“Aahーhk”

My eyes snapped open, my body lounging up. My hand clutched my chest. Panting, I looked around.

“Huh?”

My nose was greeted by the smell of old wood. A soft, warm blanket fell to my knees. A sensation in my right arm. The hand on my chest didn’t feel any form of cuts. 

Slowly looking down, the shirt that I had worn was in one piece, all the stains of blood gone. The taste of blood was absent in my mouth. As I was trying to process what happened, pain shot through my chest and arm.

“Ow, ow, ow.”

I clutched the front of my shirt and panted. Leaning back on a wall, I grumbled.

“This pain is in the exact same place, huh?.”

A light peeked across me, leaving the room a gentle yellow glow. With the new glow, I could make a silhouette of the room. I silently looked around, counting the objects around me.

“Bookshelves, tables, carpet, lamps, chairs. Ah, this was my room.”

I lifted my shirt up. Where the knife had slashed me, was now perfectly fine, peach skin. My right arm had found its way reattached.

“Huh? It healed all up?”

Confused, I stared at my own body. Without a sign of injury, I put my hand over my chest, feeling my diagram slowly moving up and down as I took breaths.

“Then that was… A dream?”

I stared at the wall, lowering my head. My hands grabbed the back of my hair.

“What is going on anymore… I don’t really get it.”

As I was thinking, a voice suddenly called out to me.

“You sure are energetic now, Livelyato.”

“Waaah!”

My head snapped up, to see Kazane peeking into my room. Her brown hair was tied behind her neck, and she gazed at me. Her eyes were closed as she took a sigh.

“I thought I told Sleepyato to get some sleep, but it seems that Sleepyato got no sleep.”

“Kazane…”

My hand shaking, I found it hard to put out what I wanted to say.

What happened?

It was my only thought. 

Somehow, it seemed I was still alive.

I couldn’t tell if this was afterlife, or if that was a dream.

“Hm? You look disturbed, Ayato.”

“Kazane… what happened while… I was out?”

“What happened?”

Kazane put a finger on her chin, as if to think. Then, she looked back at me.

“If I recall correctly, Ayato had left the house. A few hours later, I called you, but you didn’t respond. Since Mama and Papa aren’t here or tomorrow, I left to find you, since it was getting dark.”

“Mom and dad aren’t home…”

“They said some meeting conference for KRS or something. Mama specifically told me not to go, so I just stayed. You were there when they told us that, but it seems you didn’t pay attention.”

“I see…”

The hand clutching my shirt relaxed, and my head leaned back against the wall.

A feeling of relief washed through my body. Even though I was shuddering at the thought of getting slashed and gutted, it seemed that I was still in the same timeline as yesterday. It seemed likely that what happened yesterday was a dream. Either that, or these KRS things have the ability to heal fatal wounds.

While I was wondering what could’ve happened, I suddenly realized what Kazane had said.

“You left the house yesterday!?”

My head snapped to Kazane, and my hand clenched my shirt.

“Huh? I don’t see why there is anything special about me leaving the house. If anything, that’s how I felt about you leaving the house.”

Kazane glared at me, crossing her arms.

But I could hardly hear or bothered understanding what she had said. It was something worse.

The figure with the green hair and black hoodie appeared in my mind.

If that person was supposedly a GIRUS, and had come around Kazane…

Even though I wasn’t sure if it was a dream or a premonition, the thought made me shudder.

“Did you see anything strange!? Like somebody with…”

Green hair and purple smoke.

The words caught in my throat as I recalled my last moments with him.

The purple knife he had slammed into my skull.

“I don’t get why it’s such a surprise that I left the house.”

Saying that while sighing, Kazane rubbed her forehead in irritation.

“I didn’t see anything strange. Just the city being a city. Though on second thought, I did see something particularly strange. I saw Shyato being carried by a girl that wasn't his sister.”

“ーhuh?”

My hand froze, and my eyes widened.

Ayaka. Ayaka.

Her body had bled out, a fatal wound on her neck. 

