The moment Haruto realized Aoi was gone—
Everything else stopped mattering.
"She wouldn't just leave," he said, already moving toward the door. "Something called her."
Ren grabbed his jacket quickly. "Then we don't waste time standing here."
Kaito hesitated for only a second before following.
"…We know where it would take her."
Haruto didn't slow down.
"The edge of the village."
The place where things didn't feel right.
The Search
The sky had darkened unnaturally.
Not night.
Not evening.
Just… dim.
As if the world itself was holding its breath.
They moved quickly through the empty streets.
No one stopped them.
No one questioned them.
But the feeling of being watched returned.
Stronger than before.
Ren glanced around. "I hate this place."
Kaito muttered, "It's not the place."
Haruto finished quietly, "…it's what's inside it."
Aoi's Vision
Meanwhile—
Aoi didn't feel the cold anymore.
She didn't feel anything.
The moment her fingers touched the soil—
The world shifted.
Sound disappeared.
Light bent.
And suddenly—
She wasn't there anymore.
The Past
The trees looked younger.
The air clearer.
Voices echoed faintly in the distance.
Laughter.
Footsteps.
Aoi stood in the same place—
But it wasn't abandoned.
Someone else stood there.
A girl.
Facing away from her.
Long hair.
Still.
Silent.
Aoi's voice trembled.
"…Who are you?"
The girl didn't respond.
But slowly—
She turned.
Aoi's breath caught.
Her face—
Blurred.
Not invisible.
Not hidden.
Just… impossible to remember.
Every time Aoi tried to focus—
It slipped away.
Like a name scratched out from memory.
The Truth Fragment
"…They forgot me…"
The girl's voice was soft.
Broken.
"…So I remained…"
Aoi felt something tighten in her chest.
"What do you mean?"
The girl stepped closer.
"…If no one remembers… you don't leave…"
The words felt wrong.
Not metaphorical.
Real.
"…You stay…"
The ground beneath them darkened slightly.
"…And you become something else…"
Reality Cracks
"Aoi!"
The voice shattered the moment.
Haruto.
The vision flickered.
The girl stepped back.
"…Don't forget me…"
Her voice faded.
"…or I'll disappear again…"
Everything collapsed.
Back to Reality
Aoi gasped as she returned.
The cold hit her instantly.
Her hand was still on the ground—
But now—
The soil was moving.
Shifting.
From beneath.
The Rescue
"AOI!"
Haruto reached her first.
He pulled her back just as the ground beneath her hand cracked open slightly.
Something dark moved inside.
Ren stopped abruptly. "What the hell—"
Kaito stepped back. "It's under there…"
Haruto pulled Aoi to her feet.
"Are you okay?!"
She nodded weakly.
"…I saw her."
Haruto's expression sharpened.
"What did she say?"
Aoi looked back at the ground.
"They were forgotten…"
Ren frowned. "Who?"
Aoi's voice shook slightly.
"The ones who disappeared."
The Horror Below
The ground trembled again.
This time—
Stronger.
Cracks spread slowly across the surface.
Something was trying to come out.
Kaito backed away. "This is bad—this is really bad—"
Haruto didn't move.
He was staring.
Watching.
Understanding.
"…This isn't just where they died," he said quietly.
Ren looked at him. "Then what is it?"
Haruto's voice dropped.
"…It's where they're kept."
The Reaction
The moment he said it—
The ground split open slightly.
A dark shape pushed upward.
Not fully forming.
Not fully visible.
But reaching.
Toward them.
The Choice
"Move!" Haruto shouted.
They stepped back instantly.
But Aoi didn't.
She was staring at it.
Not in fear.
In recognition.
"…You're still here…" she whispered.
The thing reacted.
It stopped.
Just for a second.
The Interference
The air shifted again.
Soft.
Familiar.
Petals.
This time—
More visible than before.
They surrounded Aoi.
Separating her from the thing beneath the ground.
Haruto noticed immediately.
"…She's protecting you again."
Aoi nodded slowly.
But her expression wasn't relieved.
It was conflicted.
Final Realization
"They're not all the same," she said quietly.
Ren frowned. "What?"
Aoi looked at them.
"There are different ones."
Her voice dropped.
"Some want to leave…"
She looked at the ground.
"…and some don't."
End Scene
The cracks in the earth slowly closed.
The presence faded.
But not completely.
It was still there.
Waiting.
Watching.
Beneath them.
Haruto turned away.
His mind already racing ahead.
"…Then we're not dealing with one enemy."
He looked back once more.
"…we're standing on all of them."