Monday was complete chaos. At least for me.
My friends, especially Kaito, surrounded me as soon as I entered the classroom. Their curious stares were so intense that I felt like I could melt right there on the spot.
"So, did you two know each other before?" Kaito asked, crossing his arms with an inquisitive look on his face.
I took a deep breath, remembering every detail of the story Anna-san and I had agreed on.
"Yes... we met online a couple of years ago, on a cooking forum. We shared recipes and talked a lot... but never about our personal lives, so we didn't know we went to the same school until recently," I explained, trying to sound natural.
Apparently, it was convincing enough. Everyone nodded slowly, exchanging glances with each other.
"Thank goodness they already knew I cook... that saved me," I thought with relief.
Of course, the rumor quickly spread like wildfire. Some girls from other groups approached Anna-san to ask her if it was true that we already knew each other, and she just nodded with a calm smile.
Needless to say, after that, the eyes of the classroom were on me... for the rest of the day.
*
During English class, Hideaki-sensei interrupted the routine to give us some important news.
"As you may already know, the Student Ranking Program is coming up. Classes will compete in different academic areas to demonstrate their level. It is an official school activity, and the results will influence your semester evaluation."
I remembered that Yonikawa-sensei, our homeroom teacher, had already mentioned this in April. There would be tests by subject between the classes of each grade. Only the best pairs would represent their group. It was something like an internal academic tournament.
"For the English subject," the teacher continued.
"We have decided that the representatives will be... Nakagawa William and Yamazaki Anna. They are the ones who have performed best so far. I hope you both take this seriously."
"No problem," I said without hesitation.
"We'll do our best," added Anna-san with a confident smile.
The choice came as no surprise to anyone. Thanks to my father, I had learned English since I was a child. As for Anna, on last Friday's trip, she told us that she had lived in the United States for three years because of her father's work. So, in a way, we both had an advantage.
By the end of that day, the sixteen participants from the classroom had been decided. Eight academic areas, eight pairs. It was no surprise that several of Anna's friends were also selected. Over the next two weeks, we prepared ourselves with dedication. The practices were intense, but there were also memorable moments.
One in particular was when my family met Anna-san... and it was a nightmare.
It all started when Lissette and Mia-chan went out to buy candy. Minutes later, when I opened the door after hearing the doorbell, I saw something that left me paralyzed:
Anna-san carrying Mia with a warm smile, while Lissette, standing next to her, gave me a mischievous look.
To make matters worse, my mother approached right behind me, also smiling.
That afternoon was productive in terms of reviewing topics for the contest... but the emotional cost was high.
During dinner, I was bombarded with questions with ulterior motives.
"So you're studying with Anna-chan now?"
"Mia gets along so well with her? Hmm..."
"I didn't know studying included hugging," Lissette added mockingly.
I wanted to bury myself under the table.
*
Finally, the day of the event arrived.
The whole class was filled with excitement and nerves. With the support of our friends and teachers, we gave our all in each competition.
Anna and I managed to outperform our counterparts without any problems. We won in six of the eight areas, making our class the official winner of the first year.
But it didn't end there.
A new round had been announced just a week in advance: a showdown between the best teams from each grade. This time, the rules were different to level the playing field between the grades.
The victories piled up in favor of the third-year students. Luccy and Ikeda-san's group put up a fight, but it wasn't enough.
There was only one competition left... the English area.
"William-kun... it's just us left. We have to stand up for our grade," said Anna-san, looking at me seriously.
"I know. We prepared a lot for this. Let's finish what we started, Anna-san."
"Hehehe, that's what I mean! Let's go!"
We clapped our hands energetically.
The competition was intense. We quickly passed the first round, leaving the second-year students behind. Now, face to face, it was us against the third-year students.
We were in front of the school coliseum. Hundreds of students had gathered to watch us. Each question answered raised the spirits.
The final test was a riddle given only in English. The winner would be whoever answered first and correctly.
