NARRATOR
The moment Yosuke and Sai disappeared into the night, Taro untied the invader. Instead of punishment, he gave the man a chance.
"Go," Taro said firmly. "Take this moment to become someone better. Don't waste it."
The assassin, broken and trembling, stumbled out of the motel. Taro, weary yet resolute, turned back inside.
When he entered his room, he found Yuri fast asleep. The sight softened him—if only for a moment.
TARO KOI
I hope they're safe.
Time had already stretched long since Yosuke and Sai's departure. But I trusted Yosuke—his strength, his resolve. As long as they avoided the Gravebark Forest, they'd survive.
Quietly, I sat on my bed, staring at Yuri as she slept peacefully. I wanted to protect her forever… yet the truth weighed heavily on me.
What would I tell them—Yuri, Sai—when the time came? After hours of restless thought, I came to a conclusion. Not the right one, not the best one… but the only one I could live with.
JIRO IKIGAI
Exhaustion dragged me down, but my mind refused to rest. I lay on the bed, my thoughts circling one vision again and again.
The moment I left that cursed room, I had seen it—Sai holding Yuri in his arms, her final breath escaping her lips.
I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms. Was that the future? Was it real?
Should I warn Sai? Should I tell Taro? Yuri?
So many questions, no answers.
I stared blankly at the ceiling, my chest tight with fear and helplessness. At last, sleep claimed me.
SAI SHINU
A dream. No—something darker.
At first, I thought it was just a dream, but then I woke within it. My vision blurred, my body heavy. Darkness swallowed me whole.
I tried to move. Nothing.
I called out. "Yosuke!" My voice echoed, but no reply came.
I was alone. In a cave. The sound of my own breathing was the only proof I was still alive.
Then—light. A single torch flickered to life.
A figure emerged, cloaked in black, his face hidden. Then, as if in answer, more torches burst into flame one by one, forming a circle around me. Shadows danced on the stone walls.
And then I realized—I wasn't alone. Dozens of figures stood there, all wearing the same long black cloaks. Silent. Watching.
One of them stepped forward. His movements were deliberate, heavy, as though time itself bent for him.
He stopped in front of me and lifted his hood.
My blood turned to ice.
It was him.
The man from the accident.
I froze, my heart hammering. His eyes—jet black, endless—stared back at me. They weren't eyes, they were voids. Empty. Soulless.
Without a word, he lifted his hand. The ground trembled. The earth itself bent to his will.
Stone rose, forming four jagged circles. They clamped around my wrists and ankles, pinning me in place.
I didn't understand—until the stone tightened.
CRACK.
Agony tore through me. My hands. My feet. Shattered under the crushing grip of the earth.
I screamed, my voice raw, echoing endlessly in the cavern. Pain unlike anything I had ever felt consumed me. I could no longer tell if I still had a body—only pain remained.
Desperation clawed at me, but I couldn't move. Couldn't fight. Couldn't breathe.
Then, just as suddenly, the stones loosened. They shifted—circles once more—binding themselves around my wrists and ankles like shackles.
And then… he released me from the chair.
But the chains remained.