Izumi opened his eyes to a bleak, clouded sky. What was strange, however, was its unnatural hue—it felt like something out of a dream.
He tried to sit up but found it difficult. When he eventually did, something pricked his hand. Looking down, he realized he was sitting among rose stalks lined with thorns.
This only deepened his confusion. Forcing himself to his feet, he felt compelled to understand the cause of these strange occurrences.
But the moment he stood, the sight before him left him frozen in utter bewilderment.
There were no houses, no trees, no farms. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing—only a vast black field stretching endlessly.
From this field rose countless stalks of roses, each standing in isolation.
"Where am I?" he thought, scanning his surroundings in search of reason.
Then he heard it—a faint crackling behind him.
He turned sharply, and his eyes met a raging red inferno consuming part of the field.
Unsure of what to do, he instinctively stepped back—only to hear that same crackling sound again, this time from the direction he had just been facing.
Slowly, he turned, his breathing uneven.
And there it was.
Another inferno.
But this one burned deep blue.
The two towering columns of flame were not close enough to burn him, yet they cut off any clear path of escape.
All he could do was stand there, trapped between them, staring as they stretched into the sky—steady, unmoving, and eerily devoid of smoke.
The weight of it finally took over, and his legs gave in as he fell to his knees.
But instead of the overwhelming sense of danger he expected, what came was calm.
An unnatural calm.
So quiet… it was unsettling.
Then, through the vines of the field, he saw something dark rising. At first, he thought it might be isolated—but a quick glance around proved otherwise.
Dark fog began to seep upward as the roses bled black.
He didn't know what to make of it, so he forced himself to stay still—just long enough to understand the danger.
The fog thickened, drifting and converging toward a single point before him.
It twisted, gathering into a distorted shape… something almost human.
"So we meet at last," a voice echoed from within it.
"Who the hell are you?!" Izumi shouted. "And where the hell am I?"
"Calm yourself," the voice replied as the fog began to solidify. "Is raising your voice at strangers not considered discourteous?"
From the dark silhouette, color slowly emerged—as if the darkness itself were being peeled away.
"Or am I mistaken?"
The figure became clearer.
A young man of average height. Long black hair falling to his lower back. Pale skin. Pitch-black eyes. A plain black robe—though the distance made it hard to tell for certain.
"Izumi Yamada," the man said calmly. "Is that the name you have chosen?"
Izumi said nothing, his eyes locked onto the figure as he tried to make sense of him.
"I'm the one asking the questions," Izumi snapped. "So answer me—who are you?"
"For now," the man replied, "our identity is of no significance to you. There is no need for concern."
Izumi's expression tightened.
"What you should understand," the man continued, "is that we have chosen you… to bear our will."
"What will?" Izumi shot back, his voice edged with frustration. "You're not making any sense."
"As I said, there is no reason for concern. In time, everything will become clear," the man replied. "Until we fully acknowledge you, we will remain observers… watching over you, until you are ready for our union."
"What do you mean we?!" Izumi yelled. "There's only one of you! And what do you mean watching me—do you think I'll just stand there and let that happen?!"
He lunged forward—
—but stopped instantly.
Something held him in place.
He looked down.
Thorned vines had wrapped tightly around his left leg, coiling over the fabric of his dull blue robe.
He tried to force his way through them, but their grip only tightened.
He crouched, reaching down to tear them off—
—but the moment his hands touched them, they coiled around his wrists as well.
Panic began to creep in.
Now restrained, he pushed off with his right foot—
only for it, too, to be claimed by the thorns.
All he could do was look up at the man and anticipate his next move—but he didn't move at all, his gaze fixed firmly on Izumi.
Then, without a word, Izumi felt a force pulling him downward.
"Let go of me!" he demanded, struggling against it.
Only then did the man step forward. One step… then another… closing the distance between them with slow, deliberate ease.
"You're too rowdy," he said calmly as he approached. "That flaw will be your undoing if left unchecked."
"Shut up!" Izumi snapped. "Who are you to judge me? Now let me go!"
"It is not I who holds you back," the man replied. "It is your own mindset, Izumi. Only when you begin to overcome these flaws can our union truly be born. Otherwise… there is only suffering ahead."
By then, Izumi had begun to sink into the black soil beneath him.
With his last free hand, he reached out toward the man—who now stood directly before him.
"Wait!" he shouted, his face contorted with effort, every muscle straining against the force dragging him down. "I'm not done with you yet! Tell me who you are!"
"Our name… is something you will learn in due time," the man replied.
And that was all.
Izumi had no chance to respond.
The darkness swallowed him whole.
Even then, his hand remained outstretched—
reaching—
until the last trace of that bleak sky faded into nothingness.
When Izumi awoke again, he found himself lying down, reaching a hand toward a familiar ceiling. His body was drenched in sweat, and his breaths came slow and uneven.
One thought raced through his mind.
"What the hell just happened?"