It was a quiet afternoon in the city of Shinkawa.
The sky was bright blue, the sun was warm, and people were walking around, doing their usual things.
Riku Amano sat by his bedroom window, drawing in his sketchbook.
He loved drawing monsters, heroes, and strange worlds that no one had ever seen.
Lately, something weird had been happening. When he looked away from his drawings, the lines sometimes seemed to move—like they were alive.
He stared at the page. Right now, it wasn't moving. But he was almost sure it had before.
"Maybe I need some sleep," he said with a little laugh.
"Riku! Dinner soon!" his mom called from the kitchen.
"Okay!" he shouted, closing his notebook.
Just then, something bright flashed in the sky outside.
At first, it was tiny—like a big, shiny white crack—but the sky was still bright and blue.
The crack shimmered for a moment, then disappeared.
That night, Riku had a strange dream.
He was floating high above the city. The blue sky stretched out all around him, but right in front of him was that same big, shiny white crack—only now, it was huge.
From the crack, a tall man stepped out.
He looked like a drawing come to life, made of black and white ink.
He wore a colorful purple and yellow tuxedo. His face was calm, but strange—like a mask that could change at any moment.
The man looked straight at Riku and smiled.
It wasn't a mean smile—but it made Riku's chest feel tight, like he wasn't supposed to see him.
Riku woke up with a start. His heart was racing.
The window was open, and a cool breeze drifted into his room.
Outside, everything looked normal… except the sky still felt… different.
The next day at school, everyone was talking about a strange flash in the sky the night before.
Some said it was lightning. Some said it was a new airplane.
Riku didn't say a word. He just stared out the window.
High in the blue sky, tiny shiny lines sparkled in the clouds, almost like the sky itself was breaking.
He whispered, "It's real."
Far above the city, the same black-and-white man stood inside the growing big, shiny white crack.
Kyoshin looked down at Shinkawa and smiled softly.
He had been waiting for Riku to notice him.