Cold.
That was the first thing Rishiro felt.
Cold darkness surrounded him like an endless ocean.
He couldn't move.
He couldn't breathe.
Then—
A voice echoed somewhere far away.
Mechanical.
Emotionless.
[Unknown System Detected]
[Irregular Event Confirmed]
[Beginning Restart Sequence]
Light exploded across his vision.
Rishiro suddenly sat up.
"Gah—!"
His heart was racing violently.
He grabbed his chest.
His shirt was dry.
No blood.
No wound.
"...What?"
His breathing slowed slightly.
"I'm… alive?"
He looked around.
His apartment.
His messy desk.
His laptop.
Outside the window, Tokyo's neon lights glowed across the night streets.
Everything looked normal.
Exactly the same.
Rishiro frowned.
Something felt off.
Very off.
Slowly he looked at the clock.
8:17 PM.
His eyes narrowed.
"...Wait."
That time felt familiar.
Too familiar.
He slowly turned toward his laptop.
The email was still open.
We regret to inform you that your manuscript has been rejected.
Rishiro's mind froze.
"...Didn't I already read this?"
A strange uneasiness crawled through his chest.
Images flickered in his memory.
Walking outside.
The old woman.
The black book.
The dark street.
The sudden pain.
Blood.
Death.
Rishiro grabbed his head.
"...What the hell?"
He stood up abruptly.
His chair slid backward.
"This has to be a dream."
He walked toward the door.
"...Fine."
"I'll just go outside."
The night air greeted him again.
Cold.
Quiet.
Tokyo looked exactly the same.
Cars passing.
Vending machines glowing.
People talking casually.
Rishiro walked slowly through the street.
His eyes scanned the corner ahead.
That same corner.
The grocery store.
The place where the old woman had been standing.
His heart started beating faster.
Step.
Step.
Step.
He reached the corner.
Then stopped.
The street was empty.
No old woman.
No grocery bags.
Nothing.
Rishiro blinked.
"...Huh?"
He looked around again.
Still nothing.
Silence.
Then—
Rishiro laughed.
"...Seriously?"
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"So it was just a weird dream."
Relief washed over him.
He let out a long breath.
"Man… that actually scared me."
For a moment he just stood there under the streetlight.
Then something crossed his mind.
"...Wait."
Slowly he lifted his wrist.
And checked his watch.
8:21 PM.
His expression froze.
That was the exact time…
The exact moment…
When he had met the old woman before.
Rishiro felt a strange chill run down his spine.
"...No way."
The street behind him was silent.
Then—
A voice spoke.
Right behind him.
Soft.
Old.
Familiar.
"Oh my."
"What a kind young man."
Rishiro's entire body went rigid.
His eyes widened slowly.
His heart skipped a beat.
Because he recognized that voice instantly.
Very slowly…
He turned around.
And there she was.
Standing exactly where she had been before.
Two grocery bags resting beside her feet.
The old woman smiled gently.
Like nothing in the world was strange.
Rishiro stared at her in shock.
"...What?"
The old woman tilted her head slightly.
Still smiling.
"What's wrong?"
"You look like you've seen a ghost."
Rishiro's mind went completely blank.
Because the impossible was happening again.
End of Chapter 2