Niche wakes up gasping and sweating in his bed. His body feels warmer than it should be, and his hands are burning holes in the sheets. He looks at his night shelf that holds his alarm, a turned-off lamp, and his phone.
Picking up his phone, he tries calling his dad. Straight to voicemail.
Residential District Streets, Present
Mr. Sutori stands among unconscious shifters. His breath is visible in the cold air as he tries to recover from fatigue.
Movement in the shadows. The same shifter who stalked Niche earlier stands in front of Niche’s father, leaning on the side of a building, his details hidden by the darkness of the alleyway.
"Finally," Mr. Sutori says. "You’ve decided to come out of hiding."
Jupiter stands upright, swiftly dashing over to the tired man with a strike. Mr. Sutori raises his hand. Everything freezes - the Boss mid-stride, debris floating, a stray cat suspended mid-leap.
“Like a typical prey, coming out of hiding was your fatal mistake.” Mr. Sutori shakingly stands up, limping toward the frozen shifter. "Sending coworkers after my son. Bad mistake."
He reaches for the frozen man. His eyes narrow as he sees a smirk appearing on Jupiter’s face.
The Boss shifter's form ripples, still frozen but wrong. Like time can't hold him properly.
"Borrowed power," the Boss says through slow moving lips. "always defeats talent.” He now moves fluidly through the empty space. “It just takes a lot of practice."
The next second, Boss is already behind Mr. Sutori, wrapping a rope around his wrists and jabbing a needle into his neck.
"Your son has what I need. Let's see if he values family."
Mr. Sutori collapses completely incapacitated. The Boss drags him away, form finally stabilizing into something almost human.
The empty lot remains silent. Other shifters still unconscious. No witnesses.
Niche’s Room, 3 AM, Present
Niche paces back and forth in his room, not anxious, but just thinking.
A notification buzzes his phone. He checks it. 3 AM. One notification: “June 27, happy 16th birthday!”
He hears something downstairs gradually getting closer. Footsteps? He creeps to his door and listens. Scratching on the door.
It’s nothing, just the cat.
He lets her into the room.
I’m getting worked up over nothing. That was just a random dream, nothing more.
His cat winds around his legs, meowing insistently.
"Not now," Niche mutters, redialing.
The cat jumps on the counter, batting at his phone.
"What is your problem?"
He picks her up to move her. She's heavier than usual.
“Why are you so…heavy? How much food has Mika been feeding you?”
Fat ass cat. I should go to sleep, I got school tomorrow. Or maybe…no. I have to sleep now.
Sitting in his bed, Niche repeats one phrase to himself until he falls asleep.
It was just a dream.
Niche’s House, Morning, Present
Niche wakes up and goes downstairs.
What a strange dream. I never make omurice in the morning on weekdays; I don’t have enough time before school.
Something slips under the front door.
What the hell? That also happened in my dream, but at least this door is closed this time.
Niche picks up the note to read it. After he opens it, he notices a strange symbol stamped onto the bottom corner of the note.
“Dinner was lovely. 9 PM tomorrow. Remember. Don't be late. -J" the note reads.
What the fuck? That stupid “J” guy again. Either I’m still in the same dream or my dream yesterday was actually real.
Lost in thought, Niche phone rings. Unknown number.
"Hello?" Niche asks.
"Is this Nishihara?" a woman's voice, official sounding.
"Yes?"
"This is Detective Yamada. I hate that we have to meet again like this, Niche, but your father didn't show up for work.”
Yamada. I remember her. Isn’t she dad’s coworker? Why does she care that he’s out of work today?
“One missed day shouldn’t mean anything, right? Maybe he slept in,” Niche worriedly says.
“Niche,” she replies calmly. “Has your father ever missed a day of work?”
Silence.
She continues, “The work your dad does…when one of us is absent, it usually means something tragic has happened. In our job, you don’t just miss work because you have a cold. Anyways, we need you to come to the station. We're sending a car."
Niche hangs up, confused. Through the window, he sees a police car already outside. Two officers walk up his driveway. Something feels wrong.
How did they get here so fast?
He opens the door before they knock.
"I just got the call. I'll come with—"
"Nishihara Sutori?" The officer's tone is cold.
"Yes?"
"You're under arrest for suspected involvement in your father's disappearance."
"What? I just found out—"
"Save it for interrogation." One says as the other pulls out handcuffs.
As they cuff him, Niche notices something strange about these men. The officers have small tattoos on their wrists. The same symbol that was on the letter.
