Chapter 10: The Cracks in My Memory
The rooftop was colder than it should've been.
Not because of the wind.
Because Dust didn't like being restrained.
It always left the air around me… wrong. Like the world had to work harder just to stay normal.
Aya stood a few steps away, hands on her knees, still catching her breath. She didn't look weak. Just exhausted in a way that made it obvious she wasn't used to fighting things like him.
I stared at the street below.
The collector was gone.
But I didn't feel relief.
I felt… hunted.
And I hated that feeling.
The necklace sat against my chest like a living thing. I could feel the cold edge of it even through my shirt. It was calmer now, but the calm wasn't peace.
It was a lid on boiling water.
Aya straightened slowly and wiped her mouth with her sleeve.
"So," she said, voice still slightly shaky, "you're not just a System user."
I glanced at her.
"Don't call me that."
She blinked.
"What else should I call you?"
I hesitated.
I didn't know.
Because even I didn't fully understand what I was.
The System inside me stayed quiet.
Not silent.
Just… listening.
Aya took a step closer, careful, like she didn't want to trigger something.
"I've been watching anomalies for two years," she said. "I've seen people awaken abilities. I've seen people get corrupted. I've seen Hunters collect them."
Her eyes narrowed.
"But I've never seen anyone do what you just did."
I let out a breath.
"That wasn't me," I muttered.
Aya frowned.
"What do you mean?"
I didn't answer.
Because the truth was uncomfortable.
The truth was: Dust sometimes moved like it had its own will. Like it wasn't a tool.
Like it was a realm.
And I was only borrowing it.
The wind shifted.
For a second, the dust in the air shimmered. The city lights below flickered again, like the world was still recovering from my domain.
Aya's eyes flicked to my necklace.
"That thing," she said quietly. "It's stopping something."
I felt my fingers tighten.
"It's not just stopping it," I replied. "It's… keeping me intact."
Aya's face changed.
Not fear.
Understanding.
Like she'd heard this before.
"Who gave it to you?" she asked.
The question hit me harder than I expected.
I opened my mouth to answer.
Then I stopped.
Because I didn't know.
Not clearly.
I knew the shape of the memory. I knew the feeling. I knew the weight of the moment.
But the name?
The face?
Nothing.
Just fog.
And a voice.
"You'll destroy yourself if you hold it bare."
I rubbed my thumb against the chain.
"I don't remember," I admitted.
Aya stared.
"You don't remember… who gave you the thing that's keeping you alive?"
I shrugged, but it wasn't casual.
It was bitter.
"That's kind of the theme of my life."
Aya looked away.
The city below was loud again now. Sirens. People shouting. Cars moving. The world continuing like it didn't almost get rewritten.
But my world wasn't continuing.
It was cracking.
System thread disturbance detected.
The message wasn't spoken like normal.
It wasn't clean.
It was… distorted.
Like the System itself was uncomfortable.
Aya didn't see the message.
Of course she didn't.
Only I could.
I frowned.
"System," I whispered internally.
No answer.
I tried again.
"Why are you quiet?"
Still nothing.
Then—
A voice spoke.
Not one voice.
Seven.
But not like usual.
This time it sounded like a choir trying to speak through broken glass.
—WE WARNED YOU—
—THE HUNTERS HAVE TASTED YOU—
—YOUR DUST HAS BEEN RECORDED—
—YOUR NAME IS NOW A SIGNAL—
My throat tightened.
I hated when they spoke like that.
It felt less like guidance and more like a verdict.
Aya noticed my expression.
"Hey," she said. "What's wrong?"
I didn't answer.
Because my head was suddenly pounding.
Not a normal headache.
More like pressure pushing from inside my skull.
A memory trying to surface.
I grabbed the edge of the rooftop railing.
Aya stepped closer.
"Shirou?"
My vision blurred.
And then—
The world snapped.
---
I was standing in a train station.
Not Shinjuku.
Not modern.
Older.
The lights were dimmer, the air smelled like rain and metal, and people moved like shadows.
I heard an announcement echoing overhead.
A train arriving.
