Miyu opened her eyes.
Her breathing was heavy and uneven, chest rising and falling as she tried to steady herself. Her vision slowly adjusted... and she looked around, taking in her surroundings. It was her room... her small, shabby old room. The walls were cracked, the paint peeling in uneven, faded patches. The ceiling was stained with dark, damp spots that no amount of scrubbing had ever managed to remove. Her bed looked as worn as ever, the thin mattress sagging slightly in the middle, and the window beside her had a long crack running through the glass, letting in a faint, cold draft that made her shiver. She pulled the thin blanket tighter around her shoulders.
It was raining hard.
Thunder rolled across the sky, shaking the old walls, and flashes of lightning briefly lit the room in pale white light. Water dripped through the cracks in the ceiling, drop by drop, landing on the floor and sometimes splattering onto the edge of her bed. The smell of rain mixed with the faint scent of mold that always lingered in the air. Miyu's stomach twisted and her heart raced. She felt a chill crawling along her spine... as if the storm outside had somehow entered the room.
"Huh? What happened? How did I end up back in my house? Wasn't I in the forest?" Miyu murmured, confusion clouding her eyes. Her hands clenched the blanket, her fingers cold and trembling.
Then the memories came rushing back, sharp and vivid. She remembered everything... how her already miserable life had fallen apart in an instant. The attempted rape by one of her bullies, the way his influential parents had used their power to have her expelled and fired from every part-time job she had, the panic that followed when the police began to chase her after false accusations.
She had run for days, deeper and deeper into the forests of Okutama... hiding from the police, hungry, weak, desperate. Her legs ached, her throat burned, her body was on the edge of collapse. And yet... she had done it. She had performed the summoning.
"Finally woke up, eh? I was really starting to get a bit impatient, you know?"
The voice echoed through the room... cold, strange, and almost playful. It made her flinch, goosebumps rising along her arms.
"Who said that?!" Miyu cried, startled, looking around. There was no one there.
"Me, of course!"
Suddenly, the room began to shake... the lights flickered, and a cold chill spread through the air. Distorted voices whispered loudly, echoing around her, as swirling shadows appeared, twisting and turning. Miyu froze, her heart hammering, staring in horror at the darkness that seemed alive.
From the writhing shadows, a figure began to form... a human man. But not just any man. He was stunningly handsome, like someone from a fashion magazine or a boy band. Miyu felt her breath catch.
His hair was medium length, black as midnight, wavy and layered at the front, sides, and back, with long side bangs framing his face. His eyes were warm brown, and his skin was a light shade of brown with a subtle tan.
Two black goat-like horns curved smoothly from his head. He wore jet-black clothing that hugged his lean, well-toned body, with a black cloak draped over his shoulders. Faint glints of gold and silver caught Miyu's eye... a golden bangle wrapped one wrist, and a silver ring rested on the finger of his other hand.
The man in front of her was no human. She could tell... he was something else. Like... a demon, a very handsome demon. The word demon barely formed in her mind before she blurted out, "Satan! You must be Satan, right?"
He had to be Satan... he was the one who had appeared through the summoning circle.
"Not this again," the man muttered, his tone sharp with irritation. "Have you already forgotten that I am not Satan? I made that clear the first time you asked, didn't I?"
It was then that Miyu remembered... he had said exactly that before. Her throat felt tight, and her hands trembled as she tried to steady herself. Her lips quivered as the words came out in a shaky voice. "If you are not Satan... then who are you? And what am I doing back in my room? Weren't we supposed to be in the forest? How did I even get here?"
The man let out a low, amused hum that seemed to echo through the small room. "Quite demanding, aren't you?" His voice was calm, almost gentle, yet there was something in it that made Miyu's spine tingle, a faint, unshakable sense of unease. "A little girl like you, all alone with a man like me, and yet acting so bold... especially on a rainy day like this. Not the best way to start, is it?"
He stood there, arms crossed, leaning lightly against the edge of the old wardrobe. The shadows of the room shifted around him, flickering with every subtle movement. Miyu hugged herself instinctively, trying to shrink into the bed, her heart pounding in her chest, each beat echoing in her ears.
"Though I won't say I don't like bold little girls like you," he continued, snapping his fingers.
Suddenly, she felt herself slipping, as if the ground had vanished beneath her. She was falling... yes, falling, through the skies. The wind whipped past her, cold and wild, tossing her hair in every direction, making her scream as it tore past her ears.
