The hallway was silent.
Only the sound of our footsteps echoed against the cold school floor. I wanted to ask questions—shout, pull my hand away—but my mouth felt heavy, as if it refused to move.
“Where are we going?” I finally asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Iych didn’t answer.
Her eyes remained fixed straight ahead.
We stopped in front of an empty room, far from the classrooms. The lights were off, and the air inside felt stale.
“Go in,” she said shortly.
“Wait—”
The door slammed shut.
SLAM.
“Ah—!”
Cold spread through my chest. My breath caught in my throat. Strength drained from my body in an instant, as if something inside me had been pulled away.
“Stay still,” Iych said calmly.
“W-what are you doing…?”
Her hand—
her hand passed straight through my body.
CRACK.
“Aaaah!!”
Something twisted inside my chest. Pain exploded behind my eyes, and my legs trembled, barely holding me upright.
“W-why… are you trying to kill me?” I gasped.
“Kill you? No,” she replied flatly.
“You’ll understand soon enough.”
My breathing grew shallow.
“Now I know why you were chosen as a Miracle Seat,” she continued.
“H-huh…?”
“When I reached inside you, I saw something.”
“S-saw what…?”
“Iron. Like machinery. Like a robot.”
My eyes widened.
“That’s your talent.”
“M-my… talent…?”
“An abnormality,” she said.
“A deviation that allows humans to do things beyond reason. Usually, only upper families possess such traits.”
“Then… why me…?”
“I don’t know,” Iych answered honestly.
“But you’re interesting.”
She pulled her hand back.
My body collapsed to the floor.
“Be careful,” she added casually.
“A lot of people hunt Miracle Seats out of envy. I just wanted to make sure you understand what you really are.”
Darkness swallowed my vision.
My consciousness faded.
-----------------------------------------
I woke up in a formless space.
“Where… am I…?”
My voice echoed endlessly.
A flash of light cut through the void.
ZZZZT.
“Huh…?”
I raised my hand.
Water.
I was sinking.
“I can’t breathe!”
DO YOU WANT TO DIE?
The voice resonated directly inside my head.
“Who are you?!”
DO YOU TRULY WANT TO DIE, RINNE?
“No! I don’t want to die!”
WHY DO I KNOW YOU?
The voice changed.
Warm.
Gentle.
Like—
My mother’s voice.
“Why are you crying, Rinne?”
“M-mom…?”
I AM NOT YOUR MOTHER.
The world trembled.
I AM YOUR TALENT.
My body froze.
“Then… send me back.”
YOU ARE ALREADY DEAD.
“No… I’m not—”
YOU ARE WEAK.
The word struck harder than any pain.
“If I can live again… what do I have to pay…?”
The voice laughed.
IN EXCHANGE…
YOU WILL GIVE ME YOUR SIGHT.