Prologue

Midnight in the forgotten corner of college town. Lucian, eyes burning from the court lights and heart heavy with missed smashes, trudged towards the deserted bus stop. His shadow, stretched and lanky, mimicked his exhaustion. The campus, usually buzzing with late-night cramming and whispered secrets, stood shrouded in an unsettling silence.

He glanced at his phone: 12:15 AM. Great. Just what he needed – a late-night adventure. The wind gnashed at his teeth, whispering phantom news reports of unsolved disappearances and prowling shadows.

A faint rumble broke the stillness, pulling Lucian's eyes towards the distant road. A pair of headlights, impossibly large against the inky sky, materialized from the darkness. A bus, its silhouette impossibly sleek, glided closer, its destination unknown.

This wasn't any college bus Lucian recognized. No cheery decals, no faded paint, just a dark, hulking presence that seemed to absorb the moonlight.

The bus rumbled to a stop right in front of him, the doors hissing open like a predator's breath. Inside, only the driver sat, shrouded in shadows, his face a mask of darkness. A shiver ran down Lucian's spine, colder than the wind. It was as if the bus had materialized from his anxieties, a tangible embodiment of the whispers haunting the night.

He stood frozen, the choice stark and terrifying. Should he brave the icy wind and the whispers of uncertainty, or gamble on the warmth and silence offered by the unknown bus? Each option seemed to hold its own perilous embrace.

In that moment, Lucian knew his last shuttlecock wasn't the only match he would face tonight. His late-night practice had just taken a chilling turn, and the court of fate had rolled out a new, terrifying playing field. The question hung heavy in the air: would Lucian become a feather crushed by fate or a champion carving his own path through the darkness?

Nox, it seemed, was waiting to find out.