"Make your choice soon."
"I will not remain in this world forever."
"You will only have this one chance."
"As for what your final decision will be, that is yours alone to determine."
After saying this, Haimer returned the hannya mask to Rin and walked past her.
"..."
Rin remained kneeling on the floor, staring blankly at his gradually receding back.
Other worlds?
For someone who had lived her entire life within the narrow confines of this academy, occupied daily with correcting male students and maintaining order, that phrase felt impossibly distant.
Absurd, even. And yet,
"Heh."
Before she could fully process the shock, a faint, mocking chuckle cut through her thoughts.
Amou walked silently behind Haimer. As she passed Rin, her steps slowed slightly.
Those obsidian-like eyes swept across Rin's now-uncovered, youthful face without restraint, carrying undisguised ridicule.
"What a crybaby's face."
The corner of Amou's lips curved upward as she delivered the cruel remark.
"Compared to that mask, this tearful face suits you much better."
With that, she lost all interest, not sparing Rin another glance. Her long legs carried her forward at a brisk pace as she caught up with Haimer, leaving behind nothing but her proud silhouette.
"..."
Rin bit her lower lip hard.
A crybaby?
No.
Suddenly, she turned her head sharply, her gaze locking onto the two figures about to disappear around the corner.
Her cheeks still burned with humiliation. Her shoulders still trembled from the lingering shock.
But her body had already made a choice before her mind could catch up.
Fear?
Of course she was afraid.
How could she not be? This was a being who had shattered her mental defenses with nothing more than presence, who could even restore broken objects as if performing a miracle.
That fear was instinct, etched into human genes, as natural as an antelope trembling before a lion.
But humanity had not risen to the top of the planet merely by learning to shape stones or harness fire.
It had done so because of something older than fear, deeper and stronger.
Curiosity.
When the first ape, trembling, climbed down from the safety of the treetops and set foot upon the grasslands filled with saber-toothed tigers and dire wolves, what drove that step was not only hunger.
It was the question: what lies beyond the horizon?
That same curiosity kept humanity from curling up in caves on countless cold, black nights. It made them lift their heads to the vast sky.
It drove them across raging oceans, over towering mountains, and even toward the domain of gods.
Fear can prolong life.
But curiosity expands it.
At this moment, Rin was no different.
If it's real…
What would that world look like?
The thought ignited like wildfire in her heart, burning away hesitation.
Gritting her teeth, a decisive sharpness flashed in her eyes. She grabbed her fallen katana and stumbled forward in pursuit.
"Eh, Rin-senpai?!"
"W-wait for me, Rin-senpai!"
Mozunono, who had been standing awkwardly off to the side, hurriedly clutched her baton and chased after them with a panicked expression.
…
Aichi Coexistence Academy, Old Gymnasium.
Normally rarely visited, the building was now wrapped in an unusual stillness.
Afternoon sunlight streamed through the high ventilation windows, casting pillars of light across the wooden floor as dust motes drifted lazily within them.
A girl had been waiting there for quite some time.
She wore a traditional red-and-white kimono. Her long white hair was tied into two low twin-tails that fell neatly at her sides.
Her frame was small, almost delicate, like a finely crafted Japanese doll.
Inaba Tsukuyo.
The youngest among the Tenka Five Swords, and the only middle school student among them.
At this moment, she knelt properly upon a cushion at the center of the gymnasium, eyes closed, hands resting gently upon her knees. A katana-shaped practice blade lay quietly at her side.
To her, the world was darkness.
But darkness did not mean emptiness.
On the contrary, for someone who had lost the domineering sense of sight, the world revealed itself in subtler, more essential ways.
For humans, over eighty percent of processed information comes from vision. Relying too heavily on sight often makes the mind lazy, it ignores the whisper of wind, the tremor beneath the floor, the shifts in temperature carried through the air.
When the door of sight closes, the windows of hearing, touch, and smell open wide.
Just as creatures of the deep sea or dark caves evolve extraordinary senses to adapt to lightless environments,
Bats hunt moths with precision in pitch-black skies. Blind fish navigate violent currents without ever striking rock.
Thus, for Tsukuyo, every movement around her formed a three-dimensional construct in her mind, clearer than vision itself.
She could hear every sound across the entire academy.
This was no magic.
It was instinct refined to its peak.
And at this moment, all those sounds conveyed a single message.
Something extraordinary had arrived.
"They're here."
Tsukuyo tilted her head slightly, the ears hidden beneath her silver-white hair trembling faintly.
Her pale pink lips parted as she spoke the two soft words.
Creak
Almost at the exact instant her voice faded, the heavy doors of the gymnasium slowly opened inward.
Light poured into the dim interior.
Against the backlight, Haimer's figure stretched long across the floor.
Behind him followed the cold-faced Amou, as well as the breathless Rin and Mozunono, whose cheeks were still flushed.
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