Previously on Echoes of Love:
Aika vanished in a burst of crimson light, leaving Toshio behind with only her voice echoing through the silence. The sigil on her floor burned into his memory, and when the light faded, his wrist glowed with the same mark.Now, the city feels emptier—like her absence has carved a hole in the world itself.
The rain had stopped.Morning light filtered weakly through the curtains of Toshio's room, painting his desk and floor with streaks of pale gold. He hadn't slept. The clock on the wall ticked endlessly, each sound dragging him further into the numb quiet of his thoughts.
On his wrist, the crimson mark pulsed faintly. It wasn't painful anymore—just… alive. Sometimes it would flicker like a heartbeat, and when it did, he swore he could hear her whisper his name.
"Toshio…"
Every time he heard it, he turned—hoping she'd be there.
Every time, she wasn't.
He reached for his phone, scrolling through the endless unread messages from his classmates and friends. Everyone was talking about Aika's disappearance, the "incident" that no one could explain. The police called it an accident—some electrical malfunction, maybe an explosion. But there was no body, no trace of her at all.
And Toshio knew what he saw wasn't science.
It was something else.
He slammed the phone down and stood up, dragging a hand through his golden hair. The world outside moved as if nothing had happened—people laughing, cars passing, the city alive and indifferent.
"How can everyone just go on like she never existed?" he muttered.
That's when the mark flared.
A flash of pain shot up his arm, and for a heartbeat, the world went white.
He wasn't in his room anymore.
He stood in a strange field—endless white flowers stretching toward a blood-red sky. The air shimmered with warmth and sorrow. Ahead of him stood a figure in black, their long cloak fluttering like smoke.
"Where… am I?" he whispered.
The figure turned. Beneath the hood, a pair of silver eyes glowed faintly.
"You're standing between memories," the figure said. "The echo of what was, and what might be."
Toshio clenched his fists. "Who are you?"
"Someone who remembers."
The stranger's voice was soft, almost familiar. "You carry her mark, don't you? That means she chose you."
"Aika?" Toshio's heart pounded. "Where is she? Is she alive?"
The stranger tilted their head. "Alive… and not. The Echo binds souls across lifetimes. But something broke this time—something she tried to protect you from."
"Then tell me how to save her!"
A faint smile crossed the figure's lips. "To save her, you must first remember who you were."
The world around him trembled. White petals turned black, rising like ashes. The figure began to fade.
"Wait!" Toshio shouted.
"Seek the place where you first met her. Only there will the truth awaken."
Then everything dissolved.
He woke on the floor, gasping.
The mark on his wrist was glowing fiercely, bleeding faint trails of light across his arm. And in the faint reflection of his window—he saw it.
For a split second, standing behind him—Aika.
Her hair flowed in the reflection, eyes golden and distant.
He turned around.
She was gone.
But a voice whispered faintly through the silence:
"Come to where it began…"
That night, Toshio stood outside the old neighborhood park. It was where he'd first met Aika—ten years ago, under the same sakura tree that still stood by the empty swings. The moonlight poured over its branches, soft and haunting.
He stepped closer, his breath visible in the cold night air. The ground beneath the tree shimmered faintly.
Then—her voice.
"You still remember…"
Toshio froze.
A figure stepped out from the shadow of the tree. The same red hair. The same soft features. Her white dress shimmered in the moonlight.
"Aika?"
She smiled faintly, tilting her head. "That name… feels familiar."
He took a step forward. "It's me. Toshio. You—"
She raised a hand, stopping him. "Don't come closer."
Her eyes—once warm and full of life—were cold now. Unfamiliar. Yet somewhere deep inside, he could see the faintest flicker of recognition.
"You shouldn't have followed me here," she said softly. "The Echo isn't kind to those who chase it."
"I don't care." His voice cracked. "I'll follow you anywhere. Even if it kills me."
For a heartbeat, her expression softened. Then the mark on his wrist flared again, and she winced in pain.
"It's reacting…" she whispered. "The bond is waking too fast."
"What bond?"
Before she could answer, the air rippled—like the world itself shuddered. Shadows spilled from the ground, forming dark figures with glowing red eyes. The same symbols that had covered her walls now floated around them, pulsing violently.
Aika turned to him, eyes filled with pain. "They found me. Run!"
"No!"
Toshio grabbed her hand. The mark on his wrist glowed in sync with hers, forming a radiant link of light. The shadows shrieked, recoiling as if burned.
Then, for the first time since she vanished, Aika looked at him—not with confusion, but with the same warmth he remembered.
"You really didn't forget me…"
"Never."
A single tear traced down her cheek as she whispered,
"Then remember this—if fate binds us, blood will test us."
The world exploded in light.
When Toshio opened his eyes again, he was lying on the ground, the park silent and empty. The sakura petals drifted slowly around him.
Aika was gone again—but this time, there was something new on his hand.
A ring.
Black and gold, engraved with the same mark that bound them.
And faintly, in his mind, her voice returned:
"We are bound by fate, Toshio. Find me… before the others do."
[End of Chapter 23]
Next Chapter: "Threads of the Forgotten"