'What the hell is going on in this room?!'
The kitchen shattered into absolute chaos. The protective line Shido had built around Hori broke in a split second as both teenagers moved out of pure, hurried instinct.
'I have to catch him before he hits the counter!' Shido's mind screamed in pure panic. He didn't even care about the broken glass on the floor; his only focus was getting to Kento before his knees gave out.
At the exact same instant, Hori's mind completely blanked out. 'No, no, no—not again! I can't just stand here and watch him break!' Her legs moved before she could even process the danger, running across the kitchen straight toward the wall.
They crossed paths blindly, driven by those simultaneous waves of desperation.
"Kashima!" Hori screamed, her voice completely breaking as she ran straight toward the blonde boy pressed against the wall.
"Kento!" Shido yelled at the exact same time, spinning on instinct and rushing over to the kitchen counter where Kento had slammed backward.
Mr. Kamitani stood frozen in the center of the kitchen, his mind completely paralysed.
His sharp, calculating lawyer instincts—the ones that could dissect a corporate fraud case in seconds—were entirely useless here.
'What is this? Is it a poison? A chemical reaction?' his mind raced frantically, trying to find a logical explanation for why two perfectly healthy teenagers had collapsed at the exact same second.
'No, they haven't even touched the food yet... Then why are they clutching completely different parts of their bodies? Why is Kento in pain because of Kashima?!'
With no clue what was happening, his gaze darted rapidly between his own son and the weeping boy against the wall, a deep, heavy knot of worry twisting tightly in his chest.
For the first time in his life, the Shield of the Court was looking at a situation where logic failed him completely, leaving him entirely powerless to protect his own household.
"K-Kash..." Kento choked out.
"Cough! Cough-Urgh!"
A violent, breathless cough tore through Kento's chest, his shoulders shaking as he gasped desperately for air.
His face was violently pale, sweat dripping down his neck as he forced his green eyes open, looking past Shido's shoulder to lock onto Kashima. "Kashima... s-stay..." his voice was raw, breaking into a pained gasp mid-sentence.
"Hey! Hey! Look at me!" Shido shouted, his hands firmly gripping Kento's shoulders to keep him from sliding down the cabinet. "Stop looking over there! Look out for yourself first, you moron!"
Even as the harsh words left his mouth, Shido's own gaze snapped violently across the kitchen, his eyes locking onto the blonde boy collapsing against the wall.
'Damn it, Kashima... I'm sorry, just hold on.' Shido thought bitterly, a sharp knot of guilt twisting in his chest as he looked back and forth between the two of them.
He felt completely torn in half—every instinct screamed at him to run over and help Kashima too, but Kento was heavy and slipping right under his hands. 'What the hell did you do to yourself? What is happening to you two?!'
Shido's teeth clenched together as he tried to stabilize his brother. But as he held Kento close, his eyes shifted down and instantly widened in secret, cold panic.
Through the fabric of Kento's uniform shirt, right below his left rib, Shido noticed it—the unmistakable, terrifying glow of the hidden spiral mark pulsing with a fierce, dangerous heat.
"Gah...! H-Hak...!" Kento choked out, a strained whimpering sound escaping him as he bent low against Shido's chest.
'Damn it, why is it reacting now?!'
Shido cursed bitterly in his mind, his heart hammering against his ribs as he realized Kento's mark had completely activated in response to Kashima.
Across the kitchen, Kashima was completely losing the battle. Hot, bitter tears streamed continuously down his pale cheeks as he clutched his collarbone, his fingers digging so hard into the fabric of his uniform shirt that the threads threatened to snap.
"Kh... A-Argh..."
"K-Kashima... please..." Hori sobbed. She fell on her knees right beside him, her hands hanging in the air, trembling violently. She was entirely helpless. "W-What do I do? Where... where does it hurt? How do I make it s-stop?!"
The tears blurred her vision entirely, choking her throat so badly that her words came out distorted, muffled, and broken by heavy hiccups.
She reached out, her fingers lightly touching Kashima's freezing arm, but the boy only shook harder, his chest straining in shallow, rapid gasps against the wall.
"H-Haah... kh-kh... h-haa..."
Kashima let out those short, shallow gasps, his entire body vibrating violently at the physical contact, completely unable to catch a full breath.
"K-Kashima, no... stop! You're choking!" Hori cried out, her voice completely cracking in terror.
Panicking, her eyes snapped away from the blonde boy and darted frantically across the kitchen floor, locking straight onto Kento to see him clutching his stomach in the exact same mysterious agony.
"K-Kento..." she cried out slowly, her voice dropping into a scared, trembling whisper that was thick with tears. "Kento... you too? Why... why is everyone..."