[By the railings of heaven]
[A maiden walks,]
[Dressed in blue and white,]
[That shines like a star]
Both teams pressed the button at the same time, but ours was the first to light up.
"Nakagawa-kun," said the teacher.
"The answer is... the moon."
A moment of silence.
"Correct. Congratulations, first-year students."
An ovation broke out.
"Wooooow!"
"They beat the third-years!"
"They did it!"
"Yes! We did it!" exclaimed Anna-san as she threw herself into my arms. I felt her joy so intensely that I couldn't help but reciprocate.
"I told you. We would do it," I replied, smiling.
"I never doubted it! We're unbeatable!"
Yonikawa-sensei approached with the rest of the group.
"Well done, guys. I'm very proud of you. As a reward, there will be a special party for our class. The school will cover everything."
"YEAH!!!" we all shouted.
The celebration was brief but intense. Anna and I were congratulated several times. I felt a little overwhelmed by all the attention, but I didn't dislike it entirely. To tell the truth... it was kind of nice.
The next day, Thursday, I was on my way to class when I heard Saito calling me from the school bulletin board. A large crowd had gathered in front of the bulletin board.
"William, come here. You're in it!"
I approached and saw that they had posted photos of the event. The winning couples, the celebrations, even some moments in the middle of the competition.
But when I got to ours... I fell silent.
In the image, twice the size of the rest, Anna-san and I appeared hugging, smiling with a happiness that even surprised me.
"When did they take this photo? Can I really smile like that...?"
"You look like a happy couple," Kaito said as he patted me on the shoulder.
"Really?"
"Yes. In fact, before you arrived, some girls took photos of that mural. They said you looked very cute together," Saito added.
"Besides, since you started combing your hair properly, we discovered that you were a hidden gem... traitor!" Kaito grabbed my shoulder more tightly.
"They even asked if you were dating," Riku said, laughing.
Before I could answer, someone approached us.
"Good morning, Nakagawa. I came to congratulate you. I couldn't do it yesterday, but... good job. You stood up for the class."
It was Theo-san. His tone was polite... but distant.
"Ah... thank you, Ikeda-san."
"Call me Theo. We're classmates now, there's no need to be so formal. See you in class," he said before walking away.
We fell silent.
"What the hell was that?" Kaito muttered.
"He didn't even say hello to us?" Riku complained.
Saito approached me, frowning.
"Could it be that...?"
"I know what you're thinking. But I don't think that's it," I interrupted him without taking my eyes off Theo, who was already disappearing down the hallway.
"Are we facing... a love triangle?" Kaito exclaimed, holding his head as if it hurt.
"Stop joking around," Kazuki said, giving him a little tap on the head.
Laughing, we left the mural behind and returned to the classroom. Classes were about to start, and although many things were going through my mind... I decided not to give it too much importance.
*
Five months have passed since the start of the school year.
And in that time, many things have changed. Some small, others... quite significant.
The most significant, without a doubt, was my relationship with Mia-chan. From the day I met her in such sad circumstances, the little girl earned a very special place not only in my heart, but also in the hearts of my whole family.
My mother and Lissette treat her like one of their own. Even the neighbors have started calling her "William's little sister" when they see her walking hand in hand with me.
And while at first it made me a little embarrassed, now I couldn't imagine life without her.
There was a period a couple of weeks ago when her bond with us grew even stronger.
Hiori-san's mother suddenly fell ill, so she had to travel to another city to take care of her.
At that moment, without thinking twice, my family offered to take care of Mia-chan during that time.
"Don't worry, she'll be well taken care of with us," my mother said with a warm smile, taking Hiori-san by the arm.
That's how Mia ended up staying with us for a whole week.
From the first day, she adapted without any problems. She shared a room with Lissette, and every morning she waited for me at the door with her backpack ready, excited to accompany her to school.
*
What I didn't expect was that, upon learning this, Anna would start coming to our house every day that week.
