The pillar of black smoke continued to rise into the cloudy sky.
Students rushed toward the windows, pointing at the distant explosion while frightened voices echoed throughout the school.
"What happened?"
"Was that a gas station?"
"Shouldn't we evacuate?"
Haruto remained frozen at the rooftop railing.
His breathing refused to calm.
The ruined city...
The snow...
The older version of her...
It had all felt too real to be called a dream.
He slowly looked beside him.
The girl hadn't taken her eyes off the smoke.
Her hands trembled ever so slightly.
"...You knew."
His voice was barely audible.
She didn't answer.
"You knew something like this would happen."
Still...
Silence.
Haruto clenched his fists.
"Stop hiding everything from me."
His voice rose for the first time since they'd met.
"I almost died yesterday."
"I receive impossible messages."
"Some stranger keeps following us."
"I see places that don't exist."
"And now that explosion..."
He took another step closer.
"What exactly is happening?"
The girl slowly closed her eyes.
For several long seconds...
Only the sound of rain could be heard.
When she finally spoke...
Her voice carried an unfamiliar sadness.
"...If I tell you now..."
"You'll hate me."
Haruto immediately shook his head.
"I won't."
"You don't know that."
"Then let me decide."
She looked at him.
Those silver eyes reflected countless emotions she could no longer hide.
Fear.
Regret.
Hope.
"...Not yet."
The words pierced Haruto more deeply than he expected.
Again.
Another secret.
Another promise that never came.
He let out a quiet laugh.
Not because anything was funny.
Because he no longer knew what else to do.
"...Fine."
"If you won't tell me..."
"I'll find the answers myself."
For the first time...
She looked genuinely afraid.
"Haruto, don't."
He turned away.
"I've spent my whole life believing the world made sense."
"But after meeting you..."
"Nothing does anymore."
Without waiting for a reply...
He pushed open the rooftop door and disappeared down the stairs.
The girl remained standing in the rain.
"...I'm sorry."
Her whisper vanished with the wind.
...
Classes ended early because of the explosion.
Teachers instructed every student to return home immediately.
Emergency vehicles continued racing toward the western district.
The news spread quickly.
An abandoned warehouse had suddenly exploded.
Fortunately...
No casualties had been reported.
At least...
That was the official story.
Haruto wasn't convinced.
Nothing about the past two days felt ordinary anymore.
As he walked toward the station, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the old blue charm she had given him.
The faded ribbon fluttered in the breeze.
"...Why does this feel so familiar?"
He stared at it for several moments before placing it back inside his pocket.
Just then...
"...Excuse me."
A gentle voice called from behind.
Haruto turned around.
Standing a few meters away was an elderly woman carrying two grocery bags.
Her gray hair was neatly tied behind her head, and despite the rain, a warm smile rested on her face.
"You dropped this."
She held out a small silver button.
Haruto blinked.
"...That's not mine."
The woman's smile slowly disappeared.
"...Really?"
She looked carefully at his face.
Then...
Her eyes widened.
"...Impossible."
"What is?"
The grocery bags slipped from her hands.
Apples rolled across the wet pavement.
The woman covered her mouth with trembling fingers.
"...You're alive..."
Haruto frowned.
"...Have we met?"
The old woman stared at him as tears filled her eyes.
"No..."
"...I'm sorry."
"I mistook you for someone else."
Before Haruto could ask another question...
She hurried away into the crowd.
He watched her disappear beneath countless umbrellas.
"...What's going on..."
Across the street...
Hidden inside a parked black sedan...
The man in the dark suit lowered a pair of binoculars.
"So even she remembers."
He quietly closed a notebook resting on his lap.
Inside were dozens of photographs.
Every single one...
Was of Haruto.
Some showed him as a child.
Some showed him wearing clothes he had never owned.
Some even depicted places he'd never visited.
The newest photograph had been taken only hours ago.
The rooftop.
Rain.
The girl standing beside him.
The man calmly wrote another note beneath it.
**Memory Resonance: Increasing.**
**Subject beginning to recover fragments.**
He closed the notebook.
"...Interesting."
A voice came from the driver's seat.
"What are your orders?"
The man gazed through the rain-covered window.
"...Continue observing."
"For now..."
"He still believes he has a choice."
...
That evening.
Haruto skipped dinner.
He shut himself inside his room and spread everything strange across his desk.
The blue charm.
The screenshot of the mysterious message.
A map of the city.
A notebook.
He drew a circle around every unusual event.
The accident.
The explosion.
The man in black.
The anonymous text.
The girl.
There had to be a connection.
"There has to be..."
He stared at the map.
Both the truck accident...
