Shadow of Death (SOD)

Chapter 14

The class ended normally after a few hours.

Yet for Asher, nothing about those few hours felt normal.

Throughout the lecture, he remained uncomfortably aware of the girl sitting beside him.

Nuel.

There was a certain wrongness about her.

Something he could feel but couldn’t identify.

It wasn’t something he could see. It wasn’t something he could hear.

It was simply... there.

And the more he tried to figure it out, the more elusive it became.

Eventually, Asher decided to shove the feeling to the back of his mind and leave it alone.

For now.

Even as he did so, however, he noticed something else.

Stares.

Several students sitting around him kept glancing in his direction.

Some looked at him briefly before quickly looking away.

Others stared for a few seconds longer.

And a few could even be seen subtly shaking their heads.

By now, Asher already had an idea of what those looks meant.

So he ignored them.

Ever since people realized he was new to Vespers City, the same thing kept happening.

The stares.

The whispers.

The subtle shaking of heads.

But now that a few pieces of the puzzle had finally fallen into place, Asher understood what those expressions most likely meant.

Pity.

They were pitying him.

For what?

He still had no idea.

But whatever the reason was, it was clearly something everyone except him seemed to know.

Hours passed.

Eventually, the students were given their break, and Asher headed to the canteen to eat.

He remained reserved.

He didn’t approach anyone.

Instead, he observed.

He needed someone who could give him answers.

Someone who had been in this city long enough to know what was happening but wasn’t an administrator who could simply refuse to talk.

His eyes moved across the students in the canteen.

He studied their faces.

Their eyes.

Their movements.

Most importantly...

Their bags.

He needed someone whose bags under the eyes were deeper than the others.

Someone who looked like they had been fighting sleep for far longer than they should have.

After several minutes of observation, he finally chose his first target.

And just in case that person failed, he had already picked a second.

Mission decided.

Target selected.

Now, it was time to move.

After finishing his meal, Asher exited the canteen and headed toward the staircase leading to the upper floor.

He stopped there and pulled out his phone.

Scrolling through it casually, he waited.

Calm.

Patient.

He didn’t want to look like he was waiting for anyone.

Then his first target appeared.

A girl walked in from outside with a stack of books held against her chest while simultaneously scrolling through her phone.

Asher’s gaze immediately settled on her face.

The bags beneath her eyes were heavy.

Dark.

Far darker than most of the students he had seen.

Several times, she almost yawned.

Each time, she managed to suppress it.

Asher took a slow breath.

*Here we go.*

He began descending the staircase while keeping his attention seemingly fixed on his phone.

The girl continued walking in his direction, equally distracted by hers.

Neither of them appeared to be paying attention.

They moved closer.

Closer.

Until they reached the center of the hallway.

Then—

"Ah—"

With a short laugh, Asher accidentally bumped into her.

Hard.

Her arms immediately flared outward.

The books slipped from her grasp and scattered across the floor.

The sudden impact nearly sent her crashing backward.

But before she could hit the ground, Asher reacted.

His hand shot forward and caught hers.

He steadied her before gently pulling her back upright.

He immediately shoved his phone into his pocket.

"I-I’m really sorry for bumping into you. My stupid best friend sent a message I needed to attend to, and I wasn’t looking. I’m really sorry."

His expression was apologetic.

Genuinely apologetic enough to make the accident believable.

The girl stared at him.

But instead of focusing on his apology, her eyes slowly traveled across his face.

Then stopped.

His eyes.

His skin.

There were no dark bags beneath them.

Nothing.

Asher noticed the brief change in her expression but said nothing.

He simply crouched down and began gathering her scattered books.

"I’m really sorry."

One by one, he picked them up.

When he had collected the last one, he stood and handed the entire stack back to her with a respectful bow.

The girl looked slightly taken aback.

Perhaps she hadn’t expected such humility from someone who had just crashed into her.

"It-it’s fine. I’m also sorry. I wasn’t focused on my steps either. Otherwise, this would’ve been avoided."

She gave him a small bow as well before collecting her books.

Asher straightened.

A charming smile appeared on his face.

"Thank you."

He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

The girl blushed faintly.

Then she turned around to leave.

Asher watched her take one step.

Then another.

He had almost let her go when he remembered the real reason he’d approached her.

"Uh... hope you weren’t hurt, though?"

The girl paused.

She turned around and shook her head.

"No, I’m not. Thanks to you grabbing me on time."

Asher waved his hand dismissively.

"Oh, please. All thanks to my gym."