"I came to see how Mia-chan is doing! And, of course, to study a little with you," she said on the first day, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
And so began our little unofficial routine.
She brought cookies, I made some tea, and Mia joined us while we did homework or reviewed topics. Sometimes she drew in her notebooks, other times she just sat and listened to our conversations, always with a smile on her face.
Little by little, the distance that still remained between Anna and me eventually faded away.
The honorifics disappeared completely.
Now she was simply Anna, and I was William to her.
We discovered that we had more in common than we thought.
Books, movies, music, and even our academic frustrations.
"Did you know I almost failed math in seventh grade?" she confessed to me one day with a laugh.
"Really, you? The girl who seems to understand everything just by looking at it?"
"You're exaggerating! I had a very strict teacher... she was like a witch."
We went from being classmates to true friends. The bond between us was obvious. So much so that even Lissette began to comment aloud while washing the dishes or watching us from the living room.
"I don't know, William... you didn't laugh so much when you were studying before."
I pretended not to hear her, but Anna just laughed.
*
My studies also took an unexpected turn after the qualifying competition.
It's not that I was doing badly before... but I didn't stand out much either. However, after that victory with Anna, something changed.
I began to feel a kind of new responsibility, as if I now had something to prove.
Maybe to others. Maybe to myself.
I started studying more. Organizing my schedule. I even reduced the hours I spent reading light novels, something I never thought I'd say out loud.
My efforts were not in vain: little by little, my grades began to climb, until I was among the top fifteen in my class.
And with that came attention.
Teachers who had barely spoken to me before now stopped to comment on assignments or asked for my opinion in class. Some even used me as an example.
The one who noticed it the most was, of course, our tutor, Yonikawa-sensei.
"Nakagawa-kun," she called me one afternoon after class.
"I'm very happy with your performance. You've shown steady progress. But... don't settle for that. You have potential, and I want you to make the most of it."
We talked for almost half an hour. She gave me advice on how to prepare for future important exams, and even mentioned opportunities for academic scholarships if I kept up the pace.
Inside, I felt flattered, but also... a little pressured.
That same night, while organizing my notes, I saw my bookshelf full of novels that I had only half-read.
I sighed.
"You know you're gathering dust, right?" I said to one of the volumes, almost with remorse.
But at least they weren't completely abandoned.
Lissette, now recovered, had resumed her reading habit, and Mia-chan, curious about the covers and illustrations, began leafing through them every afternoon.
She didn't understand everything, but she made up stories based on the pictures and told them as if they were bedtime stories.
"This one here is a cat prince, and this girl is his friend who cooks magical ramen," she said confidently.
I could only laugh as I tucked her into bed.
*
Five months have passed, and my life has taken an unexpected turn.
I went from being just "one of the crowd" to having new responsibilities, deeper relationships, and a routine that, although exhausting at times, feels... complete.
Anna, Mia, my family, even my studies... everything is part of this new stage.
And for the first time in a long time, I don't feel afraid of what's to come. Just curious.
And maybe a little excited.
*
It was Wednesday.
We were halfway through the day when I left the classroom momentarily to drop off some materials in the hallway of the previous class's teacher.
Everything seemed routine, even quiet, despite the distant echo of laughter and hurried footsteps in the hallways. Now I was heading to the lab; the next classes would be there. It was on the top floor of the building, so I mentally prepared myself for the short walk uphill.
I climbed calmly, not imagining that these would be the last normal steps I would take that day.
I was close now, the lab sign visible at the end of the hallway. Then it happened.
The floor shook with a sudden, sharp violence, like an underground whip. I stopped dead in my tracks. At first I thought it was an earthquake. I braced myself against the wall, keeping my balance, waiting for it to pass. But it wasn't just that.
A deafening roar erupted from inside the laboratory. It was as if part of the building had collapsed. Something heavy falling, breaking structures, devouring the air with its force. Then came the screams.
Voices filled with panic, screams of real terror, not surprise or confusion: pure terror.
