Chapter 19 – Saturday Dragonfruit Shake
I slept like a log last night, sinking so deep into the mattress that it felt like I hadn’t moved at all. By the time I finally stirred, the clock read eleven in the morning—just an hour before lunch.
Sunlight streamed through the open windows, mercilessly bathing my face in warmth. The golden rays crawled across my left cheek, leaving a heated tingle where they lingered. I’d completely forgotten to pull the curtains before bed, and now it felt like half of my face had been slow-roasted. Amazingly, even that wasn’t enough to wake me up.
Groggy, I dragged myself upright, the blanket slipping lazily off my body, and glanced at my phone on the desk. The screen lit up, revealing five unread messages—all from Myrrh. Each one sent at steady intervals, spaced between twenty and forty minutes.
Myrrh’s First Message: Good morning! How are you?
Myrrh’s Second Message: Rise and shine, hooligan!
Myrrh’s Third Message: Hey, why won’t you reply? I just want to check on you!
Myrrh’s Fourth Message: Zaft, please reply. I’m getting worried.
Myrrh’s Fifth Message: Are you still alive? It’s almost lunchtime. I will call you in ten minutes.
I rubbed my eyes and checked the timestamp on the last one. Just seven minutes ago. I knew Myrrh was probably on edge, thinking about what happened last night, but right now, I felt fine—completely normal, even. I flexed my fingers, watching them curl and uncurl smoothly, no lingering numbness or fog clouding my senses.
With a sigh, I typed out a reply, feeling slightly guilty for making her wait.
Me: Don’t be a worrywart. I’m completely fine now.
Barely a second passed before my phone buzzed with an almost immediate response.
Myrrh: Good. As much as I want you out of my life, I don’t want you dead. Be a good boy and rest up for the day.
I glanced at the calendar app on my phone and realized with a lazy smile—it was Saturday. No classes today, except for the unlucky few who had special internships or make-up lessons. For me, it was a rare day of freedom.
Suddenly, three quick knocks sounded at my door. I shot up from bed, still sluggish, and opened it to find Neil standing there. His deep-set eye bags and messy brown hair made it obvious he hadn’t gotten much sleep.
“Oh, Zaft. Morning—wait, is it still morning?” Neil asked, rubbing his eyes before flashing a tired grin. “Anyway, your partner was pretty worried about you. She texted me to check on you. How’re you feeling?”
“I’m good,” I said, forcing a casual tone. “I already texted Myrrh back. No need to worry, Neil.” I gave him a reassuring smile, but he wasn’t convinced.
Neil squinted, narrowing his eyes as if he could see through my façade. “You know, we were all pretty worried about you. When I went to get the campus medic, you’d disappeared.”
“I figured the best cure for whatever was going on was sleep,” I said, waving a hand dismissively. “So I came back here, crashed, and got a full eight hours. Sorry for making you guys worry.”
Neil studied me for a moment longer before finally smiling. “Well, as long as you’re okay now.”
Just as I opened my mouth to reply, a loud, guttural noise echoed through the dormitory hallway—a low rumble that sounded like a distant roar. I froze, wide-eyed, before realizing it wasn’t some Cosmic Beast causing the commotion. No, it was just my stomach, grumbling angrily from the lack of breakfast. I pressed a hand to my belly, feeling the acid gnaw at my insides, begging for food.
Neil smirked, clearly amused. “Good timing. I was just heading to the cafeteria for an early lunch. Let’s go.”
For my brunch, I went all out—a towering triple serving of fried chicken, each piece glistening with a crispy golden crust, accompanied by a large bowl of rich, steaming gravy. On the side were three heaping cups of rice, because I wasn’t planning on going hungry today.
Feeling a little adventurous, I ordered an exotic dragonfruit shake—vibrant pink, sweet with a subtle tang, and refreshing with every sip. Neil, on the other hand, kept things simple with a risotto. The cafeteria’s menu today was dominated by rice dishes, so our options were pretty limited.
As soon as we sat down, I wasted no time digging in. One cup of rice, one drumstick, and a long pull from my dragonfruit shake disappeared almost immediately. The shake was better than I expected—the blend of sweet and sour was perfect, and I was already thinking about getting another.