And today's explosion...
Were strangely close to one another.
Less than two kilometers apart.
Coincidence?
His instincts said otherwise.
His phone suddenly vibrated.
Unknown Number.
Haruto's heart skipped a beat.
He answered immediately.
"...Who are you?"
Static.
Nothing but static.
Then...
A distorted voice.
"Seven..."
The line crackled violently.
"...days..."
Haruto stood up.
"What do you mean?!"
"...Find..."
"...the..."
The connection cut.
His phone screen suddenly went black.
Then...
For a split second...
A single image flashed across it.
An old train station clock.
Stopped at exactly...
**7:13.**
The screen returned to normal.
Haruto's breathing became uneven.
"Was that..."
His eyes widened.
"...Shirakawa Station?"
He recognized it immediately.
The abandoned station on the edge of town.
It had been closed years ago after an earthquake damaged the tracks.
Nobody went there anymore.
"...Find the..."
"The station?"
Without wasting another second...
Haruto grabbed his jacket.
If someone wanted him to find something there...
He was going.
Even if it was dangerous.
Outside...
Rain continued to fall.
Far above the city...
A bolt of lightning split the night sky.
And somewhere deep inside the abandoned Shirakawa Station...
A dusty pocket watch resting on the floor...
Suddenly began ticking on its own.
Haruto sprinted through the rain.
His shoes splashed across puddles as the lights of the city slowly faded behind him.
The abandoned Shirakawa Station stood at the edge of town, forgotten by almost everyone.
It had once been the busiest station in the prefecture.
Now...
Nature had begun reclaiming it.
Vines climbed the cracked walls.
Broken windows rattled in the wind.
The station clock remained frozen at exactly 7:13.
Haruto stopped in front of the rusted entrance.
"...This place."
A strange feeling settled deep inside his chest.
It wasn't fear.
It was...
Nostalgia.
As if he had stood here countless times before.
"...Why does this feel familiar?"
He pushed against the old wooden door.
Creeeeak...
The sound echoed throughout the empty station.
Dust floated through the air.
Rows of abandoned benches remained untouched for years.
An old ticket machine sat in the corner, covered in rust.
Everything was silent.
Too silent.
Haruto switched on the flashlight of his phone.
The beam cut through the darkness.
"...Hello?"
No answer.
Only the distant sound of dripping water.
He slowly walked deeper into the station.
His footsteps echoed across the empty platform.
Then...
Clink.
Haruto froze.
Someone else had stepped on a loose piece of metal.
"...Who's there?"
Silence.
He raised his flashlight toward the tracks.
Nothing.
Just broken rails disappearing into darkness.
"...I'm imagining things."
He took another step.
Clink.
Again.
This time...
Closer.
Haruto quickly spun around.
The flashlight revealed only empty benches.
His heartbeat quickened.
"...Come out."
No response.
Instead...
A cold gust of wind swept through the station.
The old station clock suddenly began ticking.
Tick...
Tick...
Tick...
Haruto slowly looked up.
"...It was broken..."
The hands of the clock moved.
7:13...
7:14...
7:15...
The ticking grew louder with each second.
Then—
A bright light suddenly flashed across the tracks.
Haruto instinctively shielded his eyes.
The abandoned railway...
Was no longer abandoned.
A train rushed past him at impossible speed.
Its headlights illuminated the entire station.
People stood inside.
Hundreds of passengers.
Some were laughing.
Some were sleeping.
Some simply stared through the windows.
And every single one...
Turned toward Haruto at the exact same moment.
Their expressions were empty.
Lifeless.
As the final carriage passed...
Haruto caught sight of one last passenger.
A boy.
About seventeen years old.
Black hair.
School uniform.
The boy looked directly at him...
And smiled.
Haruto's breathing stopped.
"...Me?"
The train vanished.
Silence returned.
The tracks were empty once again.
As though nothing had happened.
Haruto stumbled backward.
"T-That's impossible..."
His heart pounded violently inside his chest.
"What... did I just see?"
"You saw a memory."
A voice echoed behind him.
Haruto spun around.
The man in the black suit stood beneath the station clock.
His hands rested calmly inside his coat pockets.
"You..."
Haruto stepped back.
"Stay away from me."
The man smiled.
"You've become cautious."
"I suppose that's an improvement."
"What do you want from me?"
"I came to ask you a question."
"What?"
The man slowly walked closer.
"How many times do you think you've lived this life?"
Haruto frowned.
"...What?"
"One?"
"Two?"
The man's smile widened.
"What if I told you..."
"This is your ninety-third time?"
Haruto laughed.
"...You're insane."
"Am I?"
