The morning sun barely touched the glass windows of Sumeragi High, casting a weak, diffused light across the empty corridors. Kaien Mori moved through the hallways with the same sluggish routine as yesterday, the same gray backpack weighing him down, and the same dull ache of monotony settled in his chest.
He passed the lockers, the clattering of doors slamming echoing faintly in the distance. Yet today, something felt… off. The faintest whisper of wind had no business being inside the building. His footfalls, normally a quiet rhythm, seemed unnaturally loud, echoing against walls that should have muffled the sound.
"Morning, Mori."
Kaida Ren's voice was calm, almost routine. Kaien forced a smile.
"Morning," he muttered.
Ren's brow furrowed. "You look… distracted. What's going on?"
Kaien shook his head. "Nothing. Just… sleepy."
Ren's eyes narrowed, and he said nothing more. Kaien knew better than to try to explain these sensations. The unease clung to him like a shadow, a creeping sensation at the edge of perception.
---
As he reached his classroom, Kaien felt it again—a shiver, small but persistent, crawling up his spine. The air seemed denser than usual, and faint flickers of movement played at the corners of his vision. He blinked rapidly. Nothing. Just the usual students setting their books down, talking in low murmurs, the teacher organizing papers at the front.
Yet, something was wrong.
Kaien glanced at his hand, flexing his fingers. They trembled slightly, though he had no reason to be nervous. And then, a sound—a whisper, not from any student or teacher, but almost inside his mind.
"Kaien… Kaien…"
His head snapped up. Heart pounding.
"Kaien? Are you okay?" Haruka's voice cut through the haze. Her bright eyes were curious and concerned.
"Yeah… fine," he forced out. "Just… uh… feeling a little off today."
She nodded slowly, but her gaze lingered. Kaien realized she could sense it too. Something about him had changed overnight. Something subtle, but tangible.
---
The day proceeded like any other, yet the ordinary veneer kept cracking. In history class, as the teacher droned on about ancient empires, Kaien's attention wavered. Words blurred together. The chalkboard seemed to ripple ever so slightly, like the surface of a disturbed pond.
He shook his head. "I'm imagining things…"
But then he saw it again—movement at the edges of the classroom. A shadow that didn't belong, stretching unnaturally along the walls. It vanished the moment he focused on it.
Ren noticed his distraction. "What is it now?"
"Nothing," Kaien said too quickly. "Just… tired."
Ren's frown deepened. "You've been tired a lot lately, Mori. This isn't like you."
Kaien forced a laugh. "I'll be fine."
Inside, he wasn't.
---
During lunch, Kaien sat with Renji, Kenta, and Haruka at their usual table, but he barely touched his food. Each bite felt heavy in his mouth, each sound of conversation from the other tables seemed distant and unreal.
"Kaien, you're spacing out again," Haruka said gently, nudging him with her elbow.
"I'm fine," he muttered, though his eyes were drawn to a corner of the cafeteria that seemed… darker than it should be. The shadows pooled unnaturally, shifting as if alive.
Kenta glanced at him. "Dude, your face… you look pale. Something's really wrong."
Kaien shook his head. "I don't know… I just… feel like something's watching."
Renji frowned. "Watching what?"
Kaien swallowed. "Me. Us. Everything."
The others exchanged worried glances. Kaien could feel their unease, but they didn't understand. How could they? He was sensing something beyond their comprehension. Something lurking just beyond the fabric of the world he knew.
---
That night, Kaien lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. His room, normally a safe haven, felt foreign and unstable. The shadows seemed to stretch unnaturally, crawling along the walls like liquid darkness. He pulled the blanket tighter around himself.
"It's just a dream," he thought. "It's just a dream."
But when he closed his eyes, the dreams came.
He was walking through a forest, the trees twisted and blackened, their branches clawing at the sky. The air smelled of decay, yet it carried a strange sweetness he couldn't place. He could hear whispers, thousands of them, layered together like an endless echo.
"Kaien…"
A voice, soft, distant, and commanding, called his name. He tried to respond, but no sound came from his lips.
Shadows moved around him, tall and faceless, each one radiating a presence far beyond any human strength. They did not speak, yet their intent was clear—they were watching. Waiting. Judging.
A cold hand seemed to brush against his shoulder. He spun around, but no one was there. Only the forest remained, endless and dark.
"What is this place?" he thought, panic rising. "Where am I?"
Then a figure appeared in the distance—a boy, tall and imposing, his face obscured by shadow. His presence was terrifying, yet familiar. Kaien felt something stir deep inside him, something old, something dormant.
"I know you…" Kaien whispered, but the figure said nothing.
The forest dissolved, replaced by the pale ceiling of his bedroom. He gasped, sitting upright, heart hammering.
"It wasn't a dream," he realized. "It felt too real."
---
The next morning, Kaien hesitated at the doorway of his classroom. He noticed details he hadn't before: the way the sunlight fractured against the glass, the way the shadows bent and stretched unnaturally, the subtle hum of energy that seemed to vibrate through the air.
Renji waved at him. "Come on, late again."
Kaien nodded mechanically, but inside, a knot of fear tightened in his chest. Something was coming. Something that would shatter the fragile routine of his life.
During class, he found his thoughts wandering again. Every shadow, every flicker of movement, every whisper of air seemed to carry a message he could not yet understand.
"Kaien…"
The voice came again, soft and persistent, threading through his consciousness like a thread of silk. It was not human, not entirely. It was old, powerful, and insistent.
Kaien shook his head. "Stop… just stop…"
But the voice did not stop.
---
After school, he wandered alone through the empty corridors, the sun low in the sky. The building seemed different, alive in a way it had never been before. Shadows pooled unnaturally, moving against the rules of physics. Kaien's skin prickled.
He rounded a corner and saw a reflection in the glass of the administration office. It wasn't just his reflection—it moved independently, its eyes darker, deeper, staring back at him.
Kaien stumbled back, heart racing. "What… what is happening?"
"Kaien…"
The whisper again, louder this time. He spun, but the corridor was empty.
And then the floor beneath him seemed to tremble. A cold wind swirled around him, carrying the scent of something ancient and dangerous. He clutched at his chest, struggling for breath.
"This isn't the ordinary world anymore," he realized with a sinking feeling.
---
That night, Kaien couldn't sleep. Every shadow in his room seemed to twitch, every corner felt alive. He thought of his mother, Kaien Hana, quietly humming in the kitchen. She would say something like, "You're overthinking it, Kaien," but he knew this was different.
He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the darkened window. Beyond it, the city seemed normal, but the air carried a weight, a vibration, a pull. He could feel it deep in his chest, a tugging, beckoning him toward something unknown.
He whispered into the darkness. "What do you want from me?"
No answer came. Only silence.
And then, in the corner of his vision, the shadow moved again. Taller this time. Closer. Watching. Waiting.
Kaien's fingers curled into fists. "I'm not ready… but… I'll have to be."
Because something was coming. Something that would drag him from the ordinary, fragile world he had known. Something that would demand more than he could imagine. Something that would make him… Kaien Mori.
---