If she had carried me back, it meant two things.

One, she was still alive too.

Two, she knew what happened.

“What did that girl look like?”

“She had a green pink shirt, black leggings, black hair, andーwait, where are you going!?”

The blanket that was on me fell to the bed, and I pushed myself off my bed, rushing towards the door. As I sprinted, Kazane caught my arm.

“Where are you going? Perhaps you’re leaving to thank her?”

“N-not anything like that, p-please, let go!”

With a sigh, Kazane observed my pleading face. Then, she took a sigh.

“Fine, I’ll let go. But just in case you collapse again, I’ll come withー”

“NO!”

My voice came out louder and sharper than I expected. Kazane dropped my arm, and backed off a bit from me.

“S-sorry… but just this time… please don’t come with me. I can’t bear to…”

See you die.

Unable to finish my sentence, my face stared at the ground, my hands trembling.

Kazane frowned.

“Did something happen?”

 “ーーーー”

I didn’t want Kazane to know about whatever that dream was. The only thing on my mind was to meet Ayaka to confirm that it was some fiction and not some reality or premonition.

I wasn’t sure at all if it was foreshadowing. But if it was some sort of premonition dream, then there was no way I could let Kazane be anywhere near that lake or the path to it.

“...I get it.”

“Huh?”

Turning around, I saw Kazane as she lowered her head. 

“There’s things that's been happening, and I assume it’s something you don’t want me to be involved in.”

Her eyes were closed, and she took a breath. Then, she opened them and looked at me.

“But just keep yourself safe, okay?”

“I…”

“Don’t pass out on random streets, okay?”

Seeing her giving me a slight smile, I felt a warm feeling in my chest.

“I’ll be sure.”

Then, I started my journey.

There were odds that I would run into that cloaked figure again.

But that wasn’t what mattered.

There were things I wanted to know, and there’s no way I could wait.

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

In front of me again, was the red panda vending station.

Amari Station.

Where I had first met Ayaka.

“She’s not here?”

Turning around, I looked at my surroundings.

The sun brushed against the horizon, leaving a pink line.

“Though I suppose it is morning.”

A sigh escaped my lips and I tugged on the edge of my hood, slung over my head.

I kneeled down, and looked around the sides of the vending machine.

Given that this was my first time seeing this station, and that Ayaka, the co-owner, personally watched over the machine, and that there weren’t particularly expensive drinks in it gave me a good idea of how big the ownership of this machine was.

As I looked around the machine, I finally caught sight of the poster.

“Ah, here it is.”

Table:

For technical support and disputes, please call

[X X X]

Pulling out my phone and entering the number, I waited.

“Hello, this is the support for Amari Station. What is it that you need today?”

It was a different voice than Ayaka’s.

Surprised by the sudden output, my phone slipped out of my hand. I quickly caught it.

“A-ah… I was wondering if I could be transferred to a person named Ayaka?”

“Is there any particular reason for that? She’s not working right now.”

His voice was slightly sharper, almost as if he was mad.

I let out a small laugh.

“A-ah, I see. I’ll call at a later time then!”

Hanging up, I sighed as I sat down on the bench. I stared at the horizon.

The sun had risen up, just slightly above the branches of the tree. It’s light made streaks in the sky, 

“What am I supposed to do now? I don’t even know what is happening anymore.”

My hand slid to my chest, where my lungs had been destroyed in that dream. I could still feel a tinge of burning in my throat, and a slight numbness in my arm. After effects of a dream perhaps.

That was what I hoped. If Ayaka wasn’t hurt in any way, then I was certain that it was a dream. 

“Still… For once, I’m not so sure about all this KRS, GRS, abilities stuff. Even if that was a dream…“

The smell of blood in my nose. The memory of red spreading across the ground. The sight of Ayaka’s unconscious body. The sight of the arm that I had lost.

Even if it was all a dream, it wasn’t an impossibility. If that really was what GRS were like…

What is really something I wanted? The idea of such things existing in my world made me shiver. 

My hands clenched.

