SOULURE

Chapter 1: Pressure

Arinna: …I think this is where the true power of architecture reveals itself: it can touch not only our eyes, but our memories as well.

All of a sudden, I took a step back from the board as a sharp, violent headache struck me. In the middle of the presentation I’d been working on for days, I couldn’t even open my eyes from the pain.

Professor Jonathan Blark: Arinna, is everything alright?

The professor’s voice sounded muffled, as if filtered through pressure. My breathing grew rapid, and I sank to my knees from the pain. I could feel the anxious stares of the entire class on me. At one point, the pain became so intense that I wanted to open my eyes and scream.

The moment I opened them, a violent explosion erupted—every window and every ceiling light in the classroom shattered into pieces. I stared around in shock. The pain had vanished as suddenly as it had come. Warm blood slid from my nose down toward my lips, leaving a metallic taste spreading through my mouth. With trembling hands, I touched the blood.

Everyone in the classroom was in a panic. Everyone… except one person.

Only one of them was staring straight into the deepest part of my eyes.

I had never seen him in class before. On his face was an unreadable smile, balanced somewhere between joy and threat.

Professor Jonathan Blark: What on earth was that?

The professor was trying to stay in control, but it was obvious that he was frightened too.

Arinna: I-I don’t know, Professor.

Arinna: My head just started hurting really badly.

The professor hesitated for a moment, as if he were trying to piece everything together in his mind. Then he took a deep breath and turned to the class.

Professor Jonathan Blark: Alright, everyone, stay calm. The danger has passed for now.

He approached me gently and placed a hand on my shoulder.

Professor Jonathan Blark: Arinna most likely experienced a severe migraine attack or a sudden change in blood pressure. In situations like that, headaches can cause extreme sensitivity to light, sound, and pressure. So the fact that she “felt” the explosion a few seconds before the rest of us is completely normal.

Professor Jonathan Blark: As for the windows and lights shattering, it was most likely caused by a sudden voltage surge in the building’s electrical system, or a pressure shift. When light bulbs burst at the same time, resonance can occur in the glass as well. It’s very rare, but not impossible.

Professor Jonathan Blark: Right now, all we need to do is stay away from the windows and any wires hanging from the ceiling. I’m calling campus security and the technical team immediately. In the meantime, please make sure the person next to you is okay.

As soon as the professor finished speaking, the class began to calm down. Even though I tried to convince myself with scientific explanations, a part of me insisted there was more behind this than science.

I snapped out of my thoughts when a familiar voice took my hand.

Mabel: For a second, I thought you might be a witch or something. Are you okay?

I answered with a laugh.

Arinna: If I were a witch, I probably wouldn’t spend this much time in an architecture class.

Mabel laughed too, then glanced at my hands stained with blood.

Mabel: Come on. Let’s go to the bathroom. You’ll pull yourself together a little.

I nodded gently and left the classroom with my closest friend, who was always by my side.

There was chaos throughout the faculty building. Behind the technical team running past with toolboxes in their hands, Dr. Evelyn Harte walked tensely. As we headed toward the restroom, I caught fragments of conversations around us.

“…There isn’t a single unbroken thing left in the whole faculty.”

“…I don’t think this is normal.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, it’s just because of an electrical leak, that’s all.”

“I think this is something science can’t explain…”

That was when a whisper from someone passing behind me froze my blood.

“…The broken glass is only the beginning…”

I turned around quickly, but I couldn’t tell who had said it.

The restroom lights were far too white. As if nothing bad could ever happen here… yet deep inside me, there was a powerful certainty that something was wrong.

Mabel: Okay… calm down. You’re pale as a sheet.

I gripped the edge of the sink with both hands. My fingers were still trembling. I washed the blood beneath my nose with cold water. Then I took a tissue from the side, wiped my nose, slowly lifted my head, and looked into the mirror.

At first glance, everything was the same.

I was… me.

Tired. Disheveled.

Then—

my gaze changed.

As if someone inside me was looking out through my eyes.

My breath caught in my throat.

I leaned a little closer to the mirror. Even though my eye color hadn’t changed, there was a pitch-black ring covering my irises.

It was as if a dark mist was swirling inside my eyes, slowly taking shape.

Arinna: What is this?

Mabel: What happened?

Arinna: Mabel, look at my eyes— they’re like coal!

Mabel carefully stepped closer and looked into my eyes.

Mabel: Arinna, everything is fine. Your eyes look the same as always. I think you’re just shaken. Come here.

Mabel hugged me, trying to calm me down.

But my reflection in the mirror didn’t look calm at all.

It was as if it was holding something back.

As if it was fighting not to show me what it really was.

And for a moment—just a moment—I saw that boy from the classroom… in the mirror.

But this time, he wasn’t standing in front of me… he was inside my eyes.