"Hoshino Ren, you are the dumbest smart person I know."
Kagami Aoi sighed, hands tucked into her blazer pockets as she walked beside him.
Ren, completely unbothered, grinned. "Oh? Which part? The genius? Or the idiot?"
"The idiot," she said flatly.
Ren clutched his chest like she had stabbed him. "Wow. Right through the heart, Aoi. And here I thought we were friends."
Aoi rolled her eyes but smirked. "We are friends. That's why I have the right to call you an idiot. It's in the contract."
Ren gasped. "Wait, there was a contract? Did I sign it? Did I get scammed?"
"Absolutely."
"You tricked me!"
"You should've read the fine print."
Ren groaned dramatically, shoving his hands into his hoodie pocket. "This is what I get for trusting people. Betrayed by my closest friend."
"You'll live."
The late afternoon sun stretched across the rooftops, casting long shadows over the empty street. They always took the long way home, past quiet backstreets where the city felt slower, like a forgotten place between past and present. Ren liked it because it gave him time to dream out loud. Aoi liked it because Ren was so fun to listen to.
It was a normal walk.
At least, it was supposed to be.
They turned a corner, and Ren stopped.
Aoi nearly bumped into him. "What now?"
Ren's eyes locked onto a narrow alleyway.
His brows furrowed. This street wasn't supposed to have an alley. Usually, it was just the back of an old bookstore and a couple of trash bins.
But now… there was a pathway leading deeper inside.
The walls on either side were covered in art.
The left wall was an explosion of color—splashes of gold, red, and blue, twisting like liquid galaxies. The paint looked fresh, dripping in slow motion, as if someone had just finished throwing it across the surface.
The right wall was starkly different—black-and-white sketches, crisp and flawless. Cities, landscapes, lone figures standing in the void. The detail was so precise it looked more like a portal into another world than a drawing.
Ren took a slow step forward, eyes wide. "...Whoa."
Aoi tilted her head. "This definitely wasn't here before, right?"
"Not a chance," Ren muttered.
She ran her fingers over the sketched side. The ink didn't smudge. "The detail on this is insane."
Ren was too busy admiring the paint. "It's like it's moving…"
Aoi glanced at him. "It's weird how both sides are complete opposites."
Ren nodded. "Pure instinct versus perfect control." He smirked. "Like us."
Aoi snorted. "Not everything is about you, Ren."
He grinned. "Not everything, but this? Definitely about me."
They kept walking, drawn in by the eerie beauty of it all. The further they went, the quieter the world outside became.
At the very end of the alley, a door stood waiting.
It was old, made of solid oak, its surface covered in intricate carvings.
Strange symbols twisted across the wood—spirals, stars, and figures with outstretched hands. The patterns ran along the edges like they were meant to contain something inside.
Aoi exhaled. "Okay. That's weird."
Ren reached for the handle.
Aoi grabbed his wrist. "Ren."
He looked at her.
"...Are we seriously doing this?" she asked.
Ren grinned. "What kind of question is that?"
Aoi groaned. "You don't even know where it leads!"
"Exactly! That's what makes it fun."
She stared at him. "You have zero survival instincts."
"Incorrect," Ren said proudly. "I have main character instincts."
Aoi sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Then—
The alley shifted.
The colorful paint on the left side began to drip downward, bleeding together into one swirling mass. The inked sketches on the right twisted, their perfect lines breaking apart into jagged chaos.
Aoi turned sharply. "Ren—the exit!"
Ren spun around.
The street—the sidewalk—the city—
Was gone.
The alley had swallowed them whole.
Aoi took a step back, fists clenched. "This is some cosmic horror nonsense."
The walls inched forward.
Forcing them toward the door.
Ren grabbed Aoi's hand.
"Aoi," he said, his heartbeat loud in his ears. "Trust me?"
She swallowed.
Then—he pulled her forward.
Together, they ran through the door.
The moment they crossed the threshold—
The world disappeared.
No ground. No sky. No walls.
Just falling.
Ren's stomach flipped as he tumbled through an endless spiral of stars and color. His ears rang, his vision blurred, and the air hummed—a vibration that sank into his bones.
"Aoi?!" He twisted midair, searching.
She was there—but before she could grab his hand—
A force yanked them apart.
Ren was thrown deeper into the void. His breath caught.
And then—
A voice.
Distant. Echoing. Familiar.
"—Ren!"
"—Aoi!"
"You have to—!"
"—find me!"
Ren's heartbeat slammed against his ribs.
Who was that?
The voice felt… important. Like something he should know. Like something that had always been there.
But before he could hold onto the words—
Light.
A blinding flash.
And then—
Nothing.