Morning broke quietly over Sector 12.
Kurogami woke before his alarm, his senses already sharpened, attuned to the faint disturbances only he could perceive. The memory of last night—the rooftop silhouette, the way the air had folded inward around it—lingered like a cold fingertip pressed to the back of his neck.
He sat up slowly and listened.
For several seconds, there was nothing unusual. Just the hum of distant transport lines and the low murmur of early commuters.
Then—
THUD… THUD…
A faint vibration ran through the floorboards. Not enough for a human to notice, but to him it was unmistakable: pressure shifts, the kind caused when something powerful moved nearby.
He exhaled through his nose.
"Already…?"
He dressed quickly, pulling on his uniform, the fabric stretching comfortably against his controlled strength. He tied his silver hair back loosely, slipped his bag over his shoulder, and stepped outside.
The morning air was crisp. Students filtered down the street, laughing, trading notes, complaining about exams. Everything looked normal.
But he felt the difference.
Something was watching.
Not Kiromi. She walked up moments later, waving when she spotted him.
"Kurogami! Hey!"
Her smile was bright, ordinary, grounding — and for a split second, he wished the world would freeze like this forever.
He raised a hand in greeting. "Morning."
"You're early today. That's new."
"I didn't sleep much."
She slowed beside him, studying his expression. "Nightmares?"
"Not exactly."
She opened her mouth to push further—Kiromi always pushed exactly far enough—when a low-pitched frequency cut through the air.
BZZZZZ—
Kurogami's head snapped up.
Kiromi blinked. "What was—?"
A commercial transport drone overhead flickered, lights stuttering as though something jammed its systems. It regained stability after a moment and continued on its path.
To everyone else, it was a glitch.
But Kurogami felt the ripple under his skin.
A distortion field — faint, controlled, intentional.
He swallowed the tension in his throat.
Someone out there was testing boundaries.
Kiromi nudged him. "You're doing that thing again."
"What thing?"
"The thing where you look like you're listening to ghosts." She tilted her head. "What's wrong?"
He hesitated. Danger didn't bother him.
But danger near Kiromi? That was different.
"Nothing you need to worry about," he said.
She frowned at him — that small crease between her brows that appeared every time he shut her out. He hated that crease.
They crossed the school gates together, still half-arguing, half-laughing in the light way they always did. For a moment, he let himself enjoy it.
But then—
BOOM.
A deep tremor rolled through the ground.
Students gasped. A few stumbled.
Kurogami's hand shot out instinctively, steadying Kiromi before she fell. She gripped his arm, eyes wide.
"What was—?"
Another shockwave.
BOOOOM.
The windows rattled, alarms blaring across the campus. The sky shifted in color, a faint shimmering distortion spreading like ink in water.
Kurogami felt his blood run cold.
This wasn't an attack.
This was a summoning.
Something — or someone — was pulling energy into the physical plane.
Around them, students panicked. Teachers screamed for evacuation. The sky cracked with a third wave of distortion that made the hairs on Kiromi's arm stand on end.
"Kurogami," she whispered, "this… this isn't normal, right?"
He met her gaze.
"No," he said softly. "It's not."
RRRRRRRMMMM—
The distortion deepened.
Then a shape emerged within it. A silhouette suspended above the campus rooftop — the same one he'd sensed last night.
Kurogami stepped forward without thinking.
"Kurogami, wait—!"
He turned to her, calm but unmovable. "Stay with the others. Go where it's safe."
She shook her head fiercely. "I'm not letting you run toward something like that alone!"
"You have to."
"And you have to stop treating me like glass!"
The distortion flared.
CRACK—!!
Energy spilled across the schoolyard like a shockwave of lightning.
Kurogami's eyes narrowed.
He didn't have a choice now.
"Kiromi…" His voice was low. "Run."
Before she could protest again, the sky tore open with a roar—
SKRRRRAAASH—!!
And the rooftop figure stepped fully into daylight.
The world held its breath.
Kurogami's heart beat once — heavy, certain.
Whoever this was… they had come for him.
And this time, everything he'd been hiding was about to be dragged into the light.