One day, a V.I.P. guest arrives at Kaito's company. To Kaito's utter shock, it is none other than Toru. They meet at the entrance, and the years of silence melt away instantly. Toru, being his usual self, playfully apologizes, and the two old friends decide to hang out after the event.
That night, Toru shares the story of his success and reveals that he is now engaged. Then, he turns to Kaito with a knowing look.
"Is your love life still stuck in high school, or have you finally moved on?" Toru asks.
Kaito sighs, his voice heavy with regret. "My whole life is stuck, Toru. How could my love life move forward?"
Kaito finally musters the courage to ask about Yuna. Toru reveals that Yuna is currently single and, by a strange twist of fate, works in the same company as toru. Kaito's heart leaps with a spark of hope. "Is there still a chance?" he whispers.
Toru smiles. "You still haven't forgotten her, have you?" Toru promises to officially re-introduce them on his wedding day and even offers to help Kaito secure a Manager's position.
The Fateful Night
The day of Toru's wedding arrives. True to his word, Toru introduces Kaito to Yuna. They begin to talk, cautiously discussing their professional lives, trying to bridge the gap of lost years. The wedding is a grand affair, held at a famous, luxurious farmhouse located right at the edge of a dense jungle.
But as the celebration reaches its peak, the atmosphere shatters.
An achanak (sudden) attack erupts. A group of armed men storms the farmhouse, firing their guns indiscriminately into the crowd. Panic ensues as bullets fly everywhere. In the midst of this chaotic firing, Toru—the friend who had just brought a sliver of light back into Kaito's life—is struck.
The celebratory music was drowned out by the deafening roar of gunfire. Chaos turned the luxury farmhouse into a slaughterhouse. Amidst the screams, Toru's face went pale—his fiancée had been struck by a bullet. She collapsed, her white dress staining crimson.
In a desperate bid for survival, Toru scooped her up in his arms, his eyes wide with terror, and began running toward the only cover available—the dense, dark jungle bordering the resort. Kaito and Yuna, paralyzed for a split second, snapped into action when they saw Toru disappear into the trees. They followed him, their breath hitching in their throats as they plunged into the shadows of the forest.
Behind them, the carnage continued. The attackers were ruthless; nearly half of the wedding guests had already been gunned down. The smell of gunpowder and blood hung heavy in the air. To their horror, a group of armed men noticed their escape and began tracking them into the treeline.
A Heart Shattered
Deep inside the thicket, Toru finally stopped. He looked down at the woman in his arms, praying for a sign of life, but her eyes were glassy and still. She was gone. The silence of the jungle was broken only by Toru's agonizing sobs. He had waited his whole life for this day, only for it to end in a graveyard of trees.
"Toru, we have to move!" Kaito whispered urgently, his eyes scanning the dark forest for any movement. The attackers were close.
With heavy hearts and trembling hands, Kaito and Yuna forced a grieving Toru to stand. They couldn't take her with them—the weight would slow them down and cost them their lives. They were forced to leave her body behind, a silent promise of justice lingering in the air as they retreated deeper into the darkness.
Unexpected Allies
After what felt like hours of hiding and crawling through the undergrowth, the trio reached the edge of the ocean. The waves crashed against the shore, a stark contrast to the violence they had just fled. As they crouched behind some rocks, they noticed two figures ahead—other survivors.
One was an old man, his face etched with the wisdom of many years, and the other was a younger man, about 25 years old—his grandson. They, too, were trembling, caught in the same nightmare.
"Is there any way back to the city?" Kaito asked, his voice shaking.
The old man shook his head grimly. "The only road out is through the resort. There is no other path through this terrain. We are trapped."
The group huddled together, deciding that their only hope was to hide in the darkness and wait for the police to arrive at dawn. But the universe had other plans. Just as a moment of uneasy silence settled over them, the sharp crack of a rifle echoed through the trees. The firing had started again.
The grandson looked at them, his eyes filled with a strange, chilling intensity. "They're coming," he whispered.
The tension in the air was thick as the sound of distant gunfire drew closer. The young man, the grandson, broke the silence. He whispered that there was a resort boat moored nearby—a possible lifeline to the city. It was a long and dangerous journey across open water, but it was their only chance to stay alive.
