Inside Haru's Dream.....
Haru woke up to a sound that didn't exist.
His eyes opened, but the world felt muted—like someone had wrapped his mind in thick cloth. The ceiling above him was familiar. Cracked paint. A faint shadow from the window bars.
His dorm room.
Yet his chest felt tight, as if something inside him was missing and his body hadn't caught up to the fact yet.
He sat up slowly.
The motion felt wrong.
Not painful.
Not weak.
Just… lighter.
Haru pressed a hand against his chest, fingers trembling. His heart beat steadily beneath his palm, but the rhythm felt distant, like it belonged to someone else.
"What…?" he whispered.
The word echoed strangely in the empty room.
He swung his legs over the bed and stood. The floor was cold. He welcomed the sensation—it proved he was still real.
Still here.
His gaze drifted to the desk. Books. Notes. A photo frame turned face-down.
He froze.
Why was it face-down?
A sharp unease crawled up his spine as he picked it up.
The frame was empty.
Not broken.
Not damaged.
Just… empty.
Haru frowned.
"I'm sure there was something here."
He searched his memory.
Nothing came.
No image. No face. No name.
Only a dull pressure behind his eyes, like a bruise that refused to surface.
That was when the laughter came.
"You're improving."
The voice slid into his thoughts smoothly, comfortably—as if it had always belonged there.
Haru didn't flinch.
That scared him more than anything.
"What did you do?" he asked quietly.
The Crimson Devil chuckled, pleased.
"I collected what you owed."
Haru's fingers tightened around the frame. "I didn't agree to this."
"You agreed the moment you survived."
The words settled like poison.
Haru turned toward the window. Outside, dawn hadn't arrived yet. The sky was deep, endless black, the kind that swallowed stars whole.
"I feel…" he hesitated. "Wrong."
The devil's voice softened.
"That's the cost of continuity. Power requires subtraction. The more you endure, the more fragile the remaining pieces become."
Haru tried again. He searched his memories harder this time. Childhood. Training. Pain. Fear.
They were there.
But something important was missing.
Not erased violently.
Excised cleanly.
A knock echoed faintly from the corridor.
Haru stiffened.
The door slid open before he could answer.
Yamado stood there, eyes sharp, expression unreadable. He looked Haru up and down, then frowned.
"…You don't feel the same," Yamado said.
Haru blinked. "Weird way to greet someone."
Yamado's jaw tightened. "You don't even realize it."
Realize what?
Haru opened his mouth to ask—but the question slipped away before it formed. His thoughts scattered, refusing to settle.
Yamado stared at him for a long moment, then looked away.
"Tch. Never mind."
He turned to leave, pausing at the doorway. "Just… don't forget why you're here."
The door closed.
Haru stood alone again.
"Why am I here?" he murmured.
The devil didn't answer.
Down the hall, Shimi laughed.
The sound was clear. Bright. Alive.
Haru listened carefully.
He waited for something—warmth, familiarity, anything.
Nothing came.
His brow furrowed. "That voice… why doesn't it mean anything to me?"
The Crimson Devil smiled inside the dark.
"Because meaning is expensive."
Far above the dorms, Adryn stood on the academy roof, coat fluttering in the cold wind. His gaze was fixed on Haru's window.
The pressure in the air was undeniable now.
The contract had deepened.
"He crossed the threshold," Adryn thought grimly.
"And he didn't even scream."
Haru returned to his bed and sat down slowly. He felt tired, though he hadn't done anything. Exhausted in a way sleep couldn't fix.
He stared at his hands.
They were steady.
Stronger than before.
Power flowed through him, quiet but immense—coiled and waiting.
And beneath it all, something irretrievable was gone.
Haru lay back and closed his eyes.
For a moment, he thought he heard someone calling his name.
But the sound faded.
And he didn't chase it.
Deep within his soul, the covenant pulsed once—content.
The devil began counting again....
End of Volume 1