The restaurant door opened , the soft chime above it ringing through the quiet space. Two wizards stepped inside. One of them scanned the room before asking, "Have either of you seen a little girl around here? She's five years old, wearing a black dress."
Koharu shook her head. "No, we haven't seen her," she replied calmly. "What happened? Is she missing?"
The wizards nodded. "Yes. She went missing earlier today." He placed a painting of her briefly on the counter. "If you see her, contact us immediately."
With that, the officers turned and left.
Rei frowned, unease settling in his chest. "Who would kidnap a five-year-old girl?" he muttered.
Koharu answered quietly, her tone sharp despite the softness of her voice. "A weak person would."
Moments later, the restaurant's newspaper flickered to life, switching to a breaking news broadcast. it was written on it with urgency."The Morphyx virus is spreading in the country of Taured. Scientists are attempting to nullify it, but—"
Before the report could continue, Koharu reached for the newspaper , snatched it and threw it. She laughed lightly. "Ah, Noctyra First again. These newspapers always try to scare people," she said with a dismissive wave. "They can't fool us. Still, we should watch out for pranks." She sighed.
Rei tilted his head. "But what is Morphyx?"
"Oh," Koharu replied, "Morphyx is a fictional disease from the famous story Whispers Beneath the Ashen Sky. It's an infectious sickness that doesn't kill people—it changes them. Turns them into quiet, pale-eyed beings called the Altered."
Rei nodded slowly. "I see. Sounds interesting. I never had time to read it."
Koharu giggled. "Neither did I. I overheard it in someone else's conversation."
Soon, it was closing time. Koharu waved as she headed for the door. "Goodbye, Rei. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah. See you," Rei replied. "Take care."
They went their separate ways.
By the time Rei reached home, his mother was already asleep. He opened his book, intending to study—but his eyes froze on the pages.
The Morphyx virus is real.
The pages of his book became blank and slowly this was being written on the, : We are attempting to locate the writer of Whispers Beneath the Ashen Sky. The fictional Morphyx virus bears extreme similarity to the real one.
Rei's hands trembled as he whispered, "If this infection spreads here… we're all dead."
then it said
The Morphyx virus has entered the country. All citizens are advised to remain inside their homes.
Rei swallowed hard. "The thing I feared the most has finally happened… and I don't even have supplies."
then a koma's pigeon came to him said
Koma:Rei, you and your mother should come stay with me. You'll be safer here. I'll send a cab.
Rei hesitated before replying. but then he told that pigeon to tell her that he don't want to be a burden on her
A short while later, he stepped outside. The street was dark, silent, unnaturally empty. As he passed near the park, a man seated deep in the shadows spoke softly.
"Hey, boy. Come here. It's important."
Rei stopped. "Who are you?" he asked cautiously.
"Just come here," the man replied. "What I'm about to tell you… you must tell no one."
After a moment's hesitation, Rei slowly stepped closer.
And what he heard next made his blood run cold.