When Yui opened her eyes, she was falling.
The air wasn't cold. It wasn't warm either. It was… nothing. She was suspended in something that didn't feel like wind or space. She reached out, but there was no ground—only a flickering pale light below her, like the world was made of old memories and static.
She landed softly.
But it wasn't comforting.
The place was twisted—somewhere between a broken playground and an empty hospital waiting room. Swings hung from the ceiling. The tiles beneath her shifted like puzzle pieces that didn't fit. Shadows rippled along the walls, but there was no light source to cast them.
Her voice cracked. "Ayumi…? Haruka…?"
Haruka hit the ground hard and rolled to her knees. Her palms scraped against something that looked like sand but felt like glass. Her instincts kicked in immediately—eyes scanning, muscles tensed. Ayumi had fallen next to her, hitting her back hard on the ground. Haruka had already gotten up and dusted off her knees, helping up Ayumi.
Yui sighed softly, she was relieved to see that she wasn't alone "So what now?" Ayumi said, Haruka added on "We start moving, I don't feel safe staying in the same spot for to long."
Elsewhere, Haru landed hard. His shoulder hit a jagged edge of some crumbled monument, but he rolled to his feet immediately. "Yui?!" he shouted. "Ayumi?" One second, there was the sound of Kaito speaking, his voice barely above the wind. Then — silence.Then chaos.A jagged pull, like being yanked out of existence, hurled them all into darkness. No time to react. No time to scream.
When Haru's vision returned, he was on his knees in a place that looked like the alley they had come from — but hollowed out, warped, like a forgotten reflection of the real world. Shadows drifted through the air like ash, the sky a hazy red. The ground under him pulsed faintly, as though the earth itself was alive.
Beside him, Kaito stirred.
"…You okay?" Haru asked, blinking hard, still disoriented.
Kaito nodded stiffly. "I—I think so." Haru stood quickly, scanning the area. "Haruka?" he called, louder this time. "Haruka?!" No answer. His breath hitched, fear clenching tight in his chest.
"She's not here," Kaito said quietly, glancing around. "I don't see Yui or Ayumi either."
"Damn it," Haru growled, pacing.
"She's not exactly like the other girls, she's not new to this, Yknow?" Kaito said calmly.
"Remember? I've seen your sister fight. She's a fighter. Your sister's strong — stronger than most."
Haru paused. The words hit something raw in him. He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to nod. "Yeah. She is." Kaito stepped beside him, quiet for a beat. "You really care about her."
"Of course I do. She's my little sister." Haru glanced at him. "She can be a pain sometimes, but I'd lose my mind if something happened to her."
"I get that," Kaito said softly.
They walked in silence for a while, shadows curling at their heels.Then, unexpectedly, Haru said, "You ever notice how Ms. Kawamoto just won't shut up about her cats during math?"
Kaito blinked. "Wait—seriously?"
"I swear, I know more about Mr. Fluffles than I do about fractions."
Kaito let out a laugh — surprised, soft, but real.Haru cracked a small grin. "And what's up with that kid Kenta, the one who acts like he's in a gang but cried when he saw a bug?"
"He talks like he runs Tokyo," Kaito muttered.
They shared a brief laugh, the first one since arriving in this nightmare version of the world.But Haru's smile faded quickly. "Alright. Enough messing around. We've got to find the others."
Kaito nodded. "Let's move."
Elsewhere, the air shimmered — and dropped Yui and Ayumi into a twisted street, buildings sagging inward, their outlines melting into the red mist.
"…Ow," Ayumi mumbled, rubbing her elbow. "I landed on a rock."
"You okay?" Yui asked, helping her up.
"Yeah. What even—wait." Ayumi squinted. "Do you hear that?"A distant, sharp scream split the air — high-pitched, terrified.It was Haruka.Yui's blood ran cold. "Come on!"
They sprinted toward the sound.Haruka had already transformed. Her blue-streaked armor shimmered faintly under the red haze, and she was fighting — if you could call it that.The spirit had grabbed her by the leg and was whipping her through the air like a ragdoll.
She slammed into a wall with a sickening thud, cried out, and fell hard onto the cracked ground.The spirit loomed over her, a distorted humanoid figure with elongated arms and a twisted face, its eyes hollow, its mouth wide and drooling black liquid. It shivered with delight, limbs twitching in anticipation like a predator with its prey.Yui didn't hesitate. She tapped her ankle bracelet. A golden glow erupted from her, encasing her in sleek yellow armor. Her hair lifted as power coursed through her.
Beside her, Ayumi's transformation activated — orange armor flaring into existence, a sharp, curved dagger appearing in her hand. They lunged. Ayumi struck first, her blade slicing clean through the spirit's side. It howled but retaliated instantly — flinging Ayumi backward with enough force to slam her into a pile of warped crates. Her head snapped back, blood trickling from her temple.
"Ayumi!" Yui shouted.
But she had no time to check on her. The spirit was already turning. Yui leapt forward, running up the creature's warped limb like a ramp and stabbing down hard with her spear.The creature shrieked — and threw her. Yui slammed into the ground next to Ayumi, dazed.
The spirit turned back toward Haruka.It opened its mouth. Wider. Wider.Rows of misshapen teeth waited in the darkness, and Haruka lay stunned beneath it, her leg too injured to move. Her eyes widened.Then—A blade slashed through the air.Black blood exploded from the spirit's jaw.It was Haru.
He dropped from above, sword gleaming, slicing the monster's face open. It screeched in agony and released Haruka.Before she could hit the ground, Kaito dashed in and caught her. His eyes were sharp, focused. His transformation had taken hold — his glasses were gone, his hair windswept,His outfit was sleek, fitted with dark teal and silver armor lines, and the emerald set into the chain wrapped around his left wrist pulsed softly.
"I've got you," he said, voice firm but gentle.He set Haruka down behind cover.
"I'm okay," she muttered, grabbing her leg. "Just… gonna sit here for a bit."
Meanwhile, Ayumi wiped the blood from Yui's brow and stood beside her. "Ready?"
"Always."
Together, they regrouped and closed in. The spirit flailed, panicked now, but they didn't stop. Spear, dagger, sword, and raw magic slammed into it from every direction.Haruka, breathing through the pain, fired a bolt of energy from her palm by putting two fingers down and leaving the rest up — it struck the spirit's head dead center.With a final screech, the creature collapsed into itself — and exploded in a pulse of black mist.
They hit the ground harshly.
But this time, it was pavement — cracked, dirty, real.The alley.They were back.Their armor faded. The weapons vanished. Their regular clothes returned.
Everyone lay there for a moment, panting.
"…We're back," Ayumi said hoarsely.
Haru sat up, arms still trembling. "You okay, Haruka?"
"Mhm!" she said, though her wince betrayed her.
Kaito looked down at his wrist where the emerald was now dull. "That thing wasn't lost," he said quietly. "It knew what it was doing." Yui turned toward him. "What… was it?"
Haru answered before Kaito could. "While we were searching, we found traces. Stuff it left behind. Drawings. Scratches. Even a few bones."
Kaito's voice was low. "It used to be human. But it… liked hurting kids. A murderer in life. A monster in death."Ayumi's face darkened. That thing was evil."
They all sat there in silence, processing the truth. The spirit world wasn't just leaking.
It was unleashing nightmares.And now… there was no turning back.