"If truth is a mirror, then who decides what's real?"
The Memory Room
April 26, 2011 – 8:04 PM – Hoshino Residence, Tokyo
The living room shimmered—not fully real, not fully illusion. Reality still hadn't settled, fragments of the past lingering in the air, translucent like frozen shards of a dream.
Ruby sat motionless, knees curled to her chest, eyes locked on the projection before her—a baby swaddled in a pink towel, nestled against Ai's heartbeat.
Her own heartbeat stuttered.
"I don't remember this…" she whispered, barely above breath.
Near the window, Aqua stood with his arms crossed, staring outward like he could find answers in the city lights. His jaw was tight, but his eyes—they held something raw. Something quiet.
Ai exhaled softly, lowering herself onto the couch. Her voice was gentle. Small.
"Souta… when did you remember all this?"
He didn't answer right away.
Happy had crawled into his lap at some point, little paws curling around Souta's fingers, gripping them like an anchor.
Finally, Souta looked up. His voice—no power. No weight of divinity. Just honesty.
"I never forgot, Mama." His fingers curled around Happy's fur. "I just sealed it. Because remembering meant I would never be just… your son."
He glanced at Ruby. Aqua. Ai.
"I didn't want to be a god. Or a reincarnation. Or some cosmic guardian tied to laws I didn't make. I just…" His throat tightened slightly.
"I just wanted to be loved. So I hid everything. Even from myself."
Ai reached over and took his hand. Warm. Steady.
"You were never just anything."
Flashback – Before the Beginning
Somewhere beyond time
Darkness. Stillness.
Then—a breath.
A boy lay in a hospital bed, small, fragile, thin. Machines beeped around him, indifferent. Dried tears stained his cheeks.
No visitors.
Too quiet for the world.
Too invisible to be remembered.
He stared at the ceiling. His lips parted, trembling.
"If there's a god…" his voice cracked. "If anyone's listening…"
A cough—blood on his lips.
"I don't want to go to Heaven." His breath hitched. "I want to be reborn. I want to be Ai's son. I don't want to die… unloved."
Something shifted.
Time itself trembled.
A glow emerged, breaking through the void.
A figure appeared.
Not human. Not gentle. Not cruel.
Ancient. Terrible. Kind.
"Thy wish is heard. But thy soul… is not ready."
The boy's fingers curled against the sheets.
"…Then break me."
"Do thou swear to carry the burden of all powers… and forsake them unless they are to protect thy family?"
He swallowed. His chest ached.
"Yes."
"Then be born anew… the third star."
Back to Present
9:33 PM – Hoshino Residence
Souta wiped his eyes with his sleeve, quiet.
"I wasn't supposed to be powerful." He stared at his hands. "I was supposed to be kind."
His voice faltered slightly.
"I think… I forgot that."
Aqua stepped forward.
"You didn't forget." His voice was steady, certain. "You just got scared."
He knelt beside Souta, resting a hand on his shoulder.
"We all have things we don't talk about. But we're here now. And you're here."
Ruby leaned into Ai's shoulder, voice smaller than usual.
"So… what do we do now?"
Her fingers gripped the couch slightly.
"That mirror thing—someone's watching us, right?"
Happy's fur bristled. He shivered slightly.
"More than that," he murmured. "Someone's unmaking the laws that even Souta never touched."
Souta stood, slow, careful, purposeful.
"The Mirror World." His gaze flicked toward the window.
Outside, the stars flickered.
Unnatural.
"And it's leaking."
The School Next Day
April 27, 2011 – 8:01 AM – Yoyogi Academy
The halls looked the same. But something was wrong.
Students whispered. Teachers hesitated. Phones vibrated with hushed urgency.
Ruby leaned toward Aqua, voice low.
"Why are they staring at us?"
A girl nearby turned her phone screen toward them.
Grainy footage.
Ai. Their mother.
Walking through a decayed TV studio, masked, symbols glowing around her.
"Is that… your mom?" the girl asked softly.
Souta inhaled sharply.
"The Mirror leaked more than I thought."
Their classroom loomed ahead.
Inside—a new transfer student stood at the front.
Tall. Pale. Dark hair flowing like ink. A blank stare.
"My name is Yukari."
Her eyes locked onto Souta's.
"We've met before. In the Spiral."
Ruby's head snapped toward her.
"You what?!"
Yukari only smiled.
"I came to warn you, Third Star."
Her voice was soft. Unnerving.
"The Mirror will bleed."
She tilted her head.
"And when it does, not all reflections want to stay in the glass."
Underground – The Fractured Ones
Elsewhere – Beneath Tokyo
A hall—vast, endless. Lit only by the glow of broken mirrors.
Each mirror flickered with moments of the Hoshino family—Ai's smile, Aqua's quiet focus, Ruby's laughter, Souta's warmth.
At the center, Souma stood, his hands bloody from the ritual.
His breath was uneven.
"Souta has remembered." He swallowed. "But he's not ready."
Behind him—
A twisted version of Ai stepped forward.
Hollow eyes. Breathless voice.
"Then bring me to him."
Souma's fingers curled.
"You're not her." His voice wavered. "You're what the Mirror made when it bled."
The reflection laughed softly.
"And yet," she whispered, "I remember holding him."
She tilted her head.
"Just like she did."
Souta's Decision
11:55 PM – Rooftop, Hoshino Residence
Alone beneath the stars, Souta sat still, his palms glowing faintly.
"Undo the Mirror?" he whispered.
He hesitated.
"…No." His breath steadied.
"That's the old me. The me that ran."
He stood.
"I won't undo the enemy." His gaze sharpened.
"I'll meet them."
Happy hovered beside him.
"And if they destroy the world?"
Souta exhaled.
"Then I'll make a new one."
He turned.
"But first…"
His fingers curled.
"I'll teach my family how to fight back."