Without thinking, I ran. My legs moved before I could reflect on what I was doing. I pushed the laboratory door open with force...
And then, the light.
A light so intense that it blinded me. White, pure, but also violent. I felt as if all reality was melting into it.
My eyes burned, but the horror did not need to be seen to be felt.
The screams of my colleagues were no longer just desperate... now they were fading away. As if they were being dragged away, as if their voices were dissolving into another dimension.
"William!" Someone shouted my name in a voice thick with fear.
"Anna?!" I replied instantly, my heart stopping for a second.
Through the blinding light, I managed to make out a figure: it was Anna. Her body was being sucked into the luminescence that had torn through the ceiling. As if the sky had been ripped away and in its place was a glowing abyss that devoured everything.
Without thinking, I ran towards her.
"Anna! Give me your hand, quick!"
I stretched out my arm as far as my body would allow. Every fiber of my being tensed, every muscle screamed.
She heard me. With tears in her eyes, she reached out to me.
We were inches apart.
Just a little more...
But fate mocked us.
My feet were rooted to the ground as if something invisible was holding me back. I couldn't move forward.
And in that last second, I saw her.
I saw her disappear.
Like a breath in the storm, Anna was swallowed by the light.
"Annaaa!!" I screamed, my throat torn by helplessness.
My fingers closed around the void.
Everything stopped.
Or at least, that's what I thought.
But then... I felt the pull.
My body began to rise, pulled by the same force that had taken her away.
There was no noise, no wind, just an unreal vertigo.
Fear, real fear, sank into my bones.
I didn't know where I was going, or what that light was, but something inside me screamed that nothing would be the same after this.
Despair consumed me. I couldn't resist, I couldn't run away.
So I just closed my eyes...
And I prayed that all this was just a terrible, absurd, damn nightmare.
*
Feeling nothing but a soft, persistent silence, I slowly opened my eyes.
What I saw left me speechless.
I was standing on what looked like an immense cloud, a soft, ethereal surface with no beginning and no end, stretching in all directions like an ocean of vapor.
Above me, an unreal night sky unfolded majestically: multicolored galaxies spun silently like distant lanterns, and auroras traced lines of light that danced slowly, covering everything with a glow that seemed to whisper ancient secrets.
It was like being caught between a heavenly dream and a painting by a divine hand.
Confused, I took a few steps. In the distance, a structure caught my eye. It looked like a small temple, the kind I only knew from history books: white marble columns, Roman architecture, a sanctuary that would once have been used to worship forgotten gods.
Strangely, the temple glowed with a soft, warm light that seemed to invite me in.
With no idea what else to do, I walked toward it.
As I advanced, one question after another formed in my mind, restless, disordered.
"What is this place...? What happened to Anna? And Saito... the others...? Was it all... a dream? A hallucination before I died...?"
"You're wrong," said a soft, sweet female voice suddenly, so clear that it seemed to echo directly inside my chest.
"What you experienced was not a dream, William. It was all real."
I stopped dead in my tracks, surprised. I looked around for the owner of that voice. The temple, which moments before had been empty, had changed without warning: now it was full of life.
Columns decorated with celestial motifs, soft curtains of light floating like silk in the air, and in the center of it all...
Her.
An extraordinary woman, sitting on a cushion made of clouds and stars.
Her jet-black hair fell in soft waves, decorated with delicate gears that turned without making a sound. Her gray eyes, deep and hypnotic, seemed to see beyond time itself.
She wore a long white dress open at the shoulders, cinched by a corset of the same fabric that seemed to glow faintly. But most striking were the wings that spread majestically behind her: two enormous white wings decorated with more golden gears that turned slowly, like pieces of a celestial clock.
"No, she couldn't be human."
That beauty, that aura that seemed to embrace me from within, that presence that made me tremble without frightening me...
"Who... is she?" I thought, unable to put it into words.
"I am Libiac," she replied calmly, as if my thoughts were open pages to her.
"What you would call... the god of your world."
