Echoes of the Thirteen

Chapter One: The Rest of the girls

As a new transfer student, Lucas has just stepped into this mysterious boarding school, and he has a lot of questions about this school. After the first day of the induction ceremony, he was led to his classroom. There's something different about this classroom, something strange about it. The eyes of the students on the seat are very calm, but their eyes are a little empty. The head teacher has a gentle expression, but his expression always hides a deep alertness.

On the same day, the class teacher all the students a rule note, Lucas rules look at the rules. Lucas scanned the note and felt that some of the rules seemed outrageous, even overly harsh, especially the "there are only 13 girls in the class." From his first observations, there seemed to be fourteen girls in the class.

During his lunch break, he suddenly counted the number of girls in several classrooms, and it turned out that there were fourteen girls. Lucas remembered the rule the head teacher had said, and felt uneasy. He decided to raise the table to his deskmate, Noah. Noah warned him in a low voice, "Don't count, don't count." The tone indicated deep fear.

Lucas didn't give up. He kept watching. Over the next few days, he noticed more than once that the extra girls always appeared in inconspicuous places and didn't seem to belong in the classroom. However, when he returned to the classroom that day, he found that the girl had completely disappeared - not only the person, but also her position.

Why, the classmates around seemed to ignore the girl's eyes, and the head teacher's eyes swept over her without any abnormal reaction. Lucas felt strongly that an uneasy atmosphere hung over the classroom, as if the rules were watching him, even oppressing him. He began to wonder if what he saw was really true.

Chapter Two: The Smiling Doll

One day after school, Lucas was packing his bag when he noticed something in his desk: a doll in a red dress. The doll's expression was strange, blank and expressionless, yet its eyes moved as if it had been watching. Lucas recalls the rule - "There may be a doll in a red dress on the desk, but be aware that the doll does not smile, if you find a smile, please report it to the class teacher immediately."

Lucas initially thought this rule was ridiculous, but now he begins to wonder if he's actually encountered the toy. The more it faded, the more the chill in Lucas's heart deepened. Not daring to make a move, he decided to ignore the toy and put it back on his desk, thinking it was just a harmless object.

However, as time passes, Lucas discovers that the doll is no longer the expressionless toy he remembers. One night, he worked overtime in the classroom to do his homework, and by chance, he opened his desk again. The toy was gone, but suddenly from the top of the desk a trace of harmful laughter rang out. Lucas looks up and is stunned - the doll's smile actually appears, and the smile gets weirder and weirder.

Lucas immediately reported the matter to his class teacher. The head teacher's face changed when he heard this, but he soon recovered his composure and led him back to his desk. However, when they reached the table, the doll had disappeared without a trace. The head teacher just looked at him deeply, with a complicated look and no words. At this point, she posted a new rule note on Lucas' class, legible and secretly threatening.

"If you find the doll laughing, you should not only report it to the class teacher, but also follow the new rule: keep silent."

Lucas feels a pinch, as if he has been caught up in an inexplicable cycle of horror.

Chapter Three: The Bell and the Missing Classmate

In the afternoon, Lucas and his classmates are getting ready for their first physics class. The moment the bell rang, the classroom was quickly quiet and everyone sat back down to their seats. Instead, Lucas found himself standing at the door of the classroom, not sitting back in his seat.

He was stunned and suddenly found that he had heard the bell when he entered the classroom, and the bell had ended. He hurried to his seat.

Looking around, his classmates saw that he was cold and did not react at all. Next, Kevin entered the classroom, seemingly arriving a second later than he did. But when Kevin stepped into the classroom, Kevin suddenly disappeared and never appeared in the classroom again. He saw that the tables and chairs were still there, but it was as if nothing had ever happened, as if Kevin had never existed.

Lucas was speechless for a moment and stood there perplexed. The companions around him remained silent and motionless. The class teacher did not wait for anger, nor did he make any reaction, but his eyes were complicated to sweep over him, as if in his reaction. Lucas couldn't understand why no one was surprised, and the strange silence sent a chill down his spine.

He realized that some things in this school were definitely the same, whether it was the rules or the missing classmates. The whole classroom seemed to follow an unbreakable law, and he was swimming along this invisible line.

Chapter Four: Trapped Night

Studying at night, Lucas is used to lonely homework hours. The classroom was quiet that day, all the students were concentrating on their homework, and he was no exception. Suddenly, a note appeared on his desk. It read:

"By ten o 'clock, early departure."