Mr. Kamitani's fists clenched at his sides. The room was spinning with overlapping screams, weeping, and breathless coughing. His mind raced in a frantic loop. 'What is happening? What must I do?!'
'What the hell is happening to them?!'
Bzzzzzz... Bzzzzzz... Bzzzzzz...
A sudden, sharp vibration cut through the heavy layer of panic in the room. It was a low, mechanical sound, rhythmic and demanding, cutting right through the sounds of Hori's sobbing and Kento's choked gasps.
Down against Shido's chest, a faint, rhythmic light suddenly began to appear from inside the tight fabric of Kento's uniform pant pocket. The screen of the device inside was shining brightly, illuminating the cloth from within.
Shido didn't hesitate. Grabbing Kento firmly with one arm to keep him from collapsing onto the glass-littered floor, he used his other hand to urgently slide into Kento's pocket, his fingers blindly wrapping around the vibrating metal.
As Shido pulled the phone out into the open, Kento suddenly bent forward, a violent, harsh cough tearing out of his throat. His entire body shook.
"Cough! Khh—!"
"Hey! Easy—easy! I've got you!"
Shido yelled nervously, his arm tightening like a lock around Kento's waist, practically pulling the boy's dead weight against his own body to keep him on his feet.
"Kento!" Hori's voice screamed across the kitchen, her eyes widening in pure terror as she witnessed the black haired boy's sudden, violent collapse from across the room.
Shido ignored the cry, his eyes instantly snapping down to glance at the brightly lit screen in his hand to see who was calling.
Kento, blinking through the tears of pure agony, also cast his gaze downward toward the phone.
The moment their eyes locked onto the name flashing boldly across the screen, both brothers froze. A wave of absolute, cold shock crashed through them.
Their eyes widened in pure, silent panic, a heavy secret locking behind their teeth as they stared at the caller's name. The complete impossibility of that specific name appearing right now made their hearts drop.
Before they could even process it, Mr. Kamitani, finally breaking out of his frozen paralysis, stepped forward. His sharp eyes immediately caught the movement, his heavy steps bringing him right over the broken glass to stand directly over his sons.
Without a word, Mr. Kamitani reached down and firmly took the phone from Shido's grip, turning the screen to face himself.
DR. KANEKI NAGACHIKA.
The lawyer's face hardened, seeing the name of Hori's father flashing against the screen. He didn't press the accept button yet. Instead, he stared intensely at the flashing name for a fraction of a second, his thumb hanging over the screen. But his primary focus was still the boy collapsing in front of him.
"Kento." Mr. Kamitani spoke, his voice carrying a rare, strained tone as he looked down at his son's pale, sweating face. "Where does it hurt? Tell me exactly where."
Kento couldn't answer. His mouth hung open, his chest moving up and down as he let out nothing but shallow, desperate gasps for air, his fingers digging frantically into his uniform.
"Well... actually..." Shido stuttered out, his voice cracking and his heart hammering against his ribs. His thoughts were racing so fast and chaotically that he couldn't even think straight enough to figure out where Kento was actually in pain.
The complete terror of the situation had paralyzed his brain. "He just... it's just a sudden... Dad, he—"
Click.
Mr. Kamitani slid his thumb across the screen, finally picking up the call. He didn't say a word to the person on the other end yet. He simply lifted the phone, pressing the phone tightly against his ear, his eyes still locked onto Kento.
"Hello." Mr. Kamitani said into the phone.
Right at that exact second, the air in the kitchen seemed to freeze solid.
Kento's head snapped back against Shido's shoulder, his teeth gritting together. Forcing his trembling hand to press directly over the hidden, burning spiral mark pulsing through his shirt, he let out three raw, breathless words.
"Lower... left... Rib..."
The moment the words left Kento's lips, a sudden, terrifying shift crashed into the atmosphere of the room. The temperature felt like it dropped to absolute zero.
Before Mr. Kamitani could even process his son's words, the voice on the other end of the line finally spoke through the earpiece.
Instantly, Mr. Kamitani's entire body went completely rigid. Every ounce of color drained from the lawyer's face, turning him as white as a sheet. His fingers instantly lost all their strength, turning entirely limp.
THUD.
The phone slipped right out of his hand, falling through the air and slamming heavily against the floor, the loud noise echoing sharply through the chaotic room.
For a second, the phone just lay there against the tiles. Then, the small, tiny sound of the speaker cut through the heavy silence directly from the floor.
"Hello? Kamitani?" Dr. Nagachika's voice echoed through the line, sounding distant and confused on the other end. "Are you there? Hello...?"
