"A world does not break in a single moment. It cracks in silence first—and only then does the rest begin to fall."— Azuma-sensei, Reflections on the First Rewrite
The sky still hadn't healed.
A thin red scar cut across the heavens, hanging beside the gold Trail like a wound stitched with fire. Even after a full night, it pulsed faintly—breathing, almost alive. And everyone in Evalia could feel it.
A weight.
A pressure.
A sense that something familiar had been taken… and something unfamiliar had been added.
Ken Hiroki sat on the stone steps outside the Evalia hall, head in his hands, the cold wind running through his hair. The world around him felt wrong in ways he couldn't describe.
People passed by with quiet, unsettled expressions.
Someone whispered:
"…I looked at the portrait this morning. My father's face… it was blurry."
Another:
"I woke up and couldn't recognize my own handwriting."
Another:
"Names feel… heavier. Like I'm saying them for the first time."
Reka-sensei was moving among the citizens, checking them one by one, her voice firm but gentle. Azuma stood behind her, scribbling rapid notes, his brow furrowed so tightly it looked painful.
The First Rewrite was not fading.
It was spreading.
Kabe finally stepped out from the hall and joined Ken, dropping beside him with a tired sigh.
"You didn't sleep either?" he asked softly.
Ken didn't answer at first. When he finally lifted his face, his eyes were dull.
"I kept dreaming of… that moment," he whispered.
"When I reached for you and—"
He swallowed.
"I couldn't remember your face."
Kabe's chest tightened. He placed a hand on Ken's shoulder, firm and warm.
"But you remembered it," he said.
"You fought it."
Ken exhaled shakily.
"For a few seconds, you were a stranger."
Kabe forced a small, soft smile.
"Then let's make sure it never happens again."
But as soon as he said it, he turned toward the sky…and felt something cold settle in his stomach.
He wasn't sure he could keep that promise.
Qinglua approached from behind them, dressed in royal robes but looking like he hadn't slept at all. Dark circles marked his eyes. His hands were pressed tightly behind his back, hiding the mark burned into his palm.
"You two," he called softly. "I need your help."
Ken and Kabe stood immediately.
"What's happening now?" Ken asked.
Qinglua hesitated—just for a heartbeat—before pointing toward the southern field.
"Something appeared during the night."
The three of them walked past crowds of confused families, past soldiers struggling to remember their formations, past broken memory charms scattered across the stones.
When they reached the field, Ken inhaled sharply.
A hole had formed in the air itself.
Not a gate.
Not a portal.
Not a natural tear.
A hollow place—where wind, sound, and even time refused to exist.
The edges shimmered like silver dust, drifting slowly downward.
"What… is that?" Kabe whispered.
Reka approached, her expression grim.
"We've been calling them 'Bleed Points,'" she said.
"Areas where the Rewrite didn't finish properly."
Azuma held up a memory crystal scanner.
"See this?" he said, tapping the shimmering edge.
"This should show the last 24 hours of memory flow in this area."
The crystal remained completely black.
"Nothing," Azuma whispered.
"No flow. No history. No trace."
Ken felt something slither down his spine.
It wasn't cold.
It wasn't heat.
It was like something in the world was… missing.
"Is it dangerous?" Ken asked.
"We don't know yet," Reka admitted.
But Qinglua's jaw tightened.
In the back of his mind, he heard a voice—soft, familiar, whispering from somewhere behind his heartbeat:
"Bleed Points are where memories drown, brother."
He tried not to react.
Tried not to look shaken.
Tried not to remember standing before two suns…and Uhayyad's silver eyes staring directly into him.
But Ken caught the flicker in Qinglua's expression.
"Your Majesty?"
"Did something else happen?"
Qinglua forced a calm breath.
"There is… more," he said quietly.
"But for now, we focus on this."
Before they could question further, a guard ran up the hill, panic ripping through his voice:
"Your Majesty—another Bleed Point just opened—next to the Veilpoint Bridge!"
Everyone froze.
Reka tightened her grip on her staff.
Azuma's expression darkened.
Ken and Kabe exchanged terrified looks.
Qinglua whispered:
"…It's starting."
He stared up at the sky.
The red Trail pulsed.
And he felt the mark burning beneath his glove again.
"The world remembers you."
Uhayyad's voice echoed in his skull.
Qinglua closed his eyes, exhaling through clenched teeth.
The Rewrite was only the beginning.
What came next…
felt closer than anyone realized.