Lucas looked around at his classmates. They were still unresponsive. He could not help but be depressed, recalling the rule in his mind: "The evening self-study ends at 10 o 'clock, and no one is allowed to leave early." This rule has always been deeply imprinted on him.

He wondered to himself what would have happened if he had left early. Is it going to be like Kevin, who just disappeared? Or will he be punished in some way? He felt a strong sense of unease, but he decided to give it a try.

When the ten o 'clock bell rang, Lucas promptly stood up and prepared to leave. However, he found that everyone in the classroom was still immersed in their homework except himself, and no one got up. As soon as he stepped out of the classroom, he felt a strange chill on his face.

As he neared the classroom door, he suddenly heard a sound of paper turning inside.

With a jump in his heart, the voice came closer and closer, as if the whole classroom of papers were beside him. He jerked back, but saw nothing but an empty hallway, with the classroom door similarly closed, and nothing unusual.

A deep fear fills Lucas: Can he escape the unknown horror game?

Lucas didn't leave the classroom after all.

Chapter Five: Temptation and Death

It has become increasingly clear to Lucas that these rules are not simply behavioral constraints, but symbols of some mystical power. Each time he crosses the boundaries of the rules, he is met with greater fear and mysterious punishment. Despite his attempts to find a breakthrough, it seems that whenever he begins to doubt and challenge the rules, he gets an inexplicable signal of strength that pulls him back to square one.

This time, however, the lure of the rules came from an unexpected place - his classmates.

During study that night, Lucas decided not to simply follow the rules, but to carefully observe the behavior of the rest of the class. He found that several of his classmates, I don't know when, seemed to have found some way of "breaking the rules," and they completely lost any reverence for the rules.

One of the students, Gabriel, is outwardly calm, but his behavior becomes increasingly suspicious to Lucas. Gabriel often whispered to Lucas when the other students weren't looking. He told Lucas that the rules in the tutorial are not as strict as they seem, "in fact, some rules can be broken if you try."

Lucas had heard many times about Gabriel's "special" abilities, and it was rumored that he had been able to overcome certain restrictions in the classroom, and even managed to escape from an accident at night. But every time you ask him exactly what he did, Gabriel is vague and just gives a sneer, as if to tell Lucas that breaking all the rules is possible if he dares to take that step.

That day, Gabriel came to Lucas's desk again and whispered, "Do you believe me? You can change your destiny, break through the limits above. If you don't try, you'll never know." There was something strange in his eyes, and Lucas couldn't resist it. He knew that he could no longer follow the rules that made him feel crazy, that he could no longer be their slave.

So Lucas made a decision in his heart, and together with Gabriel, he decided to push through the impossible boundaries of that skin.

Gabriel suddenly gestured to the door of the classroom, "You left early today, we'll meet you in the cafeteria and see if anything happens." You will find that the rules are not as old as you think. You just get up and walk out that door, and the whole world will make way for you."

Lucas is filled with doubts, but he decides that since the rules have never made him feel free, why not challenge them once?

He stood up and went to the door of the classroom. The moment his hand touched the door, he suddenly felt a strong sense of unease. He could almost hear the eyes of all the students in the room coming together. Everyone seemed to be watching him in silence. That look was not only cold, but even a kind of unspeakable fear.

But Lucas decided to keep going. The door turned briefly, opened slightly, and he took his first step.

The next second, time seemed to freeze.

A strong electric flu hit the whole body, he felt his body out of control, consciousness as if being suppressed by a huge force, began to gradually blur. Everything around him became blurred, as if he had entered some unknown dark abyss.

Then his eyes went dark and the whole world vanished.

Death and Resurrection

It was dark around Lucas, and there was no sound around him, as if he had entered an eternal silence. I do not know how long after, he suddenly felt his body began to regain consciousness, limbs began to gradually scythe. As he regained consciousness, his eyes snapped open.

He was back in the familiar classroom, back to that day.

Time went back to before his mistake - he was ready to return to his seat, ready to follow the rules.

However, he soon realizes that he has not simply traveled back in time, but to the day he died. Now he was in the moment before his death, and everything around him was the same as the last time he had seen it, even everyone and every scene in the classroom seemed to be frozen in time.

Lucas slowly rose to his feet, his heart racing. He looked around to make sure that he hadn't changed anything, knowing full well that he had just experienced death. He died, but he was brought back to life by the rules.

Is this the punishment of the rules, or the reincarnation of the rules?

He did not know, but he knew that now he was no longer an ignorant bystander. Perhaps he is already part of the rules and has gone down that path that cannot really be.