He flexed his arm, displaying muscles that were practically nonexistent.

The girl stared at him for a second.

Then she laughed.

"You are funny."

"Am I?"

His grin widened.

The girl laughed again.

But halfway through her laughter—

Her expression changed.

Her mouth opened.

And a yawn slowly escaped.

She desperately tried to suppress it.

But it was too late.

A quiet yawn slipped through.

Asher’s smile remained.

The girl’s entire body froze.

Horror flashed across her face.

She slowly lowered her hand from her mouth.

Asher watched her carefully.

Then his eyes narrowed slightly.

He had finally gotten the reaction he was looking for.

"You seem tired."

He tilted his head.

"Didn’t get enough sleep last night?"

The girl blinked.

Slowly, she lifted her head and looked at Asher.

The horror etched across her face immediately caught his attention.

"I-I-I... what have I done?"

Asher raised a brow.

"You just yawned. Like this..."

He demonstrated.

And almost immediately, the girl instinctively imitated him.

A yawn escaped her lips.

The girl froze.

Her eyes widened.

The color seemed to drain from her face as she realized what she had just done.

Her fingers loosened around the books in her hands.

They slipped.

The books began to fall.

But before they could hit the floor, Asher quickly reached out and caught them.

He straightened with the books in his hands and cocked a brow at her.

"Why do you look so horrified, though? It’s just a harmless yawn."

He handed the books back to her.

"And besides, it wouldn’t hurt to get some sleep. I know you study overnight to keep your CGPA, but at least give your body some rest."

The girl’s expression changed.

She frowned.

Then she abruptly snatched the books from his hands.

"You think I don’t want to sleep?!"

Her voice was low but filled with frustration.

"Do you think I wanted to be placed in this accursed situation? The hell?!"

She clenched her jaw.

Then her expression softened slightly.

"Oh, sorry..."

Her eyes narrowed.

"You wouldn’t understand because you’re new and haven’t been through the situation we have."

Asher’s brow rose.

"Situation?"

His curiosity immediately sharpened.

"What situation? Why can’t you sleep?"

The girl stared at him for a moment.

Then she shook her head.

"Forget it."

She turned around.

Asher’s mind began racing.

She knew.

She definitely knew.

And she had almost told him.

He couldn’t let her leave.

His eyes narrowed slightly as a ridiculous thought suddenly crossed his mind.

"Or you couldn’t sleep because you were busy surfing through adult sites and working on yourself?"

"..."

The girl froze.

Slowly.

Very slowly.

She turned her head.

An annoyed glare immediately appeared on her face.

"The hell do you take me for?!"

She spun around fully.

"I couldn’t—"

Her expression changed.

"We can’t sleep because—"

The wind suddenly changed.

Asher’s body stiffened.

Something moved between them.

His heart skipped.

A cold sensation crawled across his skin as sweat immediately began forming along his temples.

The girl went pale.

Her hands shot toward her mouth.

Her eyes widened in pure dread.

As if she had almost committed an unforgivable sin.

"What..."

Asher couldn’t finish the word.

The air around them had changed.

It felt heavier.

Colder.

Almost suffocating.

A strange whistle seemed to crawl directly into his ears.

His limbs began trembling uncontrollably.

He couldn’t understand why.

He couldn’t understand what was happening.

He simply knew that something was there.

Something they couldn’t see.

The girl was trembling too.

Cold sweat streamed down her face as she stared ahead with terror.

And then—

Everyone in the hallway stopped.

Students who had been walking moments ago froze in place.

Conversations died.

Footsteps ceased.

Even those who had been casually scrolling through their phones lowered them.

Pure, undiluted dread spread through the hallway.

Asher’s breathing became shallow.

His eyes darted around.

’Wha—What is this feeling?’

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody dared to make a sound.

Then—

Just as suddenly as it had appeared...

The presence vanished.

The crushing sensation disappeared.

The strange whistle faded from Asher’s ears.

The air returned to normal.

One person released a trembling breath.

Then another.

Soon, the entire hallway seemed to exhale at once.

Asher’s shoulders dropped slightly.

The girl didn’t wait.

The moment she realized it was gone, she turned around and bolted.

She disappeared down the hallway without giving Asher another glance.

Asher stared after her.

"Hey!"

He immediately moved to chase after her.

But before he could take more than a few steps—

A voice whispered directly behind him.

"Wanna know everything?"

Asher froze.

His entire body went rigid.

The voice continued.

"I can tell you."

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