I Killed The Main Characters

Chapter 100: Burden [1]

Maya stood in Professor Jacob's office, catching her breath as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

The room was a mess—papers strewn across the floor, books stacked precariously, and the professor's scattered notes covering every available surface.

Her hands trembled slightly from exhaustion, but she powered through, determined to finish the task.

"Just a little more," she muttered under her breath, her fingers crumpling a stray page as she sorted through the chaotic piles.

As she neatly organized the professor's desk, she glanced out the window and sighed.

"I hope Noah's eaten… He forgets sometimes."

Noah was always running off, getting lost in his own world of training and responsibilities.

Maya couldn't help but worry about him.

He might have been sharp and capable in many ways, but his tendency to neglect basic things—like food—was one of his worst habits.

Her thoughts lingered on him for a moment, her heart tugging gently.

Shaking her head, she forced herself back into focus. She couldn't afford distractions, not with so much work left.

Soon, she reminded herself, she'd be done being a professor's assistant.

Just a few more weeks of hard work, and she'd earn the final bit of income to cover her tuition for the next semester.

From there, she could focus on acquiring a scholarship.

She was so close, so painfully close to the future she had been working toward.

As she sorted through the last pile of papers, something strange began to happen.

A sudden shift—so subtle at first—gripped her senses.

Her head felt as if it was shaking, but not of her own accord.

It wasn't like dizziness or fatigue; it felt as though her mind was being twisted, like reality was warping around her.

She blinked, trying to steady herself, but the office she was so familiar with suddenly turned into a dark, gloomy room.

The walls around her cracked and decayed before her very eyes, peeling to reveal smeared bloodstains and the grotesque sight of broken furniture.

Bodies—distorted and faceless—lay scattered across the floor, their limbs unnaturally twisted.

The pungent smell of rot filled her nose, causing her stomach to churn.

Maya stumbled backward, gasping, her body trembling uncontrollably.

"What... what is this?" she whispered, clutching her chest.

Her heart raced, thudding against her ribcage. This wasn't real, it couldn't be real.

But it felt so vivid. Every detail—the rancid air, the horrifying scene in front of her—it felt as real as anything she'd ever known.

Just as quickly as it had come, the vision snapped away.

The office returned to its usual state: the familiar dimly lit room, the professor's desk untouched, the papers and books scattered as they always were.

Experience tales at m v|l e'm,p| y- r

The chandelier above her swayed slightly, catching her attention.

She blinked, focusing on it. It was shaking.

Was she going insane?

Her legs gave way, and she fell to the floor, pulling down a stack of papers and books with her.

She scrambled to her feet, her breath shallow and panicked, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

Her eyes darted to the window.

The wind was blowing fiercely, causing the chandelier to swing and shake violently.

Maya's chest tightened with a mix of relief and confusion.

"It was just the wind…" she whispered.

Just the wind."

But deep down, she knew it hadn't been 'just' the wind.

She had seen something—something terrifying, something real in its own way.

Was she truly losing her mind?

Her mother's voice echoed faintly in her mind.

"You must always keep your mind strong, Maya. You have a weak mental fortitude, but that's why you must pray to the gods. You need their protection more than others."

Maya clenched her fists, steadying her breathing. Her mother had always told her that.

Even as a child, Maya had experienced strange shifts in reality—moments where she couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't.

Her mother had always encouraged her to pray, to seek guidance from the gods, but even then, it hadn't been enough.

Was it catching up to her now?

She wasn't a child anymore, but the lines between reality and illusion were blurring more than ever before. And she feared it was only getting worse.

"That's why I'm working so hard," she whispered to herself, her voice trembling with frustration.

"That's why I need this scholarship, this education. I need to find a way to cure this… this illness."

It was a secret she had carried with her all her life. She had never told anyone at not even Noah, who she trusted more than anyone.

But the truth was, Maya had always been afraid that one day she would lose her grip on reality entirely.

She stood up, shaking her head to clear the lingering doubt.

'You're not crazy,' she told herself.

'You're just tired. Exhausted.'

That's when it happened.

The window she had left open earlier suddenly slammed shut, and the wind that had been blowing through the room was cut off in an instant.

The silence that followed felt deafening.

Maya closed the window quickly, hoping to regain some semblance of normalcy.

She took a deep breath and turned back to the mess on the floor, kneeling to pick up the fallen books and papers.

But as she reached for them, she heard the door to the office creak open behind her.

"Oh… Professor Jacob, I just fin—" she began, turning her head.

Her words froze in her throat.

A hooded figure stood in the doorway, their face obscured by shadow.

Before Maya could react, the figure moved with lightning speed, crossing the room in an instant. Panic surged through her, but it was too late.

The figure grabbed her and pinned her down forcefully, and with a swift motion, injected something into her neck.

Maya gasped as the cold liquid from the syringe seeped into her veins.

Her vision blurred immediately, the world around her becoming distorted and dark once more.

Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the floor, her head striking the hard ground with a painful thud.

The last thing she saw before her vision faded completely was the faint outline of the hooded figure standing over her, their presence ominous and overwhelming.

And then, everything went black.