Cause and effect are well-established concepts in logic. Theoretically, something cannot be caused by its own consequence; otherwise, a circularity would occur. However, the place I am in gives me a strange sensation that logic doesn't seem to function correctly here.
Is this a dream? Or am I dead?
Who are you? This face, this expression... they are identical to mine.
An impostor? No, it's me.
At the moment, I am at the entrance of my school. As punctual as always, I see myself passing through the gate about half an hour before the usual arrival time of the other students.
I don't feel the need to follow myself; apparently, I have nothing to deal with.
I remain still. I believe I am waiting for someone. But who am I supposed to meet?
I wait for a while longer, and amidst all this distortion, I notice movement.
A girl? Yes, definitely another student. Those extremely long black hair swaying in the wind are impossible not to recognize, even in this confusing plane where I find myself.
Yukihara Mikoto. A senpai from this school who holds the position of student council president. Typically, she arrives pretty early; I believe this is due to her responsibilities.
The girl with an expressionless face walks past me.
She cannot see me either. Therefore, I must assume she is not the person I am waiting for.
I hear her footsteps fading away until they disappear.
Once again, I sense the presence of someone. However, as they approach, I find them unfamiliar. This is not a regular student of this school. Long blonde hair, like mine, indicates this girl is a foreigner.
I believe she is an exchange student who came to Japan. Is this why I'm waiting for her? Since I am also a foreigner, perhaps I was given this task.
Looking closely, isn't her backpack too large to carry just notebooks? She's also wearing a male uniform, yet it's evident from her face and body that she's as beautiful as the president.
Do I know her by any chance? I'm sure I would be aware of the existence of such an extraordinary girl, but she seems so familiar.
And the same scene repeats itself for the third time. She cannot see me either.
However, something different happens. My legs involuntarily begin to move, and I start to follow her.
We arrive at one of the secondary buildings of the school, located next to the main building. She enters and heads directly for the stairs.
We climb up to the rooftop.
I'm not even sure if we'd have permission to be here.
Then she opens her enormous bag and pulls out something unusual. A firearm. On top of that, it has been fitted with some accessories, like a long-range scope.
Seeing a schoolgirl wielding a firearm, my first reaction is naturally one of shock.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
I try to communicate with her, but my voice doesn't come out. It's as if I can't propagate sound waves through the air. Logically, because the air is in a different plane, the same as hers.
She adjusts the aim toward the main building.
I walk to her side and judge that the direction her scope is pointing is precisely the student council room.
I am immediately teleported to the room we were observing. There, I meet the president, who, despite her expressionless face, shows some unease.
Perhaps she is already aware that she is being hunted. She just doesn't know by whom or when they will appear. Bad news: it's now.
She pulls the carpet situated in the middle of the room, revealing a strange circle. It gives me an impression of occultism. I never imagined she would have such interests.
The glass of a window is then shattered. The resulting sound is enough for her to immediately throw herself to the ground while murmuring in a language I don't recognize.
I turn to the window and see more and more projectiles coming in my direction. The windows are entirely destroyed, and the shots narrowly miss the girl on the ground.
As I expected, the bullets only pass through my body without interacting with my matter. Therefore, I am completely safe. Thus, I only concern myself with the girl's situation.
When I look at her again, I see a certain glow emanating from the writings within the circle. The bullets that should have hit her appear to be deflected by some force originating from a repulsive field.
The glow takes on a color I do not recognize. It cannot be derived from primary colors nor present in the electromagnetic spectrum. What is this?
The shots cease, but the girl continues murmuring in this strange language.
After some time, I hear a loud noise at the room's door. It is being forced open, certainly by the foreign girl. After a few attempts, she finally succeeds.
The blonde girl enters the room, pointing the gun at the president, who continues conjuring this strange light. The bullets exit the gun's barrel but at an extremely slow speed. Time passes more slowly as if we were near a black hole.
The bullet, in slow motion, passes through my immaterial body and continues its trajectory through the room to the center of the circle. However, it is too late.
The circle of light begins to expand. Unlike the bullets, it accelerates, taking over the room, the building, and the school in a fraction of a second.
Amidst all this light, I observe a small dark point. Upon closer inspection, they are two spheres of darkness, spreading certain branches as if they were roots.
Looking around me, I notice that the traces of darkness follow the light's expansion and engulf the entire school instantly. When I return my gaze to the two small spheres, I see the bodies of the two girls being grasped and pulled by the branches.
It doesn't take long before they come for me. This time, my body becomes tangible. I am completely enveloped by them and dragged to the center of the darkness.