Seeds of truth

By this time, Lucas was no longer at a loss. The result, he realized, was not pure punishment, but an unspeakable force at work. He was reborn, perhaps because the power of the rules had given him a certain mission, or perhaps because the rules had outlived the purpose he understood.

Gabriel's words and provocations toward him may not have been meaningless. Every rule implies some deep meaning, and the more it is violated, it seems to approximate the "truth" of this rule.

Lucas has once again decided to challenge a rule - but this time, he won't be as blind as he was last time. He wants to unravel the truth of the game in a calmer, more rational way.

He knows, however, that the road will not be easy. Every challenge brings a new death, a new resurrection. And in the end, can he escape the rules? Or will he, like his classmates who have disappeared, be forever lost in the captivity of this rule?

Time does not stand still, and fate seems to have arranged his next step - he will try again.

The clue in the cafeteria

Lucas stands in the classroom of familiar moments and realizes that he has returned to the "before death". He felt an unspeakable pressure, as if everything was waiting for him to uncover the truth of the game. He understands that he is not simply resurrected, but brought back to a critical moment, a boundary that must be breached.

At this point, Lucas lowered his head and clenched his textbook. He began to have a strong intuition that if he was going to solve the mystery, the canteen Gabriel had mentioned might be a key clue, maybe it would give him some answers.

The secret of the canteen

At lunchtime, Lucas immediately walks into the school cafeteria. The canteen was as usual, with the smell of food and the noise of students filling the space. But in Lucas's eyes, it's all like a layer of atmosphere. He knew that this original canteen might be hiding some dark secret.

He walked to the dining area, picked out a few items, and found an empty seat. However, instead of immediately starting to eat, he began to observe. He noticed that gestures and details that often went unnoticed seemed to hold clues. How did an ordinary canteen become a key location to solve the mystery?

The students on the opposite side remained undaunted and continued to eat food and talk to each other. Lucas's vision, however, does not automatically symbolize a place that is purple in the cafeteria. It was an ordinary dining table, but on the wall above the table, there was a strange slogan that only he had noticed: "Cross the line at your own peril."

The words gave him a shock. This rule, it seems, is not the limit of the classroom, it should be in every corner of the school, and constantly remind students that challenging the rules will bring consequences that cannot be ignored.

Lucas stood up and walked over to the placard. There was nothing special about the turn, except for the warning, just a simple brush and a few bits of paint. Suddenly, however, his eyes were drawn by a tiny gap - a gap that seemed unnatural, as if it were man-made.

Structure in fracture

He reached out his hand and gently stroked the gap, sensing something hidden behind the wall. Lucas pushed hard, felt the gap slightly open, and found a hidden drawer.

He put it in the back of the drawer and gently pulled it open. There was no food in it, no ordinary everyday things, just an old notebook. Lucas looked around to make sure no one was noticing him, then carefully picked up his notebook and sat back down in his seat.

There was no mark on the cover of the notebook, and the paper was yellowish, as if it had been hidden for a long time. Lucas opens the first page and is shocked by what he finds inside - records that seem to describe some unknown history of the school. The most striking of these pages is a detailed list of several contents that hide hidden "rules".

As he flips through the pages, the rules in front of him tighten his mind:

1. "In the cafeteria, every once in a while, one of the students will volunteer to join the rule enforcers. Only they can bridge the gap between the rules. Selected students will not be able to leave."

2. "In the canteen, if there is food that does not meet the standard of the rules, please try it. Food is one of the forces behind the rules."

3. "If you want to challenge the rules, you have to choose the right time. If you disobey the time, the consequences will be very serious."

These rules struck Lucas. He looked at the words and suddenly realized that he seemed to be part of the rules. These rules don't just constrain their behavior, they act as if they are conscious, and everything already exists on the controller.

The back of the canteen

Lucas continues to scroll through his notebook and finds a photograph of several teachers and a group of extremely pale looking students in the middle, in the background of another classroom at the school. On the back of the photo was a small line: "These students have become masters of the rules, and only they know the secrets behind the rules."

At this time, Lucas flashed an idea in his mind, those disappeared students, care to become the "enforcement" of the rules? If that's the case, could the same fate have befallen the disappeared students he met, Kevin and others? They are "absorbed" by the rules, become the new enforcers, and cannot return.

In this moment, Lucas seems to have solved a huge mystery: the rules are not rigid, but a dynamic force that constantly cultivates new students to serve as its "spokespersons." And these "spokespersons" have to continue to maintain order in our schools according to the requirements of the rules.

