Prologue - Beam From the Sky

It was your average beautiful day.

Sunny and bright, even inside the magnificently well-built school structure we stood in.

We were in the class, just minutes before homeroom and I walked to my seat, giving a surveying glance in the class, seeing everyone doing their normal routine.

Horikita, with her recently cut hair, garnered some attention from our classmates. Specifically, Sudou and Kushida. I zoned out as they complimented it, and Kushida mentioned something about how she could grow her hair long. I looked at the seat in front of me and it was completely empty, not a soul sitting in it. Hearing the door slide open, I peered to my right to see the final student walk in.

Wakaba Hiiro.

She was nicknamed and described by her classmates as being the "queen" of our school, simply due to her great looks. She had long black hair that reached up to her knees, a slim figure, and black eyes but there was a striking difference between her and the other highly-ranked beauty Ichinose in this school.

She was quiet and kept to herself.

If you ask anyone in the class, they probably didn't know anything more about her than what she looks like and her name and title.

Her scores were average, physical ability average but she read, often staying out of things like gym class.

During our Island Exam in the first year, she stayed but just read the whole time in a novel, not doing any labor. Everyone was fine with that, especially the boys, and they spent Class points just to get the novel for her.

She wasn't too well received by the girls though, and like it or not, I have come across people calling her distasteful things. Her being spoiled or a silent narcissist, who thinks everyone is beneath her.

Whenever I see them bully her directly, she brushed it off as if it didn't matter. I'd actually contemplated using her instead of Kei during the Zodiac exam but decided not to. Her social ability is low and she doesn't have much going for her besides her looks.

I assume if perhaps she took action, it would be a huge source of motivation for her. I don't know why though, but I felt uneasy that it wouldn't out well, hence why I ultimately decided against it.

Horikita tried getting her assistance in a way similar to Koenji but no matter what she did, Wakaba Hiiro did not accept it and went through her days unphased. Horikita put priority on Koenji as he had more visible strengths instead, and stopped asking the former.

She was the existence I kind of wished to be at the beginning of my freshman year, blending in seamlessly, completely unaffected by everything else. I wish I could've been ignored like her and stayed quiet.

In my entire time here at this school I probably heard her speak so little I could count it on one hand. That's how little involved she was with school affairs.

As homeroom started I paid partial attention to Chabashira-sensei as I thought about other topics.

I felt a slight tingle on the back of my hand and looked down to see a small spider crawling along it and a thin strand of web from the ceiling snapping and falling to the side.

The spider began to crawl, nearing my knuckles, providing a slight ticklish feeling.

Then all of a sudden, everything went pitch black.