Under the shade of a lush tree in the school corner, Noah sat leaning back, facing the blank wall in front of him. His gaze remained fixed on the paper containing those strange symbols. From a distance, the cheerful sounds of other students only highlighted his solitude.
Voices of ridicule continued to echo in his head, like a curse that never faded: "Bad omen." "Cursed child."
What if Haru is right? What if this is all pointless?
He could no longer hold back the hot tears. They fell, wetting the paper and slightly blurring its ink. His hand clenched the paper tightly until it crumpled. just want to be normal… like the others… His sobs were stifled, his hand roughly wiping the tears that streamed down.
As his hand wiped his eyes, his gaze caught something in the gap between his fingers. The symbols on the paper were moving on their own, shifting to form new patterns that were still completely foreign to him.
What's happening? A hallucination? he thought, his heart pounding uncontrollably.
Noah wiped his tears harder, then stared at the paper intently. However, the change continued—the lines moved like ants, rearranging themselves.
This must be a hallucination from exhaustion, his mind tried to find a logical explanation, but his eyes couldn't lie.
He bit his finger as hard as he could, the pain proving this was real. His hand then clenched and he knocked on his head slowly, trying to bring himself to his senses.
"Noah…"
The voice jolted him to awareness. A familiar voice.
From behind the tree, Rei and Allen appeared. Haru followed from behind them, his face filled with guilt.
Haru immediately approached, accidentally bumping into Allen and Rei's shoulders in his hurried steps.
"Forgive me, Noah. I didn't mean it. I was just joking," he said, his voice choked, not knowing how to continue.
But Noah completely ignored them. His eyes were still glued to the paper in his hand, which was now still again, as if the change earlier had never happened—just as his three friends appeared. I'm not hallucinating.
"The letters… they changed just now…" Noah said softly, more to himself than to them, while looking at the paper with disbelief.
Haru exchanged looks with Rei, his face showing confusion and worry. "Noah… it seems you–" Rei said softly, thinking Noah was hallucinating from stress.
But Allen, who was calmer, approached and looked more carefully. He recalled the shape of the symbol he had glimpsed earlier when Noah showed the paper in the canteen.
His eyes widened. He was sure one of the symbols in the lower right corner had been shaped like a sun, but now it had changed into some kind of spiral.
"It changed…" Allen whispered almost soundlessly, his face turning serious.
Haru frowned, his head tilted in complete confusion.
"Alright, this time I believe it," Allen said in a firmer voice. "Things like this aren't strange anymore in our world. Maybe there's a specific reason that person gave you that book."
Instantly, Noah's previously listless eyes widened. His hand gripped the paper tighter, and for the first time, a light of pride appeared in his gaze.
Rei approached them, trying to ease the tension. "Alright, alright. Instead of standing here, we should finish the food from earlier. The bell's about to ring."
Allen reached out his hand to Noah. "Come on, friend…"
Noah accepted the outstretched hand, then looked at Haru, who still appeared awkward and guilty. "I'm sorry, Haru. I overreacted earlier."
"No, it was my fault…" Haru replied, looking down.
"Forget it. Let's pretend it never happened," Noah said, attempting a small smile.
…
In the still noisy canteen, Allen slowly spooned his soup, then looked at Noah. "So, what will you do now?" he asked, his voice full of curiosity.
Noah looked at the piece of paper open beside his plate, his eyes shining with new determination. "I will keep searching for its meaning," he answered, his voice low but full of conviction.
Rei, sitting across from him, interrupted enthusiastically. "I'll help Noah! I'm actually curious too about what these weird symbols mean."
A genuine smile finally spread across Noah's face. "Thank you, Rei," he said, his heart warmed by the support that was beginning to grow again.
***
At 2:30 PM, the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Children streamed out of the crowded school gate. The orphanage's yellow bus was already waiting in its usual spot.
"Alright, I'll say goodbye here," Rei said to Noah and the others. "My car is waiting."
Rei hurried straight towards a sleek black luxury car parked not far away. A dignified older guard stood rigidly by the door, opening it for him. "Did the Young Master enjoy himself today?" asked the guard.
"Of course," Rei replied, handing his bag to the guard. "I prefer school to that boring house…" His face, which was initially looking down, suddenly lifted, hopeful. "Are… Father and Mother coming home today?"
"I'm sorry, Young Master," the guard answered in a flat tone yet with a hint of concealed sympathy. "It seems they cannot come home once again."
"Just as I expected…" Rei said softly, trying to hide the disappointment that clouded his face before getting into the car.
Noah, standing near the bus door, watched the brief conversation until it ended. A new feeling crept into his heart—perhaps Rei had his own world that wasn't easy either. He finally turned around and stepped onto the bus.
Inside the quiet bus, Noah took his usual seat by the window. To distract himself from the symbols and his earlier frustration, he held a newspaper he had just bought from a homeless person on the side of the road. He simply wanted to know the state of the world outside his own narrow one.
l
…
Upon arriving in his simple room at the orphanage, Noah threw his bag onto the bed. The latest newspaper was still in his hand. Listlessly, his eyes fell upon an article with statistical data on the frequency of Rift appearances worldwide.
Japan was the country with the most Rift appearances.
The number was so high, far surpassing other countries.
Why is that? he wondered inwardly.
His curiosity drove him to open a small drawer in his desk. Inside were stored old newspaper clippings he had collected secretly, for some reason, perhaps because he felt something important about these news stories. He pulled out several yellowed sheets. An article from eleven years ago showed that Japan wasn't even in the top five countries for Rift appearances.
But all that changed drastically after one major event: the Colossal Rift Shinjuku. Since that event, it was as if the gate to another world had been locked open above Japan. New Rifts appeared like mushrooms in the rainy season.
His finger flipped to another clipping. A blurrily printed photo showed figures in black robes with a strange symbol resembling an eye or an inverted triangle. The headline made his chest tighten: "Emergence of a Devil-Worshipping Cult."
I... feel like I've seen this symbol before. His eyes widened in that instant. The one who gave me this book?! I saw it clearly, even the logo... but the person in the newspaper is different.
If that's true... what was his intention in giving this to me? He stepped back slightly from his book, a feeling of caution beginning to envelop him. Should I be more careful now?
Suddenly, the image of the six-winged creature from his dream and the strange symbols in his book flashed through his mind. Something was connected, a dark thread he didn't understand. The world felt larger and more terrifying than he had ever imagined.
But his fatigue from the day was too heavy. His head was throbbing badly.
Ah, enough… he let out a long sigh, putting the newspaper clipping down. I'll set this aside for now. I must focus on finding the meaning of this book.
He slowly tidied the newspapers and papers, trying to clear the chaos in his head along with the chaos on his desk. Perhaps tomorrow, with a clearer mind, he could see all of this more clearly.