"Can you read my mind...?" I asked, unable to hide my amazement.
"Wait a minute... Are you... our God?"
"I can sense your thoughts," she replied with a slight smile.
"And yes, it's natural for you to be surprised. You are the first of your kind to reach me."
"What...?"
"There is an important matter I must discuss with you, William," she said, with a gentle seriousness in her voice.
"But first, you must know the truth."
"Your life on Earth... has come to an end. You have died."
"And what you see now... is not a dream, nor a vision."
"It is your soul that is here, in front of me."
I didn't know what to say.
Only silence answered for me.
She didn't say anything else for a few moments either. It was as if she was giving me time, as if she understood that there was a barrier between understanding and acceptance that couldn't be crossed so easily.
The sky continued to spin above us, as if the entire universe was waiting for my answer.
"...What? ...I died?"
Despair enveloped me like an icy wave that left me unable to breathe.
"But... I'm only sixteen... Is that all there is for me? Is that how it ends?"
The words barely came out; my chest felt tight.
"My family... Mia... Hiori-san... and the others... I'll never see them again? It can't be... This has to be a joke. Just when things were starting to get better... after everything I've been through, everything I've overcome, right now... Why?"
The silence that surrounded me was not simply an absence of sound. It was dense.
And she, that figure who seemed to be watching me from beyond understanding, just waited. Not coldly, but with a patience that hurt. As if she knew that these words had to come out before she could say anything else.
Finally, she spoke.
"It seems you've finally managed to process some of your situation. Then, let's begin."
"Your death occurred during the events leading up to your arrival here. What happened to you... was what they call an invocation to another world."
"All your companions, even your teacher, crossed the dimensional bridge. Now they are there, alive... in another place."
My eyes widened in disbelief.
"That... sounds incredible... but, honestly, after everything I've been through, it doesn't even surprise me anymore."
"Well, at least... at least they're okay," I replied, my voice subdued.
"And that's where you come in," he continued.
"Your soul was pulled across the bridge, yes, but too late. Your body disintegrated, reduced to particles scattered across the cosmos. That shouldn't have happened. It was a mistake..."
"That's why I intervened. I was the one who rescued you. And that's why I can still do something for you. I have the power to give you back what you lost."
"Can I still... save myself?" My voice trembled.
"You are our goddess... if you say so, I guess... you can do anything..."
But at that moment, an older, buried voice awoke within me.
"Can she save me...? She did it with me, didn't she? Then... that means she was watching us. That she could act..."
And with that thought, like a crack silently opening in a dam, everything else overflowed.
"Then... why didn't she save my father?
Why didn't she respond when my mother cried, begged for her help through her tears?
Why do so many innocent people die crying for help without even receiving a whisper of comfort?'
Rage.
That was the word.
A rage so intense and sudden that it made me feel more alive than ever, just when I was already dead.
"Do you think I'm guilty, William?" he said suddenly.
His voice snapped me out of my thoughts like a whip.
The way he looked at me, with those eyes as deep as the abyss, paralyzed me. I couldn't answer. I just looked down.
"It seems that you humans hold me in too high esteem," he continued, this time in a softer, almost melancholic voice.
"I left only a few traces of my existence, but it was enough for you to build temples and stories in my name. You imagined me as a being full of love for you, didn't you?
No matter the culture, religion, or era... they always came to the same conclusion.
An omnipotent, wise, benevolent being...
A figure they could pray to in their worst moments.
A comfort. A refuge.
And because of that very image, you now blame me."
He looked at me again. This time he was smiling. Not with mockery, nor with arrogance... but with sadness.
And then, as if time itself had been distorted, she appeared in front of me.
She was holding something in her hand.
Small. Fragile. Blue.
The Earth.
The size of a baseball, slowly spinning on her open palm, illuminated by a light that I didn't know if it came from her or from the memory of what it once was.
"Here it is," she said.
"Everything you love, everything you fear. All the miracles... and all the horrors."
