T.I.G.H.T

"Tell me I made it in time." Racing through the halls, Ari was desperately trying to reach Uni and Moon before anything drastic occurred.

Finally stopping in front of the Reinforced Training Room, Ari violently pulled the door open expecting to see already in a brawl, however what she did see could only be described as strange. "Looks like a tornado hit this place..." Ari could see the combat equipment, holographic training dummies and various other objects sprawled around all over the place.

But her main observation was the absence of Uni and Moon, "Didn't they agree to 6 PM? Where are they? And what happened to this place?"

A little bit before she discovered this, someone could be seen in a dimly lit room, staring at a massive black screen with hundreds of tiny green dots moving on it. In a robot like manner, the person remained unblinking and emotionless as they stared at the screen.

Oddly as they were observing, two dots could be seen disappearing simultaneously. Like a hawk, their eyes instantly darted to the location of the disappearance, quickly picking up a nearby phone and ringing someone up.

"Hello, this is urgent! We have a code black in the Reinforced Training Room." Quickly hanging up the phone, the mysterious person then pressed a button near a microphone and said, "Everyone, this is urgent, you must stay away from the Reinforced Training Room at all cost and go to your dorms! I repeat, stay away from the Reinforced Training Room at all costs and go to your dorms!"

Upon hearing the message, confusion and concern spread throughout the school, evident in the expressions of most students. They quickly headed to their dorms and locked the doors, unsure of what was happening.

In the Reinforced Training Room, Ari's heart sank as she listened to the message. She couldn't help but think the worst. 'Moon and Uni... What's going on? Even though I barely know Uni, I'm worried...'

Ari momentarily forgot about leaving as four people rushed into the room. The headmasters, Orion and Pandora, led the group, accompanied by individuals dressed like paramedics.

Seeing Ari there, the headmasters immediately asked questions. "Ari, why are you still here? Didn't you hear the announcement? You're supposed to be in your dorm. Do you know what happened here?"

As everyone entered, Ari felt a mix of surprise and hope. She hoped it might be Moon and Uni who were late, but as she recognized the faces of the newcomers, her hope faded. Ari replied, her tone subdued, "I only know that Uni and Moon were supposed to have some kind of confrontation here at 6 PM. I came to stop it, but when I got here... well, you can see what happened."

After the explanation, the two paramedics escorted her out of the room. Orion and Pandora exchanged puzzled looks, both wondering about the strange situation. Orion was the first to share his thoughts about what could have happened.

"If we're considering a code black situation, it implies that the student's vitals went offline, possibly indicating a fatal outcome. But as I look around, I don't see any signs of blood or a struggle. All I see is a chaotic mess spread everywhere."

Pandora chimed in, "One reasonable explanation could be that they were taken against their will." As soon as she said this, Orion dismissed the idea. "I find that hard to believe. You're aware that our school has stringent security measures. How could someone manage to take a student without triggering any alerts?"

Maintaining her composure, Pandora responded thoughtfully, introducing another angle to the conversation. "Orion, did you forget about the 'Incident'? Something similar happened before – a breach in the system."

Orion's expression changed in response, his demeanor becoming more serious. "If that's the case, we can't waste any more time here. You know where we need to go, right? And make sure to notify him as well."

With a nod, they quickly left the room, while the paramedics remained behind to handle the aftermath and clean-up.

*****

Getting up from the floor, Uni finally got a good look around and realizing this wasn't anywhere he had known on earth, slowly panic began rising in him, as he gripped the Jingu for some comfort. 'Ok, so I think it's official, somehow, someway, I'm on another planet!' As he began thinking about his current predicament, Uni turned over to Moon to see what his reaction to this was.

However, turning around, Uni could see Moon causally scratching his neck and moving around as if he was at home.

Getting slightly annoyed by his demeanor and how he seemed so calm, Uni called him out saying, "DUDE!! Have you not realized that we aren't on our planet anymore??? I'd be more worried If I were you!"

Completely ignoring his statement, Moon continued about his business.

Getting even more ticked off, Uni again retorted, "Weren't you just as worried about our situation a few minutes ago? What happened so suddenly??" Continuing to go on and on, Uni was talking Moon's ear off. But that was when he finally had enough.

"Shut up!! I get it, alright, damn... To answer your question, the reason I couldn't care less about our situation right now is because I know this place isn't real. It's no wonder someone as clueless as you wouldn't understand..."

Uni, feeling a strong urge to retort Moon's backhanded statement, found the opening of Moon's sentence oddly phrased. Pushing that aside, Uni asked, "What the hell are you talking about? And don't call me a dumbass... dumbass."

Chuckling at Uni's retort, Moon replied, "You sound incredibly dense right now, it's almost amusing... Let me break it down in the simplest way for your underdeveloped brain: Look around. Notice how the leaves on these trees sway, the grass moves, and even our hair is in motion?"

Uni, his annoyance growing, begrudgingly nodded in acknowledgment of Moon's observation.

"Well, consider this," Moon continued, "how is all this movement possible? The answer is wind, of course. But ask yourself, where is that breeze coming from?"

Uni, beginning to grasp the point Moon was driving at, initially overlooked it. However, as Moon pointed out the absence of any actual wind, realization dawned on Uni. 'There really isn't any wind here... But why?' Uni's gaze shifted to the sky, where Moon's explanation continued. "You've probably noticed by now, the complete lack of wind, anywhere. There's just none."

Moon let out a quiet sigh, his attention moving from the sky to meet Uni's gaze directly. "There's a lot to explain, but for now, I'll tell you we are Trapped Inside a Ghostly Haven of Time, or simply TIGHT. It's a realm that only a rare kind of supernatural CCs can create."

Uni processed the rapid influx of information, feeling the need to sit down to absorb it all. "Wait, did you say Ghostly Haven of Time? What does that mean exactly?"

Getting up from his seated position, Moon locked eyes with Uni, his expression serious. "It means we're dealing with a type of spirit-like CC known as a Nocra."