“No, it was a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream.”

I stood up, watching a leaf falling off a tree.

“I guess the lake’s my only option now, since Ayaka doesn’t seem to be in contact.”

Ayaka and I had supposedly died at that lake. If Ayaka wasn’t with me, I wondered how things would have turned out. In the first place, it was unknown why that crazy hooded figure attacked us.

The glowing mark on his hand, Knight of GIRUS.

If those were the assassins out there that were trying to kill us, then there was hardly any hope that I had a chance to gain enough strength to fight them.

But then the question is, how did he figure out we were KRS? Even Ayaka didn’t seem to recognize KRSes on the spot, and I did spend a non-zero amount of time with her.

“Ah, I’m overthinking these. First and foremost, I have to check out that spot.”

Turning around, I faced the direction me and Ayaka walked.

“Even though I’m alone this time, It seems I’ll walk again.”

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

The trees that grew in the city slowly shook with the wind, the morning light reflecting the windows off a coffee shop. 

Slowly taking my steps, I lifted my chin to the horizon.

“A recycling bin. A coffee shop.”

Saying that out loud, the wind silently replied, blowing past my ear.

“No. A calm, warm street.”

I recalled a part of yesterday.

Look up.

I figured that the first part of the dream really did happen.

My walk with Ayaka. The exploration of the lake.

No, even that wasn’t guaranteed. There was only one thing I could know for sure.

I had met Ayaka again.

After all, Kazane said that Ayaka had bumped into Kazane while lugging me around the city.

A sigh escaped my lips.

“Sheesh, talking to you would make everything so much easier.”

My head down, I slowly walked down the street.

“That guy… Maybe it was just a nightmare or something, but most likely, it’s best to avoid him.”

I shivered the moment I recalled my experiences with him.

“I wonder though… There’s a very likely chance that guy is walking around the streets right now. Unlike last time, I wasn’t sure what he had said next.”

I stopped. The corners of my mouth pulled down.

“Though I suppose I should’ve warned Ayaka or something, or just refused to go near the lake. Probably should’ve taken it seriously. In the first place, I should’ve told her about that creepy guy.”

The slight breeze ran across my skin, giving a nice, cooling effect in contrast to the heat from the morning sun.

“No, what am I thinking? That was just a dream, or some premonition. There’s a high likelihood that it never happened, or with the new knowledge I can prevent it.”

Frowning, I looked back, towards the bridge that was behind all the buildings.

“Come to think about it, how did I get past him the first time? I have a good feeling I am going to run into him. Perhaps the best option to counter him is to ignore him.”

I turned back towards the lake.

“Well, it better work or most likely, the nightmare is going to come true.”

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

In front of me, the water of the lake glistened, reflecting the yellowness of the morning sun.

Unlike yesterday, there were a few people that were walking around here, also perhaps thinking the lake looks pretty.

“Back here again, huh.”

I muttered to myself as I placed my hand against the railing. My eyes closed.

It was the same feeling that I had in that dream whatsoever. The coldness of the metal. The roughness of the specks of dirt on it.

“That makes me wonder…”

I scratched the back of my head as I recalled the ground earlier on the trail, where me and Ayaka had supposedly died.

Where I was pretty sure me and Ayaka had died in the dream didn’t have any traces of blood on it. The rough concrete didn’t look damp or wet, nor did it have any red stains on it.

There was a particular spot where I had seen my blood soak into. Given that the crack was still in the exact same spot in the exact same way I remembered, it was not possible for the tile to have been replaced. 

“So I knew it, it didn’t happen. Perhaps I got too little sleep yesterday…”

Standing up, I took a look at the lake in front of me.

Peacefully, it rippled softly in the wind, a clear sight of the sun reflecting off it.

How many more nights, till this city falls?

A laugh escaped my throat as my grip strength on the railing.

“...I still have no idea what you said. But you couldn’t possibly mean that green haired guy, could you?”

The lake didn’t respond to me, it’s waves rolling back and forth, a bird chirping behind me.

