SCARLET X

"Not every scar is a wound...

Some are promises the past refuses to break."

"Every ending hides inside a beginning."

— Kael's POV —

"Tumigil ang sasakyan." (The car came to a stop.)

"Is this... it?"

Those were the only words I managed to say.

The man sitting beside me didn't answer. He simply nodded, his eyes still fixed ahead.

I stepped out of the black car.

Cold air brushed against my face as I slowly lifted my head.

In front of me stood a massive black gate.

NOXMERE

The name alone felt... different.

Below it, another sentence was carved into the stone.

"Not Every Truth Should Be Found."

I read it twice.

Then a third time.

For some reason...

Those words made my heart feel heavier.

Before I could ask what they meant...

The man beside me spoke.

"Halika." (Come.)

Nothing more.

He simply walked ahead.

I followed him in silence.

I still didn't understand why my family had suddenly transferred me to a boarding school.

But one thing was certain...

This place didn't feel like an ordinary school.

A few minutes later...

We stopped in front of the principal's office.

The wooden door slowly opened.

Silence.

The room was strangely quiet.

Behind the old desk sat a man.

His silver eyes remained fixed on me...

As if...

He had been waiting for my arrival.

We entered the principal's office.

The room was unnaturally quiet.

Tall bookshelves covered the walls, while an old grandfather clock ticked softly in the corner. Behind a dark wooden desk sat a man dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit.

He didn't speak.

Not immediately.

Instead...

His sharp silver eyes slowly traveled from my face to my shoes, studying every little detail about me.

It wasn't the kind of look a principal gives a new student.

It felt...

Different.

As if he wasn't seeing me for the first time.

A strange silence filled the room.

I could feel my palms growing warm, but I forced myself to stay calm.

Then...

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Welcome to Noxmere, Mr. Kael..."

He paused.

Just long enough to make the silence heavier.

"We've been waiting for you."

My heart skipped a beat.

Waiting...?

I had never been to this school before.

So...

How could anyone here have been waiting for me?

Before I could ask, he spoke again.

"Your classroom is 633."

"Your dorm information will be given during the lunch break."

"And don't worry..."

"Your luggage has already been moved to your room."

I nodded politely.

Questions filled my mind...

But somehow...

None of them left my lips.

I quietly thanked him before walking out of the office.

The principal's building stood apart from the rest of the campus.

As I entered the academic building, students hurried through the corridors.

My eyes wandered toward the classroom numbers.

621...

623...

625...

I slowed my pace.

"That's... strange."

Every classroom had an odd number.

I looked farther ahead.

629...

631...

633.

I frowned.

"Where's 627?"

The number was simply...

Missing.

Before I could think any further—

TRRRRNNNGGGG!!

The school bell echoed across the entire campus.

Students rushed toward their classrooms from every direction.

"Perfect..."

"First day... and I'm already late."

I tightened my grip on my bag and started running.

Then—

Bump!

I crashed into someone.

The impact threw me onto the floor.

My bag slipped from my shoulder.

For a second...

Everything went silent.

I slowly looked up.

Standing in front of me...

Was a girl.

She wore a crisp white shirt, black cargo pants, and a neatly tied black tie.

Her short wolf-cut hair framed a face that looked completely emotionless.

No anger.

No surprise.

Nothing.

Our eyes met.

For barely a second.

Then...

Her gaze slowly dropped.

Not to my face.

Not to my bag.

To my right hand.

The silver ring on my finger.

A single letter was engraved on it.

V.

For almost two seconds...

She didn't move.

Something changed in her eyes.

Not fear.

Not anger.

Something much deeper.

A memory...

Maybe.

Or pain.

Then...

It disappeared.

Her face became cold again.

As if nothing had happened.

Before I could even stand—

A cheerful voice broke the silence.

"Who are you?"

I turned.

A cute-looking girl stood beside her with her arms crossed.

Before I could answer, another girl with long black hair stepped forward.

Her voice was calm...

But cold enough to stop anyone.

"Stay away from her."

For some reason...

Those four words sent a chill through my body.

The girls turned around and began walking away.

The girl I had bumped into never looked back.

Not even once.

As they walked toward their classroom, my eyes followed them.

Once again...

The numbers caught my attention.

625...

Then...

629.

"No..."

"I didn't imagine it."

"Classroom 627 really doesn't exist..."

Just as I was about to ask—

A voice came from behind me.

"Don't ask questions on your first day."

I turned around.

A boy wearing a black shirt, red tie, and white pants smiled at me.

He extended his hand.

"I'm Jace."

I smiled and shook it.

"Kael."

"Nice to meet you."

Jace laughed.

"Come on."

"Unless you want detention on your very first day."

I couldn't help smiling.

Together...

We walked toward Classroom 633.

The classroom was already almost full.

We quietly took the last bench.

A few moments later...

The classroom door opened.

The same four girls entered.

The entire room fell silent.

I looked at Jace.

He leaned slightly toward me and whispered...

"Nyx."

"So..."

"The girl I bumped into..."

"That's Nyx?"

Jace nodded without taking his eyes off her.

"Yeah."

Then his smile disappeared.

"And if I were you..."

"I'd stay away from her."

I frowned.

"Why?"

"She's just a girl..."