???, Present
At a station in the middle of nowhere, - at least that’s where Niche thinks he is - they lead Niche past regular holding cells to a basement level he didn't know existed. The "interrogation room" looks more like a dining room.
"This isn't a normal police station, is it?" Niche asks.
The interrogator enters. "Very perceptive. No, it's not.” The man signals to a chair. “Sit down, please.”
Niche takes a seat at one end of the long dining table. The interrogator sits at the other end. Silence.
“So…” Niche starts. “Why am I here?”
“I know your secret, Nishihara,” he replies.
“Uh…what?”
“I also know you’ve experienced some signs.”
“What are you talking about?”
"I think you know very well. Recently, you have noticed some signs that might indicate your potential involvement in the merging. Listen very carefully. You will listen to everything I say, and you will follow these instructions EXACTLY as I say them.” He holds up a sheet of paper filled with text. “Do you agree to comply with these orders?"
“Of course not! I don’t need to listen to you.”
"Before you decide…” the interrogator says, a grin appearing on his face. “I feel it is necessary to add that refusal to comply will result in your immediate execution.”
“WHAT?! How is that fair? Who even decided that?!”
“If you don’t want to die, you can just accept,” the man replies.
Seems pretty fair to me, the interrogator thinks.
“THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!” Niche shouts from the other side of the long table, now just a mosquito in the interrogators ear.
The interrogator slides the piece of paper across the table to Niche.“Have a look. Might not be as bad as you think.”
Niche reads the paper.
“The instructions are as follows:
(First some rules!)
- Talking about this ability of yours is strictly forbidden.
- You will not use your power unless instructed by me exclusively.
- You will comply with all of my demands regarding the merging.
- I will monitor you at all times, and you will not be unsupervised under any circumstances.
- Failure to follow these rules will result in death.
Instructions:
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
- On the assigned date, you will meet up with me at noon.
- You will look at the sun and read off the chant I will give to you.
- This will initiate a transformation.
- You will not move or resist until the process is complete.
- After, you will be freed.”
“Do you wish to comply?” Interrogator inquires, interrupting Niche thoughts. Oblivious, the man continues, “Most of these things aren’t necessary, but it will save us a lot of headache. We could always force most of this, but it would be a bother. For example, you don’t have to do the silly chant, but then we’d have to force the merging, and that wouldn’t be very fun for you.”
Niche thinks, then replies firmly. “I’ll do all this bullshit on one condition.”
“I’m listening.”
“I’ll do whatever you want…if you first agree to leave me alone for a week.”
Niche looks at the interrogator's face for any reaction. Finding none, the boy continues, “Then, I will do as you say.”
“I think our work here is done, then. Please come here in exactly one week.”
The man gets up to leave but is interrupted by Niche, who, just now realizing what he agreed to, frantically tries to prolong the conversation to collect more information.
“Well, how the hell do I get to this place? I don’t even know where we are.”“Niche. You know… where your dad works, right?” he asks smugly.
No fucking way. I’ve been under my dad’s office building this whole time.
“Hopefully, you know your way here. Upon arrival,” the man continues, “tell your name to the receptionist. She’ll know where to take you – you are kind of a celebrity around this place. It’s rare for something as interesting as you ever happens around here.”
City Streets, Present
Niche is let out of the station, reorienting himself to the familiar environment as he walks out.
What the fuck did I just get myself into? I don’t even know what the merging is, but whatever it is, it sounded painful. Does this guy expect me to come back in a week just for him to experiment and kill me?
Okay, think. What do I know about this whole thing?
I remember seven days. That's what they gave me. But whose days?
The sun doesn't follow human time. Neither do gods or whatever these beings are, like that guy in my dream. I’m sure he’s somehow connected to this interrogator.
Creation says seven days, but scientists say that could mean billions of years. Was the flood forty days and nights? Geological evidence suggests longer.
So maybe their “seven days” isn't our seven days. Maybe it's metaphorical. Symbolic.
When beings that exist outside normal time say “days,” they might mean something completely different. Shit, he tricked me. Or maybe…he didn’t? If he did mean longer than seven actual days, why would he have given me more time? Maybe he felt bad for me? I might have longer or shorter, but probably not exactly 168 hours.
Don’t assume their timeline matches ours. Watch for other signs of when it's really ending.
Residential District Streets, Present
Niche’s walk back to his house quickly took him far.
Didn’t I have school today? What time is it?
He reaches in his pocket, just to find it empty.
Where is my phone? Maybe…
He looks up at the sun.
What am I doing? I don’t know how to tell time with the sun. it could be anytime from noon to 3 PM.
