"
Sayaka's eyes snapped to Toru. Her voice shook with venom. "Or maybe it wasn't the house at all. Maybe it was him. He pulled her aside—he knew it was coming!"
"That's insane!" Yume snapped back. "He just saved her!"
Ayaka wiped her tears, her voice breaking. "Please, stop… please…"
Ms. Kaori stepped forward, arms wide, desperate. "Enough! Toru isn't the enemy—he's just a boy! Don't you see the house is playing with us?!"
Sayaka's lips twisted into a manic smile. "Then maybe you're in on it too, Sensei."
The voices clashed again, overlapping shouts, sobs, curses, prayers. The chamber shook with them.
And then—Grimm's voice sliced through the madness.
"Ahhh, splendid. Even without my trial, the slaughter writes itself. Such exquisite paranoia. Such delicious doubt."
The chandeliers blazed crimson. The far wall split open, revealing a massive carved door—the next stage. Its frame was lined with faceless figures carved in agony.
"The next lesson awaits," Grimm purred. "And the shadows are eager to take their bow."
The students fell silent, trembling, their eyes wide with dread.
And Toru's pale flame burned steady, cruel against the trembling of all the others.