"You wear my face, but you're nothing like me."
Scene 1 – Aftermath of Shattered Glass
May 16, 2011 – 2:49 PM – Inugami Residence, Bedroom
The mirror had vanished. Not merely shattered into splinters, but erased—as if its very existence had been consumed by darkness. In its place, the wall bore a lone, pulsing scar—a black mark that throbbed gently like a weakened heartbeat. On the cold floor lay Kei, unconscious, with small wounds that mingled his spilled blood and mysterious, slick ink, as if the night had left its signature on him.
Over him hovered a creature that stole the breath away. It was not a shadow, a ghost, or any man he'd ever known. At first glance, it bore an unsettling resemblance to Souta—the same tousled hair, those playful eyes now contorted by a cruel wickedness, and a slight, familiar frame warped by jagged, too-wide smiles and an unnerving, piercing gaze. Leaning close, the creature whispered with a voice that dripped disdain, "Too soft. Too slow. You opened the door, little puppet." Then, as if summoned by an unseen fate, it turned toward the window, leaving the room steeped in dread and unanswered questions.
Scene 2 – The Feeling of Dread
Same Time – Classroom 2-B
In the midst of a routine lecture, Souta abruptly stood, his sudden motion freezing the classroom into silence. Ruby and Aqua exchanged worried glances as the charged atmosphere stirred even the faintest whispers.
"Something wrong?" Aqua murmured almost inaudibly.
Souta's response was simple, yet heavy: "I felt it."
Ruby's soft inquiry—"...What did you feel?"—was met with an even softer reply: "Me." With that, he strode resolutely out of class, leaving behind an air of impending inevitability.
Scene 3 – Unleashed Instinct
2:55 PM – Inugami Residence, Street Level
Stepping onto the street, the wind roared as if echoing his inner turmoil. Souta arrived carrying more than just the weight of a duty; he carried an ancient, nearly forgotten power. With a blink, his vision pierced walls, time itself seemed malleable beneath his gaze, and intent became as clear as day. The imposter that had worn his face might have disappeared, but the residue of its dark influence—an unmistakable mark of his own power used by something beyond his control—remained palpable.
Perched on his shoulder like a silent confidant, Happy whispered, "There's another you now."
Quietly, almost with resignation, Souta replied, "No… there's a part of me I forgot to seal."
A soft, rueful correction came from Happy: "A part you chose to seal." Nodding, Souta gathered the trembling shadows around him. "I have to master more," he declared, accepting that aspects of himself long buried were demanding recognition.
Scene 4 – Ai Confronts the Truth
4:00 PM – Home
In a hushed, fragile moment, Ai stood in the doorway of an empty room. Her hand trembled as it cradled a worn notebook—Souta's gentle, childlike handwriting etched a plea:
"If there is ever another me… please tell me I'm still me."
Holding the notebook close to her heart, tears gathered silently at the corners of her eyes—a quiet testament to her shattered hopes and steadfast love. Behind her, Aqua stepped softly into the room. "He's going to protect us," he said with a mix of admiration and concern, "even if it destroys him."
Ai's voice, fragile yet resolute, met his: "Then we won't let him do it alone."
Scene 5 – The Quiet Between the Storm
7:12 PM – On the Roof
High above the clockwork of the day, Souta sat alone on the rooftop, knees hugged tightly into his chest, with Happy steadfastly by his side. His eyes, distant and reflective, scanned a horizon that seemed to span not just the present, but millennia of memory and regret.
In a barely audible whisper, he confided, "You know why I never talked about my past?"
Happy, with an almost knowing tilt of his head, replied, "Because if you did… you'd remember why you cried every night."
Souta's fists clenched as the truth wove itself between his words. "But now there's someone else with my face—a part of me that knows all the worst secrets I buried deep. I have to face that self. I don't need to defeat him; I need to accept him. Because if I can't love all of who I am, how can I ever truly change?"
Scene 6 – Meanwhile…
Unknown Dimension – Shattered Space
In a realm that existed between shattered dimensions, the doppelgänger—the Star-Eater—strode among fragments of burning glass. Every thunderous step devoured more than just air; with each breath, it absorbed remnants of Souta's sealed memories, his hidden powers, and the regrets of a lifetime.
A voice, vast and void of compassion, boomed across this forsaken space: "You are the broken wish. The excess of a heart too full."
A twisted smile twisted further on the Star-Eater's visage as it intoned, "And you are nothing without me."
All around, a thousand mirrors erupted into violent life, each reflecting forgotten scenes from Souta's past—memories even he had tried to lose.
Scene 7 – The Pact
May 17, 2011 – Midnight – Family Living Room
In the quiet intimacy of the family's living room, Ruby, Aqua, Ai, and Souta gathered in a solemn circle of shared fate. Souta's voice, soft but firm, broke the silence: "It's time. You all have to choose."
Ruby's concerned eyes met his. "Choose what?" she asked.
"To grow stronger. Even if that means doing it without me."
Ai placed a tender hand on his shoulder as Aqua listened intently. "We trust you, Souta. But are you asking us to become like you?"
"No," he replied, his words heavy with both pain and hope. "I'm asking if you're ready to protect and care for one another—regardless of what may come. Even if I'm not there to lead."
One by one, their voices emerged, quiet affirmations: Ruby whispered, "I do"; Aqua nodded in silent agreement; Ai, after a pause filled with the unspoken weight of possibility, determined, "Only if we do it together."
A gentle smile crept onto Souta's face as his hands began to glow—not with raw power, but with the promise of shared potential.
Scene 8 – Face to Face
May 18, 2011 – 2:34 AM – Dreamscape Boundary
In a realm woven from dreams and half-remembered memories, Souta wandered an endless corridor where every door seemed to hold a sliver of a soul and every wall whispered fragments of lost time. At last, he opened the final door and stepped into a garden of dark, reflective mirrors—a place where the edges of dream and reality blurred.
There, waiting with a predatory calm, sat the Star-Eater. "Took you long enough," it smirked darkly.
"Let's finish this," Souta replied, his tone steeled by resolve.
The mirrored garden shimmered with uncertain energy as the Star-Eater taunted, "Are you ready to face yourself?"
"I always was," Souta murmured.
In an explosive moment of brilliance, the dreamscape shattered into starlight. In that cosmic cascade, their forms collided—each clash a promise, each spark a memory of every choice yet to be made.