First reveal the truth

Lucas stood up, thinking. What's going on in the cafeteria is clearly more than just a superficial rule. There is a deeper purpose behind it - rules are not inherently restrictive, they are a great controlling force, controlling the fate of each student.

He stuffed his notebook into his bag and decided to find out more. Next, he must be more careful to challenge the rules and find a real breakthrough.

Lucas understands that the canteen is more than just a place to eat, it is the core of rule-compatibility, a bridge between death and rebirth, past and future. Now he's on the other side of that bridge, understanding the hidden truths behind the starting rules.

Chapter 6: The Truth of the rules

Lucas's heart is heavy and complicated, just out of the cafeteria, the doubts in his heart more and more deep. He realized that the rules of the school were not just tools for managing order, but hid a terrible secret of control. Every death and resurrection, every break from the rules, exposed him to a deep power, a power beyond his initial imagination, as if he was everything.

He delves into the truth behind it. Talking to other former students, he picks up bits and pieces of the school's history, but they're enough to explain what he's been through. Until one day, he stumbled into the school library and was drawn to a dusty filing cabinet in a corner.

When he opens one of the yellowed documents, he is shocked to discover a startling secret - the tragic deaths of thirteen girls, and the true origin of the school's rules.

The deaths of 13 girls

The archives record a little-known historical event - a few years ago, principal Harrison's power almost covered the entire school, he took advantage of his position, some students to conduct unspeakable behavior. However, when thirteen brave girls come forward to rule, the headmaster's brutality reaches upstream. They refused to give in and protested, but were punished severely. The principal kept the girls in secret, eventually causing a deadly fire one night.

When the fire broke out, the thirteen girls were confined in the abandoned building, unable to escape. The fire killed their bodies, but their souls did not disappear, but turned into endless resentment and pain. These wronged souls, trapped in the school, they cannot rest, their temple of pain and anger has become the rule of the school.

The rules are not to administer order, but to seal their souls. Every rule carries their pain, and every time a student breaks the rule, she becomes a part of the rule - dead and alive, trapped in this school forever.

The death of the principal and the formation of the rules

What was shocking, however, was that Harrison had died years earlier. The cause of his death is unknown, but it is rumored that he suffered a great deal of retribution in an incident with girls. The headmaster died, and although his leadership of the school was over, these rules foreshadowed his influence. The girls' souls are trapped in the school and become invisible conductors, giving the rules irresistible force.

These rules, not to govern, but to seal. The girls, who once resisted, became the enforcers of the rules, drawing on the life force of each wrongdoer, reshaping the rules and sending them into a cycle of death and rebirth.

But the problem does not end there. Rules do not form spontaneously. One of the key players is Gabriel. He was once an excellent student at the school, and after a series of reincarnation, he gradually became an accomplice of the rules. He also encountered death and resurrection like the other students, until he encountered those trapped souls who lured him with invisible powers. They told him that only by working for the rules could he escape his destiny.

Seduced, Gabriel accepts the girls' demands and becomes their accomplice, starting to help enforce the rules and find more students who break them. Although he lost himself many times, his dependence on rules and his desire for freedom caused him to gradually abandon his original conscience.

The origin and resurrection of rules

Lucas finally pieced together the truth - ** These rules are not simply governing terms, but a powerful force composed of 13 girls' grievances and unwillingness. ** Their souls are trapped, and every time a student rebels against the school or breaks the rules, the girls' souls are resurrected by the power of the rules, the pain and anger of their town.

Chapter 7: The Final Showdown

The showdown with Gabriel

Lucas knows that he must confront Gabriel, who, like him, was once a victim of the rule, but has finally won its enforcer and accomplice. Only by defeating Gabriel can we really get to the heart of the rules and break it all in the first place.

He begins to watch Gabriel carefully, uncovering bits of his rule-rigged past. Gabriel's transformation and corruption did not happen overnight, but through numerous deaths and rebirths that transformed him from a good student to a servant of the rules. With each resurrection, Gabriel's humanity gradually disappears, and he is no longer the idealistic teenager he was, but a tool bound by rules.

This time, Lucas is finally on the opposite side of Gabriel, facing the upcoming final showdown, Lucas is finally healed, and the fight is not only to escape the school, but also to save the souls trapped here, including Gabriel himself.

The showdown with Gabriel

In the cursed school, the air was heavy and weighed down ominously. Lucas stands at the end of a darkened hallway, facing his old enemy, Gabriel. He used to be a student who fought alongside him, but now he has become a complete accomplice of the rules, swallowed up by the rules and the grievances of those girls.

