Rai didn't sleep that night.
Even after reaching home, shutting the curtains, locking the door twice, and turning every light on, the image still refused to leave his mind:
White mask.
Violet eyes.
Watching him.
He sat on the edge of his bed, fingers trembling slightly. His room was quiet except for the rain knocking against the window. It used to comfort him.
Not anymore.
He rubbed the scar on his wrist—the first time his curse awakened. The memory made his chest tighten.
He never asked for this ability.
He never wanted it.
Seeing the last ten seconds of dying people was not a gift.
It was a trap.
A curse that dragged him into death, again and again.
He ran his hand through his hair and muttered,
"This isn't normal anymore… Someone else knows."
The masked figure wasn't random.
The stranger in the alley wasn't coincidence.
Someone was watching him.
And they knew about his secret.
---
A knock on the door.
Rai's head shot up.
Three slow knocks.
Not hurried, not angry—measured.
"Rai? You awake?"
It was his neighbor, Lyn Aster, the only person who didn't look at him like he was broken.
Rai opened the door a crack.
Her amber eyes scanned him instantly.
"You look like you didn't sleep. Again."
Rai forced a smile. "Rough night."
Lyn raised a brow. "Another… episode?"
Rai stayed silent.
She sighed and walked inside without permission—something she always did.
"You can talk to me, you know. You don't have to deal with everything alone."
Rai hesitated.
She didn't know about the curse, but she had seen the aftermaths—the migraines, the shaking hands, the distant eyes.
He opened his mouth to speak—
Then—
His vision flickered.
Not a memory.
A warning.
A cold sensation crawled along his neck. His breath hitched.
Someone was here.
Not in his room.
Not outside.
Somewhere beneath the building.
A presence.
Dark.
Waiting.
He staggered, gripping the table.
Lyn rushed to him. "Rai?! What is it?"
He forced the words out:
"Don't… go downstairs."
Her face paled. "Why?"
He swallowed hard.
"Someone's in the basement."
---
Meanwhile — Beneath the Building
Shadows rippled across the concrete floor.
A figure stood silently near the fuse box—motionless.
The same white mask.
The same violet eyes.
He wasn't searching.
He was waiting.
For Rai.
A faint whisper escaped his mask—words that never echoed, yet reached every corner of the room:
"Phase Zero… has begun."
---
Back upstairs, Rai jerked upright, gasping.
Lyn's hands gripped his shoulders. "Rai! What did you see?!"
He stared at her, terrified.
"He's here."
Lyn froze. "Who?"
Rai's voice cracked into a whisper:
"The one from my vision."
The lights flickered.
Lyn stiffened.
Rai turned toward the door.
The basement door.
It was open.
A sliver of darkness leaked from it, like the night itself was crawling inside.
The masked figure stepped forward—silent, patient, inevitable.
Rai backed away, pulse racing.
"How is he here?! He was just—"
Lyn grabbed his hand.
"Rai, MOVE!"
They ran.
Down the hallway.
Past the flickering lights.
Past the rising shadows.
Behind them—
The masked figure didn't run.
He walked.
Slowly.
Like he knew no matter where Rai went—
He would be found.