YOSUKE SHIN
Naemi's fingers lingered on my scar for a moment before she pulled her hand back. She hesitated, her brows knitting together as if something had just clicked in her mind.
"That gate…" she said slowly, her voice uncertain. "It was near Taro's room, wasn't it?"
Her words made me stiffen. I looked at her sharply. "Yes… how do you know that?"
Naemi lowered her gaze to her lap, clutching her hands together nervously. "When we first got here, after the bar in the morning, we tried to find Taro. We split up to search the village. But from the moment we arrived, I felt… something. A strange pull. Like something was reaching out from inside that building, calling to me."
Her eyes lifted, locking with mine. They were filled with unease. "I followed it. It led me straight to that room. I stood outside the door, and I swear, Yosuke, it was like I could feel it in my chest — pulling me closer. I tried to go inside, but the door was locked."
My jaw tightened. She had been right outside it… the whole time.
"I ignored it after that," she continued softly. "Tried to convince myself it was nothing. We couldn't find Taro, so I went back and met up with the others… right where you found us with Sai."
I leaned back slightly, my mind racing. If she had sensed it before anyone else… before the portal even fully awakened… then that meant—
"Naemi," I said carefully, "that wasn't nothing. If the godglyph was reaching out to you, then…" I let the thought trail off. I didn't want to scare her.
Her expression shifted, conflicted. "Do you think… it wanted me?"
I stayed quiet for a long moment, then finally shook my head. "I don't know. But one thing is certain—those stones don't just call to people for no reason. Next time, you tell me the moment you feel something like that again."
She nodded slowly, her face pale but determined.
I reached across the table and placed my hand gently over hers. "No more wandering off on your own. Promise me."
Her lips curled into the faintest smile, though her eyes still carried that weight. "I promise."
But deep inside, I couldn't shake the feeling that whatever had tried to pull her toward that room wasn't finished with her yet.
After we finished eating, Naemi quietly excused herself. She had been assigned some task by the villagers, something about helping prepare supplies for the market. I could tell she was still carrying the weight of what she'd confessed, but she left with a steady smile anyway.
The moment the door shut behind her, I leaned back in my chair, running a hand through my hair. That pull she felt… it couldn't have been coincidence. Not when the gate was in that exact room.
A knock sounded almost immediately after, and before I could even rise, the door creaked open. Jiro stepped in, his calm but sharp expression instantly filling the room with a different kind of weight.
"Morning," I said, forcing a lighter tone. "Didn't expect you this early."
Jiro gave me a small nod and sat across from me. "Morning. I just saw Naemi leave. She looked… unsettled."
I sighed. "Yeah. She told me something strange earlier."
Jiro raised an eyebrow. "Strange how?"
I leaned forward, lowering my voice despite us being alone. "When we first came here, she said she felt something pulling at her. A strange sensation, almost like… like the godglyph was calling to her. It led her right to the door of that room where the gate was."
For the first time, Jiro's expression cracked. His usually controlled demeanor faltered just slightly, his eyes narrowing as though he hadn't expected that. "She said that?"
"Yes." I nodded firmly. "She didn't know what was inside, but she tried to enter. The door was locked, so she left it alone. But the pull was real. I saw it in her face when she told me—this wasn't her imagination."
Silence hung between us for a moment.
Jiro finally leaned back, exhaling slowly. "That's dangerous."
"You're telling me." I crossed my arms. "If the glyphs are choosing who they reach for, or if certain people are more sensitive to them… that means Naemi might be more tied to all this than we thought."
I met his gaze, the heaviness of his words sinking into me. Choices. Consequences. All because of stones that fell from the sky.
"…Whatever comes," I muttered, "I won't let anything take her away. Not the godglyphs, not the gates, not anything."
Jiro's eyes softened briefly, almost approvingly, before his usual calm mask returned.