[Scene: Morning – Naizaka stares blankly at his desk. He hasn't blinked in minutes.]
Toma: "Yo, bro. You alive?"
Yuki: [waves her hand in front of him] "Earth to Naizaka?"
Naizaka: "...I had a dream."
Yuki: "Oh? Was I in it?"
Naizaka: [flatly] "It ended in a fire. So… probably not."
Yuki: [laughs awkwardly] "Rude."
[Flashback: Naizaka's dream – a corridor flooded with red light. Screams echo. He sees himself as a child standing in front of an iron door. Someone grabs his shoulder—it's Aoi. Younger. Smiling.]
Young Aoi: "If they erase me, you must find me again."
Naizaka (dream voice): "What if I forget everything?"
Young Aoi: "Then I'll make you remember the hard way."
[Scene: Reality – Naizaka jolts up from his chair, sweat beading down his temple.]
Mio (quietly, from behind): "You saw it too."
Naizaka: "Was it a memory or a planted lie?"
Mio: "You've been in two timelines, Naizaka. One was written for you. The other is the truth."
[Scene: Rooftop – Mio and Naizaka sit under cloudy skies.]
Naizaka: "Aoi said he remembers me. But I don't remember him. Just bits. Emotions."
Mio: "He was part of us. Before the break."
Naizaka: "The break?"
Mio: "When the hidden part of the school was sealed off and our powers were locked. You, me, Aoi—we were all experiments once."
[Scene: Meanwhile, Yuki walks past the old library. She hears something—chanting. The same symbols Naizaka once drew are now glowing faintly on the doorframe.]
Yuki (nervous): "What the…?"
[She opens the door a crack. A pulse of invisible force pushes her back. She falls. A hand grabs her—it's Aoi.]
Aoi: "Some doors open only once."
Yuki: "What are you talking about? Who are you really?"
Aoi: "A survivor. Of the same storm that's coming for Naizaka."
[Scene: School hallway – Naizaka and Mio confront Aoi near the science wing.]
Mio: "Why are you back?"
Aoi: "Because someone's breaking the seal."
Naizaka: "Seal?"
Aoi: "There's something buried under this school. The original 'Layer Zero.' Where it all began. Where we were taken… and altered."
Naizaka: "I don't want to be part of this."
Aoi: "You already are. You're the key. Without your memories, the balance holds. If they come back…"
Mio: "Everything could collapse."
[Scene: Courtyard – Yuki stares at her hand. A faint shimmer dances across her palm.]
Yuki (thinking): I touched the door. Why did it leave a mark?
[She hides her hand as Riko approaches.]
Riko: "Yuki… you okay?"
Yuki: "Yeah. Just tired of pretending everything's normal."
Riko (serious): "I don't think anything's been normal since the day Naizaka arrived."
[Scene: That night – Naizaka walks alone past the school. The old gate creaks open on its own. He steps in, drawn by something.]
[Flash: He sees shadows of children training. Screaming. A doctor's face blurs. Mio crying. Aoi holding a broken watch. Then silence.]
[Naizaka falls to his knees.]
Naizaka (whispering): "What... did they do to us?"
[Behind him, Yuki appears—panting. She followed him.]
Yuki: "Naizaka! Why are you here?!"
Naizaka (startled): "You shouldn't be here."
Yuki: "Neither should you."
Naizaka (quietly): "Yuki... what if I'm not the person you think I am?"
Yuki: "Then I'll fall for you all over again. No matter how many versions of you exist."
[They share a long, quiet gaze. But before anything more can be said—an explosion of black light erupts from the old wing of the school.]
Aoi (from a distance): "It's started."
To Be Continued…