The man reached into his pocket and tossed something onto the floor.
It slid across the dusty platform before stopping near Haruto's feet.
It was...
A photograph.
Haruto slowly picked it up.
His pupils shrank.
The photograph showed him.
Standing in front of Shirakawa Station.
Exactly where he was now.
But...
He wasn't alone.
The girl stood beside him.
Both of them looked older.
She was smiling brightly.
Haruto had never seen her smile like that before.
Written beneath the photograph was a single date.
**October 14.**
Below it...
Someone had written three words by hand.
**"We failed again."**
Haruto looked up.
"...Who wrote this?"
"You did."
The answer came without hesitation.
Haruto shook his head.
"I've never even been here before."
"Haven't you?"
The man stopped walking.
"There are memories buried so deeply..."
"That even death couldn't erase them."
Haruto clenched the photograph.
"I don't understand."
"I know."
"That's why you're dangerous."
Before Haruto could react...
The station lights suddenly flickered on.
One by one.
Despite having no electricity for years.
Buzz...
Buzz...
Buzz...
Every light illuminated the platform.
At the far end of the station...
A lone figure stood beneath the final lamp.
Silver hair.
School uniform.
The girl.
She looked horrified.
"Haruto!"
She ran toward him as fast as she could.
"You weren't supposed to come here!"
The man sighed.
"...Too late."
The girl's breathing was uneven as she reached Haruto.
She grabbed his arm tightly.
"We're leaving."
"Now."
Haruto didn't move.
"...Who is he?"
She remained silent.
"Tell me."
"...Please."
Tears welled in her eyes.
"I can't lose you again."
Again.
There was that word.
Again.
Haruto looked from her...
To the man...
Then back to the photograph in his hand.
Pieces of a puzzle were slowly beginning to connect.
But before he could speak—
The ground beneath the station trembled.
A deafening metallic screech echoed through the tunnels.
The abandoned tracks...
Were shaking.
The man calmly checked his pocket watch.
"...Right on time."
Far inside the darkness...
Another train whistle echoed.
Except...
According to every official record...
No train had traveled these tracks...
For over twenty years.
The train whistle echoed through the abandoned station.
Long.
Cold.
Unnatural.
Haruto's entire body stiffened.
The sound wasn't merely loud—it felt as if it was vibrating inside his bones.
The rusted rails began to tremble violently.
Dust fell from the cracked ceiling.
The girl instinctively stepped in front of Haruto, shielding him with her own body.
"Don't look at it."
Haruto frowned.
"What?"
"No matter what happens..."
"Don't look into the windows."
Her voice trembled.
It wasn't a suggestion.
It was a desperate plea.
The man in the black suit quietly closed his pocket watch.
"Even now..."
"You always choose him over yourself."
The girl glared at him.
"You've already broken enough."
"And yet..."
The man smiled faintly.
"You continue to repeat the same mistake."
Haruto stepped beside her.
"I don't know what's going on..."
"But stop talking like I'm not even here."
The man looked directly at Haruto.
"You want answers?"
Haruto nodded.
"Then answer one question first."
"What question?"
"If you were given the chance..."
"Would you sacrifice one person..."
"To save thousands?"
Silence filled the station.
Haruto frowned.
"I don't know."
"You do."
"I don't."
"You simply haven't remembered yet."
The girl's expression darkened.
"Stop."
The man ignored her.
"In every timeline..."
"You make the same decision."
Haruto's heartbeat quickened.
Timeline.
There it was again.
Another strange word.
"What exactly is a timeline?"
The man opened his mouth.
But before he could answer—
The train emerged from the darkness.
Its headlights flooded the station with blinding white light.
Unlike the train Haruto had seen before...
This one looked old.
Its metal body was scarred with rust.
Every window was cracked.
Yet it moved as smoothly as a brand-new machine.
It slowed...
Until it finally stopped in front of Platform One.
The doors slid open.
Hiss...
No one stepped out.
The station fell silent.
The girl grabbed Haruto's sleeve.
"We're leaving."
"...Now."
She pulled him toward the exit.
Haruto resisted.
"...Wait."
"I need answers."
"You'll die if you stay."
Her words came out so quickly that even she seemed surprised she had said them.
Haruto stared at her.
"...Die?"
She covered her mouth.
"...I..."
The man chuckled softly.
"You've said too much."
The girl ignored him.
She looked directly into Haruto's eyes.
"Please..."
"Trust me."
Haruto had never seen her like this.
The calm girl who always hid her emotions...
Was terrified.
Not for herself.
For him.
He slowly nodded.
"...Okay."
Relief flooded her face.
