The moment the lights went out, the cinema room exploded into noise.
Children began shouting and laughing—just like they did in school whenever the lights suddenly died. Especially on rainy days, when half the teachers couldn't even make it to campus. Darkness plus rain always turned chaos into excitement.
Even in the dark, Lee knew exactly where Leo was standing.
A mischievous grin formed on his face.
Slowly, silently, Lee moved toward Leo, careful with each step—trying not to give away his presence.
From somewhere in the room, Rima's voice rang out.
"The lights should've come back in seconds. What happened today?"
Riyu replied casually, "Let them stay off. It's better this way."
Rima immediately snapped back, "Huh? Now you're not taking movies seriously?"
Riyu's eyes widened. "Oh—right. But it's fine. Let's enjoy the rain today."
Rima was facing Riyu, but after hearing that, she turned back toward the window. "Rain comes and goes," she said softly.
"But power outages like this feel… nostalgic."
She smiled faintly.
Just as Lee reached Leo, his hand stretching toward Leo's neck—
Thunder roared.
With no lights at all, a child's voice echoed through the room.
"Come out."
From the back row, a black shadow began to rise above one of the children. It looked like smoke—thick, formless, slowly spiraling upward.
Leo was about to turn around—
—but Lee pinched and twisted the skin on Leo's neck.
"Ouch!" Leo hissed in pain, instinctively turning back.
By then, the shadow had fully formed into a ghost.
A small one.
It looked like living darkness—no arms, no legs—only two glowing white pupils floating in its shadowy form.
The child beneath it spoke again.
"Light up."
The ghost shifted from black to blue.
A dim glow spread across the cinema room—not bright enough to reveal everything, but just enough to see someone.
Leo could see Lee clearly now.
The moment Lee realized the ghost's light had exposed him, his eyes widened. He turned and ran.
Leo immediately chased after him, shouting, "Grow up already—oh wait, you're scared of heights too!"
Lee skidded to a stop, spinning around with an annoyed look. "Hey! Get strong first before running your mouth!"
The children began gathering around the ghost, curiosity overpowering fear. Even though everyone had a ghost, not all of them could make theirs light up—only a few were capable.
Riyu leaned his head back in disappointment. "Ali… it felt so good in the darkness. Why did you summon your ghost?"
Ali sighed. "Sorry. I'll go check what's wrong with the power supply."
A short while ago, Zuraiz and Rameen were looking toward Raza when the lights suddenly went out.
Just as the darkness swallowed the room, Rameen was about to call the ghost outside—
"Com—"
But at that exact moment, Raza interrupted.
"Wait, wait. Don't bring the ghost out yet," he said quickly.
"It won't be fun like this. Let's wait for the lights to come back."
It felt as if whatever Raza wanted to show, he wanted it to be seen properly—
Something that couldn't be revealed in such low light.
Hearing this, Rameen replied with curiosity,
"Okaaaay~"
Zuraiz crossed his arms.
"Let me guess… you learned a new ability of your power?"
From behind them, Baraz added,
"I was thinking the same."
Hezil, however, looked uneasy.
"Everything feels unusual today. I don't have a good feeling about this."
Raza sat down casually and waved his hand.
"No, no. Even if you guess, I'm not telling. Just watch it yourself."
Hezil's words made Zuraiz and Rameen feel insecure.
Her instincts had already been bothering them for a while now—
And they both knew she wasn't someone who spoke without reason.
Suddenly, a faint glow from the ghost spread across the cinema room, making the surroundings slightly visible.
Seeing this, Raza's excitement clearly increased, yet he remained seated calmly.
But when Ali stood up and said he was going to check the UPS to see what was wrong, Raza finally rose from his seat.
"I can't wait anymore," he said.
"So guys… get ready."
Zuraiz, Rameen, Baraz, and Hezil all turned their eyes toward him.
Rameen laughed lightly.
"It's okay. We can see enough already."
Baraz added,
"Just make sure it's something good."
Zuraiz glanced at Baraz, then back at Raza, crossing his arms.
"Something good that all of us will like—does that even sound possible?
Well… let's see."
Hearing this, the others realized they might have raised their expectations a little too much.
Riyu was still standing near the window.
Suddenly, his eyes fell on a sparrow outside—
Its feathers soaked in rainwater, unable to fly properly.
It kept struggling desperately, as if it was in a hurry to go somewhere.
Riyu kept watching it.
The moment he blinked, a cat rushed in, grabbed the sparrow in its mouth, and disappeared.
Riyu was standing a little away from the window. Since he was already slightly wet from the rain, he couldn't see the wider area—
He didn't notice the cat approaching, which was why the sparrow had been struggling so hard to fly.
Riyu loved movies.
He understood that some things were born to be sacrificed—
Especially in nature, which teaches this lesson better than anything else.
His eyes widened at the scene, but without overthinking, he murmured softly,
"No matter the reason… death is inevitable."
Raza now stood in front of Zuraiz, Rameen, Hezil, and Baraz.
"Here I go."
A purple aura began to form around Raza's body.
As expected, Ali left the room at that moment.
Immediately, Zuraiz said,
"Come out… and light up."
The ghost appeared.
It had hands, legs, and even a mouth—
And it was smiling.
An intense white light burst out from the ghost, illuminating the entire cinema room as if the lights had never gone out.
The children stared in shock.
They had never seen anything like this before.
Baraz spoke first, amazed.
"Okay… so Raza, can you show something like this too?"
Raza, slightly distracted by the scene himself, smiled.
"Even better."
Hezil frowned.
"See? I told you. Everything feels strange today."
"Raza," Zuraiz said firmly.
"Show us."
Raza concentrated again.
The aura that was once surrounding his body now completely covered him, making him barely visible.
Seeing this, Rameen said quietly,
"Hezil… your words are coming true."
Hezil replied slowly,
"Maybe this is what my power will be like in the future."
Hearing this, Zuraiz and Rameen grew even more nervous.
Raza, now fully engulfed in the aura and no longer visible, began to slowly grow taller.
Everyone gathered around—even Riyu.
Rima asked in amazement,
"A transformation? Like in movies?"
Riyu nodded.
"Yeah… but at least there's no fight going to happen here."
Lee laughed.
"Leo and I are here if fighting is needed."
Leo smirked.
"Just wait one month."
When Raza stopped growing, Baraz muttered,
"Uh… about big bro's height."
At that moment, Zuraiz and Rameen's expressions became unreadable.
No one could describe them.
They weren't dark—
Yet they were the perfect example of nothingness,
As if the universe itself had never existed.
What could such expressions even convey?
It was the definition of nothingness.
Suddenly, the aura vanished from Raza's body.
A blinding flash of light forced everyone to close their eyes.
When Hezil lowered her hands, she spoke in confusion,
"Wait… why is it dark?
Where did the ghost's light go?"
Baraz looked around.
"What just happened?"
The children searched the room, trying to understand the situation.
At that moment, Ali returned to the cinema room.
The light from Ali's ghost spread everywhere.
And what they witnessed next—
Was not something that could be explained by the concept of nine lives.