----
🌸 A NOTE TO THE READERS 🌸
First of all... I owe you all an apology. 😭💔 (｡ŏ﹏ŏ)
I disappeared for over two weeks, and I'm sure some of you were wondering where I had vanished to. No, I wasn't sealed away by some ancient evil or abducted by aliens... though my exams certainly tried their best to defeat me. 🫠📚 (≧▽≦)
The truth is, I found myself stuck while thinking about the next scenes of THE DIVINE WHORL. Since this is my very first original novel, I don't want to rush the story or write something that feels forced. (๑•﹏•)
I want every chapter to be something I can proudly share with all of you. ✨ (〃ﾟ3ﾟ〃)
At the same time, I was also occupied with my fanfiction, NARUTO: A CHANGE IN TIMELINE. And honestly... if you've read the latest chapters, then you probably understand the pressure I'm under. The stakes there have become incredibly high, and writing those events required a lot more thought than I expected. 😵💫⚔️ (• ▽ •;)
But please know this—
I have not forgotten about THE DIVINE WHORL. Not even for a second. ❤️🌸 (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ
Unfortunately, the harsh life of a student shows no mercy. 😭📖 My exams kept me extremely busy, and I could hardly find time to write anything. And to make matters worse, another round of exams is coming in the first week of July. Truly, student life is a battlefield of its own. ⚔️📚 (〒﹏〒)
So if there are delays in chapter releases from time to time, I sincerely apologize. 🙏💙 (人 •͈ᴗ•͈)
I'll continue trying my best to provide both consistency and quality, because I'd rather take my time and deliver chapters worthy of your support than rush and disappoint you. ✨ (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧
And finally, I ask for your patience and forgiveness for my inconsistency. 🥹💕
THE DIVINE WHORL is not only my first original work, but also my first novel ever. I'm still learning, still growing, and still doing my best with every chapter. 🌷 (◍•ᴗ•◍)
So please continue to support me and cooperate with me on this journey. 🌸💖
Thank you for waiting. 🌷
Thank you for staying with me. 🌼
And most importantly...
Thank you for believing in THE DIVINE WHORL. ❤️✨ (灬º‿º灬)♡
— Author 🌙
----
🌸 AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS 🔍 🌸
Okay... okay... I know. 😭✋ Please put down the pitchforks. (;^ω^）
Yes, I ended the chapter right there.
And yes, I can already hear some of you screaming, "AUTHOR, WHY?!" (≧▽≦)💀
Honestly, this chapter was one of the trickiest ones I've written so far. There were so many emotions flying around—panic, confusion, desperation—and I wanted everyone in that kitchen to feel completely helpless in the face of something they simply couldn't understand. (• ▽ •;)
Poor Mr. Kamitani probably deserves a vacation after this. 😭☕
And can we take a moment to appreciate how badly these kids need therapy and a peaceful life? (〒﹏〒)
But jokes aside, this chapter marks a very important turning point in the story. Some impossible things are beginning to overlap, and certain mysteries are slowly moving toward the surface. ✨👀
As always, thank you all for reading and supporting THE DIVINE WHORL! 🌸❤️
And remember...
Sometimes, the most terrifying answer isn't "What happened?"
It's...
"How is this even possible?" 🌙❄️ (〃ﾟ3ﾟ〃)
-----
✦ 🔮 A GLIMPSE INTO THE NEXT CHAPTER 🔮 ✦
"What awaits beyond this page...?" 🌙
(灬･◡･灬)♡
"It seems your teammate just fired you."
"Aya... Aya-ta!"
----
❓ QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER ❓
After witnessing Kento and Kashima collapse in identical agony, what do you think is really connecting the two of them? 👀✨ (〃ﾟ3ﾟ〃)
🌸 A shared curse?
🌸 A forgotten past?
🌸 Something related to the Spiral Mark?
🌸 Or perhaps... something even more impossible?
And one more question... 🤭
When Mr. Kamitani heard Dr. Nagachika's voice, what do you think made him freeze in absolute shock? ❄️📞 (•▽•;)
I'd love to hear your theories! ✨🔍
(Though I won't confirm anything, hehe~ 😈🌙)
----
🎬 BEHIND THE SCENES! 🌸
Believe it or not, this chapter almost drove me insane. 😭 (〒﹏〒)
Trying to balance the chaos between Kento, Kashima, Hori, Shido, and Mr. Kamitani while making sure everyone's reactions felt natural was surprisingly difficult. 💀✨
Also, poor Mr. Kamitani spent this entire chapter questioning his law degree and everything he knew about reality. 😭☕
And yes...
Ending the chapter right after Dr. Nagachika's voice was absolutely intentional. 😈🌙
I regret nothing. (≧▽≦)✨
----
🌙 The stars may fade, and memories may sleep...
But the Spiral continues to turn.
Until we meet again beneath the same forgotten sky.
(＾∇＾)ﾉ♪
— SakuraShinomiya