The stars spun silently across the heavens, draping the universe in an endless curtain of darkness. In that space—where past and future overlapped and all of time seemed to flow at once—there was a place.A place where beginnings and endings blurred. A place where everything existed, and yet, nothing truly did.To those who glimpsed it, it could appear as either serenity—or trial.
Reiji was there.More precisely, what remained of him was there—a fragment of a soul, barely clinging to form.
He had once been a young man living in modern-day Japan.Born into a home devoid of warmth, raised in abuse and neglect, Reiji's sense of right and wrong had withered early. He used people without hesitation, dulled to emotion, treating others like tools without a trace of guilt.
He dealt in the shadows—manipulating, cornering, destroying.Among his victims was one girl…A girl who, despite everything, had continued to reach out to him. Not out of pity or curiosity—but genuine care.To Reiji, it was an experience so foreign it terrified him.Someone offering warmth—his heart trembled for just a moment.
And so he pushed her away.Not because he hated her—but because kindness was scarier than cruelty.He feigned indifference, forced coldness into his voice, and rejected her as if to say, "That kind of thing has nothing to do with me."
She was too kind. Too honest. Too blinding.
And in the end… Reiji used her.He drew her into one of his schemes, unknowingly pulling her into a web meant to destroy someone else. She became collateral—just another piece on his board.
Even then, she had whispered, "Are you okay? I was… worried."
That day, Reiji locked the memory away, sealing it under the label of "already dealt with."
Until—one day—it came back.Out of nowhere, as he walked the street, an invisible weight crushed his back.He turned.
Standing there was a man—not with anger, not with hatred.But with the frozen, hollow gaze of someone who had lost everything.The gaze of a man whose entire existence had become vengeance.
The next thing he felt was a blade, sharp and cold, piercing his chest.
He fell.
For the first time, Reiji felt pain.Not just physical pain—but a cruel, vivid realization: I was alive.
And in that flash before the darkness claimed him, her face surfaced.Not her full expression—just a glimpse. Like she was trying to say something.
But the darkness swallowed it all.
When he awoke, there was no space. No time.It looked familiar—but felt eerily alien.
And then, visions appeared.A girl sobbing on a rooftop. An old man staring silently at his phone. A boy with eyes closed to the world.One by one, people Reiji had hurt.
He wasn't just seeing them. He felt them—their despair, their rage, their emptiness.The emotions slammed into his soul—not as images, but as truths.
He tried to run. The visions repeated.
Over and over. No end. No escape.
"This is… what I…"
His voice cracked. Only a hoarse moan escaped. His soul screamed silently as it was torn apart.
There was no telling how long he drifted. There were no calendars. No clocks. Not even the concept of time.Only one thing clung to him: the instinct to do it over.
Not to be forgiven.But because unless he did, the cycle wouldn't end.
An obsession.Like chasing someone who would never stop walking—bleeding, broken, but still crawling forward.
In that abyss, a voice echoed.
Voice: "This too is a necessary cycle."
It wasn't human.It was cold, distant—yet undeniably alive.A presence that stared into Reiji's core. A force that governed.
Then… a soft light touched his sight.
The pain began to loosen its grip.Clarity returned.
And once again, the voice asked—
Voice: "…If you could begin again—what would you do?"
It was someone's question.And yet, it felt like his own.
Reiji (in his heart): "…Just one more time."
His soul stirred.
From somewhere far, that familiar voice—hers—watched in silence.Whether as a guide or a judge, no one knew.
But one thing was certain:
A new journey had begun.