The clawed shadow pressed against the window.
The glass trembled.
Lucien gripped his blanket like a shield.Mirei stood locked in a stance ready to strike.Mika didn't blink, blade drawn, fully prepared to cut death itself.
Kuro, however—
Kuro didn't move.
His eyes went empty.
Completely empty.
Mika froze."Kuro…?"
[Oh no. Oh f*** no. Not right now—]
But Kuro didn't hear him.
Because the moment the shadow touched the window, something old — something hidden — snapped open inside him.
And the world fell away.
White. Endless. Silent.
Kuro blinked, sitting cross-legged on nothing at all.
"...Oh."He sighed. "This dream again."
Except—It wasn't a dream.
The cold breeze brushed past him, just as it had the first time.
And then—
A man appeared.
Platinum white hair.Daopao like moonlit water.Skin pale enough to glow.Eyes blacker than black — not empty, but deep, like ink spilled into the cosmos.
He smiled, devastatingly beautiful.
Kuro muttered under his breath, "How is someone allowed to look like that…"
The man raised a brow."You're thinking too loudly."
"Right. Sorry."
"You should be," the man said, voice smooth and unbearably confident. "Your thoughts are embarrassingly human."
"Who… are you, again?"
"That is none of your concern," the man said with the exact tone of someone posing for a celestial magazine cover. "No need for introductions."
Kuro blinked."…You're arrogant."
"I am correct," the man corrected.
[This guy again. Oh f*** my life.]
Kuro flinched. "Elvastia—?! You're here too??"
[Oh, I hate this place. Everything smells like cosmic superiority.]
The man ignored him.
"Listen carefully, Kuro Kyoko," he said, gesturing to the blank void."This place between stars and sky — smaller than an atom, beyond the domain of the so-called gods — is mine and mine alone."
Kuro nodded slowly."Yeah. I remember."
"You should," the man said sharply. "Mortals break when exposed to these memories a second time. You, however…"He leaned in."You don't break easily. That is why you interest me."
Kuro didn't know how to respond to that.
So he asked the question that haunted him:
"Why did you choose me?"
The man's expression didn't change — but his eyes did.For a split second, something ancient flickered behind them.
"Because you died."
"…From a sneeze."
"Yes. Pathetic."
Kuro groaned. "I cannot believe my life ended like that."
"You died in a way that offended me," the man said. "Thus, I corrected it."
Then he smiled.
Not warmly.
Not kindly.
But knowingly.
"And because you are meant for something far greater than the world you came from."
Kuro frowned."Greater? How?"
"You will discover that in time. And you will not like the answer."
[Great. Love that. Very reassuring.]
"Why show me this again?" Kuro whispered. "Why now?"
The man tapped his chin."Oh, that? Simple."
His smile grew sharper.
"A piece of your memory was sealed the moment I reincarnated you. Something dangerous. Something I removed to keep your soul stable."
Kuro's breath caught.
"What memory?"
"You'll see when you're ready," the man replied. "Unfortunately… that shadow outside the window awakened the fragment early."
Kuro stiffened."So the creature—"
"—is not from this world," the man finished. "It's from mine."
Kuro's heart dropped."Why is something from your world after me?!"
The man's expression finally cracked — a tiny hint of irritation.
"Because those idiots think you belong to them."
Kuro blinked."I… belong to someone?"
"Not anymore," the man said coldly. "I stole you first."
[Oh wonderful. Interdimensional custody battle.]
The man snapped his fingers.
The world trembled.
The white void stretched, warped—And for a moment, Kuro saw something behind the man.
A throne.Black chains hanging from the sky.A silhouette sitting upon it, watching him.
The image vanished instantly.
Kuro gasped. "What— was that—?"
"You saw nothing."
"No, I definitely saw somethi—"
"You saw NOTHING."
Kuro flinched like a scolded puppy.
Elvastia muttered:[That definitely means trouble.]
The man cleared his throat, resuming his perfect poise.
"Anyway. Back to your reincarnation."
Kuro frowned. "You never told me what magic you gave me."
"Oh yes."He smirked."I gave you—"
The sound glitched.
-###########-
Kuro jolted."What was that?! Say it again—!"
"No."
"Why?!"
"Because you're not ready."
"But—"
"Good luck," the man said, already dissolving into light. "Try not to die this time."
Kuro's eyes widened."WAIT— WHAT DID YOU—"
The man's final whisper curled around him like stardust:
"We will meet again, Kuro Kyoko.Much sooner than you think."
Back in the Inn
Kuro's eyes flew open—
And he wasn't in the void anymore.
He was in Mika's arms.
Mika was shaking him.
"Kuro—! Hey! Look at me!"
Lucien was pressed into a corner.Mirei stood armed.The shadow outside was still there.
"Kuro— what happened?!" Mika demanded.
Kuro's voice trembled.
"I… I remembered something."
[Understatement of the century.]
Mika leaned closer. "What did you remember?"
Kuro swallowed.
His heart hammered.
Because for the first time—
He feared the truth.
"…Mika," he whispered, "someone… chose me."
Mika's face paled.
"Who?"
Kuro's voice cracked.
"I don't know.But he wasn't human."
The shadow at the window twitched.
And whispered:
"Found… you…"