A whistle.
Then—
The ground shook.
Not like a small earthquake.
Like the world cracked open beneath the tracks.
People screamed.
I turned, and I saw myself.
Younger.
Wearing a school uniform.
My eyes wide, terrified, confused.
I watched my younger self stumble backward as the floor split, a light pouring out from the crack like a wound in reality.
And then—
A hand grabbed my wrist.
A voice, calm and tired, whispered:
"You're late."
I snapped my head to look at who said it.
But I couldn't see their face.
Only a silhouette.
A cloak.
A necklace in their hand.
The same one I wore now.
They pushed it into my palm.
"Put it on."
My younger self shook his head.
"I don't understand—"
"You don't have to."
The silhouette leaned close.
And for the first time, I heard something in their voice that scared me.
Not cruelty.
Not anger.
Grief.
Like they'd already watched this happen a hundred times.
"You're a descendant," they whispered.
"Of the Airy God."
My younger self froze.
The silhouette continued.
"The Dust Realm is yours by birth. Not by training. Not by blessing."
The crack in the ground widened.
The light became a storm.
And from inside it—
I felt something.
A presence.
A terror.
Not a monster.
A force.
The silhouette shoved my younger self forward.
"Go."
"I'll die!"
"No."
The silhouette's voice became sharp.
"You'll live."
"And that will be worse."
Then—
The world shattered.
---
I gasped and stumbled backward.
I was back on the rooftop.
My knees hit the concrete hard.
Aya grabbed my shoulder.
"Shirou! Hey—what happened? You just—your eyes—"
I didn't hear all of it.
My breathing was too loud.
My heart was hammering.
Because the memory wasn't just a memory.
It was a door.
And it had opened slightly.
The necklace burned.
The System screamed.
Memory breach detected.
Shadow fluctuation rising.
Emergency stabilization required.
Aya stared at me like she didn't know whether to help or run.
"Shirou…" she whispered. "What did you see?"
I swallowed.
My mouth tasted like blood.
"A train station," I said.
Aya's face went pale.
"…Two years ago," she whispered.
I froze.
"What?"
Aya looked down.
Then back up at me.
Her voice was quieter now.
Like she was scared of being overheard by the air itself.
"The first major breach happened two years ago," she said. "A station collapse. A missing boy. No bodies found."
My stomach turned.
She stepped closer.
"And the report said…" she hesitated.
"What?" I demanded.
Aya's eyes held mine.
"The report said the air was full of grey dust."
Silence.
The city below sounded far away now.
Like I was underwater.
My fingers clenched.
"So that was me," I whispered.
Aya nodded slowly.
"Yes."
I looked down at my hands.
At the faint dust swirling around my knuckles like smoke.
And for the first time…
I didn't feel like I was in control.
I felt like I was remembering what I'd been pretending not to be.
Aya's voice softened.
"Shirou… what are you?"
I laughed once.
It sounded wrong.
"Yeah," I said.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out."
The System's voice returned.
But it wasn't calm.
It was urgent.
New mission.
The Hunters will return.
The next one will not negotiate.
Aya's eyes narrowed.
"How many are there?" she asked.
The System answered before I could.
Known Hunters in Tokyo: 3.
Unconfirmed: 11.
Aya cursed under her breath.
"Three?" she repeated. "That's—"
She stopped.
Because the air changed again.
Not like before.
Not the collector.
This time it was…
Still.
Too still.
The dust around my feet stopped moving.
Aya slowly turned her head.
So did I.
Across the street, on another rooftop, someone stood watching us.
A tall figure.
Long coat.
Face hidden.
And behind them—
Something hovered.
A shape made of broken darkness, like wings made of smoke.
The figure lifted a hand.
And even from this distance, I heard the voice.
Clear.
Cold.
Almost amused.
"Airy God…"
My blood went cold.
They weren't calling the title.
They were calling me.
Aya whispered:
"Oh no…"
The System screamed.
High-level Hunter detected.
Threat level: catastrophic.
Recommendation: immediate escape.
The figure tilted their head.
And smiled.
"I finally found you."