CHAPTER 5, THE MEMORY HE COULDN'T RECALL
Jay stood silently near his desk.
The entire classroom felt strangely tense, as if something invisible was pressing down on everyone inside. The usual noise of students chatting, laughing, and moving around had disappeared completely.
All eyes were on him.
Near the door, the three boys who had just entered stood frozen. The injuries on their faces made it obvious that they had been in a serious fight. One had a white bandage wrapped across his nose. Another had a swollen lip that looked painful even when he wasn't speaking. The third boy had a deep purple bruise under his eye, making his expression look darker and more threatening.
But despite their attempts to look confident, there was something else in their eyes.
Fear.
The tallest boy slowly stepped forward.
His shoes tapped against the classroom floor, the sound echoing slightly in the silence.
He stopped a few feet away from Jay.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then the boy tilted his head slightly and smirked.
"So… you came back," he said coldly.
Jay looked at him calmly.
His face showed no emotion.
The boy's smirk slowly faded when he didn't get the reaction he expected.
"You think yesterday is over?" the boy continued. "You think you can just walk in here like nothing happened?"
Jay frowned slightly.
"Yesterday?" he asked quietly.
The boy laughed loudly, but the laughter sounded forced.
"Oh don't act innocent now," he said.
Jay's voice remained calm.
"I'm not acting."
The boy stepped closer.
"You smashed us into the ground yesterday," he said through clenched teeth. "You think we forgot that?"
A faint whisper spread across the classroom.
Some students lowered their heads.
Others leaned forward slightly, listening carefully.
Jay's mind felt heavy.
He looked at the boy carefully.
"I don't remember," he said honestly.
For a moment, the boy simply stared at him.
Then anger flashed across his face.
"You don't remember?" he repeated.
Jay slowly shook his head.
The boy's jaw tightened.
"You don't remember how your eyes turned red?" he said.
Those words made several students flinch.
Even the air in the room seemed to grow colder.
Jay's fingers slowly tightened at his side.
Red eyes.
This wasn't the first time someone had mentioned it today.
Something inside his chest felt uneasy.
"What do you mean… red?" Jay asked quietly.
The boy was about to answer—
But suddenly—
"Enough!"
The sharp voice cut through the tension like a blade.
The classroom door opened loudly.
The teacher stepped inside.
Her eyes immediately scanned the room.
She noticed the three boys standing near Jay.
Then she noticed the fear on several students' faces.
Her expression hardened.
"Everyone go back to your seats," she said firmly.
The three boys hesitated for a second.
But under the teacher's strict gaze, they slowly turned and walked toward their desks.
Jay quietly sat down as well.
The class slowly returned to normal.
Or at least… something close to normal.
The teacher began writing on the board and started explaining the lesson.
But the students were distracted.
Every few minutes someone would glance toward Jay.
Some looked curious.
Some looked confused.
And some clearly looked afraid.
Jay opened his notebook, but he wasn't really paying attention to the lesson.
His mind kept returning to the same question.
What happened yesterday?
He tried to remember the moment after the bottle hit his head.
But every time he pushed his mind further—
A dull pain appeared in his temple.
As if his brain itself was blocking the memory.
Jay quietly exhaled.
Something had happened.
Something important.
But the memory was locked away somewhere deep inside him.
Finally, the bell rang.
The loud sound broke the tense atmosphere.
Students immediately began packing their bags.
Groups formed quickly as whispers filled the classroom again.
Jay slowly closed his notebook and reached for his bag.
Then he heard a soft voice behind him.
"Jay…"
He turned around.
The girl who sat beside him was standing there.
She looked nervous.
Her fingers were tightly holding the edge of her book.
For a moment she didn't speak.
Jay waited.
Finally she gathered the courage.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
Jay blinked in confusion.
"For what?"
The girl looked surprised.
"You helped me yesterday," she said.
Jay frowned.
"I did?"
She nodded.
"They were throwing trash on my desk," she explained softly. "You told them to stop."
Jay tried to remember.
For a moment, a faint image appeared in his mind.
A messy desk.
Laughter.
Angry voices.
But the memory faded before he could catch it.
"I… don't remember," he said honestly.
The girl looked confused for a second.
Then she slowly lowered her gaze.
"Even if you don't remember… you still helped me."
She gave a small nod.
"Thank you."
Without waiting for another response, she turned and walked out of the classroom.
Jay watched her leave.
A strange feeling remained in his chest.
Like something important had happened… but he had been separated from the memory of it.
He sighed quietly and picked up his bag.
When he stepped into the hallway, several students quickly moved aside to give him space.
Some whispered behind his back.
Others avoided eye contact completely.
Jay noticed it.
But he didn't react.
He simply walked down the corridor.
Yet deep inside his mind—
Far beyond his thoughts—
There was another place.
A place without light.
An endless darkness stretching in every direction.
No walls.
No floor.
No sound.
Only silence.
And inside that silence—
A figure stood.
The same shadow Jay had seen before.
Tall.
Still.
Watching.
Its shape was unclear.
Its face hidden in darkness.
But its presence felt powerful.
Ancient.
As if it had existed long before Jay himself.
The shadow slowly lifted its head.
As if observing something interesting.
Jay's confusion.
His missing memories.
The fear spreading around him.
The shadow seemed… satisfied.
A faint whisper echoed through the darkness.
"Not yet…"
The voice was calm.
Patient.
"The time has not come."
In the real world—
Jay suddenly stopped walking for a moment in the hallway.
A strange chill ran through his body.
He looked around.
Students were still talking.
Teachers were still walking through the corridors.
Everything looked normal.
Jay frowned slightly.
Then he shook his head and continued walking.
Completely unaware—
That something deep inside him had already begun to awaken.
Something powerful.
Something ancient.
Something that had been sleeping…
For a very long time.