The evening sky burned orange.
A breeze from the west swept across the schoolyard, rustling fallen leaves along the ground. Laughter broke the quiet—not loud or crowded, just the sound of two people who still lingered on the field long after everyone else had gone home.
"Oi, Cass! You lost again! That's six times in a row!" Sho shouted triumphantly, a tennis ball spinning effortlessly on the tip of his finger.
Cassandra Miolovel stood there with an irritated expression, her short black bangs sticking to her forehead with sweat.
"You cheated, Sho! You always use the wall's rebound!"
"Cheated? That's called strategy!" Sho grinned. "The world belongs to those who think beyond logic."
Cass clicked her tongue. "If that were true, this world would've collapsed a long time ago."
She picked up her bag, though the faint hint of amusement behind her annoyance betrayed her words.
They walked side by side toward the school gate. Dry leaves crunched beneath their shoes, and the sound of cicadas began to fill the air. Their world—the real one—felt unbearably dull. No monsters. No heroes. No grand secrets. Just school routines, homework, and overly talkative teachers.
Cass let out a long sigh.
"You know, Sho… sometimes I feel like we're just pawns in a poorly written world. Everyone doing the same thing, every single day."
Sho glanced at her with a faint smile.
"Maybe that's just how the world works. If it feels boring, it probably means we haven't found the broken part yet."
Cass looked at him strangely.
"The broken part?"
"Yeah," Sho said casually. "Every world has hidden flaws. If we find them, maybe we can fix it. Or destroy it completely."
Cass scoffed.
"You always talk like the protagonist of a novel that never sells."
"At least I write my own script," Sho replied with a mischievous grin.
There was a brief silence.
Then Cass spoke again.
"Let's go to the library. I need something to keep my brain from dying of boredom."
Sho raised an eyebrow.
"The library? You sure? You usually only go there to dodge P.E. class."
"This time I'm serious," Cass replied. "Who knows? Maybe I'll find something that isn't boring."
---
The school library was located in the eastern wing—a place rarely visited except by bookworms or teachers seeking peace. As they entered, the scent of old paper greeted them, mixed with fine dust drifting lazily in the air.
Cass's footsteps echoed across the creaking wooden floor as she walked between towering shelves of worn books, her lips moving as she muttered under her breath.
"Cheap romance novels… history records… plant encyclopedias? This isn't a library—this is a graveyard of ideas."
Sho followed behind, holding back laughter.
"Relax, Cass. Sometimes treasures are hidden in the most boring places."
Cass turned sharply.
"Only someone who's never read a book would say that."
"Hey, I read books!" Sho protested. "The last one was… uh… two months ago."
Cass pressed a hand to her forehead.
"No wonder your literature grades are a natural disaster."
While Cass continued forward, Sho stopped in front of an old shelf tucked into the corner. It looked different—the wood darker, the dust thicker, as if time had forgotten it.
He traced the faded spines, squinting at titles barely readable.
"Way too many books with weird names," he muttered, pulling one labeled A Time That Never Was.
The moment he tugged it—
The shelf shook.
Crack!
Thud!
Another book fell to the floor with a heavy sound.
Sho stumbled back half a step. Cass rushed over.
"What did you do now, Sho?!"
Sho stared at the floor.
There lay a thick book.
No title.
No author.
No library label.
Its cover was pitch black, as if partially scorched, and the center of it trembled slightly—almost as if it were breathing.
"Cass…" Sho said quietly. "This book is… strange."
Cass narrowed her eyes and crouched beside it.
"You're joking."
She touched the cover.
Instantly, a chill shot through her fingers—not like paper or leather, but like touching frozen metal in the dead of winter.
"You feel it too, right?" Sho asked.
Cass nodded slowly.
"What is this? Some insane art project?"
Sho gave a faint smile.
"Or maybe… it's the book you've been looking for."
Cass was about to snap back, but Sho had already blown the dust off the cover. The particles scattered into the air, shimmering strangely like tiny fragments of light.
The first page opened by itself.
It was blank.
No text.
Then—
Black ink began to seep from the center of the page, forming letters one by one.
"Welcome, new author."
Cass looked at Sho, her heartbeat quickening.
"What… what just—"
A blinding white light burst from between the pages, searing their vision. Violent wind surged from every direction, sending papers flying and shelves shaking.
Sho tried to close the book.
He couldn't.
"Cass, get back!" he shouted.
But before either of them could move—
The light swallowed the entire room.
The air grew heavy, crushing against their chests. Somewhere far away, the faint sound of sirens echoed—then vanished without a trace.
Their world—the real world, so painfully dull—
Disappeared in an instant.
Like a page torn from a book.