Yukihama moved on as if nothing had happened.
But Renji, Aoi, and Kuro knew better.
The town hadn't just survived a spiral, a loop, or a ghost—it had survived itself. Its haunted memories, its fractured past, and the strange force that had tried again and again to trap it in repetition or illusion.
Now, everything felt still.
Not in a dead way.
In a peaceful way.
Like a long-suffering town finally able to sleep.
---
Unmarked Graves
A few weeks after their return, Aoi asked to visit the old shrine in the north woods—the first place they'd encountered the original Spiral symbol carved into the stone.
They found it worn, overgrown with moss and leaves. Time had started eating it away.
And on the ground nearby, they saw something new: three flat stones, unmarked but carefully placed. Someone had built a small shrine of their own.
Kuro knelt beside one. "Graves?"
Aoi nodded slowly.
> "For the ones no one remembered. Maybe Shiori… maybe others."
Renji set a folded paper crane on one of the stones.
> "Not forgotten now."
---
Letters from Nowhere
Days later, Renji found a letter in his locker. No name, no handwriting he recognized.
Inside was a short message:
> "Thank you for remembering.
Don't forget yourselves, either.
— S."
There was no return address. No trace.
But folded within the paper was a mirror shard, perfectly smooth, no cracks.
Renji showed it to Aoi and Kuro.
They didn't speak.
They didn't need to.
Shiori wasn't haunting them. She was watching. Peacefully.
---
Life in Motion
By now, things had shifted gently into the rhythm of normal life.
Renji joined the literature club and began writing short stories—most of which suspiciously resembled their recent experiences, though he insisted they were "totally fictional."
Kuro started working with the school counselor to build a mental health club, something he never would've had the courage to do before.
And Aoi… began painting again.
At first it was chaotic and abstract—spirals, glass, shadows.
But slowly, over the weeks, her work became bright.
Sunlight through trees.
Reflections in water.
Smiles that weren't twisted or broken.
---
A Final Test of the Mirror
On the last day before summer break, the three returned to the rooftop.
The mirror was still there, tucked in the corner, covered in a canvas sheet.
Aoi hesitated. "Should we check it?"
Kuro shrugged. "If it tries anything, I've got a hammer."
Renji smiled and slowly pulled the sheet away.
Nothing happened.
The mirror reflected only them.
Whole.
Real.
Together.
> "Guess it's just a mirror again," Renji said.
Aoi looked closer. "Or maybe… it always was."
They left it there, uncovered, this time not afraid.
---
The Town That Slept
As the summer sun dipped below the Yukihama hills, the town exhaled. It didn't know what had almost destroyed it. Didn't know the names of those who'd saved it. Or the ones who never came back.
But it slept.
Safely.
Because somewhere on a school rooftop, three teenagers had chosen not to forget.
And maybe, just maybe—
That was enough.
---
End of Chapter 74
---
To Be Continue