The rain didn't stop falling from 3 days
It hung.
Endless. Heavy. Unforgiving.
For three days straight, the sky had poured without pause—as if something above had cracked open and refused to close.
Ayan Kurose stood beneath a dying streetlight.
Flicker.
…Flicker.
…Flicker.
Each blink of light made the empty road look different—like reality itself couldn't stay consistent.
His phone vibrated again.
He didn't want to look.
But he did.
12 missed calls.
All from: "Sis "
Ayan frowned.
"…Why would she call me this much?"
He tried to remember.
He had just come from home.
Same house.
Same rooms.
Same silence.
No one there.
"…Was she out?" he whispered.
But the thought didn't feel right.
Not wrong—
Just… incomplete.
Like a sentence missing its last word.
SCREEEEEECH—!!
The sound tore through the night.
Ayan looked up—
Too late.
A truck skidded across the rain-slick road, headlights blinding, tires screaming.
Coming straight at him.
His body froze.
No instinct.
No movement.
Just one clear thought—
"…I'm going to die."
And then—
Everything stopped.
The rain froze mid-air.
The sound vanished.
The light stopped flickering.
The world turned gray.
Ayan blinked.
The truck stood inches from him.
Close enough to feel—
nothing.
"…What…?"
His breath shook as he stepped back.
"I… didn't—"
"Of course you didn't."
The voice came from behind him.
Calm.
Almost amused.
Ayan turned slowly.
And wished he hadn't.
Something stood there.
Tall.
Shaped like a human—
but wrong.
Its outline shimmered like broken glass.
Its face…
blurred.
Unfinished.
But its smile—
was clear.
"First time?" it asked.
Ayan's throat tightened.
"W-What are you…?"
The thing tilted its head.
"You activated your Pulse."
"…Pulse?"
"You were about to die," it said simply.
"So the world corrected itself."
Ayan stared at his hands.
Thin cracks of faint blue light spread across his skin, glowing softly—like something inside him was leaking out.
"What is this?!"
The figure stepped closer.
The air felt heavier.
Thicker.
"You survived," it whispered.
A pause.
Then—
"But survival… is never free."
Ayan's heart pounded.
"…What do you mean?"
The figure leaned in.
Close enough that Ayan felt cold without being touched.
"You already paid."
BZZZT.
Ayan's phone vibrated.
Slowly… he looked down.
A new message.
Unknown number.
"You don't have a sister."
"…Huh?"
Ayan let out a small laugh.
"That's not funny…"
He tried to remember her.
Her face.
Her voice.
Her name.
…
Nothing.
The laugh died.
"…No…"
His breathing quickened.
"I just— she called— I saw—"
But the memories…
were gone.
Not hidden.
Not blurred.
Erased.
Ayan dropped his phone.
It hit the ground with a dull sound.
"What did you do to me?!"
The figure's smile widened.
Not cruel.
Not kind.
Just—
certain.
"I didn't do anything."
It tapped lightly over his chest.
"Your Pulse did."
The gray world shattered.
Sound rushed back.
Rain crashed down again.
The truck was gone.
The streetlight flickered wildly.
Everything was normal.
Except—
Ayan.
He stood there, shaking.
Breathing like he had run miles.
Something inside him felt…
lighter.
Too light.
Across the street—
a girl stood under a black umbrella.
She had been watching the entire time.
Her eyes glowed faintly blue.
"…So it awakened," she murmured.
Ayan didn't notice her.
He was too busy trying to remember someone who no longer existed.
The girl smiled faintly.
"And it already took something…"
She turned away.
Walking into the rain.
"Let's see," she whispered softly,
"…how long you can keep what's left."