Gabriel's figure appeared at the other end of the corridor, wearing a tattered school uniform, with no expression on his face and an unfathomable cold light in his eyes. He walked over to Lucas, steady and determined. Every step is like stepping on Lucas's heart, making him feel heavy oppression.

"Here you are at last." There was not a ripple in Gabriel's voice, as if he had anticipated this moment. "I know you'll come here and break everything, but you'll never understand the true power of rules."

Lucas clenched his fist and a strong sense of determination rose in his heart. "You're wrong, Gabriel. You're nothing but a puppet manipulated by the rules. I will not let it continue."

The battle is imminent.

First encounter

Gabriel suddenly speeds up and lunges at Lucas, moving like a cheetah. He was faster than ever before, even with a supernormal power, which was not what he had been before, but the rules had given him the power of terror.

Lucas quickly backed away, nimbly dodging Gabriel's pouncing, feeling a strong gust of wind. He turns quickly and prepares to fight back, only to be overwhelmed by Gabriel's speed. Gabriel grabs Lucas by the shoulders and hurls him against the wall.

"Do you think you can break all this?" Gabriel's voice was icy. "You're just a man trying to defy fate, and fate is inescapable."

Lucas fell to the ground with a sharp pain in his chest, but he fought it off and quickly got up, his eyes steely. "It's not fate. It's a yoke that you and the rules have imposed on us." "He said, his eyes as firm as steel.

Power versus consciousness

As the battle continues, Lucas feels the change in Gabriel, and each attack is not only a physical blow, but also an emotional one. Gabriel's breath grew stronger and stronger, and each punch seemed to be thrown with a cursing force intended to break Lucas's will.

But Lucas has long since decided not to be afraid. He began to slowly master his own rhythm, each time dodging and counterattacking more accurately, he no longer competed with Gabriel's strength, but with his will confrontation.

After a violent collision, Gabriel takes a few steps back and seems to feel Lucas's change as well. Gabriel's eyes flicker with unease, but then he sneers, "You can never beat the rules, Lucas." It's part of us."

Gabriel stepped back and raised his hands high, as if summoning the power of the school's rules. He channeled the invisible energy that wanted the rules to reshape the world, forcing Lucas to his death.

However, Lucas no longer holds back, he feels the strength from deep within himself, as if he sees the spirits of 13 girls silently watching him behind his back. The force made him instantly aware that the rules were not invincible, and he could destroy them.

Lucas lands on his feet, takes a deep breath, gathers all his strength, and lunges at Gabriel.

Final duel

Lucas is no longer just fighting for survival, his eyes are as firm as iron, and he is determined to destroy not only Gabriel, but the deep curse that imposed these rules. ** He gathered all his anger and determination in his fist.

He throws a lightning punch that hits Gabriel in the chest, sending him flying several meters and slamming into the wall. Gabriel breathes heavily, as if aware, but still with a sneer in his eyes.

"You don't understand," Gabriel says, slowly getting to his feet. "These rules can't be broken. They're beyond our control."

Lucas quickly closes in and grabs Gabriel by the shoulder with a resolute twinkle in his eye: "The rules are dead, but we are alive, and we have a choice."

At the moment the words fall, Lucas uses his final strength to pin Gabriel to the ground and hold him firmly in his hands. At the same time, the rules of the school begin to change drastically, and all the souls trapped in the school begin to howl, and the power of the rules gradually begins to collapse.

With a flash of panic in his eyes, Gabriel struggles to free himself from Lucas, but his powers are no longer strong. Lucas finally sees the moment of fear in Gabriel's eyes - he knows he has failed, that the rules can no longer control the world.

Ultimate collapse

For the final blow, Lucas gathers all his strength in his hands and smashes Gabriel in the chest, knocking him out. At that moment, the last vestiges of the rule began to break down, the school air suddenly became fresh, and the sense of oppression disappeared.

Gabriel fell to the ground, his eyes blurred, as if the world he once lived in had completely collapsed. Finally, he whispered, "You win..." He closed his eyes and completely lost the ability to resist.

With Gabriel's fall, the rules of the school begin to crumble, and the power that once bound so many souls begins to disappear. The souls of the thirteen girls were finally laid to rest, and their resentment and bitterness dissipated. All the students who have risen from the dead are also freed, and they are no longer slaves to the rules, but free souls.

Lucas stood there and took a deep breath, exhausted but at peace with himself. He finally broke the loop and freed countless trapped souls.

However, the school's story is not quite over. Lucas knows that, but at least he laid 13 girls' souls to rest.