I closed my eyes, and reached a hand towards the lake.

“There’s plenty I want to ask you, plenty I want to know about you. Like what you meant by ‘like a friend’. Like what you meant about ‘city falling’. Like what you meant by ‘glassy city’. What kind of person were you who saw some guy outside the vending machine, and offered him free drinks?”

My hand dropped to my side.

“I guess, I'll have to wait to ask you. Though for who knows how long. With things like this…”

The wind had slowed down, and the waves of the lake were smaller, but certainly still moving. A family of ducks swam across the lake, staying in the area where the sun lit up.

“Even I’m not sure how many nights there will be, peaceful.”

Sighing, I turned around and looked back.

 “I suppose that’s all I can do for now. Don’t really want to worry Kazane. I’ll see if I can look again in the afternoon.”

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

Step. Step. Step.

I slowly trudged around the trail near the forest.

Since I felt I had some spare time left, I thought it was a good idea to take a look around. Supposedly, that man had been here twice at night, but never in the day, so I figured it wouldn’t be dangerous.

“Ah, I wonder how long I’ve been out. Probably an hour or so.”

Looking back down, I stared at the road in front of me. I moved my hand to my chest.

“Something feels unnatural. Perhaps it's that cloaked dude. What was his name in the dream? Cesare?”

Back then, before that ‘accident’ that had happened around here, I had a strange feeling. Something smelled off in the air, perhaps a scent of someone.

I stroked my chin.

VIsions of his green hair, his wrinkled face, the purple streaks on his face were the only things I recalled of him. The rest, I was too worried about dying to remember much more.

My eyes jumped around the trees, to the ground, to the leaves in the sky.

 “I can’t see him anywhere though.”

Taking a sigh in relief, I turned around. The idle wind blew across my forehead, before making its way across the street, through the morning light that shone on the buildings.

Staring to my side, I strolled forward.

“It seems everything is all good. Nothing particularly strange.”

I yawned.

“Well, I’m going to get home soon.  Just have to warn them not to go here during night timeー”

The moment my eyes opened, my voice cut off, and my entire body froze.  

A cloaked figure took his steps. His every step bounces lightly off the ground, making so little sound that I almost couldn’t hear.

When the figure crossed me, the footsteps suddenly stopped.

“Ho? A familiar smell?”

The figure sniffed the air.

“Strange. If that really was the case… then perhaps staying in this city was worth it.”

Turning around, the cloaked figure looked through the trees, at the direction of where the lake was. Finally, he turned around him, and saw a body that had not moved an inch since he had crossed.

“Hm? You couldn’t be that smell, could you?”

A cold wind blew in the moment of silence that was there. As I blinked, a slight pain erupted in my forehead. Clenching my teeth, I held my breath.

The cloaked figure sighed.

“No, it’s not you.”

The slight pain in my head relaxed. The figure turned away, and started to walk away.

His walking resumed for a few moments, before it stopped again.

“Come to think about it, they would be immune to it, right?”

With that, he turned around and stared at the boy he had crossed, who was still standing there, still. 

“Hmph, I thought those two were the same, but it seems I was mistaken. Must’ve just been that guy’s odor or something.”

With that, he turned back around.

“Well, let’s check somewhere else. Up ahead, there should be a place with a good view. From the little time of five days in this city, it seems there’s a restaurant called Riama and a machine called Amari. Perhaps it's a coincidence, but it’s still worth taking a look at.”

“ーhk!”

“Huh? Was there a sound?”

The figure spun around, and observed the streets, before finally turning to the frozen boy.

“That boy really is strange. I wonder what his life was like.”

The figure paused for a moment.

“Well, it’s not something I should be concerned with. What’s more important is to keep searching.”

His footsteps started again. Then, he suddenly stopped.

“Hm? Energy is gatherー”

“LI…”

Spinning around, my hand pointed towards him, my eyes narrowed. I could feel energy leaving my body, almost like a sigh.

“EXHAUIRE!!!!”

Black crystals formed in my hand, and my ability worked for the first time.