The bell resounded in the classroom, It was a simple metallic song, usually marked only the end of classes. But today it sounded like a stone falling into the water. Small at first, but as if the circles that are formed never reach the edges.
Amane was sitting in her usual place near the window, but the light that came from outside did not reach her.
Her eyes had remained fixed on the blackboard, which had not written anything on it.
She started thoughtlessly, as if her world had already stopped.
Three months had passed since the accident, months when sleep was never complete. A month when she scrolled through their photos together endlessly, it was as if it had become a mechanism. Her thumb kept scrolling across her phone screen.
Around her, students looked at her with unease. Some whispers about her were circulating in the class. Others just avoided her gaze, as if shame and superstition could make mourning disappear.
"She acts as if everything is normal" murmured someone.
"If she had been more careful... he would still be alive." whistled another with a touch of anger.
A third voice, softer but sharper, cut off their gossip.
"Shut up, did you hear what Yuki said? She was there that day, she knows it's false."
Amane heard everything. Their words were placed in the hollow of her thoughts which have disappeared.
She didn't answer. Her silence was such that no one could touch her.
In her mind, the world had only three colors left.
The grey of the classroom ceiling.
The blue of the sky seen behind the window, and the deep black that her heart buries.
Yuki – her best friend looked on with deep anxiety. She knew the form of Amane's sorrow.
She still remembered the time when the three of us laughed and Amane was still happy, but now it seemed like a distant memory.
Behind them, someone whispered, "Sometimes she looks like a corpse."
Her words had gone too far. Yuki's hands squeezed, and her face became darkened with anger.
"Will you please shut up!" she cried against their insistent murmurs.
Silence fell back in the classroom.
Amane felt Yuki's words as if they had reached her heart.
Yuki then asked Amane "don't tense up, they'll stop talking behind your back. "
"It's okay, it doesn't bother me." She said in a low voice, as if nothing could make her more broken.
Then a thought crossed her mind: "Maybe I deserve all this… they're right to hate me" She thought as if the world were against her, where nothing could one day make her smile again.
"Amane…" Yuki whispered to herself as she saw her in this state every day. Her heart that sank at every moment and the fear of never finding her friend again hurt her.
Then the next class started, the teacher stood up and said " I'll be back in a few minutes, be quiet."
No one could know what was going to happen next.
Suddenly, a glimmer of light came out of the ground where there was still chalk dust. This light was not common: it was drawn in a gigantic circle with unknown writing inscribed on it. The windows shook, the metal chairs vibrated with the effect of this phenomenon.
"What is this delirium..."
"Aaah!!! we're going to die! "
"What is this madness?"
Panic spread, and so did some excitement. One student stood up and told his classmates to run away, but none of them could.
An invisible pressure was building, like an impending storm about to hit. They wanted to run away, but their bodies moved slowly.
Before they disappeared, Amane stood still, as if the situation had no effect on her. Then she watched the others struggle and Yuki try to tell her something worriedly, but she heard nothing, she saw her comrades shouting but no sound.
Her last thoughts were, "I hope the place we're going to is going to be better."
Then the light thickened and swallowed them all in an empty sound and none of them could escape. Magic had made them disappear completely. The world was rebuilt with a violence that wounded the spirit.
When the light faded, nothing they saw was familiar anymore. The sky was purple, which seemed to possess its own gravity.
In the distance stood a castle, its towers more gigantic than each other. The grass beneath their shoes shimmered with the remnants of mana from a recently used spell.
"Where the hell are we!" shouted one of the angry students.
" Are we…dead…?" a girl said to herself with fear in her words.
In the glow of the summoning circle appeared a woman. She was beautiful, with long, smooth silver hair flowing down her back; a white dress hung from her shoulders.
In her hand she held a staff that one would call magical.
" Welcome, chosen one." she said. Her voice wasn't loud, yet all the students heard it.
"You have been summoned to the kingdom of Elaria."
The class descended into chaos: disbelief, fear, and the selfish hope that it was all just a dream. Eyes widened and a thousand questions arose.
The woman then explained " You were called into this world for a specific reason." She then continued, "The Demon King, whose malice threatens our world, will soon be resurrected. You have been chosen to defeat him because within each of you lies the power to defeat him. Thus, after his defeat you will be able to return to your old world."
"'Chosen'? As if we're going to help you." one of them said casually.
"Why us? We're just normal high school students!" Another one shouted.
An immense tension developed between the students, between fear and disbelief. Some of them already had bright eyes thinking of future adventures and glory.
The priestess did not give up.
"I understand your fear, your anger, your doubts. You feel helpless in the face of all these events. But the choice is simple: you look away and this world will fall into darkness. Or you decide to make this grim fate disappear. I will be there, beside you. The strength to overcome it is written deep within you."
Silence fell again. The wind blew the wild grass beneath their feet. The students exchanged glances containing pride, fear and curiosity mixed together.
Finally a boy stepped forward, saying reluctantly, "…okay…we'll try."
Another girl also came forward saying "We will believe you"
The priestess then bowed her head, saying with a glimmer of comfort in her eyes, "Good, then I will first lead you to our city."
The class followed her down the gentle slope of the hill where they were summoned. They were approaching the castle they had seen in the distance. The smell in the air began to change, a scent of warm bread and smoke coming from the city.
Amane stood back, she said nothing, her gaze was unchanged, still staring into space. "Everyone seems to be in a state, but I am…"