And somewhere, in a place far from noise and war, a calm blue soul felt his heart beating… and knew he was looking for her.
Sunday didn't feel like a real day.
It felt like the space between things — the kind of quiet that comes after something breaks but before anyone admits it. The house was still when Kai came downstairs. Sora was on her phone at the table, half awake, half lost. Eloine stood by the window, watching the sky like it was telling her secrets.
Kai poured himself some water and drank it slowly.
No one said anything.
Eloine turned just enough to see him. The way his shoulders were a little lower than usual. The way his eyes kept drifting, as if part of him was already somewhere else.
You're slipping, she thought.
Good.
Sunday passed in that strange, hollow way. Kai didn't talk much. He didn't avoid anyone either. He just existed — present but unreachable. Sora felt it. Eloine enjoyed it.
That night, Kai lay in his bed staring at the ceiling.
Blue.
That was all he could think about.
Not a color.
A feeling.
Quiet.
Warm.
Like someone had put their hand over his heart and told the world to be silent.
Monday came too fast.
School swallowed him whole.
The noise was unbearable — hundreds of minds, hundreds of thoughts, pressing against him. So he did the only thing he could.
He smiled.
He talked.
He became everything people wanted him to be.
"Hey Kai!"
"Can you help me with this?"
"You're funny, you know?"
Girls sat beside him. Guys pulled him into conversations. Group projects, lunch tables, hallway jokes — he slid into all of it like it was easy.
Ayko watched from her seat, her heart slowly cracking.
Mira noticed the way his laughter didn't reach his eyes.
Eloine leaned back in her chair, satisfied.
Rin stood outside the classroom, feeling a psychic pressure that made her uneasy.
He's fading, she thought.
That night, Kai dreamed again.
Blue.
But this time, it was farther away.
He woke up with a quiet ache in his chest.
Tuesday morning, the house was silent.
Kai packed a small bag.
Just clothes.
Just the basics.
Sora was asleep.
Eloine was awake.
"You're leaving," Eloine said softly.
Kai froze.
"I didn't say—"
"You don't have to."
He didn't look at her.
At school, his desk was empty.
Ayko felt something drop inside her.
Joro was already running.
Up the old stairwell.
Through dust and forgotten footsteps.
To the abandoned rooftop.
Kai was there.
Sitting at the edge.
Staring at the sky.
"I knew you'd find me," Kai said without turning.
They talked.
They fought.
They sat in silence.
"I'm going to my grandparents' place," Kai said eventually. "Out of the city. Quiet. I just need… to breathe."
"When?" Joro asked.
"Tonight."
The sky stayed blue.
That night, Kai left.
And no one heard the door close.