The forest should have felt lighter.
They were moving away from it.
Away from the Rift.
Away from that towering tear in reality that had warped everything around it.
And yet—
Haruki couldn't shake the feeling that nothing had changed.
If anything…
It had followed him.
The snow crunched softly beneath their feet as they walked.
The silence had returned.
Not the unnatural silence from before—
But something close enough to make Haruki uneasy.
Karin walked beside him, her hands tucked into her sleeves, faint embers flickering occasionally around her fingers.
Raizen led ahead, as always.
Unbothered.
Unshaken.
As if none of what they had just witnessed mattered.
Haruki glanced back.
The forest behind them stretched endlessly, the Rift no longer visible.
But he knew it was there.
Somewhere.
Still open.
Still watching.
"…You're doing it again."
Karin's voice snapped him out of it.
Haruki blinked. "What?"
"Spacing out," she said, narrowing her eyes slightly. "You've been quiet for a while."
He hesitated.
Then sighed.
"…It's still there."
Karin frowned. "What is?"
"The feeling," he said. "Like… something's off. Even though we left."
She didn't answer immediately.
Because she understood.
"…Yeah," she admitted quietly. "I thought it was just me."
Haruki looked at her.
"You feel it too?"
She nodded.
"It's not as strong as before," she said. "But it's like… the air hasn't gone back to normal."
Haruki exhaled slowly.
So it wasn't just him.
That should've been comforting.
But it wasn't.
Raizen's voice cut in from ahead.
"It hasn't."
They both looked up.
He hadn't turned around.
Hadn't slowed down.
But he had heard everything.
"The Rift's influence doesn't disappear immediately," he continued. "Not when it reaches that level."
Haruki frowned slightly.
"So it's still affecting us?"
"Yes."
Simple.
Direct.
Haruki clenched his fists slightly.
"…Then how long does it last?"
Raizen paused briefly.
Then:
"That depends."
"On what?"
Raizen didn't answer right away.
For a moment, the only sound was their footsteps.
Then—
"On how deeply it has already affected you."
Haruki felt his chest tighten.
That wasn't reassuring.
Not even a little.
They kept walking.
The forest slowly began to look more… normal.
The trees were less distorted.
The shadows less unnatural.
Even the cold felt more familiar.
But something still lingered.
Something subtle.
Something quiet.
Something that refused to leave.
Haruki's eyes flickered.
A sudden flash—
Karin stumbling.
Falling.
Blood on the snow.
He stopped instantly.
"Karin—!"
She turned immediately. "What?"
Haruki blinked.
She was fine.
Standing.
Unharmed.
"…Nothing," he muttered.
Karin stared at him for a moment.
Then her expression softened slightly.
"That wasn't nothing," she said.
Haruki looked away.
"…I saw you fall."
Karin was silent for a second.
"…Future?"
"I don't know," he replied. "It didn't feel like before. It was… quicker. Shorter."
Raizen stopped walking.
That alone was enough to make both of them tense slightly.
"…Describe it," he said.
Haruki hesitated.
Then:
"It was just a moment," he said. "You slipped. Hit the ground. That's it."
Karin blinked. "That's… not exactly life-threatening."
"That's not the point," Haruki said, frustration creeping into his voice. "It felt real."
Raizen turned to face him.
"For you, it was."
Haruki clenched his jaw.
"That doesn't make it easier."
"It isn't meant to."
Silence.
Again.
But this time—
He continued.
"The Eyes of Memories do not only show you significant events," Raizen said. "They show everything."
Haruki frowned.
"Everything?"
"Yes."
"Then what's the point?" Haruki asked. "If I'm seeing things that don't even matter?"
Raizen's gaze sharpened slightly.
"That is for you to determine."
Haruki blinked.
"…What?"
"Not every vision is important," Raizen said. "But the moment you begin deciding what matters and what doesn't—"
He paused.
Then finished:
"You begin to understand your ability."
Haruki stared at him.
That…
Made sense.
But it also didn't.
"So I just… filter it?" he asked.
"No."
Raizen turned away again, continuing forward.
"You endure it."
Haruki exhaled sharply.
"That's your answer to everything."
"Yes."
Karin let out a small breath beside him, almost amused despite the tension.
"He's not wrong," she said.
Haruki glanced at her.
"You're taking his side now?"
"I'm taking the side that keeps us alive," she replied.
Fair.
Annoying.
But fair.
They continued walking.