They turned toward the station entrance.
One step.
Two.
Three.
Then—
"Haruto."
A familiar voice echoed from inside the train.
He froze.
"...Mom?"
The girl immediately tightened her grip on his arm.
"No."
"Don't turn around."
His breathing became uneven.
He knew that voice.
He hadn't heard it in years.
The voice of the mother he had lost as a child.
"Haruto..."
"Come here."
"I've missed you."
His heart pounded painfully against his chest.
"No..."
"It can't be..."
Tears formed in his eyes before he even realized it.
Another voice followed.
This one belonged to his father.
"Son."
"We're waiting."
The girl's grip became even tighter.
"They're not real."
"They're trying to lure you."
Haruto's legs refused to move.
Every instinct told him to run toward those voices.
To hear them one last time.
To see their faces again.
"Haruto!"
The girl shouted.
Her voice snapped him back to reality.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
"...They're gone."
"My parents are gone."
"They're gone..."
He repeated those words to himself until he finally managed to take another step.
The voices stopped.
The station became silent once more.
Behind them...
The man smiled.
"...Excellent."
"So you've grown stronger."
Haruto suddenly stopped walking.
"...Why?"
He slowly turned around.
"Why are you doing all this?"
The man looked at him without emotion.
"Because I have a duty."
"What duty?"
"To protect the correct future."
Haruto frowned.
"The correct future?"
"There are futures that should never exist."
The man glanced toward the girl.
"She created one."
The girl's face turned pale.
"I only wanted to save him."
"And by doing so..."
The man continued.
"You erased millions."
Haruto's eyes widened.
"...Millions?"
"No."
The girl shook her head desperately.
"Don't listen to him."
"He's twisting the truth."
"Am I?"
The man reached into his coat once again.
This time...
He pulled out a thin black notebook.
Its pages were worn with age.
He opened it.
Every page contained a different date.
Every date...
Had Haruto's name written across it.
Some pages were stained with blood.
Others had been burned.
Several simply read...
FAILED.
FAILED.
FAILED.
FAILED.
The man stopped on one particular page.
He turned the notebook toward Haruto.
At the top was written:
**Timeline 93**
Below it...
A single sentence.
**Haruto Kisaragi dies protecting her.**
Haruto's face lost all color.
"...What?"
He looked at the girl.
She couldn't meet his eyes.
Slowly...
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"...He's telling the truth."
Haruto felt as though the ground had disappeared beneath him.
"...What?"
She trembled.
"In every future I remember..."
"You die."
Silence.
Rain tapped softly against the shattered station windows.
Haruto couldn't hear anything else.
His mind had gone completely blank.
"You..."
"You knew?"
She nodded.
"I watched you die..."
"Again..."
"And again..."
"And again..."
Each word sounded heavier than the last.
"I couldn't accept it."
"So..."
"I searched for another future."
The man quietly closed the notebook.
"And now..."
"We've reached another dead end."
He looked toward the tunnel.
A low rumble echoed from deep underground.
His expression changed for the first time.
"...Impossible."
The girl noticed it immediately.
"What is it?"
The man slowly looked into the darkness.
"...Something is coming."
"What?"
"...Something that shouldn't exist."
A freezing wind burst from the tunnel, extinguishing every light in the station.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Then...
Two glowing crimson eyes opened deep within the tunnel.
They were far too large...
To belong to any human.
Darkness swallowed the station.
The only things visible were the two crimson eyes staring from deep within the tunnel.
They did not blink.
They did not move.
Yet Haruto felt as though they were piercing straight through him.
The air grew unbearably heavy.
Every breath became a struggle.
"...What is that?" Haruto whispered.
For the first time since meeting him...
The man in the black suit lost his composure.
His eyes widened ever so slightly.
"...Impossible."
"It found this timeline."
The girl instinctively stepped in front of Haruto again.
Her entire body trembled.
"No..."
"It shouldn't have awakened yet."
The crimson eyes slowly moved closer.
One step.
Another.
The sound of metal groaning echoed throughout the tunnel.
Whatever was approaching...
It was enormous.
Haruto tightened his fists.
"What is it?!"
Neither of them answered.
The station lights suddenly flickered back to life.
For only a fraction of a second...
Haruto saw its silhouette.
A towering figure wrapped in torn black cloth.
Its body looked almost human.
But its limbs were unnaturally long.
Its face...
Didn't exist.
Only the two crimson eyes floated where a face should have been.
Then the lights died again.
The creature disappeared.
"...Run."
The girl's voice shook.
"Now!"
She grabbed Haruto's hand and sprinted toward the station entrance.
Behind them—
BOOM!
