"Every miracle bends a law. Every protection bears a price."— Unknown
Before the Dawn
April 25, 2011 – 5:47 AM – Hoshino Household, Tokyo
Souta sat cross-legged in the center of the living room, eyes closed, breath steady, slow. Around him, the world held its breath—cushions hovered, a tea mug twirled lazily in midair, weightless as if reality itself hesitated to commit.
Happy sat curled up on the couch, arms wrapped around his knees, small fingers clutching the fabric of his sleeves. He stared, eyes wide, fur reflecting the golden glow radiating from Souta's body.
"Souta-kun…" he whispered, voice hushed like a prayer. "You're glowing again."
"I'm not using power," Souta murmured. "I'm… listening. To the cost."
Happy blinked.
"The cost?"
Souta opened his eyes. They gleamed gold—but something was wrong. They weren't bright with strength or confidence. They were hollow.
"Undoing things… even fate itself… I think I'm pulling further away from the world each time I do it." His voice was quiet, but every word carried weight. "Like reality is rejecting me."
Happy slid off the couch, padding toward him, worry etched into his soft stuffed features.
"But you're doing it for your family!"
Souta exhaled, a quiet, tired smile tugging at his lips. But it wasn't the smile of a warrior.
It was the smile of a lonely boy trying to convince himself.
"That's what scares me the most."
School Bells, Shadows in Uniform
8:13 AM – Yoyogi Academy, Tokyo
Ruby slammed her locker shut with a frustrated growl.
"If that guy hands me one more math worksheet, I swear I'm gonna set it on fire with my soul."
Aqua leaned against the wall, adjusting his collar, unimpressed.
"You mean like last week?"
"That was an accident!" she barked.
Souta chuckled softly beside them, his smile easy—natural, even. But Aqua caught it. The drag in his steps, the slight delay in his blinks, the way he leaned just a little more into the lockers than usual.
"You didn't sleep."
Souta hesitated.
"...I did. Just in pieces."
"You're overextending again."
Souta turned to the vending machine, pretending to study the options.
"What else am I supposed to do?"
Before Aqua could answer, a girl from Class 3-A approached, clutching a small envelope like it carried the weight of something unbearable.
"Um… Hoshino-san?" she said softly, extending it toward Ruby.
"Huh? For me?"
Ruby flipped it open—and her breath hitched.
Inside was a photo.
Not an idol shot.
Not a magazine spread.
Ai.
Last week.
Grocery bags in hand. A soft, faint smile. Looking normal.
And beneath it, a single line scrawled in red ink:
"She's not who she says she is. And neither are you."
Hidden Room, Shifting Walls
10:24 AM – Somewhere Else
Far from school, Souma stood in a chamber carved from unreality itself—walls bleeding into fluid motion, time curling in unnatural directions.
Hayato leaned against one of them, pressing against the wound on his shoulder. The fabric of his uniform was damp with blood, the consequence of his last encounter with Souta.
"He's becoming more than a thread-breaker," Hayato muttered, voice tight. "He's becoming an anchor."
Souma didn't answer. His eyes were closed, his breathing deep—listening. Not with ears. With something else.
To the timeline. To the fractures. To the points where history had the chance to shift.
"If he becomes a fixed point," Souma murmured, "nothing can touch his family. Not fate. Not history. Not even me."
Hayato exhaled, the air thick between them.
"And that's a problem why?"
Souma's eyes opened.
"He's becoming a god. Without permission."
Ai's Memory
11:01 AM – Tokyo TV Station
Ai sat in the quiet green room, sipping tea, scanning the script in front of her with absent eyes.
Her phone buzzed.
A message. Unknown sender.
She frowned and opened it. A single video file.
She tapped.
The screen flickered to life.
And the air left her lungs.
A doctor's office. Hidden camera footage.
Her.
Fifteen years old. Small. Afraid.
Pregnant.
Voice shaking.
"Please… I don't want them to grow up alone..."
The footage cut.
A new message appeared.
"Someone is trying to expose the truth. You can't run forever, Hoshino Ai."
Her hands trembled.
"…No…"
Training Grounds – The Spiral Chamber
7:12 PM – Souta's Inner World
The chamber twisted around them—thought, memory, power woven into shifting spirals.
Happy hovered, hesitant.
"Are you sure?"
Souta stepped forward, his hands clenched.
"If I don't push further, I'll never reach it."
At the heart of the spiral, the past awaited him.
Himself.
The boy who died unloved. Cold. Empty.
"So you came," the past self murmured.
"I need to go beyond my limits."
"To what end?" The echo of his old self tilted its head. "To be their shield until you disappear?"
Souta's fingers curled, his breath steady.
"No. To be myself."
The chamber splintered. The spirals broke apart, expanding into endless light.
And then—Souta understood.
Undoing wasn't power. It was burden.
Every miracle left a mark. Every reversal carried weight.
But now—he saw something else.
If he grew strong enough—not to undo, but to stand—he could protect them without breaking the world's rules.
His eyes burned with realization.
"Then I won't undo anymore."
"I'll become strong enough that I won't have to."