[Alina's Perspective]
That night, the world outside lay quiet.
Alina lay curled beneath her blanket, her breathing soft and steady. The gentle rustle of wind outside the window mingled with the calm rhythm of crickets. Her room was filled with the silver-blue glow of moonlight, casting soft patterns across the walls. She hugged her pillow a little tighter, her mind slowly fading into dreams...
---
It started in her classroom.
The place was familiar, yet strange. The sunlight outside had dimmed to twilight, casting golden hues across the old wooden desks. The blackboard glowed faintly with unseen light, and the air shimmered with a gentle, dreamlike haze.
She stood alone near the window, the sky outside dyed in shades of violet and gold. No students. No noise. Just her. Her heart beat softly in her chest as she turned her gaze back to the empty classroom.
Then—
The light changed.
A strange darkness crept in from the edges of the walls. Shadows twisted unnaturally. The air grew colder. Papers flew across the room without wind. Desks creaked and groaned. A silent pressure pressed down on her chest.
From the door, something entered.
Tall. Black. Formless. Its body shimmered like ink and smoke. It moved without steps, drifting toward her.
Her legs froze.
Her voice wouldn't come out.
She wanted to scream—but all she could do was back away, trembling.
"Help—!"
The creature raised its clawed hand—
And in that exact moment—
Light burst through the window.
The creature roared as a sharp gust of wind and glowing embers exploded inward.
Glass shattered.
And from the chaos, he appeared.
A boy leapt through the broken window in a flash of white and black. His short white hair shimmered in the glowing light, slightly tousled and wild. He wore a long, dark coat with silver linings, and his eyes—deep, silver-gray—burned like moonlight through a storm.
She stared at him, her eyes wide, her breath uneven. He turned slowly toward her, the shadows still writhing at his feet before fading into silence. The tension in the air melted away—but her heart still raced like a drum in her chest.
He stepped forward, his boots making no sound on the classroom floor.
Alina couldn't help but take a step back, not in fear, but awe. He was glowing faintly—silver traces dancing along his coat and around his short white hair, as if stardust clung to him. His presence was both calming and overwhelming, like standing before a quiet storm held together by sheer will.
"Are you hurt?" he asked again, his voice lower this time, more… personal.
She shook her head slowly. "N-No… I'm fine… because of you."
For a moment, he didn't respond. His gaze softened.
"Good."
Then his hand moved—hesitantly—and reached toward her face.
Alina flinched, but not from fear. She didn't know why, but her body froze, her breath caught. His fingers stopped just short of her cheek, hovering like he was scared to touch something fragile.
"There was dust," he muttered, brushing it away so gently it sent a shiver down her spine.
Her heart screamed inside her chest.
When his fingers withdrew, they lingered just a moment longer—enough for her to feel a warmth, a longing she didn't understand.
"…Who are you?" she whispered.
He looked away, just slightly, as though the question hurt more than he expected.
"I'm no one important," he said. "I'm just someone who didn't want to see you cry."
Her eyes widened again. That wasn't something boys ever said to her. That wasn't something anyone ever said.
Tears welled up in her eyes—but they weren't from fear anymore. They were from something else… something gentle and strange. Like a flower blooming in her chest.
"…Then," she said, her voice trembling, "can I stay with you… just a little longer?"
He hesitated.
Then he gave a small nod.
The shadows around them rippled once, then transformed. The cold black floor slowly turned into soft glowing petals, white and pink. The desks became floating lanterns, drifting up into the starlit ceiling. The entire classroom turned into a dreamscape made just for them.
He raised his hand slightly, and with a flick of his fingers, one of the lanterns floated down to her.
She caught it gently, smiling for the first time.
"Thank you," she whispered again, looking up at him—not with fear, not with awe, but with something new… something like trust.
And for the first time, he looked truly shaken.
He looked at her like no one had ever looked at him before.
Like he had been seen.
Without hesitation, he stepped between her and the monster.
"Stay behind me," he said, voice calm but powerful.
Alina's heart jumped.
She stared at his back—firm, tall, steady like a wall between her and the nightmare.
With a flick of his hand, dark tendrils surged out from under his feet, coiling like living shadows. They responded to his will, forming spears of pure darkness and striking the monster with perfect precision.
The creature shrieked, collapsing into a flurry of flower petals and fading into the classroom walls.
Silence returned.
Her classroom… was glowing. Thousands of glowing flowers had sprouted from the floor and walls, and the ceiling above had turned into a velvet sky full of shimmering stars.
She blinked.
He turned toward her.
For a second, her breath caught in her throat.
His face—young, but scarred slightly, like someone who had fought a hundred battles and still kept moving forward. His short, snowy white hair shifted as he moved closer. His coat flowed behind him like the wind itself followed his steps.
"You okay?" he asked, eyes gentle now.
"Y-Yes…" she replied, her cheeks flushing with warmth.
She took his hand, which he had offered without hesitation. It was rough, a little cold—but steady.
They stood there in the middle of that glowing classroom, surrounded by floating petals, sparkling stars above, and no one else in the world.
"…Thank you," she whispered.
He didn't speak.
He simply smiled—a small, tired smile—but it held something that made her chest flutter.
He looked just like a prince.
But not the perfect, shining kind from fairy tales.
No, he was real—scarred, brave, quiet. The kind of prince who had been through pain, who bore burdens no one else saw… and still chose to protect others.
They sat on the windowsill together, watching the stars above as the classroom faded into soft dream light.
"I wish this moment could last forever," she murmured.
The boy looked up at the stars and closed his eyes.
"…Maybe it already has."
---
Alina slowly opened her eyes, her lashes fluttering as the golden light of early morning filtered through the curtains of her dorm window. For a moment, she didn't move. Her body still felt warm—like she was wrapped in the fading magic of the dream.
Her fingers instinctively curled around the bedsheet, as if trying to hold onto something that was no longer there.
She blinked, her heart beating faster than it should. It was a dream… right?
But the feeling still lingered.
She sat up slowly, blinking the sleep from her eyes, her hand still lightly curled as if she were holding someone else's.
"…That boy…"
White hair.
Black coat.
Those eyes.
She touched her cheek and felt the lingering warmth of a blush.
"…He was so cool…" she whispered, heart fluttering. "Like a prince… but kind of… sad too."
Her fingers brushed against the windowpane as she looked outside.
In another room, across the hall—Blaze sat silently, staring at his gloved hand, his thoughts heavier than ever, unaware that…
She had already begun falling for him.
She'd never seen anyone like him. And yet… it felt like she'd known him forever.
Her cheeks flushed as she sat up slowly, brushing her hair from her face. The dream should have faded. But it didn't. It clung to her like morning dew, glistening with warmth and softness.
"What… was that?" she whispered to herself, touching her lips, then her chest.
Her heart answered her before her thoughts could.
I want to see him again.
The words came uninvited, and yet they felt so right. Her breath hitched, and she glanced at the window as if expecting to see him there, standing silently under the rising sun.
She laughed softly to herself—nervously.
"I must be crazy," she murmured, hiding her burning face behind her hands. "It was just a dream…"