Rei couldn't sleep again.
He sat at the edge of the drift-chamber bed, bathed in pale green light from the dimensional sky above. His body still felt distant — as if it wasn't fully his yet. Like a coat he'd borrowed from someone braver.
The Crucible was over.
But something was still with him.
He stared at his reflection in a curved shard of glass — left over from one of the Academy's observation tools. His face looked normal.
But when he blinked —
It smiled.
Only for a second.Not his smile. The other one.
"You're not going to talk?" Rei whispered into the empty room.
No answer.
"That's fine. I prefer the silence."
He turned away.
But the voice came anyway — not out loud, but through his bones.
"I could have taken you."
Rei flinched — but didn't react.
"I could have crawled into your skin, and worn your memories like a cloak.""But you said no."
"And that… was interesting."
"So you like it when people say no?" Rei muttered, trying to sound annoyed — but his fingers were trembling.
"Most vessels beg. Cry. Break. They blame. But you—"
"You looked me in the face and said: 'Not yet.'"
"You denied me without hating me."
Rei sat down slowly, the floor cool under his palms.
"I'm not sure I don't hate you."
The Shadow laughed. Soft. Like cracked silk.
"That's fine. I've been hated before.""But now, you understand something."
"You and I… are not enemies. Not really."
"We are two things trapped inside the same storm."
A long silence followed.
Then:
"Do you know what I was before?" Rei asked. "Before all this?"
No response. So he answered himself.
"Nothing special. Just a boy. Quiet. Not brave. Not even that smart."
"But then you showed up. And now everyone thinks I'm a threat. Or a weapon."
"You are."
Rei looked down.
"I don't want to be."
The Shadow paused.
"Then be something else. You're flesh. I'm concept. You get to choose your shape."
"But I will always be here. Watching. Whispering."
"Because whether you accept me… or never do…"
"You're the first Vessel that ever made me curious."
Rei didn't answer.
But later, as he lay down, he whispered:
"Goodnight."
And the voice replied — low, quiet, amused:
"Sleep well, Rei Kazuki."
"We dream the same dream now."