The first time I saw her, lightning struck the sky.
It wasn't even raining.
Our school, Starlight Academy, was known for weird things. A student once disappeared into the science lab for three days and came back glowing slightly green. Another time, our math teacher claimed she saw a "ghostly cat" teaching geometry on the board. No one believed her… but somehow, we all passed the test the next day.
But that day—the day she transferred in—was different.
The clouds above our school spiraled like a giant whirlpool. Then, with a boom that made every window shudder, a single bolt of blue lightning cracked the sky. And just like that, the clouds vanished.
Everyone looked around, confused. Then the bell rang.
Class started like normal. I slumped into my seat at the back, headphones half-in, hoodie up. I wasn't popular. I wasn't interesting. My name's Jin, by the way—just a regular 17-year-old guy who tries not to get noticed.
Too bad she noticed me.
---
"Class, we have a new student today," said Miss Haru, our homeroom teacher.
The door slid open. And there she stood.
Her name was Elira Moon.
Tall. Pale skin. Silver hair that shimmered even under dull fluorescent lights. Her uniform was perfect—too perfect. And her eyes? One was glowing faintly blue. The other, pure black.
The class fell silent.
"She's hot," someone whispered.
"She looks like a robot," someone else said.
I stared, unable to look away. Something about her felt... not human. Like she didn't belong in this world.
"Miss Moon," Miss Haru said carefully, "please take a seat... next to Jin."
Every head turned toward me.
Just great.
Elira walked slowly down the aisle and sat beside me. Her presence felt cold. Not icy, but... like she was from a place where warmth didn't exist. She looked straight ahead, not even glancing at me.
I tried to act cool. I failed.
---
At lunch, chaos erupted.
There was screaming in the hallway. People running. Some girl yelled, "Zombies!"
Everyone laughed at first, but then a student burst into the cafeteria with actual bite marks on his arm. His eyes were rolling. He mumbled something like, "They're awake… beneath the gym…"
Then he fainted.
Panic. Teachers rushed in. The school was locked down.
But Elira stood up calmly, picked up her bag, and looked at me.
"You need to come with me," she said.
"What? Why me?"
"No time. You're the key."
"I'm the what—?"
She grabbed my arm. Her grip was strong—inhumanly strong. She dragged me out of the cafeteria and into the hallways, which were now full of sirens and flickering lights.
We ran.
---
Downstairs, below the gym, was a place I'd never been. The forbidden floor. Old storage rooms. A rusty elevator that hadn't worked in decades.
Elira pressed a code into a panel I'd never seen before. The wall slid open with a hiss.
Behind it: a glowing blue chamber, humming with alien energy.
"What... is this?" I asked, breathless.
She turned to me. "This is the rift gateway. Your world is just one of many."
I blinked. "Excuse me??"
"There's a war coming. Between worlds. And you're not just some random student, Jin. You're a lost child of the Rift."
I laughed. "You're joking. This is some kind of prank, right?"
Suddenly, the air shimmered. Something stepped out of the shadows—a man in a white lab coat with mechanical arms and glowing eyes.
"Well, well," he said with a smirk. "Looks like you found him after all, Elira."
"Dr. Solas," she said coldly.
He bowed mockingly. "Welcome back, Project Zero."
"Project wha—?"
Before I could even react, a metal spider the size of a dog launched itself at me.
Elira moved like lightning. One kick, and it exploded mid-air. She pulled out a blade that looked like it was made of pure starlight.
"Run," she said.
"No way! I'm not leaving you—"
"Ugh, why are boys always like this?" she muttered.
Together, we fought our way through mechanical monsters and glitching shadows. I didn't know how to fight, but weirdly, my body did. Like I'd done this before.
At some point, I started laughing.
"Are you seriously laughing right now?" Elira yelled as she deflected a plasma bolt.
"I think I'm having a mental breakdown!"
"You'll get used to it."
---
Later, after the lab exploded (yes, actually exploded), we ended up on the school roof, looking up at the night sky.
"Are the stars... always that close?" I asked, because they looked like they were falling.
"They are when the Rift is open," Elira said. Her voice was softer now.
She sat next to me, legs swinging off the edge.
"I wasn't supposed to meet you yet," she said. "But the timelines are collapsing. Something—or someone—is changing fate."
"And I'm part of it?"
"More than you know."
I looked at her. She looked tired. Sad, even.
"Are you... okay?" I asked.
She blinked. "That's a strange question."
"No it's not. You look like someone who hasn't had a good dream in a long time."
She didn't respond right away.
Then, softly: "I don't dream anymore."
I didn't know what to say, so I just sat there. Quietly.
And then, without warning, she leaned her head on my shoulder.
"Thanks," she whispered. "For not running away."
I didn't understand anything that was happening.
But one thing I knew: my life would never be normal again.