No one really renounces themselves until they're forced to. I had no idea where I was headed—life had been breathing down my neck ever since I was left alone with only my thoughts. And let's be honest, we can't read other people's minds. But having a hunch? That's almost the same thing… or so I thought.
No one truly knows someone else's life until they're told about it. That's why you can't always tell someone is dying—until you find out the hard way. Well, at least that's what I believed.
I'm Cid Inosuke, and I thought my life was pretty normal. That is, until the Gates of Truth opened.
I remember it like it was yesterday. Wait—actually, maybe it was last week. Or was it last month? Ugh, never mind. Point is, it was recent. I had just finished school and was heading home with my best friends—Suzuki and Jeremy. Suzuki Yamamoto and Jeremy Brown. We've known each other since we were kids.
I met Jeremy back in Chicago when my dad had some important business to attend to. He never liked leaving me with people he didn't trust completely, so wherever he went, I followed. Since my mom died during childbirth—at least that's what he told me—I never had much of a choice. But lately, I've been having doubts about that story. Still, I can't bring myself to confront him.
Jeremy and I became fast friends. His dad ran some huge organization, like one of those 30-story skyscrapers you see on TV. It reminded me of those massive, shiny corporate buildings… what was the name again? Right—the SMF Association. That thing looked like a whole tech fortress from the screen.
When I first met Jeremy, he looked just like one of those cocky rich kids you see in American shows—confident, flashy, too cool for school. And yeah, he was cocky—but in a good way. He walked up to me and said, "You wanna play X-Morphers?"
X-Morphers. My favorite show.
Bright colors, insane action scenes, wild transformations—what wasn't to like? Of course I said yes. That's probably where it all started, though I didn't know it then.
The three of us—me, Jeremy, and Suzuki—we were just heading home that day. Laughing, messing around, talking about X-Morphers and school. We thought we were just walking home.
We didn't know we were walking into something else entirely.
Something… waiting.
Because that was the last time things felt normal.
ECHO BEFORE THE STORM
A few years had passed.
Jeremy and I had grown tighter than ever. After middle school, we both convinced our dads to let us finish high school back in Japan. Something about wanting to understand our roots… or maybe we were just tired of the same old scenery.
Either way, they agreed.
We enrolled in Kosei High—one of those pristine, overly disciplined schools with long corridors that echo your footsteps like you're in a prison. Jeremy and I ended up in different classes, but we were still close. If not during lunch, then after school. No matter what, we found each other.
And that's when it happened.
It was just another afternoon—cherry blossoms pretending to be poetic in the breeze, students heading home in clusters like migrating birds. Jeremy and I were heading to the back gate when we heard it.
Yelling. Then something crash.
We ran to the source, and that's when we saw her.
She stood like a living warning sign. Bright pink hair, shaved on one side, eyes sharp enough to cut steel. She was surrounded by two upperclassmen—both of them your classic delinquents, with smug grins and a thirst for dominance.
She looked like she could take them both.
She actually was taking them both.
But there was blood on her lip, and her breaths were short and uneven. That's when Jeremy moved. I followed.
We didn't even think—we just jumped in.
Jeremy landed the first hit, square in one guy's ribs. I tackled the other from behind, slamming him into the wall. For a second, it felt like we had control.
But it was only a second.
They bounced back harder than expected. One of them pulled a knife—not your average lunchroom blade, either. This thing had weight.
Jeremy caught a cut across the arm, and I took a punch that made my head ring.
Then something changed.
The air shifted. There was a sound—not loud, but wrong. Like nails dragging across wet glass. Everyone heard it.
Even the two bastards stopped.
That's when a shadow passed over us—not a person, but a presence. Something unnatural.
The pink-haired girl—Suzuki, we'd learn later—froze. Her eyes darted toward the corner of the building. Whatever she saw made her whisper something I didn't catch. But she looked terrified.
Jeremy grabbed my collar and hissed, "Cid—we need to run. Now."
And we did.
Not because we were afraid of the guys—no. It was what came with that sound. Something that felt like it didn't belong in this world. Something that would be back.
We ran, dragging Suzuki with us.
And just like that… we weren't just three strangers anymore.
Years Later – Final Year
Time moved like it always does—too fast when you want to pause it, too slow when you're stuck waiting.
We were now in our final year. Jeremy, Suzuki, and I had become a trio. The kind you read about in books. The kind that sticks together no matter how weird life gets.
But beneath the smiles, something was off.
I kept getting dreams—vivid, too real. Whispers in a language I didn't understand. Doors I couldn't open. Until one day… I did.
That's when the Gate of Truth appeared.