Driven by a desperate hope, the group made a run for it. They reached the boat just as the shadows of their pursuers emerged from the treeline. Before they could fully board, a volley of shots rang out. To Kaito's horror, both the Grandson and his best friend, Toru, were struck down. They fell before they could reach safety.
Heartbroken and screaming in agony, Kaito was ready to give up, ready to let the invaders take him too. But Yuna grabbed him, her strength the only thing keeping him grounded. They managed to push the boat off, leaving the nightmare of the shore behind.
The Secret of Aethelgard Island
As they drifted into the vast, dark ocean, the Old Man, who had survived the boarding, spoke in a voice that sounded like shifting sands. He looked at Kaito's tear-stained face and said, "It is not over yet. You can still save them all."
He spoke of a legendary place—Aethelgard Island (The Island of Eternal Echoes). He claimed it was a place where the laws of nature did not apply, a sanctuary where one could find the rift to change Time itself. To prove his words, he produced an ancient, weathered map, pointing toward a coordinate that shouldn't exist.
With a newfound, almost manic determination, Kaito turned the boat toward the direction of Aethelgard.
The Wrath of the Sea
A week passed on the open sea. Supplies were low, and the silence between Kaito and Yuna was heavy with the ghosts of those they had lost. Suddenly, the horizon darkened. A massive sea storm, unlike anything Kaito had ever seen, began to surge toward them.
The waves were like mountains, crashing down with the intent to bury them. They huddled inside the small cabin as the boat was tossed like a toy. A violent jolt, like an earthquake at sea, threw them across the room. The Old Man was flung against a sharp metal object; the impact was fatal. He died instantly, leaving Kaito and Yuna as the sole survivors of the wreckage.
Staring at the lifeless body of the man who gave him hope, Kaito's resolve didn't break—it hardened into steel. "If that island can bring them back," he vowed, his voice rasping, "I will reach it, no matter what the cost."
Two more grueling weeks passed under the scorching sun and freezing nights. Finally, through the mist, the jagged peaks of Aethelgard began to appear.
The mist finally cleared, revealing the jagged coastline of Aethelgard Island. Kaito steered the battered boat toward the shore, and as the wood scraped against the sand, he and Yuna stepped out onto the mysterious land. At first glance, a chill ran down Kaito's spine. The trees, the air, the very ground felt eerily familiar—it looked exactly like the forest near the resort where the nightmare began. But something was different. The vegetation was denser, the silence more absolute, and the air hummed with an invisible energy.
They ventured deeper into the jungle, searching for the rift the Old Man had promised. Instead, they found a small girl sitting alone in a clearing. She looked innocent, almost ethereal.
"What are you doing here in the middle of this forest?" Kaito asked, his voice filled with caution. "What is this place?"
The girl didn't answer with words. Instead, she reached into her bag and pulled out two strange, glowing fruits. She handed them to Kaito and Yuna. "You look hungry," she said with a knowing smile. "Eat these first. I will go and bring my mother and father to help you."
Before they could ask anything else, she skipped away and vanished into the thick foliage.
The Transformation
Exhausted and starving from weeks at sea, Kaito and Yuna decided to trust her. As soon as the juice of the fruit touched their tongues, a wave of intense drowsiness washed over them. Their eyelids felt like lead, and they collapsed onto the mossy ground, falling into a deep, dreamless slumber.
When Kaito finally opened his eyes, he felt different. The ache in his back was gone, and his skin felt... tighter. He looked at his hands—they were smaller. He turned to Yuna and gasped. She wasn't the tired, adult woman who had survived a massacre. She was a teenager again, wearing the same radiance she had in her school days.
"Yuna... look at yourself," Kaito stammered, his voice cracking with the high pitch of adolescence.
They rushed out of the jungle, and to their absolute disbelief, the luxury resort stood before them, whole and untouched. There was no smoke, no blood, and no signs of an invasion.
Kaito spotted a taxi driver parked near the entrance and ran toward him. "Excuse me, sir! Please, tell me... what year is this?"
The driver looked at them, confused by the desperation of these two high school kids. He checked his watch and gave them the date.
Kaito's heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird. The fruit hadn't just healed them; it had reverted them. They were back. Ten years into the past.