"When the curtain rises, the world must face itself."
Sunrise Training
April 26, 2011 – 6:04 AM – Hoshino Residence Rooftop, Tokyo
The sky was a watercolor blend of pinks and oranges, the quiet hum of morning stretching over the rooftops. Ruby stood barefoot, her toes curled against the cool concrete, arms outstretched, fingers trembling slightly with focus.
In front of her, a marble hovered—just barely—spinning like it wasn't sure if it wanted to obey.
A few feet away, Souta sat cross-legged, watching quietly, Happy curled on his head like a ridiculously tiny hat.
"Okay," Souta murmured, his voice steady, careful. "Focus not on the object, but the will."
Ruby's brow furrowed. The marble spun a little faster.
"Good," he continued, nodding slightly. "You're not lifting the marble. You're asking the world to agree that it should float."
Ruby exhaled sharply. "That sounds like some zen monk wizard nonsense, Souta-kun."
"Exactly," he said, proudly.
The marble twitched, wobbled—then dropped with a quiet click against the concrete.
Ruby groaned and flopped onto the ground. "How did you even figure all this out?"
Souta glanced down at his palm. Inside, time itself shimmered faintly—fragile, bending, alive.
"I spent years in here…" he said softly. "In this head. Alone. I had nothing but power and regret to talk to."
Then, he looked at her with a goofy grin.
"Now I have you."
Ruby hesitated.
Then—without warning—she reached over and flicked his forehead.
"Baka." Her voice was rough, barely holding steady. "Don't say things that make me cry this early in the morning."
The Confrontation
10:12 AM – Yoyogi Academy, Second Year Building
Ruby shoved the storage room door open with a sharp push. The girl who had given her the photo yesterday stood inside, waiting.
Dark hair. Pale face. Uniform pristine, untouched.
"So… are you the one watching my family?" Ruby asked, folding her arms, her pulse pressing against her wrists.
The girl tilted her head.
"You think I'm watching you?" she said, voice quiet, measured. "You don't even know what you are."
Ruby stepped forward.
"I'm Ai's daughter. That's all I need to know."
The girl didn't flinch. Instead, she reached into her blazer and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.
She opened it.
A photograph.
Ruby felt her breath stop.
It wasn't new.
Not recent.
It was her—barely a few months old. A baby.
In Ai's arms.
A soft smile. A mother's smile.
Ruby's fingers trembled as she took it. "W-What… what is this?"
"You were never just an idol's daughter," the girl whispered. "You were part of something older. Larger. That's why they want you. That's why he's afraid of you."
Ruby's heartbeat stumbled. "He?"
"Your brother."
Her body tensed.
"Souta?"
The girl didn't answer.
She turned.
And as she stepped forward, her shadow flickered—unnatural, curling in the light.
"Ask him," she said, voice soft, sharp, final.
"Ask him what happened… before you were born."
Ai's Past
11:47 AM – Tokyo, Abandoned TV Studio Lot
Ai pulled her jacket tighter around her, the sunglasses on her face shielding her expression.
The ruins stretched around her—old lights flickering, rust curling along metal rigs.
Her phone call had led her here.
The sender had never revealed their name.
Then—
"I was there the night you begged to keep them."
Ai stiffened.
A figure stepped forward from the debris.
An old woman. Wrinkled hands. Sharp, knowing eyes.
"…You…" Ai whispered. "Who are you?"
"I'm the one who kept your secret," the woman replied, her voice steady, unshaken. "In exchange for your silence."
Silence stretched between them.
Then—
"But the world is changing now, Ai-chan," the woman murmured, folding her hands together. "Your sons… aren't just sons anymore."
Ai's breath hitched.
"You're talking about Souta."
"Yes. And the other one. Aqua."
Ai's fingers clenched slightly at her sides.
"They're mine. I'll protect them."
The woman watched her carefully.
"Even if it means going to war against the world?"
There wasn't a pause.
"Yes."
The woman nodded—once.
She reached into her coat, pulling out a sealed envelope.
She handed it to Ai.
"The first seal has cracked."
Souta's Meditation Realm
4:22 PM – Soul Spiral
Suspended in weightlessness, Souta exhaled slowly, the stars of his inner world swirling around him.
Equations. Timelines. Emotion itself—woven into patterns pulsing like constellations.
He opened his palm.
"…Undo."
Across the world, the death of a butterfly rewound itself.
He whispered, "Redo."
The butterfly flew—only to be swallowed by a predator's waiting mouth.
"Remake."
A new timeline unfolded—one where it had never existed at all.
His fingers curled slightly.
"I'm not doing this for fun."
Happy floated closer. His voice was gentle. "You're trying to understand the depth of control."
"No," Souta whispered, gaze steady. "I'm trying to learn how not to need it."
Then—
A sound.
A growl. Deep. Violent. A force too large to exist.
Happy flinched.
"…What was that?"
Souta stood slowly.
"Someone's reaching me," he murmured, "through my own power."
The spiral cracked—splintering.
And standing across from him—
Another Souta.
Colder. Darker.
Eyes burning red.
"You forgot me, didn't you?"
Souta didn't look away.
"No," he said, voice steady. "You're the version I refused to become."
The other smiled.
"And now," he murmured, stepping forward—
"I'm coming home."