Silence still hung in the air.
The body hadn't moved.
The night hadn't changed.
But something—
felt unfinished.
Then—
RING.
A sharp sound cut through the quiet.
Ren's eyes shifted instantly.
"…That's his bag."
The bully's backpack lay on the ground, half-open from the fall.
The sound came from inside.
Kai glanced at it.
"…Check it."
Kai hesitated for half a second—
then stepped forward.
He crouched down and slowly unzipped the bag.
The ringing stopped.
The screen lit up.
A message.
Ren's eyes narrowed as he read it.
"…'Meet us tonight.'"
"…'Aokigahara Forest.'"
Silence.
Kai's expression darkened.
"…The forest…"
Ren looked at him.
"…Do you think that's where it all happened?"
Kai nodded slowly.
"…Yeah."
A beat.
"…That's where they killed me."
The air grew colder.
Ren's grip tightened slightly on the phone.
"…Then this is it."
Kai stepped closer.
"…A meeting."
"…Or a trap."
Ren didn't respond.
Instead—
his eyes shifted back to the bag.
"…There's more."
Kai frowned.
"…What?"
Kai reached deeper inside.
His hand brushed against something soft.
Cloth.
He pulled it out slowly.
A cloak.
White.
Clean.
Folded carefully.
Both of them froze.
Kai's voice dropped.
"…That's it."
Ren looked at it.
"…You're sure?"
Kai nodded.
"…The ones in the ritual…"
"…They wore white."
Silence.
The pieces clicked together.
The bully wasn't just involved.
He was one of them.
Ren stared at the cloak in his hands.
Then at the message.
Then back at the body on the ground.
"…He was going to that meeting."
Kai smirked slightly.
"…Which means…"
Ren finished it.
"…We go instead."
The wind passed through the street.
Cold.
Unseen.
Kai looked toward the distance.
"…Aokigahara…"
"…We're finally getting close."
Ren folded the cloak slowly.
His eyes calm—
but sharper than before.
"…Tonight."
The phone screen dimmed.
The message still there.
Waiting.
And somewhere far away—
in a forest that swallowed sound—
Someone was waiting in the forest expecting to meet the people that are going to join in this ritual.
To be continued…