Her eyes never left mine.
"I am not the author of your decisions.
I only gave you the spark. The possibility.
The rest... you built yourselves."
After a silence of unknown duration, she continued.
"Let me tell you a little story," she said, still sitting on her cushion, inviting me to sit on one like hers, and began to tell her tale.
*
The Birth of Light
Aramazd awoke one day, if time could be measured in that abyss without hours, in a place where absolute darkness reigned. There were no shapes, no sounds, no comfort; only a cold, gloomy void that seemed to envelop everything in a silent, eternal embrace. He did not know who he was or how he had gotten there. He only knew that he existed, and that his existence was imbued with a primordial loneliness.
Without direction or purpose, he began to walk. His footsteps left no trace, and the landscape did not change. For countless eons, he advanced through that infinite gloom, seeing only shadows of things that may never have been there, visions born of sensory deprivation, of the desperation to find something that would restore form to his being.
Until one day, broken by the repetition, by the tedium of always contemplating the same nothingness, he felt an uncontrollable fury boiling inside him. He screamed, but not even the echo answered him. And in his desperation, he imagined destroying everything: that silence, that absence, that prison without bars. It was then that, for the first time, something happened.
From the depths of his body, a light sprang forth. Small, trembling, almost timid. Aramazd, upon seeing it, felt a new vertigo: hope. He clung to it with all his being, fearing it would disappear like the dreams he had once thought he saw. But the more he held on to it, the more it grew. Until, overwhelmed by its intensity, that light exploded.
And so the first dawn was born.
When Aramazd opened her eyes, the darkness was no longer absolute. Around her floated shapes, colors, textures... fragments of everything she had once imagined. She understood then that she was not a prisoner of that void: she was its creator. The abyss had not been a punishment, but a canvas. And she, without knowing it, made the first of many brushstrokes.
She played with her new power like a child. She created suns and galaxies, dancing mountains, oceans that sang to the wind, creatures made of music and fire. Her joy knew no bounds. And as time flowed like a newborn river, Aramazd contemplated her work with pride. At last, there was something beautiful.
But even the purest joy, if it is solitary, can turn bitter. One afternoon, or what could already be called late afternoon, as he observed his creation, Aramazd felt an unfamiliar pang: loneliness. What was the value of all this if he could not share it?
Thus was born the desire for companionship.
With a heart swollen with purpose, he wove two new entities from his essence: Fatae, the bearer of destiny, and Kairo, the guardian of the perfect moment. She watched them laugh, explore, marvel as she had done. And for the first time, Aramazd understood that it was not creation, nor power, that she had longed for: it was connection. It did not matter if the world was darkness or light. The only thing that mattered was not being alone.
More daughters were born, hundreds, thousands. Beings capable of creating, imagining, and continuing the dance. Aramazd, now mother to all, entrusted them with the task of expanding her work, of filling the endless canvas with their own visions. Fatae and Kairo would be the guardians of balance. And she, eternal and silent, would watch over them all.
One of those daughters, Libiac, set off one day toward her destiny. With her heart vibrating with enthusiasm, she formed stars, nebulae, entire worlds carved from the stuff of dreams. Her cosmos blossomed with such unique beauty that many of her sisters came to contemplate it. But the most important thing was still missing: life.
Anxious, Libiac created diverse beings. She offered them tools, languages, knowledge, rules... a framework in which to develop and reach their splendor. But she soon noticed something disturbing: everything was predictable. No matter how different their forms were, the new creatures acted with the same logic, as if responding to the same script written in a dead language.
She was not the only one to discover this. One by one, the sisters shared the same frustration. The pattern repeated itself. The spark that Aramazd had given them did not seem to ignite fully in those new lives.
It was then that Libiac, as she narrated her story in a soft voice and with a distant gaze, looked at me and asked:
"What do you think happened next? Do you have any idea?"
The story seemed to have ended. But the sparkle in her eyes suggested that, perhaps, it was just beginning.