The Nihilos: Trash Player Who Rewrote Reality

Sunday Night – Forest Campgrounds

The air was crisp and clean. A large clearing in the forest had been transformed into a cozy base camp. Lanterns hung from trees. Students laughed around their tents. A campfire blazed at the center, crackling gently under the night sky.

Ava sat cross-legged on a log, clutching a marshmallow stick, her cheeks pink from laughter. Nearby, Raven leaned back against a tree, quietly observing the cheerful chaos, while Sol sipped canned coffee, pretending not to be secretly enjoying the atmosphere.

"Raven!" Ava called. "You haven't roasted a single marshmallow!"

"I'm not seven," he replied.

"Then act your age and try something fun."

He sighed, took a stick from her, and held it over the fire with bored precision.

Ms. Hanami clapped her hands. "Alright, everyone! Let's start the campfire story circle! Who wants to go first?"

A dozen hands shot up.

---

One Hour Later

The fire dimmed slightly as the stories shifted from silly to eerie.

"…And when he opened the closet—there was nothing inside. But he could still hear the breathing," said one student dramatically.

The group clapped. Nervous giggles spread. Then, someone turned to Raven.

"Hey, what about you? Got a story?"

Ava grinned. "Oh, please tell one. You've got that 'I've seen stuff' look."

Raven looked up at the stars. Silent. Then said quietly:

"I had a friend… once. Younger than me. Bright. Curious. She wanted to be part of something bigger."

Ava blinked.

"She tried to follow me into a place I should've never entered. I told her not to… but I wasn't strong enough to stop her."

The fire flickered.

"She got lost. And I spent everything I had to find her again. Everything."

He looked down at his hands, where a marshmallow was slowly burning to ash.

"But in the end, even when I did… she didn't remember me."

The circle was quiet.

Ava stared at him, a marshmallow dropping from her stick.

Sol looked away.

Ms. Hanami, not quite understanding, clapped gently. "O-okay! That was… heavy. But thank you, Raven."

Raven stood up. "I'm going to walk."

He walked toward the woods' edge, hands in his pockets. The sky above glittered like a frozen ocean.

Ava started to follow, but Sol held her back.

"Let him be. That memory… fought back harder than he expected."

---

Later that Night – By the Lake

Raven sat by the still water, looking at his reflection.

"I chose this. To give her peace. So why does it still feel like I'm the one asleep?"

The water didn't answer.

But far behind him, Ava stood watching. Quietly. Smiling sadly.

And for that night, the monsters stayed away.