Invitation

Neo was in a large hall with a wooden stage, several chairs, and tables. There was an elegant decoration with red colors. He was talking to a brown-haired girl dressed in a white and green uniform and a dark-haired boy with more colorful clothes, a hoodie with shades of yellow, red, orange, and various mixed warm colors.

The girl's uniform caught Neo's attention. It had the symbol of a tree and the name "Futura," one of the four major schools in the city. Both of them were shorter than him, but the girl was taller than the boy.

It was difficult to hear what they were saying or even hear himself amid the noise of other conversations. 

Suddenly, everything went dark. 

The initial fright quickly vanished as he thought it might be a power outage. However, strangely in the distance, a light from another room was still on.

From inside that room emerged a faceless dark figure that entered the hall slowly, pulled out a revolver, and began shooting at the people present. The previously dark place was now illuminated by flashes of light.

Neo's first impulse was to look for the two he had been talking to; he needed to protect them. But they had vanished. He searched through the crowd, but the place was chaotic, with people trying to escape as quickly as possible.

The sounds of gunfire and screams painted a picture of true horror. The faceless figure continued to kill anyone in its path. One by one, people were dying, and the smell of blood was growing stronger.

Filled with fear, Neo ran as fast as he could to the exit, passing by an empty reception area. When he reached the street, he looked back to check if he was safe. But as he glanced at the building he had just left, he saw the faceless figure emerge from the same place he had exited, a double door with the symbol of a golden lion on top.

He ran even faster, his heart pounding, and his pursuer right behind him, relentless. Neo tried to scream for help as he ran, but no one seemed to take the boy seriously. No one was willing to help him, their looks were filled with confusion or even mockery. He pleaded for someone to call the police, but it was all in vain.

The mysterious figure grabbed him by the shoulder. Fear paralyzed his limbs. Neo tried to scream, and as his voice was about to come out, his throat was pierced by the blade of a Japanese sword.

Neo woke up, trying to scream, sweating and gasping for breath. He looked around, unsure of where he was. 

He saw that he was in a different room, looking down from a high place. Slowly, he remembered he was in the school dormitory.

Still in shock, he searched his mind for ways to calm down. He held his necklace while singing parts of a song.

"As long as there's a little light, you must follow it

If it doesn't exist, I'll be your light, your shelter

I'll make you happy, don't fear, don't hesitate

In the darkest shadows, I'll be with you, no matter the weather"

In his mind, he imagined Saya singing; it was the same song afterwall. 

Now that he was calm, he could...

"KNOCK KNOCK!"

Two loud knocks startled him, making him jump out of bed. He heard the sound of paper being passed under the door. After nearly having a heart attack, he decided to go downstairs and see what it was. 

The room was quite comfortable, with a bunk bed he had just climbed down from, two wardrobes, a small sofa, two desks against the window, a table in the middle, a rug, and some cabinets to store belongings, and finally, a bathroom.

He approached the door and the envelope with fear. What could it be? From a distance, he could see his name on one of them. Was it a death threat?

Holding the envelopes in hand, he noticed there were not just one but two, and the other one had the name of another boy. He felt relieved, thinking that whoever left those envelopes wasn't specifically after him.

"Len Moonstrider," what kind of person would Len Moonstrider be? Neo thought he would meet him when he opened the door the day before, but he was surprised to find the room empty.

He left the envelope with Len's name on the table and opened the one addressed to him. Inside was a paper with a slightly thicker texture than the envelope. The colors were dark with golden details, very pleasing to the eye. It read:

"The school board is pleased to invite Hoshi school students to a welcome party. It's just a fun event to encourage new friendships among the new students. Come and join us for the couples' dance; the winners will receive a special prize.

Next Saturday from 7:00 PM until 11:00 PM

Attire: Formal

We look forward to seeing everyone there. Sincerely, The Administration"

The first thing he thought about was the clothes Karine left with him. As far as he could remember, he didn't have any formal attire, but at least there were many beautiful and different outfits.

Neo decided to take a shower, change out of his pajamas, and take a walk around the city. He still needed to find a job, and staying cooped up in his room wouldn't help him get one.

The boy talked to the owners of various establishments, especially those with signs at the entrance indicating they were in need of help. However, being a student, many of them didn't even consider interviewing him. Time was one of the problems since he would mostly be at school. Most of the available positions required full-time commitment.

Some owners asked if he had any prior work experience or references from previous jobs. However, Neo had no memories, so he couldn't be sure if he had ever done anything like that before.

The boy was frustrated with this paradox where he needed experience to work, and to gain experience, he had to work. It would be easier if these places simply said they didn't want anyone; it would be less waste of time.

His last attempt was to talk to a woman who owned a pharmacy. She was open to the idea of hiring him to manage the cash register. She began explaining how things worked inside the drugstore and the duties he would have. Neo was starting to feel hopeful.

However, from a distance, he had a strange feeling that he was being observed. In one of the nearby alleys, there was a hooded figure looking at him. He had to cut the conversation short. He walked away to see if the person would follow, and to his surprise, they went in the same direction as him.

Must be a coincidence, he thought.

He picked up his pace, and the follower did the same. Neo started sweating, thinking it could be the same person from his nightmare.

He began running, not looking back, already considering what his next move would be to avoid death. He weaved through several people on the street, but when he looked back to see if he had shaken off the pursuer...

When he looked ahead, he saw two boys coming out of a flower shop carrying boxes that seemed heavy. But he was running so fast that he couldn't avoid colliding head-on with one of them and falling to the ground.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

The voice was familiar.

"Wait a sec, Neo?" asked another voice.