Chapter Twenty-Six: With Heavy Heart

The morning of graduation arrived with a bittersweet mixture of emotions for Yozora. The sun rose over the horizon, bathing the outdoor ceremony in golden light, but to him, it only served as a reminder of everything that had been lost. As he stood at the podium, his hands gripping its edges tightly, he could feel the weight of his valedictorian robes pressing down on him, heavier than he ever imagined. This honor wasn’t his to bear—it belonged to Mara.

His eyes shifted toward T.LAC, standing off to the side as the salutatorian, looking as though his mind was drifting far from the ceremony. Yozora knew exactly what he was thinking because the same thought burned in his own mind. Mara should have been here.

She should have been the one in front of the crowd, delivering the speech she’d worked on for over a year, her confident smile lighting up the stage. But now, she was gone—her future, her dreams, stolen by a cruel twist of fate. Yozora and T.LAC were left to carry not only their own burdens but also the weight of her unfulfilled hopes and dreams.

Yozora’s gaze swept across the crowd of excited graduates, their faces glowing with joy and anticipation for the future. Their laughter and cheers echoed in the air, but it all seemed distant to him—like a scene from a world he no longer belonged to. The chasm of Mara's absence felt more real than anything else, her memory lingering in the sunlight like a shadow that refused to fade.

As he stepped forward to begin his speech, the words caught in his throat. His chest tightened, and for a moment, he thought he wouldn’t be able to do it. But then a strange feeling washed over him—a sudden shock, like an icy current running down his spine. His instincts screamed at him. Something was wrong.

His eyes darted frantically across the crowd, scanning every face, every corner of the area. His heart pounded in his chest as his gaze locked onto a group of figures standing at the very back, dressed in unusual clothing that stood out like a sore thumb among the sea of graduation gowns. Who are they? Yozora thought, a gnawing sense of dread creeping in. Something’s wrong.

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His grip tightened on the podium, knuckles white. "T!" he whispered under his breath, his voice barely audible. “Do you feel that?”

T.LAC, standing nearby, blinked out of his daydream and subtly shifted his gaze. His usually casual demeanor melted away as he squinted, spotting the strange figures Yozora was talking about. “Yeah,” he muttered, his muscles tensing. “Those guys in the back... they’re Tuners.”

Yozora’s heart sank. His gut told him something was about to happen—something terrible. The carefree laughter of the graduates around him suddenly felt fragile, like glass waiting to shatter. The sea of students looked at Yozora with growing confusion, sensing his unease. His speech faltered, and whispers rippled through the crowd. What’s going on? Is he okay? their faces seemed to ask.

Yozora’s eyes darted back to the figures in the back—only to find that they were gone.

Oh no. His blood ran cold. Where did they go?

Before he could react, the air around him seemed to crackle, and then the crowd erupted into screams. Panic surged like wildfire as the students began to scatter in every direction, their joyful expressions replaced by sheer terror.

"Yozora!" someone screamed from the crowd. "Behind you!"

T.LAC's eyes widened, frozen in place. “Zora!” he shouted, his voice filled with alarm. “Behind you?!”

Yozora spun around, but it was too late. A powerful blow struck him in the back, sending him flying across the stage and into the crowd of graduates like a ragdoll, bouncing off bodies and crashing through chairs. His body finally came to a halt as he slammed into a nearby hill. His mind spun, his vision blurred as pain radiated through every inch of his body.

Groaning, Yozora struggled to lift his head, his eyes darting across the scene in front of him. Students were running in all directions, some screaming, others frozen in shock. Several graduates lay on the ground, unmoving—lifeless.

This can’t be happening... Yozora’s mind raced as he tried to piece together what was going on. Who were those Tuners? What do they want?

He pushed himself up, ignoring the throbbing pain in his back, his heart pounding in his chest. The sound of chaos filled the air—shouts, sobs, and the growing horror of a peaceful graduation day turned into a nightmare. Yozora's instincts screamed at him to act.