—
Thunder rumbled over Tokyo as dark clouds formed unnaturally fast. Ayame stood in the center of a training hall, her sword glowing faintly. She hadn't slept. The phrase kept ringing in her mind.
*The Spiral Remembers.*
Kazuki entered, face pale. "We lost contact with two more sectors—no alarms, no struggle. Just… silence."
Ayame clenched her fist. "They're not erasing the city. They're *rewriting* it."
—
Meanwhile, Hoshiro stood alone in front of a mirror. The face staring back was his—but it *twitched*, glitched slightly, like memory struggling to stabilize. He reached forward—and his reflection whispered:
*"You left the mask… but the Spiral never left you."*
A sharp pain shot through his head. Visions: black towers, endless spirals, and a masked version of himself standing at the center, laughing.
Not *evil*.
Just lost.
Or worse… convinced.
—
Back in District 9, a new Spiral Agent stepped out of the shadows. Unlike the others, this one wore no armor—just a long coat and a scar shaped like the Spiral across her neck.
She looked directly into a surveillance drone.
"Tell the Hero we're not his enemies. We're his *origin*."
—