Her eyes darted upward and the sky above stretched endlessly, black as the deepest night. Stars twinkled like scattered gems, and the two moons hung there in silent majesty, one glowing a soft green, the other burning a deep, molten red.
Miyu's chest tightened. She felt weightless, suspended between fear and awe, the impossible sky unfolding around her as if she had been plucked from reality itself.
"Mesmerizing, right?" The man appeared beside her, the air whipping around him, lifting his hair and cloak. "Now turn around and see."
Her body spun slowly in midair, and her eyes widened as she saw the city below. It was vast and breathtaking, a sprawling metropolis of black stone and gothic structures, towers that scraped the clouds, and in the center, a massive castle rising like the heart of the city.
"So beautiful..." she whispered, her voice trembling with awe. How could something so real and yet so fantastical exist? It was as if she had stepped straight into a storybook world, one she never imagined she would see.
"Not many have the chance to see the city of this king, even those who claim to possess eternal life," the man remarked, his tone calm and deliberate. Then, with a faint smirk, he added, "By the way, I think you're forgetting something."
"Huh?" Miyu muttered, trying to make sense of his words. Then it hit her. Her stomach lurched as she realized she was still falling. A wave of panic surged through her, and before she could do anything else, she screamed at the top of her lungs, the sound almost swallowed by the vast sky around her.
She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for impact. The pavement of the city loomed beneath her, black marble glinting in the pale moonlight. She could almost feel the crushing hardness beneath her, and for a moment, terror gripped her completely.
But instead of hitting the ground, she landed on something soft… yet not too soft, something that gave just enough to cushion her fall without swallowing her completely. Her body trembled as she realized she had not been harmed. Suspended between shock and disbelief, her eyes remained tightly shut, too scared to open them.
"Open your eyes. You are not dead," the man's voice rang out, calm but commanding. Her eyelids fluttered, and just like before, when he had told her to turn around, her body obeyed instinctively.
Her eyes opened slowly, revealing the familiar sight of her shabby room. The rain still pattered against the window, and the dim light from outside cast shadows across the cracked walls. Her body still shook, and her heart thudded heavily in her chest, but she was back on her bed, safe for the moment, even if her mind was still racing.
"Man, that was so fun. I'm surprised you didn't pee yourself in fear... most people would if they were in your place," the man commented, his voice suddenly coming from beside her.
She turned her head and froze. He was lying next to her, his head resting lazily on his palm, his elbow propped against the mattress. Her throat tightened as he reached out with his other hand, brushing a strand of her hair between his fingers.
"Relax," he murmured, his tone almost playful. "That was just my basic introduction. I do it every time someone," he leaned closer, his breath grazing her ear, "summons me."
Before she could react, his presence flickered. He vanished from the bed and reappeared sitting casually in a black cradle chair that hadn't been there a moment ago.
"Now then," he began, crossing one leg over the other with a faint smile. "Let's get down to business.... it's time to show a little professionalism."
Muyu didn't utter a word.... she was still shivering in fear, her lips parting but no sound coming out. Even if she tried, the words refused to form.
"Not much of a talker now eh.... that's good, that's very good," he observed, his tone almost approving. "Little girls like you should always stay quiet.... I hate demanding ones." He leaned back, settling comfortably into the cradle chair. "Now, coming back to the point.... listen carefully.... I'm going to give a brief explanation of the three earlier questions you asked, and I'll only explain it once."
He tilted his head slightly and went on, "First.... you can call me the King in Black, or Lord Black. My true name is something that doesn't exist in any human language.... so I can't pronounce it. And I'm no mere demon.... I'm someone far more powerful than that. Second and third.... you're here because of the wish you made."
Lightning flashed behind him, illuminating the room for a brief moment.
Miyu froze as the memory of the wish she made flashed in her mind. She lay silent on the bed.... the sound of water dripping from the cracked ceiling seemed louder now, falling in uneven rhythms. Soon, the drops came faster, pattering as the rain outside grew heavier.
"Still troubled, ei? Look at the clock," the man instructed, his gaze shifting to the digital clock on the shabby table beside the bed.
Miyu followed his eyes, and when she saw the display, her breath caught. It was the sixteenth of December.
"This date... this date, it's the very day before everything happened to me! That means... you brought me back in time!" she exclaimed, quickly sitting up and grabbing the clock, clutching it tightly. "I can't believe it, I've time-traveled!"
"You haven't time-traveled," the man replied, his words deepening Miyu's confusion. The cradle chair creaked as it rocked back and forth, its sound echoing softly through the room, blending with the rain and the dripping ceiling.