Jace quietly pointed toward the others.

"The cute one is Lia."

"The one with the long hair is Vera."

"And the elegant one..."

"Selene."

The four girls walked to the first row and sat down.

Nyx never looked back.

Not even once.

But for some reason...

I couldn't stop thinking about those two seconds...

When she looked at the ring on my hand.

And deep inside...

I had a feeling...

That those two seconds were going to change everything.

The classroom door suddenly opened.

Everyone's attention shifted toward the entrance.

Principal Kaury stepped inside.

Standing beside him was a tall man dressed in a black suit.

His expression was calm...

Yet unusually strict.

"I guess..."

"He's our class teacher."

The man walked to the front of the classroom and placed a few books on the desk.

He looked at the class before speaking.

"Good morning, everyone."

"Good morning, Sir."

"My name is Adrian Vale."

"I'll be your English Literature teacher and your class advisor."

His voice was calm...

Yet every word carried authority.

Before anyone could say another word...

A chair quietly moved.

I looked toward the first row.

Nyx had already stood up.

Without asking permission...

Without looking at anyone...

She simply walked out of the classroom.

The door closed behind her.

I frowned.

"She just left?"

"After seeing Principal Kaury?"

"Why?"

Before I could think any further

"Mr. Kael."

Principal Kaury's voice immediately pulled me back.

I stood up.

"Since you're our new student..."

"Please introduce yourself."

Every pair of eyes turned toward me.

I took a slow breath.

"Good morning, everyone."

"My name is Kael..."

"I just transferred to Noxmere."

"I hope we'll get along."

The classroom remained silent for a second.

Then Principal Kaury gave a small nod.

"Very well."

He slowly walked to the center of the classroom.

The atmosphere changed instantly.

Not a single student whispered.

It felt as though everyone already knew...

Something important was about to be said.

Principal Kaury opened a black leather file.

"Before we begin this academic year..."

"Every student must remember one thing."

He paused.

"Noxmere is different from every other school."

The room became even quieter.

"Here..."

"Rules are not made to control you."

"They exist to protect you."

He began reading the rules one by one.

Respect every student and teacher.

Mobile phones were allowed only during breaks and inside the dormitories.

Every student had to return before 10:00 PM.

The forest was forbidden after sunset.

Swimming in the lake was strictly prohibited.

If anyone noticed a missing classroom number...

They were to ignore it.

If the school bell rang outside class hours...

No one was to follow the sound.

No student was ever to ask about Classroom 627.

The library closed at exactly 8:00 PM.

The wall between the lake and the forest was never to be crossed.

Then...

He stopped reading.

He slowly closed the file.

For a brief moment...

I thought he was finished.

But he opened it again.

The smile on his face had disappeared.

His eyes looked colder than before.

"Final Rule."

The room fell completely silent.

"Under no circumstances..."

"...is any student not allowed to enter Room 13 of Ivory House."

Not a single sound.

Not even breathing.

For the first time...

Nyx, who had just returned to the classroom without anyone noticing...

Slowly lifted her head.

Her eyes remained fixed on Principal Kaury.

Only for a second.

Then...

She lowered her gaze again.

Principal Kaury closed the file.

"Some doors are locked for a reason."

"Do not become the reason they are opened."

He turned toward the door.

Just before leaving...

He stopped.

Without looking back, he quietly said—

"Remember..."

"Not every truth should be found."

Click.

The classroom door closed.

For several seconds...

No one spoke.

And somehow...

I already knew...

This school was hiding something far beyond ordinary rules.

Principal Kaury quietly left the classroom.

The questions in my mind only grew heavier.

"Why did Nyx leave the moment she saw him?"

"Did she already know all these rules?"

"Or..."

"Was there something much bigger that everyone else already knew... except me?"

"Good morning, everyone."

The familiar calm voice broke my thoughts.

Mr. Adrian Vale stood at the front of the class.

He looked around the room before his eyes stopped on me.

"So..."

"Our new student has finally arrived."

"Mr. Kael..."

"Would you introduce yourself once again? Properly this time."

A few students laughed softly.

I smiled awkwardly before standing up.

Every student looked at me.

Except one.

Nyx.

She kept staring outside the classroom window...

As if nothing around her mattered.

After introducing myself, I learned that Mr. Adrian Vale would be teaching us English Literature.

The class finally began.

Or...

At least, that's what I thought.

For a brief moment...

I felt someone's eyes on me.

Not the curious eyes of my classmates.

Something felt...

Different.

Slowly...

I turned my head toward the classroom window.

Nothing.

Just the trees moving gently with the wind.

"Maybe I'm just overthinking..."

I was about to look back at the board...

When something caught my eye.

For only a fraction of a second...

A silver watch reflected the sunlight from behind one of the trees.

The reflection disappeared almost instantly.

Whoever had been standing there...

Had already walked away.

I frowned.

"Was someone... watching me?"

Before I could think any further—

"Mr. Kael."

Mr. Adrian Vale's voice echoed through the classroom.

"Eyes on the lesson."

I quickly looked back at the board.

But somehow...

That brief flash of the silver watch...

Stayed in my mind.

" Little did I know ..... The moment I stepped into Noxmere, every answer I was searching for already begun searching for me ."