Niche’s House, Present
Stretching across his bed, Niche’s room feels different now. Smaller. Like the walls know he's going to die in seven days.
He’s still in the clothes they arrested him in. There's dried blood on his collar from where the handcuffs cut his wrists. He should change. Should shower. Should do something. He remembers the sword.
Boredom getting to him, he pulls it out and throws it on his bed.
"So," he finally says. "You're supposed to guide me?"
Silence.
"At least talk to me. I’m so bored, and everyone interesting is at school right now. I know you can talk. What, you want me to torture the words out of you?”
More silence.
“Great. Even my magical sword thinks I'm not worth the effort."
"You're being dramatic," Raizen says, voice dry as sand.
Niche jumps. "Fuck. So you were just... what, testing me?"
"I was waiting for you to stop whining."
"I wasn't—" Niche stops. Takes a breath. "Fine. Whatever."
"Better."
Niche sits back down. "I need to figure out what the hell I’m even supposed to do. Jupiter yesterday mentioned an extraction, and the guy today said I need to look at the sun. Maybe I’m supposed to be extracting the sun? But what would that have to do with me, and why would I be the interesting one the interrogator was talking about? Why do I specifically have to extract the sun?” Niche looks at the sword. “Hey, I’m talking to you, you know? I’m not just talking to myself. Do you know anything about this, sword?”
“I have a name. It’s Raizen. Also, I’m not your little ‘buddy,’ so I don’t know why you expect me to figure it out.”
“That theory seems the most likely to me, at least for now.”
“Great.”
“But…there’s one thing I can’t get off my mind. The interrogator seemed so certain about everything. It’s like he’s done this whole thing before. He had rules and instructions, and half of them didn’t even make sense. There must’ve been others before me that did some things for him to even include those rules, right?”
Raizen’s voice lightens up for the first time, “Ah, we got a detective here. Yeah kid, you’re right. There were others before you who did this, and the extractions all worked. That’s basically my job. I’m here to help you complete the extraction. We call it the merging, but it doesn’t really matter.”
“That’s a crazy coincidence, then. How did my dad manage to give you to me? Did he do the extraction before?”
Raizen’s tone immediately drops to serious and slightly melancholy. “No, kid. People who complete it…they don’t stay here.”
“They die?”
“Not necessarily, but they don’t continue with their life how they have.”
“What happens to them? And also, why am I doing this merging? Was it just a random choice, or was I chosen for it?”
Raizen doesn’t answer.
“I see. You can’t answer that. Well, I know what I could do. The merging, giving myself to the sun. But I don't want to follow that path."
"So don't."
"That's it? That's your guidance?"
"You have a plan, don't you? To fix the sun."
“What do you mean?”
“Well, the merging doesn’t happen for no reason, right?” Raizen’s boredom gets to him, and he monotonously explains the rest.
I’m not doing it with this kid forever. He’s gonna want to know everything and it’ll take him ages to figure it out. I’ll just explain it to him, Raizen thinks.
“The reason is that the sun is unstable,” Raizen continues. “The merging happens to restabilize the sun. There. I just saved you four days of research and discovery. How about it, detective?”
“You seem to know a lot about this whole process, Raizen. Why don’t you help me with it? I know your goal is to help people complete it, but who decided that? Are those weird shifter people making you do it?”
“I’m a sword. They can’t make me do anything. I do this because I want to. But you do have a point; this has gotten boring over the years.”
“Why don’t you help me then, Raizen?”
"I guess that could be a change. I'd rather not sit through another failed bearer." The cat's tail flicks once. "Besides, watching you struggle might be entertaining."
“If you help me, I could like, free you maybe.”
“Free me?” he chuckles. “You think I was forced into this? I can move around whenever I want. Thanks for the offer, but I don’t need your saving, ‘knight in shining armor.’ I choose this form on purpose, you know.”
Niche stares at his cat. Something about how still she's sitting. How her eyes track his movement in perfect sync with the sword's presence.
"Wait." He looks between the blade and the cat. "Are you...?"
The cat stretches, hops off the desk. Just a normal cat again.
Raizen's voice from the sword sounds amused: “Sometimes a sword gets boring, so I tend to switch forms from time to time."
"You've been my cat."
"A physical extension, yes. Easier to keep watch. More comfortable for long conversations." The cat curls up on his bed, eyes closed. "Don't think too hard about it."
"How long?" Niche asks.
"Your whole life, essentially."
Niche's stomach drops. "My whole—"
"You'd been asking for a pet. Your parents kept saying no. Then one day, there I was in the yard.”
