Countdown to Zero [Completed] | sequel to One Miracle

Chapter 1-24

You know your book's long when wattpad crashes when you copy-paste it.

Also, this isn't finished, but maybe I'll continue sometime in the future!

Chapter 1

It was odd, to say the least. To know that his best friend was missing, and one of his closer friends was actively avoiding him all in one day; it should pose a shock to anyone on this planet.

However, Cahaya felt only relief. It lasted mere seconds, before his mind sprung back into action, thinking, why do I feel so relaxed? Everything's going to hell! He wanted to pull at his hair, to scream into an empty room, but he refrained.

"I must be going crazy," he repeated on loop, pacing around his empty dorm room in panic. "I'm going crazy, insane, psychotic, delirious—"

Solar sighed, shaking his head. "You're overthinking," he stated calmly, sitting on one of Cahaya's open textbooks. "You're just stressed out. Being calm when your duties are gone is completely logical."

Cahaya whipped to him, his hair in a frenzy and glasses tilted. "Petir is out there! And he's missing," he emphasised, glaring at his kwami. "Maybe Minte already got to him!"

Growling in frustration, he snatched the chocolate bar off his desk and bit into it, melted cocoa staining the sides of his mouth. Solar glared at him, expecting the sweet to be his for the taking.

The taste of velvety sugar seemed to calm him. He sighed heavily, wiping the stain from his mouth with the back of his palm.

"I need to get back to Rintis," he muttered, looking out the window. It was already night, and the moon was hung high in the sky.

Solar flipped a page, turning to the theories of dark matter. "How? You have school too."

Cahaya ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know," he grunted. "But I need to check on Pegasus and Terre. Maybe they found clues. Maybe Petir's just back at school and no one noticed his sorry face!"

Solar turned to his disgruntled master, to see him curled up in a ball, the chocolate bar in his hand almost dropping to the ground. He sighed, already used to the fact that his users were always cracking under unprecedented stress.

"Look, child, it's going to be all okay," he comforted him. "Besides, if Petir really did come back, then Pegasus should have texted you by now."

"He can't use phones in school! I have to go see myself!"

"Cahaya." Solar's voice turned serious. He hovered near Cahaya's face, glaring at him. "You're disorientated and you allowed this to happen to you. Remember: you're still Athena. You need to get yourself together, or Nightsong's going to take advantage of your panic."

Cahaya gulped, leaning away from his kwami. Solar can be scary if he wanted to.

Solar hovered back to the table, turning off the lights. "Get some sleep." He closed the textbook and zipped his pencil box shut. "You need it."

Cahaya didn't protest. Wordlessly, he closed the chocolate bar with the aluminium foil and put it away in the miniature freezer under his table. Without bothering to brush his teeth, he collapsed on the bed.

Solar stared at his master's silhouette for moments, waiting. Finally, soft snores emitted from him, which Solar sighed in relief.

He quietly flew over to the blanket. He used his claws to hold the sheets and covered Cahaya to keep warm. He then landed on the pillow and accompanied Cahaya to sleep.