The classroom fell silent.
Kai watched Raze carefully.
The boy's face had gone pale.
Raze hands trembled.
Not from fear of Kai.
From memory.
The kind of memory that refused to fade.
"What happened after the ritual started?" Kai asked.
Raze stared at the floor.
For several moments he didn't answer.
Then he spoke.
Slowly.
As though reliving every second.
"At first..."
"Nothing happened."
"The students gathered on the athletic field."
"Hundreds of them."
"Teachers stood at the front."
"Leading prayers."
"Leading hymns."
"Leading hope."
"Everyone wanted salvation."
"Everyone wanted someone to save them."
"The smiling moon hung above."
"Watching."
"Listening."
"Smiling."
"The first hour passed peacefully."
"Then people began acting strange."
"Some students started laughing."
"Others cried."
"Collapsed to their knees."
"Begging for forgiveness."
"Begging for mercy."
"Then a teacher began reciting the hymn backwards."
"Arguments erupted."
"Then Turmoil occur."
"Everyone starting to get mad."
Raze swallowed.
"The corruption was increasing."
"No one knew."
"No one understood."
Kai remained silent.
Listening.
"The teachers told everyone to continue praying."
"They said the Enlightened Moon was testing our faith."
"More people joined."
"More prayers."
"More hymns."
"More worship."
"The field became a festival."
"Louder than any events."
"Not because people were enjoying."
"Because they were changing."
"Then came the first ritual."
"A teacher volunteered."
"She stepped into the center."
"Smiling."
"Then students and teacher gathered around her."
"Following the instructions."
"They draw a star underneath the volunteer."
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"Then without any hesitation."
"The Mutilated her infront of hundreds of people."
"The screams are still vivid in my mind."
"The arm."
"The leg."
"Then encircled it around the star."
"With body left at the center stood upright."
"Following every instruction."
"They Stitched her eyes."
"Stitched the mouth into a smile."
"Every symbol."
"Every prayer."
"The blooded volunteer."
"Continue to sing."
"The praise of hymn."
"Till it's last breath."
"At first."
"Nothing happened."
"For several minutes."
"Silence."
"Then Blood gathered."
"Limbs attached."
"Its starting to form a cocoon."
"The Moonlight twisted."
"Reality trembled."
"Then the cocoon burst."
"Blood spreads the surroundings."
"A twisted figure appeared."
"A mockery of a human being."
"Petal-like arms."
"A stretched neck embedded on the ground."
"The first Blooming Human Carcass."
"Is born."
"Everyone panicked."
"Not because of the monster."
"But because."
"It failed."
"The ritual failed."
"The creature began singing."
"A slow hymn."
"A terrible hymn."
"And before anyone could react—"
"Another teacher volunteered."
"Then another."
"Then students started to participate."
"Because they believed the first attempt had been flawed."
"Because they believed salvation was still possible."
"Because madness had already taken root within them."
"Each ritual ended the same way."
"Failure."
"A new Blooming Human Carcass."
"Another voice joining the choir."
"Then another."
"And another."
"Until dozens stood around the field."
"Motionless."
"Singing."
"Praising."
"Worshiping."
"Like flowers blooming beneath the moonlight."
"The remaining students stopped resisting."
"Many willingly joined."
"Others wandered into the rituals."
"Some simply stared at the moon."
"Until they forgot who they were."
"Hours passed."
"The choir grew larger."
"The field became a garden of nightmares."
"Eventually—"
"Only five people remained."
"Untouched."
"Out of hundreds."
Raze's voice cracked.
"I'm the sixth one", as he look directly at Kai.
The classroom became silent again.
"The others..."
"They walked away."
"Toward the school entrance."
"They looked confused."
"Laughing."
"Crying."
"With their head high above the sky."
"Like they had forgotten everything."
"Forgotten their names."
"Forgotten the rituals."
"Forgotten why they were even alive."
"I never saw them again."
A chill ran through Kai.
"What happened next?"
Raze slowly raised his head.
His eyes were fixed on the opposite classroom window.
The fear in them returned.
Stronger than before.
"They're starting."
Kai immediately turned.
Outside.
The singing had begun.
A single voice start.
Then a hundred voices.
Male.
Female.
Young.
Old.
All merging into a single hymn.
A hymn that sounded wrong.
As though reality itself rejected every word.
Yet the song continued.
Louder.
Closer.
"Praise the Moon that sees all scars..."
"Open the flesh and bare the heart..."
"Lay down your names..."
"Lay down your dreams..."
"Lay down the burden of being human..."
The voices rose.
Growing deeper.
More distorted.
"We bloom beneath the silver gaze..."
"We bloom beneath the endless smile..."
"Petals by petals..."
"Bone by bone..."
"Let the garden claim us whole..."
Kai felt his skin crawl.
The hymn continued.
Slow.
Reverent.
Horribly joyful.
"O Enlightened Moon..."
"Harvest our memories..."
"Harvest our tears..."
"Make our sorrow beautiful..."
"Make our suffering bloom..."
The final verse echoed across the school grounds.
And every voice spoke together.
"Open the gate of eden."
"Open the gate of heaven."
"Open the gate of hell."
"For our salvation has arrived."
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Then—
THUD.
The school entrance shook.
THUD.
Another impact.
THUD.
A third.
Kai and Raze moved toward the hallway.
Carefully.
Quietly.
Neither spoke.
Neither breathed.
The main entrance stood at the far end of the corridor.
Moonlight spilled through the glass doors.
Then a shadow appeared.
Tall.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Slamming its tail.
The Nightmare Evangeline.
Arrived.
It approached the entrance not as predator.
Not as monster.
But a guest arriving at a sacred ceremony.
Its petal-like arms unfolded.
Its elongated neck swayed gently.
The stitched eyes remained closed.
Its body was covered with blood.
A translucent heart pulsated on its neck.
Silent.
Watching.
Waiting.
The Juvenile Nightmare reached the entrance.
Then stopped.
The hymn resumed.
Softer now.
Almost welcoming.
"We bloom beneath the silver light..."
"We bloom beneath the endless cries..."
"Hand by hand..."
"Head by head..."
"Let the savior claim us whole dead..."
And for the first time—
Kai felt something far worse than fear.
The Nightmare wasn't invading the school.
It claimed it.
To Be Continued...