The forest thinned gradually, the trees becoming less dense as the ground evened out slightly.
It felt like they were nearing the edge.
Or at least—
Away from the worst of it.
Haruki let out a quiet breath.
For the first time since entering the forest—
He felt like he could think clearly.
But then—
It happened again.
A flicker.
Stronger this time.
His vision blurred—
And suddenly—
He wasn't walking anymore.
He was standing.
Alone.
The snow beneath him was darker.
The sky above—
Broken.
Cracked like glass.
"…What…?"
He turned.
The forest was gone.
Replaced by something else.
Something empty.
Something endless.
"…Karin?"
No answer.
"…Raizen?"
Nothing.
A presence moved behind him.
Haruki spun around—
And saw him.
A figure.
Standing still.
Watching.
Not a Rift-Beast.
Not distorted.
Clear.
Defined.
His body was still, his expression unreadable, his eyes… empty.
Haruki's breath caught.
"…Who are you?"
The figure didn't respond.
Didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Just—
Watched.
Then—
The world snapped back.
Haruki staggered forward, nearly losing his balance.
"Haruki!"
Karin caught him.
"What happened?!"
His breathing was uneven now.
Faster.
More erratic than before.
"…I saw him," he said.
Karin frowned. "Saw who?"
Haruki hesitated.
"…Someone."
Raizen turned.
"What did he look like?"
Haruki tried to recall it.
The details felt… slippery.
Like they were fading even as he thought about them.
"…Still," he said. "Like he wasn't even part of the world. Just… there."
Raizen's gaze sharpened slightly.
But only slightly.
"…Did he attack?"
"No."
"Speak?"
Haruki shook his head.
"…No. He just watched."
Silence fell again.
But this time—
It felt different.
Heavier.
Karin looked between them.
"…That's not normal, is it?"
Raizen didn't answer immediately.
Then:
"No."
That was enough.
Haruki's chest tightened.
"…Then what was that?"
Raizen turned away again.
"For now—irrelevant."
Haruki frowned.
"How is that irrelevant?!"
"Because you are still alive," Raizen replied calmly. "And he did nothing."
Haruki clenched his fists.
"That doesn't mean he won't."
"No," Raizen agreed. "It doesn't."
That didn't help.
At all.
They finally reached the edge of the forest.
The trees thinned out completely, opening into a wide expanse of snow-covered land stretching endlessly ahead.
The sky was clearer here.
Brighter.
Normal.
Haruki stopped.
Just for a moment.
Taking it in.
The difference was immediate.
The weight.
The pressure.
Gone.
Or at least—
Reduced.
"…We're out," Karin said quietly.
Haruki nodded.
"…Yeah."
But even as he said it—
He knew.
Something hadn't left.
It was still there.
Not in the world around him—
But in him.
Raizen stepped forward, stopping just beyond the forest line.
"This is where your first trial ends," he said.
Haruki looked at him.
"…Ends?"
"Yes."
Karin crossed her arms slightly. "That didn't feel like a trial."
"It wasn't meant to feel like one."
Haruki let out a small breath.
"…Then what was it?"
Raizen turned slightly, his glowing eye faint but steady.
"A beginning."
The words settled heavily.
Haruki looked back at the forest one last time.
It stood there.
Silent.
Still.
As if nothing had happened.
But he knew better.
"…It's not over," he said quietly.
Raizen didn't respond.
Because he didn't need to.
Haruki already knew the answer.
Far beyond their sight—
In that place where light could not reach—
He stood.
Unmoving.
Watching.
"…He saw me."
Kurogane's voice was quiet.
Flat.
But there was something beneath it now.
Something new.
The Rift Lord stood beside him, his presence vast, overwhelming.
"Yes," he said calmly.
Kurogane's gaze didn't shift.
"…Should I eliminate him?"
A pause.
Then—
"No."
The answer was immediate.
Certain.
"Not yet."
Kurogane was silent.
"…Why?"
For a moment—
There was no answer.
Then—
"Because he is still becoming."
Kurogane processed that.
Silently.
"…Understood."
But as he continued to watch—
That feeling returned.
That unfamiliar sensation.
Not quite curiosity.
Not quite interest.
But something close.
And far away—
Standing at the edge of the forest—
Haruki placed a hand over his chest.
His heart was steady.
But his mind—
Wasn't.
Because for the first time—
He was sure of something.
That figure he saw—
Was real.
And next time—
They wouldn't just watch.