The streets of Sumeragi City were unusually quiet that evening, the kind of quiet that makes even familiar sounds seem alien. Kaien Mori walked home from school, backpack slung over one shoulder, shoulders hunched as though to shield himself from the city's cold, indifferent gaze.
Ren, Kenta, and Haruka had gone their separate ways after school. Kaien was alone, the first real solitude he had felt in weeks.
He tugged at the straps of his bag. "Something's wrong."
The thought came unbidden, unformed, but insistent. A chill ran down his spine, though the weather was mild. The streetlights flickered as he passed, their glow wavering like a dying flame.
"Relax, Mori," he muttered to himself. "You're imagining things."
And yet, the feeling didn't fade. Something watched him, just beyond sight.
---
As he rounded a corner, Kaien froze. There, in the middle of the deserted street, stood a figure.
It wasn't human. Its form was amorphous, shadows stretching and writhing like living smoke. Its eyes—if they could be called eyes—glowed faintly, red, like embers in darkness. It tilted its head slowly, observing him.
Kaien's throat went dry. "W-who… what are you?"
The creature didn't speak. It moved, but not like a normal being. Its motion was jagged, unnatural, almost as if reality bent around it. The street beneath its feet didn't quite touch the ground.
Kaien stumbled backward. "This… this isn't real. It can't be…"
"It's real."
The thought struck him suddenly, unbidden, creeping into his mind with chilling certainty.
The shadow moved closer. Kaien's legs trembled. He tried to run, but his feet refused to obey fully. Panic clawed at his chest.
"Stop… leave me alone!" he shouted, his voice cracking.
The creature's head tilted again, and the streetlights flickered violently. For a moment, Kaien swore he heard whispers—not words, but a layered, unintelligible murmur that pressed against his mind like ice.
---
His heart pounded as he ran down the street, his breaths sharp and ragged. Every corner he turned seemed to stretch unnaturally, extending the distance the creature covered in a blink. Shadows pooled around him, thickening, as if the city itself was bending toward the monster.
"This isn't… this isn't happening," Kaien whispered, tripping over the curb.
"Kaien?!" The voice came from nowhere. He spun, heart hammering, but saw no one. His chest tightened.
The creature was closer now. He could feel its presence, a suffocating weight that pressed on his mind. Every instinct screamed at him to flee, but no matter how fast he ran, it was always there, always looming.
---
He ducked into a narrow alleyway, hoping to lose it in the maze of streets. The alley was dark, the walls close and suffocating. He pressed himself against the bricks, trying to catch his breath.
"You… you're not real," he gasped, staring into the shadows. "You… can't be real…"
A low, guttural noise came from the darkness, almost a growl, almost a whisper. Kaien's stomach turned. He wanted to scream, but no sound emerged. His body felt paralyzed by fear.
The shadow crept forward, its form flowing, bending, twisting unnaturally. Kaien's mind raced. "Why is this happening? What is it?"
Then, suddenly, it lunged.
Kaien stumbled backward, hitting the wall with a painful thud. The creature's red eyes glowed brighter, almost laughing. The world seemed to stretch and warp around him.
He pressed his hands to his ears, as though to block out the sound of the whispers that gnawed at his sanity. "Stop! Leave me alone!"
---
And then, as suddenly as it appeared, the creature vanished.
Kaien fell to the ground, gasping, sweat running down his face. His knees trembled, and his hands shook. The alley was silent again. Too silent.
He pressed his back against the wall, curling into himself. "What… what was that?"
His mind replayed the scene over and over. The creature's eyes. The unnatural movement. The suffocating presence.
"This isn't normal," he whispered, voice shaking. "This isn't… this isn't real."
---
That night, Kaien lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, the memory of the creature burned into his mind. The shadows in his room seemed thicker, darker, alive in a way they had never been before.
He couldn't stop thinking about the creature, about the weight of its gaze, the unrelenting certainty of its presence.
"It's coming back," he realized with a sinking feeling. "It's not done with me."
His dreams that night were more vivid than before. He walked through forests black as ink, skies torn with unnatural light. Creatures moved in the darkness, faceless, their intent unknowable.
A voice echoed through the void.
"Kaien Mori…"
He turned. A figure stood at the edge of a cliff, silhouetted against a sky of swirling shadows. Its presence was vast, terrifying, yet… familiar.
"Who… who are you?" he whispered.
No answer came. Only the weight of its gaze pressed down on him. Something inside stirred, a dormant part of himself he didn't understand.
He awoke with a start, gasping for air. His heart pounded, sweat soaking his sheets. The ordinary world—the city, his home, his school—felt fragile, unreal, like a thin veneer over some deeper, darker truth.
---
The next morning, Kaien could barely eat breakfast. His mother, Kaien Hana, noticed his unease.
"Kaien… are you all right?" she asked gently.
"I'm fine," he said, though he knew he wasn't.
"You seem… distracted."
Kaien forced a smile. "Just tired, I guess."
Hana nodded slowly, her eyes lingering on him. "You've always been a deep thinker. Just… don't get lost in your thoughts, Kaien. Life is happening right in front of you."
He nodded, but inside, he felt the walls of his ordinary life crumbling.
---
At school, the whispers returned. Shadows seemed to slither at the corners of his vision. Students passed him, their movements normal, oblivious, while he felt the world bending in ways he could not comprehend.
He tried to speak to Renji during lunch. "Ren… something weird is happening."
Renji raised an eyebrow. "Weird how?"
"I… I can't explain. I keep seeing… things. Shadows… moving… and… I don't know… it's like they're alive."
Renji chuckled nervously. "You're imagining things, man. Don't let it get to you."
Kaien shook his head. "I'm not imagining this. I feel it… here." He pressed a hand to his chest, heart racing.
Haruka frowned. "Kaien… are you okay?"
He forced a smile. "Yeah… I'll be fine."
But he knew he wouldn't be.
---
That evening, Kaien walked home alone again. The city felt wrong. The lights flickered. Shadows pooled unnaturally, twisting and stretching in ways that defied logic.
Then he heard it—a low, guttural sound from an alleyway nearby. He froze. His instincts screamed at him to run, but his legs felt like lead.
A figure emerged. Dark, formless, yet somehow solid. Red eyes glowed in the darkness.
Kaien stumbled backward. "N-no… please… don't—"
The shadow moved closer, faster than humanly possible. Kaien tripped, falling onto the pavement, his backpack spilling its contents. Books and papers scattered.
He scrambled to his feet, heart pounding, but the creature was already upon him. Its form twisted and shifted, impossibly fluid. He could smell the faint decay in the air around it.
"Help… someone… please!" he screamed.
No one came. The city was empty, the streets eerily silent.
Kaien's vision blurred. His mind raced. "I'm going to die… I can't… I can't—"
And then… the creature paused. It tilted its head, as if curious. For a moment, it didn't attack.
Kaien gasped for air, trembling. "Why… why me?"
The creature vanished as suddenly as it appeared, leaving only silence and the faint echo of its presence.
Kaien collapsed to the ground, sobbing quietly. His ordinary life was over. He could feel it—the fragile world he had known, the safety of home, the routine of school, all shattered. Something else was coming. Something far beyond his understanding.
He clutched his head. "I… I don't… I can't… I'm not ready…"
But there was no turning back.
Something had marked him. Something had noticed him.
And Kaien Mori's ordinary life ended that night.
---