BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

  Asuna Kamakura awoke as the sound of her alarm clock rang through her bedroom, the rays of moonlight pouring inside through the windows, granting it gentle illumination. She slowly rose from underneath her bedsheets, rubbing her red eyes as she turns the alarm off with her other hand. Waking up at 5:00 AM was normal to the teen, yet also a grim, indirect reminder of the daily challenges she was forced to face.

  Truth be told, asuna's school life in particular didn't exactly treat her well. Not only did her peers find her a little weird for her interests, but she was also on the smaller end and incapable of defending herself. An easy target for the various bad apples that roamed the school. It'd become routine for her to get ready for the day at such an abnormal time. She wanted to get ahead of the crowd before they caught up to her, constantly opting to take as few risks as possible.

  With a gentle sigh, she steps out of her bed, the faint sounds of the crickets outside replacing her blaring alarm with a calm melody as she found herself surrounded by her belongings. Asuna didn't have much of value, mostly her phone and earphones, both of which were resting on a potato chip bag opened last night, clattered lazily on her desk.

  Her room wasn't much, but asuna felt safer in it, like a spot to retreat to when her simultaneously chaotic and lonely life was too much. It was where she was the star of the show, rather than an outcast.

  Asuna quickly dressed herself in her school uniform, a brief glance in the mirror making her stop and fix her black hair for a moment, before she heads downstairs, bag in hand, being greeted with an empty living room and kitchen. At home, her life was an exact opposite of what she experienced during most of the day, and yet equally contributed to her feelings of solitude. Both her parents were always on "Business trips" or so they called it when she was around, and the few months they were around, she was usually treated as though she didn't exist, doing the bare minimum when it came to parenting. Asuna was convinced that she was a mere accident, nothing more than an unwanted addition to her family. Which, to put it bluntly, was far from a bad deduction from her.

  Despite her circumstances, she was in a better mood than she usually was. Spring break was coming up, meaning there would be a break from the brunt of what the world threw at her. It would be a chance for her to cool off, a breath of much-needed fresh air. Asuna glanced at the calendar on the fridge, only a few days were left.

  "Phew... Looks like we're in the last stretch now." She speaks out loud, as if to motivate herself. Grabbing her lunch from the kitchen counter and opening the front door. A sudden, strong breeze was there to greet her, scattering petals from the sakura trees onto the streets and her clothing, giving the air around her a fruity smell and a cool feeling on her skin. The sun was just barely beginning to shed it's light on the world, creating a very dim blue sky. The streetlights were still active, illuminating a path for her on her way.

  The environment around asuna instilled an unfamiliar sense of tranquility within her. Normally, she was tense when going outside, even with her intricate strategies to avoid the people who tormented her the most, but she felt as though she had loosened up this morning. Perhaps having something to look forward to was a strong encouragement for her.

  She felt safe enough to immerse herself in her surroundings, even if for a short while. She took her earphones out from her pockets, placing them in her ears. They were playing a calm, soothing song, a perfect fit for the sight around her.

  But then, without warning, the tranquility was cut short, as a deep, thundering voice spoke out of nowhere, interrupting the music that she was playing, drowning it out with it's sheer volume and authority.

  "TURN BACK." It called, echoing ominously in the girls' mind.

  "?!" Asuna was caught off-guard, causing her to briefly stumble, quickly regaining her balance. She swiftly removed the devices from her ears as her eyes darted around in confusion, her heart pounding against her chest as a sense of fear begins to wash over her. Strangely, the sweet smell in the air from the cherry blossoms seemed to vanish abruptly, and the crickets go dead silent, as if the world itself was holding it's breath.

  She turns her head around, feeling much more alert as her body trembled subtly, trying to find any sort of clue of what was going on. To her dismay, she lays eyes on the streets around her beginning to fade into a dark hue, as red symbols glowed within the approaching darkness. It felt as though it was targeting her specifically, like this strange phenomena had a mind of it's own.

  Frightened by the sight, she turns her eyes away from it, trying and failing to force herself to move at first, frozen in place. As she looked up, she spots a strange, faint light in the distance, like a distant, faint star in the night sky. Without any other foreseeable method of escape, she did the only thing she believed she could do. The one thing she considered herself skilled at.

  Asuna felt her adrenaline flowing through her veins as she proceeded to sprint towards the light, desperate to escape the darkness consuming the infrastructure and nature around her at a growing rate, as her body drove her forward with as much force as it could exert, dropping her bag in the process. The blackness made the surroundings impossible to see, with the only thing to focus on being the light at the end of the tunnel. It began to envelop her just as she reached the light, simply hoping against all odds that she'd escape from it, whatever it was.

  ...

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