The court had emptied. The tribunal ended with no clear verdict—Ren hadn't won, but he hadn't been erased either. The priests muttered "pending review" and dismissed him, their smiles thinner than glass about to crack.
Now, past midnight, Ren wandered the sealed corridor Daigo had once shown him. His legs trembled with exhaustion, but his chest burned hotter than pain.
The mural waited. Cracked, ancient, too familiar.
Ren pressed his palm against the faded paint. The star-shaped rune on his hand pulsed.
The glass lit up.
His HUD spasmed, words distorting across his vision:
[Substitution Protocol Detected]
[You Are Not the First.]
Ren staggered back. "What...?"
The mural shifted. Dust flaked away, revealing a second figure beside the shadowed opponent. The face—clearer now. Not blurred. Not forgotten.
It was him.
Same eyes. Same jawline. Same stance. A mirror, painted centuries ago.
Ren's breath caught. No... that's impossible. That's me.
The HUD blazed again:
[LOST COURT — ACCESS KEY 1/5]
[Resonance Confirmed.]
The painted figure's star-glass racket glowed faintly, humming in sync with the Fallen Star in Ren's hands. The entire corridor vibrated, shards of colored light dripping from the mural like tears.
I thought I was climbing for survival. For recognition. For them.
His fingers shook as he touched the glowing panel again. But maybe... I'm just walking in someone else's footsteps.
The echo of a voice—not Daigo's, not the Keeper's, not anyone he knew—whispered through the glass.
"...Win where I fell."
The mural went dark. Ren collapsed to his knees, the silence pressing heavy.
Behind him, Mio's voice wavered. She had followed, unable to stay behind. "...Ren?"
He turned, eyes wide, voice hoarse. "...Mio... if I'm not the first... then who was?"
Ren kneeling in the corridor, mural cracked and glowing faintly, the painted doppelgänger's eyes burning like embers, while Mio watches in horror as the HUD flashes one last time:
[LOST COURT — ENTRY CONDITION: PROGRESS 1/5]
I thought padel was my way to live. But it might also be the way I disappear.
End of Book #1
XD