Prologue: 02 Revelation

Iori stood up from his seat,he beckoned for me to follow him to which I did.

We walked through the house short yet nostalgic corridor.

Somehow,I can sense something that isn't right.

Iori reached the end of the corridor and opened a door that leads to the backyard. It was still raining heavily so I picked up an umbrella whilst Iori continues to walk towards something in the middle of the backyard.

My gaze trailer along to his destination,there's something there.

It's a..stone,more particularly,a tombstone. Erected on the ground,there was two being side by side.

There's a sign there,one of the wooden sign had deteriorated due to the rain. I tried to read the two plate.

On the right side...Mitsuri Hakuno,Iori's wife. The sign representing her name isn't better than the one besides it,but it's more readable.

I shifted my gaze to the other sign. My eyes were locked in,I was frozen at the sight of the name.

Suddenly,the old man reached out to pat my back to which I was suddenly brought into reality from my trance.

I repeated the name once again inside my mind.

Yumiko Hakuno.

-------

There's a scene of two kids playing on a beach,one was building a sandcastle whilst the other was drawing using a stick. It was me and Yumiko.

As I was finishing the sandcastle,something else caught my attention.

A hermit crab crawls out from a nearby sand near the castle. I watched attentively at the crab.

Suddenly it burrows itself onto my castle to which resulted in me being surprised. Fearing I might cause the crab to flee,I let it go.

I turned to my back,Yumiko was still drawing so I walked up to her.

The girl was decorating a heart symbol to which she soon finished shortly after. After that, she drew another symbol within the already drawn heart symbol.

"What is this?" I instinctively inquired. It was a fascinating drawing,for around our age,she was definitely a lot better than anyone else.

She turned her head towards me, "Oh,this?" she pointed with a smug face.

"The big heart represents me,the small one is my family!" She said,I couldn't understand a thing so I inquired more.

"Hehe,the big one is me,and I love everyone inside it. For example,my family is always within my heart,something we can never forget" Yumiko explained excitedly.

Well,that was a rough explanation and she was definitely imitating our teacher's voice.

Suddenly,Yumiko called out to me. "Hyoto?"

I met her gaze,it was a soft one,one that made my heart trembles.

She then continued, "If you'd like...i can draw one for you too"

. . .

"I'm sorry Iori,but can I know how this all happened?"

"It's alright Hyoto,it's alright..." Iori then led me back into the house. As we left the backyard,I casted a final glance at the two tombstones.

We sat back to where we were in the beginning, there's two cup of tea on the table.

The rain continues to pour over. It adds more to the already depressive atmosphere. Iori then broke the silence by saying something.

"Ever since you left,Yumiko had been talking about you more frequently" Iori paused,then he continues, "She had been fantasizing of you all day,haha,it's still like only a day had passed since then"

I took it all slowly,but the reality is still too harsh for me. Calm down Hyoto,just keep being optimistic.

Iori continues, "You see,she was truly down the moment you stopped responding to her text,she couldn't come out of the room for days until she finally convinced herself that you hadn't forgotten her"

I remembered that,that was when my SIM broke down along with my phone after it fell down from my dormitory.

"Well,long time after that,she finally became a highschooler,she has some friends with her to which we felt happy for her"

"One day,she didn't come back for a night. We tried calling her,but she never responded. By all means we were scared,Yumiko had never missed a call before so her silence was definitely worrisome"

I anticipated to hear the end,at the same time,I also didn't want to.

"That night,she died on the train en route from the school back to home. It was still clear as this day,raining heavily....Hyoto,for whatever reason,today felt almost as if history was repeating itself."

-------

It was a dark night,the moon shines.

Yet the formations of black cloud felt like a solid object in the sky.

Blocking its ray of moonlight.

I carefully managed the cab as the ride becomes harder to see,the rain felt as if it's getting heavier by the second.

Not to mention the road is very slippery,one small mistakes could cost a live. Especially driving on a hill.

'The road ahead is an L-Shaped turn' I thought,slowing down the car considerably to a 10 mph.

As I carefully turned the steer around,a light from a corner catches my eyes through the dashboard mirror.

Due to the heavy rain and the fogs caused by it,it's hard to hear nor notice any car. Luckily the driver had its headlights turned on.

However,there's a sense of inexplicable emotion stirring from within.

The car isn't showing signs of slowing down.

'It's going to collide!'

My thoughts screamed at me to swerve the car. Instinctively,I pressed the pedal hard,smokes billows from the car's tyres.

As it attempts to move out of the way,the slippery of the road made it turn a complete 180.

Just as I dreaded at my circumstances,I noticed that the car isn't slowing down.

It's as if whoever was driving it was intentionally speeding up towards me.

Time suddenly froze.

The car moves at a rapid acceleration,closing in towards the rear of the cab.

I could only watch in horror as the thoughts of dead envelopes me whole.

As the two metal beast collided with each other,it made a loud bang. A strong shockwave spread throughout the cab's interior.

My body shuddered,as if I was suddenly taken away from my body,I can't move any of my muscles.

The car came down spinning and jumping down the hill,each trees hits bent the cars.

Suddenly,I felt a strange object piercing my heart.

That's right,the metal fence that was used to secured the side of the road had bent down during the crash downhill.

Resulting in one of the sharp edges meeting my flesh as it gets pushed harder into the car from the collision with the trees.

'Ah,what a cliche way to die..'

That was my last thought before everything caved in.

The world spiralled into darkness.

--------

For a moment,I was abruptly awoken.

My senses are all active,or not. If I can see,I might as well say that I don't see anything due to the darkness. If I can feel,I was floating,I can't even feel my own body.

I can only think.

My consciousness is still there,I can feel it.

I began to gradually feel my surroundings,the darkness that surrounds me.

It felt...slimy,it was like a thousand maggots crawling beneath my skin.

I feel myself losing consciousness once again.

At the end,when I thought that I was finally about to forfeit even my thoughts,a warm sensation passes through me.

The maggots sensation was gone.

Then,I saw a light,at the end of what it seems to be a tunnel.

I reached out towards it, frantically trying to crawl my out of this place.

Then,a strong force pulled me from behind. This feeling is similar.

It was like when the crash happened,the force is too strong.

I was instantly pulled back.

Into the darkness.

Further from the lights.

--------

In the next moment,I feel myself breathing.

This is not an illusion,I can feel my surroundings!

I can sense coldness all over my body,yet I can also sense the warmth within.

At the same time,I tried moving my limbs.

It's there,it's definitely there,my limbs are there but something is constricting my movement.

Then,a voice,akin to a whisper sounded next to me.

"Wake up,Hyoto."