Red light swallowed the entire school.
Walls dissolved. Floors cracked. Reality tore apart like paper soaked in blood.
Aira felt her body lift off the ground as the force threw her backward.
But she didn't care.
Her eyes were only on one thing
Rei.
"REI-KUN!"
Her scream ripped through the collapsing space.
Through the swirling dust, she saw him
Rei standing in the eye of the storm, his body trembling violently as crimson lightning crawled across his skin.
His sigil burned like fire.
Aira's heart shattered.
"He's… forcing his awakening… he'll die"
Ryouma grabbed her wrist, pulling her from falling debris.
"AIRA! DON'T GO NEAR HIM HE'S NOT IN CONTROL!"
Aira yanked her hand free, tears spilling.
"I DON'T CARE!"
The Alpha roared, its six glowing eyes hungry, locked directly on Rei.
The monster stepped forward
But Rei raised his hand.
Not consciously.
Not willingly.
His body moved on its own
controlled by something ancient inside him.
A crackling red rift tore open behind Rei, sucking in shadows, air, and the Alpha's roar.
Aira shook violently.
"No… Rei… stop… your soul can't handle this…"
But Rei wasn't hearing her anymore.
His eyes were blank. Cold. Distant.
Like someone else was inside him.
---
Rei's Mind The Inner Rift
Darkness stretched endlessly.
Rei floated, weightless, numb.
He could faintly hear screams… Aira's screams… far away.
But a deeper voice echoed louder.
"You opened it, my son."
His father appeared in the darkness again
but not warm, not calm.
This version looked broken. Bleeding. Almost transparent.
"Father… What's happening to me…?"
His father's voice trembled.
"You awakened too fast. The power is devouring your soul."
Rei's breath hitched.
"Then shut it off! I don't care what happens to me just save Aira!"
His father closed his eyes painfully.
"You don't understand…
The moment you used the Rift…
your bond with her… deepened."
Rei froze.
"What bond…?"
His father stepped closer.
"You and the Moon-Child share one fate. One life. One soul."
Rei's eyes widened.
"…Aira…"
His father nodded.
"If you lose control
she dies with you."
Rei felt everything inside him collapse.
"NO! That can't
please tell me how to stop this tell me"
His father placed a trembling hand on Rei's chest.
"There is a way."
Rei's breath shook.
"What is it?! Tell me!"
His father's expression darkened.
"You must cut the bond."
Rei's heart shattered instantly.
"…Cut… the bond…?"
His father nodded slowly.
"If you sever the Moon-Bond…
Aira will forget you.
Permanently.
Forever."
Rei's world broke.
"No… I can't…
She's everything to"
"And if you don't," his father whispered,
"she dies with you."
Rei shook violently, tears forming in his mind.
"I… I can't choose…
I CAN'T"
His father grabbed his shoulders.
"You must.
Your heart decides her fate."
The darkness cracked
And Rei fell through
---
Back in Reality
Rei gasped as he returned to consciousness.
He saw
Aira, running toward him, tears streaming, arms outstretched.
"REI PLEASE COME BACK - COME BACK TO ME!!"
Rei's throat closed.
He loved her.
More than anything he could ever admit.
But his father's words echoed like knives:
"If you don't cut the bond, she dies."
"If you cut it… she forgets you."
Rei's vision blurred
not from power
but from heartbreak.
Aira reached him.
She placed her hands on his face, crying hard.
"Rei-kun… please… stay with me…
Don't disappear… don't leave me…"
Rei's chest cracked with pain.
His hand rose slowly…
trembling…
And he placed it over her heart.
Aira gasped softly.
"Rei…?"
Tears rolled down his cheeks.
His voice broke.
"I'm sorry… Aira…"
Her eyes widened in fear.
"W-Why are you apologizing…?
Rei… what are you doing…?"
Rei's voice shattered.
"To save you…"
Red light gathered around his palm.
Aira grabbed his wrist in panic.
"Rei STOP!!
Please DON'T!"
Rei smiled through tears.
A broken, dying smile.
"You said… your life is tied to mine…"
Her lips trembled violently.
"Yes!!! So don't leave me! Don't break it!"
Rei whispered:
"That's exactly why I have to."
Aira's eyes filled with horror.
"Rei
NO
NO PLEASE
DON'T ERASE ME FROM YOUR HEART!!"
Rei sobbed.
"I'd rather die than lose you…"
Aira shook her head desperately, holding him tighter.
"Then don't choose this!
DON'T CHOOSE A WORLD WHERE I DON'T KNOW YOU!"
Rei kissed her forehead gently.
"I want you to live."
Aira screamed
"REI!!!"
The light exploded.
The bond shattered.
Aira's eyes rolled back
her memories burning away
her body collapsing into Rei's arms.
Rei held her tightly, crying into her hair.
"Forgive me…
Please…
Forgive me…"
Aira's final whisper, barely audible
"…Rei… don't… go…"
And then
She went silent.
Emotionless.
Unaware.
Unknowing.
Her memories of him
gone.
Rei trembled, holding her limp form.
The rift behind them closed.
The Alpha vanished with a roar.
Silence swallowed everything.
Rei buried his face in her shoulder
And for the first time since the story began
Rei cried.
Broken.
Empty.
Alone.
Because saving her…
meant losing her.
---
TO BE CONTINUED…