Evening settled quietly over the estate.

  The sun hung low on the horizon, its dying light painting the sky in shades of amber and crimson as shadows stretched long across the ground. Akitsu Shouga crouched behind the thick trunk of an old tree, its rough bark pressing against his back as he observed the mansion ahead.

  Haruya Takeda’s home stood tall and elegant—too elegant. White stone walls reflected the fading sunlight, and wide windows stared back like unblinking eyes.

  “Looks like there are no guards out here,” Akitsu whispered.

  Floating beside him, Seraphine Orion flicked her tail impatiently. “Well then, you better make a run for it. Otherwise, you won’t get another chance like this in a century.”

  Akitsu inhaled once—deep and steady.

  Then he moved.

  He burst from the shadows and sprinted toward the fence, vaulting over it in a single smooth motion. His feet barely touched the ground before he reached a nearby tree. With practiced ease, he climbed onto one of its branches, pressing himself flat against the leaves.

  Moments passed.

  No shouts. No alarms.

  “…Looks like no one saw me,” Akitsu murmured. “This might actually be possible—if there isn’t any interference.”

  “Alright,” Seraphine said quietly. “I’ll help you get up to the second floor.”

  Akitsu dropped silently to the ground and ran along the side of the mansion. At Seraphine’s signal, a thick green vine burst from the stone wall, twisting upward like a living ladder.

  Akitsu climbed quickly.

  He slipped through an open second-floor window and landed lightly on the wooden floor.

  “Finally,” he whispered. “Now all I have to do is hide.”

  He straightened and scanned the room.

  Soft pink walls. Lace curtains. A neatly made bed adorned with stuffed dolls and ribbons.

  “…This is a girl’s room, right?” Akitsu muttered.

  “Looks like it,” Seraphine replied. “So what are we supposed to do now?”

  “All we have to do is kill Haruya Takeda and leave,” Akitsu said quietly. “After that, we can go back home.”

  “OI!” Seraphine snapped suddenly. “I hear someone coming—hide!!”

  Akitsu didn’t hesitate.

  He slipped into the closet, burying himself among hanging dresses and folded clothes. The faint scent of flowers filled the air, making his chest tighten.

  The door creaked open.

  Footsteps.

  Through a narrow crack between the closet doors, Akitsu saw her.

  A small girl with white hair and blue eyes, her movements gentle as she sat down on the bed.

  His heart skipped.

  No—raced.

  He recognized her.

  Sunwind Village.

  Memories surged violently, uninvited.

  Seraphine floated closer. “What’s wrong? Why are you acting strangely?”

  “…It’s nothing,” Akitsu whispered, forcing his breathing to slow.

  “Looks like we’ll have to wait until she falls asleep or leaves,” Seraphine said.

  Akitsu nodded silently.

  Time crawled.

  By the time the girl left the room, night had fully claimed the sky.

  Akitsu stepped out of the closet and peeked into the hallway.

  “…The coast is clear. Let’s move.”

  They slipped through the corridor like shadows.

  A door stood slightly open.

  Inside—

  Haruya Takeda lay asleep on his bed, chest rising and falling peacefully.

  “Let’s hurry up and get out of here,” Seraphine urged.

  “I agree.”

  Then—

  The air turned cold.

  A presence surged outward from Akitsu’s body.

  Chains rattled softly.

  Ayaka Tachibana emerged.

  Her form was horrific—bloody rags clinging to her frame, eyeless and mouthless, chains wrapped tightly around her limbs. Thick spiritual energy poured from her like a suffocating mist.

  Seraphine stiffened. “…This energy—”

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  Ayaka phased through the door effortlessly.

  “Tachibana-san, what the hell are you doing?” Akitsu whispered urgently as he followed her.

  Inside the room, Ayaka stood motionless at the center while Haruya continued sleeping, unaware.

  “…Good thing he’s asleep,” Akitsu whispered in relief.

  Ayaka moved closer to the bed.

  She stood beside Haruya.

  Watching him.

  “Here’s a knife,” Seraphine said quietly, handing Akitsu a small, sharp wooden blade. “Kill him.”

  Akitsu’s hand trembled.

  “…Do I have to do this?”

  “You’re the one who bonded with a vengeful spirit,” Seraphine replied firmly. “So you’re the one who has to fulfill the conditions.”

  Akitsu swallowed. “What if I don’t?”

  “If you don’t,” Seraphine said coldly, “death is the only suitable punishment. Ayaka is a powerful spirit.”

  His legs felt heavy as he walked to the other side of the bed.

  Haruya slept peacefully.

  “…Here goes nothing!”

  He stabbed Haruya Takeda’s throat.

  At the same instant—

  Akitsu screamed.

  His own throat split open in the exact same place, warm blood spilling down his chest. Pain ripped through his body, and he collapsed to his knees.

  “Do it!” Seraphine yelled. “You have to finish what you started!!”

  Gritting his teeth, Akitsu forced himself to stand.

  He raised the blade again.

  And stabbed Haruya’s heart.

  A second later—

  His own heart was pierced.

  Agony consumed him.

  Akitsu collapsed.

  Both bodies lay still.

  The world went black.

  Akitsu opened his eyes.

  He was standing once more in the ethereal void.

  A small red island floated beneath his feet. At its center stood a red cherry blossom tree, its branches heavy with glowing petals.

  Exactly sixteen petals drifted through the air.

  Black water surrounded the island, upon which countless red doors floated aimlessly.

  “…What the hell happened?” Akitsu shouted. “Was I supposed to die? Was death a condition that had to be fulfilled?! If so, what was the point if I’m just going to die?!”

  No answer came.

  Then—

  Among the sea of red doors—

  He saw it.

  A single blue door.

  “…What’s that? I’ve never seen a door like that before.”

  He clenched his fists.

  “Am I supposed to go through it? Oh well. I’ve got nothing to lose anyway.”

  He stepped onto the black water and walked past countless red doors until he reached the blue one.

  “…What do you do?” he muttered. “Let’s find out.”

  He opened it.

  Silence.

  Akitsu opened his eyes again.

  He was sitting on the bench near the tall statue in front of the academic building at Fiester Academy.

  “…What the hell happened?”

  He looked around.

  Campus.

  Daylight.

  Pain suddenly stabbed into his head.

  “Ah!! That hurts!”

  Seraphine hovered beside him. “What’s wrong? Do you feel pain?”

  “…What happened?” Akitsu asked.

  “You were telling me something,” Seraphine said. “Then you suddenly closed your eyes.”

  “…Where is Tachibana-san?”

  “Who?” Seraphine tilted her head. “I don’t remember anyone by that name.”

  “…Don’t you know Ayaka Tachibana? The vengeful spirit I bonded with?”

  “The only spirit you bonded with is me,” Seraphine replied. “I don’t remember anyone else.”

  “…How about Haruya Takeda? Where is he?”

  “I don’t know who that is either,” Seraphine said. “Why are you suddenly asking about people’s whereabouts?”

  Akitsu exhaled slowly.

  Relief washed over him.

  He leaned back against the bench and looked up at the sun.

  “…So it never happened.”

  Or—

  It happened, but the world forgot.