Chapter 2 Looking For Me
They thought it was over.
That was their first mistake.
The platform had sealed.
The crack was gone.
The courtyard was “safe” again.
But I could still feel it.
A pressure.
Low.
Waiting.
Watching.
Like something beneath the stone had closed one eye—
and left the other open.
“Hey.”
I didn’t turn.
The voice came from my right.
“…you’re still standing.”
I glanced over.
The same guy from earlier. The one who’d been smirking before I stepped onto the platform.
Now he looked… different.
Not mocking.
Interested.
“…should I not be?” I asked.
He shrugged.
“Most people don’t drop to their knees, talk to nothing, and then get back up like it’s normal.”
“I didn’t talk.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“…yeah. That’s worse.”
The courtyard was emptying now, but slowly.
No one wanted to be the first to leave.
Everyone wanted to pretend nothing had happened—
while making sure someone else confirmed it.
The instructors were trying to regain control.
“Move along!”
“Back to your dorms!”
“No one near the platform!”
No one listened properly.
Because everyone kept looking at me.
The smirks were gone.
So was the laughter.
Good.
I preferred that.
The guy beside me tilted his head slightly.
“…you feel it, don’t you.”
I didn’t answer.
Because yes—
I did.
The stone under the platform pulsed again.
Faint.
But real.
A ripple passed through the ground.
Just enough to notice if you were paying attention.
I was.
“…there,” he said quietly.
So was he.
That told me something.
“Stay back!” one of the instructors shouted.
Too late.
The ground bucked.
Hard.
The platform cracked open again—
wider this time.
A violent split tore through the center.
Darkness surged upward like it had been forced down too long.
And then—
something broke through.
A claw.
Massive.
Black.
Not just large—
wrong.
Too many joints.
Too many edges.
It punched through the stone and gripped the platform.
Stone shattered under its weight.
The courtyard exploded into panic.
“RUN!”
“GET BACK!”
“That’s not part of the test!”
The instructors moved fast now, forming a barrier line, shouting commands, trying to contain something that clearly wasn’t meant to be contained anymore.
I didn’t move.
Again.
Because I couldn’t.
The claw tightened.
Then—
it turned.
Not toward the crowd.
Not toward the instructors.
Toward me.
My chest tightened.
“…you see that, right?” the boy beside me said, voice tight now.
“I see it.”
The pressure hit again.
Harder.
Deeper.
Like something was reaching up through my spine and pulling my awareness down into the dark.
The world blurred.
The noise faded.
And then—
the voice came back.
Not distant this time.
Close.
Heavy.
You woke me.
I swallowed.
“I didn’t mean to.”
A pause.
Then—
You never do.
That sentence hit wrong.
Too familiar.
Like it wasn’t the first time it had been said.
The claw pulled higher.
More of it came into view.
Not fully.
Just enough.
Too many eyes.
Too much shape.
Not a beast.
Not anything the academy had trained us for.
Something older.
Something that didn’t belong here.
The instructors’ barrier flared—
A wave of energy slammed into the claw—
It didn’t move.
Not even slightly.
One of the instructors swore under his breath.
“…that’s not possible.”
The girl from earlier had stopped moving.
She stood near the edge of the courtyard, staring at the crack.
Not afraid.
Focused.
Her eyes flicked to me—
Then back to the thing beneath the platform.
Her expression shifted.
Recognition.
That sent a cold line down my spine.
The creature paused.
Then—
it stopped climbing.
The claw held the edge of the platform.
Still.
Waiting.
Like it was deciding something.
The voice came again.
Lower.
Colder.
Not yet.
My chest tightened.
“…what does that mean?”
The answer wasn’t spoken.
It was pushed into me.
A command.
A direction.
A warning.
Grow.
The claw released.
Just like that.
The creature dropped back into the dark.
The crack snapped shut.
The platform sealed.
Silence slammed back into the courtyard.
No roar.
No movement.
Nothing.
Like it had never happened.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
The instructors stared at the platform.
At me.
At each other.
One of them finally stepped forward.
His face had gone pale.
“…you.”
I met his gaze.
“…what.”
“You’re coming with us.”
Not a request.
I glanced at the platform one last time.
It looked normal again.
Dead.
Still.
Safe.
It wasn’t.
I could feel it.
Still there.
Still awake.
Still watching.
The boy beside me exhaled slowly.
“…you’ve got terrible luck.”
“Yeah,” I said.
A pause.
“…or something else.”
He grinned slightly.
“…I’m sticking with something else.”
The instructor motioned sharply.
“Now.”
I followed.
Because I didn’t really have a choice.
Because whatever was beneath the academy had just spoken to me.
Because it had told me to grow.
And because I knew—
deep down—
that next time it wouldn’t stop halfway.
And when it came all the way out—
It wouldn’t be looking at the academy.
It would be looking at me.