Neil raised an eyebrow as he watched my food vanish at lightning speed. “I didn’t know you were such a big eater, Zaft,” he said, forcing a half-smile. His gaze flickered to my almost-empty glass. “You could go easy on that steep dragonfruit shake—stuff doesn’t grow on trees... Wait, it actually does. So why the hell is it so expensive?”
I chuckled between bites, wiping a bit of gravy from my chin. “Well, this is my brunch. I need to refuel after last night. I spent a lot of energy fighting off those Cosmic Beasts.” ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ɴoᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt
Neil’s head snapped up. “Wait, wait—fought Cosmic Beasts?”
My stomach dropped. Crap. Why did I say that? I bit down on my tongue, as if punishing myself for slipping. Now I had to think fast.
“I-I mean, I didn’t fight them,” I stammered, trying to recover. “I had to run from them. Running away took a lot out of me, and I was dehydrated all night. By midnight, I was completely out of energy, which is why I felt so sick.”
“Damn. I haven’t even seen a Cosmic Beast in person,” Neil muttered, his tone tinged with frustration. “I’m itching to fight one as soon as possible, but us first years aren’t allowed to yet.”
“You seem eager to take them on,” I remarked, biting into my second piece of fried chicken, the gravy spilling over the crispy skin.
Neil gave a hollow laugh, his eyes clouding over. “Well, the Cosmic Beasts are the reason I don’t have a family anymore,” he said, his voice heavy with the weight of old wounds. His smile was thin and forced, his gaze distant, as if replaying a memory too painful to revisit. “During the Christmas Siege, one of those monsters trampled our house. I was lucky—just three broken ribs and a busted knee. But compared to what happened to my mom and dad…” He trailed off, eyes fixed on his hands.
It hit me then—Neil’s loss mirrored mine. We both survived the Cosmic Beast attacks during the Christmas Siege. But where I came out with only fading memories of my classmates and teachers who perished, Neil had lost everything that mattered. His family.
Neil clenched his fists, knuckles whitening as he stared hard at the table. “I swear, I’ll wipe out every single one of those aliens. Until there’s nothing left. That’s why I enrolled in Orbital Tech—to kill every last one of those wild animals.”
“Wow, edgy much?” I teased, trying to lighten the mood. “But hey, keep that fire going, and maybe one day you’ll get your wish.”
Neil chuckled, the tension easing from his posture. “You think so? Well, it’ll take years before we get a real shot at them, so until then, we’ve just gotta survive this place.”
“True,” I agreed, popping the last piece of chicken into my mouth and washing it down with a glass of water. As tempting as another dragonfruit shake was, Neil wasn’t wrong about the cost, so I resisted. “By the way, have you heard anything about the attack last night?”
“Just some rumors on social media,” Neil said, pulling out his phone and swiping through his feed. He tapped on a video and handed it over for me to see.
In the video, twelve Cosmic Beasts lumbered through a breach in the northern wall, a chaotic scene unfolding before my eyes. Among them, I recognized the hulking gorilla-type and the sinister bat-type Myrrh had taken down just the night before. The footage appeared to be pulled from a CCTV camera mounted high on the metropolis walls, the grainy image flickering to life just moments after the power had been restored.
“They’re saying the blackout last night was caused by the Archonlight Tower losing its barrier,” Neil explained, his voice laced with excitement. “Then, right after, the Cosmic Beasts crashed down from the sky like meteors. The timing is just too coincidental, and now most people think there’s something more going on. I smell a conspiracy brewing here.”
A chill crept up my spine as I pondered Neil's words. It felt undeniably orchestrated. Sure, two coincidences might still be within the realm of reason, but adding a third—a Frame Unit that had attempted to eliminate both Myrrh and me—was pushing it. That enigmatic WAIFU must have played a part in the chaos, though I had no clue who it could be.
The enemy WAIFU’s formidable loadout of twin gatling guns suggested they were likely from the upper years or possibly even a professional. The thought sent a shiver through me, a stark reminder of how outclassed we were.
Then, a horrifying realization struck me: last night, there had been a moment when that enemy WAIFU had aimed directly at me. Myrrh had saved me from the attack, but that only meant one thing—the enemy had seen my face and witnessed what I was capable of. If things escalated, it wasn’t just a matter of life and death; I could be captured and subjected to experiments for possessing the [Weapons of Mass Destruction Series].