The platform exploded as the creature slammed onto the tracks.
Concrete shattered like glass.
Steel rails bent upward.
Haruto looked back for only an instant.
The thing wasn't chasing them.
It was...
Watching.
As though it had already decided they couldn't escape.
The man in the black suit remained standing on the platform.
He calmly pulled a strange silver device from inside his coat.
A thin blue circle of light expanded beneath his feet.
"...Leave."
The girl stopped.
"What are you doing?"
"I'll hold it here."
"You can't."
"I don't intend to win."
His eyes never left the creature.
"I only need thirty seconds."
The creature tilted its head.
Then—
It vanished.
Haruto barely had time to blink before a deafening crash echoed behind them.
The man had been thrown through a concrete pillar.
Blood stained the broken wall.
"...Impossible..."
He slowly stood back up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"So this is its true strength..."
The creature attacked again.
Its movements were impossible to follow.
Each strike shattered another part of the station.
The old building began collapsing around them.
The ceiling cracked.
Massive chunks of concrete rained down.
"Haruto!"
The girl shoved him aside just as a steel beam crashed where he had been standing.
Dust filled the air.
Haruto coughed violently.
When the dust settled...
The girl was no longer beside him.
"...Where are you?!"
A faint groan answered him.
He turned.
She was trapped beneath the fallen beam.
Blood trickled down her forehead.
Her breathing was uneven.
"Don't move!"
Haruto rushed toward her.
"No!"
She reached out desperately.
"Stay away!"
Too late.
The creature's crimson eyes shifted.
For the first time...
They locked onto Haruto.
Everything became silent.
Even the rain outside seemed to stop.
The creature slowly raised one hand.
The shadows surrounding it gathered into a single black spear.
Haruto couldn't move.
His legs refused to listen.
The creature hurled the spear.
It tore through the air faster than sound itself.
"Haruto!"
Without thinking...
The girl forced herself free from the fallen beam.
Ignoring the pain, she threw herself in front of him.
The black spear pierced straight through her shoulder.
A sickening crack echoed through the station.
Time seemed to stop.
Haruto caught her before she hit the ground.
"...No..."
Warm blood soaked through his school uniform.
His hands trembled uncontrollably.
"...Why..."
She smiled weakly.
"...Because..."
"...I'd rather it be me."
Tears filled Haruto's eyes.
"Don't say that!"
"I'll get help!"
She gently grabbed his wrist.
"...Listen carefully."
Her silver eyes met his.
This time...
There was no hesitation.
No attempt to hide.
"...Haruto..."
"...I know you."
"...Far better than you know yourself."
His breathing stopped.
"You always smiled..."
"...Even when you were scared."
"You always tried to save everyone..."
"...Even if it meant losing yourself."
Every word sounded like a memory.
Not a guess.
Not a dream.
A memory.
"...Who are you?" Haruto whispered.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
The answer rested on her lips.
She opened her mouth—
BOOM!
A blinding blue light erupted between them.
The man in the black suit stood before the creature, his silver device now cracked.
Energy surged around him like lightning.
"...That's enough."
The creature let out a sound unlike anything Haruto had ever heard.
It wasn't a roar.
It wasn't a scream.
It was dozens of voices speaking at once.
"The... Key..."
"The... Origin..."
"Return... Him..."
The man's expression changed.
"So that's your objective."
He looked back at Haruto.
For the first time...
There was sympathy in his eyes.
"...You truly remember nothing."
He pressed a button on the shattered device.
A massive blue barrier erupted across the station.
The creature slammed into it, causing the entire building to shake.
Cracks spread across the barrier immediately.
"...You have less than a minute," the man said.
"Take her and leave."
Haruto hesitated.
"What about you?"
A faint smile appeared on the man's face.
"...I've died doing this before."
"...One more time won't matter."
Haruto stared at him.
Those words...
They weren't spoken with fear.
They sounded like simple fact.
The girl weakly squeezed Haruto's hand.
"...Go..."
He nodded.
Carefully lifting her into his arms, Haruto ran toward the station exit as fast as he could.
Behind him, the barrier shattered.
The station disappeared in a storm of blue light and collapsing steel.
As Haruto reached the hillside overlooking the station, he turned around.
The abandoned Shirakawa Station...
Was gone.
In its place remained only a burning crater.
No train tracks.
No platform.
Nothing.
As emergency sirens echoed in the distance, the unconscious girl whispered so softly that only Haruto could hear it.
"...Welcome back..."
"...Haruto..."
"...to the ninety-fourth timeline."
***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***
Updated 8 Episodes
Download
Like this story? Download the app to keep your reading history.
Comments