The cat rolls onto its back, paws in the air.
The sword continues: "You snuck me food. Hid me in your room. You thought your parents had gotten it for you, and they thought you were being rebellious, and so they gave in. It’s a lot easier than you think to sneak yourself anywhere as an animal when you’re a conscious being."
"You've been watching me since I was eight."
"I guess you can say that." Raizen's tone shifts, more serious. "I’m more of a ‘glass half full’ kind of guy, so I’d say I was protecting you. The bearers before you didn't have guidance until it was too late. Takeshi found his sword at fifteen and merged at sixteen. The one before him lasted three months."
"So you decided to... what, raise me?"
"Every bearer thinks they can break the cycle through power alone. They're wrong. You need to understand the game before you can win it."
“And the others also wanted to break free? They tried to rebel also?”
“You just answered your question from earlier.”
“What?”
“You asked if you were chosen for this. I guess now you know you’re not so different from most people.”
Niche sits heavily on his bed. The cat immediately climbs into his lap, purring.
"So…are you gonna stay as my cat?” Niche asks.
"Yes," Raizen agrees simply. "It’s necessary. Would you rather I appeared today as a stranger? Would you trust me enough to listen?"
Silence.
"The cat stays a cat," Niche says finally. "Don't make it weird."
"Agreed. Though technically, I'm not 'making' anything. This form is as much me as the sword is.”
The cat curls up, eyes closing. Just a pet again. But Niche can't unsee it now.
"All those times I talked to you about school, about..." Niche trails off.
"I was listening. As a cat should."
Niche sits heavily on his bed, still processing. The cat curls up beside him, purring.
"So, you've been preparing me for this. To be the sun bearer."
"Yes."
"And in seven days, I either merge with the sun or everyone dies?"
"That's the pattern. You know, you take a lot longer than most other bearers to comprehend this. Most of them hear it and move on but -”
Niche stares at his hands. "I need to make a contract."
"Already? You just learned—"
"If I can't break this cycle, if I fail or give up or lose my way..." His voice hardens. "I want you to kill me. Don't let me become another failed bearer who just perpetuates the system. Promise me."
Raizen is quiet for a moment. "That's a heavy first contract."
"Promise me, Raizen. If I fail my mission to end this cycle, I die. Not merge. Not get sent to another world. Just... end."
The air grows heavy. Reality itself seems to lean in, listening.
"I witness this contract," Raizen says formally. "Should you fail to break the sun's cycle, death will be your only option. The price has been set."
"What did I lose?"
"Eh, it doesn’t matter to you now. You'll know eventually.”
School, 9 PM, Present
Maruka sits in the dim, empty library, typing "invisible barriers" into the search bar.
Nothing useful comes up. Just articles about "understanding strange dreams."
She tries "floating car downtown" instead.
Local news site: "Traffic incident on 5th street causes delays." No mention of floating. But in the comments:
"I was there. The car hit something in mid-air and stopped. Police said it was brake malfunction but that's not how physics works."
"My dash cam footage got corrupted right at that moment. Convenient."
Maruka takes notes. The library's quiet except for some freshman whispering about relationships.
"What are you doing?" a voice asks softly from behind her.
It’s Usui. He sits down next to her. She recognizes him from class, but they've never talked.
"Just research,” she says with no emotion in her words.
“You know, it’s not good for your eyes to staring at a bright screen and be in this dark room with no light.” He looks at her screen. “Oh, the 5th street thing today?" He opens his own laptop. "I've been tracking stuff like that."
"Why?"
He shrugs. "Started as data collection practice. Look for statistical anomalies in news reports. But lately there's been a lot of anomalies."
He turns his screen toward her. Spreadsheet with dates, locations, types of incidents.
"There was another lesser-known incident of this weird stuff that actually happened on this campus. Your friend was there. Niche."
"So were lots of people."
"Yeah, but the car stopped right where he was standing. Before it hit him." He closes the laptop. "That's not a malfunction."
Maruka doesn't say anything.
"I'm not trying to start anything," Usui says. "Just thought you should know the pattern's getting stronger. Might want to tell your friend to be careful."
“Yeah, I’ll let him know. Thanks.”
“Glad I could help. I gotta get going now.”
He closes his laptop and walks to the door. The vast library is now completely empty besides the two of them.
Before leaving, he stops at the doorframe. “Do you want me to turn on the lights before I go?” he asks desperately.
“No, thanks.”
“Okay,” he says, sulking and walking away.
Maruka looks at her notes, then adds: "Usui - knows about Niche? How much?"