The room was swallowed in absolute darkness. No windows, no cracks of light from the outside world — only a thick, velvet blackness that made it impossible to tell whether it was day or night. The air felt heavy and still, carrying the faint scent of old wood and something metallic, like rust or dried blood. A single bed stood in the center, its sheets rumpled. Ren Fushiwara sat on the edge of it, elbows resting on his knees, staring into the void.
Two figures were with him.
Index sat in a wooden chair against the far wall, perfectly upright, black suit and black gloves blending into the shadows. The smooth white mask covering his entire head caught no light at all. On his lap sat Crypt, the small child with long black hair spilling over her boys' clothing, her identical white mask tilted slightly as she swung her legs in a slow, rhythmic motion.
Crypt's light, sing-song voice broke the silence first.
"Why did you run all the way to Tokyo, Ren?"
Ren exhaled slowly, the sound heavy in the dark room.
"Vey has made me suffer a lot. I'm now wanted by the police as a serial killer suspect. They've turned the entire city against me."
Crypt giggled, the sound bright and cruel in the darkness.
"You're so unfortunate to have a lookalike Kyo running around with your face, killing people. How inconvenient."
Ren's voice stayed calm, but there was a sharp edge beneath it.
"It's a Revenant. I want nothing to do with them."
Crypt swung her legs a little higher.
"Then why won't you explain Kyo dynamics to your students? Sorine's group of friends… they have already been involved. They're stumbling around in the dark."
Ren leaned back slightly, the bed creaking under him.
"They are part of my long-term plan. They would eventually find out on their own."
Crypt tilted her masked head.
"Then when will you rescue the trapped Sorine?"
Index finally spoke, his voice low and measured, cutting through the conversation like a blade.
"You are awfully talkative today, Crypt. We are observers. We are not required to speak much."
Ren let out a quiet breath.
"Time in a Kyo dimension is relative. She might have already spent more than two years while only two days have passed for us… or just two hours. Or even seconds. In her case, she turns out to be lucky to be up against the lowest of the low. Sighs like that could even be born from trivial negative emotions."
The last sentence hung in the air.
Then, without any transition or sound, Crypt and Index were simply gone. The chair was empty. The room felt even darker, as if Ren had been talking to himself the entire time.
---
Vey walked alone through the rain-soaked streets after leaving the café, their umbrella doing little to shield them from the downpour. Their thoughts churned like the gray water running along the gutters.
It wasn't about Sorine. Not really.
All this time, their focus had narrowed to one thing: Ren. Pursuing him, suspecting him, hating him. They had pushed aside everything else — the real fear for their missing friend, the grief over Tsubaki, the growing dread that something much larger and more unnatural was happening around them. They had let anger become the only thing that mattered.
Vey stopped under a streetlight, rain dripping from the edge of their hood. Their voice was barely a whisper, lost in the sound of the rain.
"Tsubaki… I promise we'll all visit your parents for consolation. And we'll pray for your protection in this rain-and-blood-soaked town."
They closed their eyes for a moment, letting the cold droplets run down their face.
We have to do better. We have to find Sorine first.
The rain kept falling, steady and cold, as Vey continued walking toward the closed school, determined now to focus on the one thing that truly mattered: bringing their friend home.