The story begins with a boy walking home from school along a straight, empty road. It's daytime, and the tall light towers lining the path are turned off, standing silently at regular intervals. The road is mostly plain, but every now and then, it splits into two or three different paths, leading into quiet uncertainty.
He kept following the road, taking different paths whenever needed. It was a long walk, with most of the houses along the way either vacant or abandoned. Only a few homes showed signs of life. After walking for about half an hour, he finally reached his home.
He reached his home after a short while. It looked just like the other houses along the road — surrounded by a 6.5-foot cement wall, with a small front gate. After entering through the gate, there was the main entrance: a dark brown door, with sliding windows on either side. The house had two floors. The ground floor included a hall, kitchen, bathroom, and shower, while the upper floor had a bedroom and a small balcony.
As he entered his house, it was completely dark due to the absence of light. Only a faint shadow formed from the light that slipped in as the door opened — and even that vanished the moment he closed it. He reached for the switch and flipped it on, filling the hallway and house with light and color. Without saying a word, he walked straight into the hall, tossed his bag aside, and lay down on the floor, closing his eyes.
His hall was almost empty, with only a low sitting table, a few cushions, and a cabinet on which the TV stood.
When he opened his eyes, he went straight to the bathroom. Just outside the entrance, there was a mirror, a spot where he kept his clothes, and a washing machine beside it.
As he looked into the mirror, we saw his calm face for the first time. He was eighteen, with smooth pale skin — almost delicate, like a girl's. His hair was jet black, slightly messy, falling loosely over his forehead. His eyes were striking, each a different color: one blue, the other black. His features were soft — a gentle nose, light lips, and clean white teeth. He stood at around 5'8", and when he removed his clothes, his body was lean and defined.
He took a bath in his white and blue-tiled bathroom. The clothes he had removed — a white shirt, black pants, and a school tie with a distinct pattern — were spinning inside the washing machine as he bathed. After finishing his bath, he took the clothes out of the machine and hung them on the balcony to dry. Then he changed into his nightwear. By now, evening had turned into night. He stepped out to visit a nearby shop to buy cooking ingredients and a few other things he needed.
The store wasn't far — just a five-minute walk there and another five minutes back. Once he returned home, he began cooking with his own hands. He prepared the meal carefully, with a calm rhythm and a certain grace. After everything was ready, he sat down and quietly began to eat.
After finishing his meal, he went straight to his room and lay down calmly on his back. The house was silent, and he was completely alone.
Sometime around midnight, the clock struck 12. There was no ceiling light in his room — only a dim lamp beside his bed and the pale glow of moonlight seeping in through the window. As he blinked, something strange began to happen. His shadow started to stretch... growing longer and larger, until it slowly began rising from the floor — shifting from a flat 2D shape into something real. Something solid.
It now stood in front of him — eight feet tall, with glowing white eyes. In both hands, it held heavy pickaxes, and it stared directly at Antik.
And then, finally, Antik whispered something from his calm lips.
"Aoiatsuri."
The moment the word escaped his mouth, the entire atmosphere of the room shifted. Reality began to distort — the walls stretched outward endlessly, warping space like it was turning into a void. The room no longer felt like a room. It was now an infinite, empty space… and only the two of them remained inside it.
As everything stretched, his bed and other belongings faded into the distance, becoming unreachable. Antik was now standing, slightly hunched, mirroring the same posture as the black shadow — like they were reflections of each other.
And then, without warning, the shadow's arms and legs extended unnaturally. It rushed toward Antik at a speed far beyond human perception.
{ Antik is name of main character}