Seven minutes before the awakening of Shiranui and Belzeebub
"Girls, come on, we need to help Kairo!" Riven shouted, panting, running like a flash of lightning.
"We know, Riven—you're the one going too fast, geez!" Lyra replied, out of breath.
"I'm not used to running like this anymore. It's been ages," Aenna complained.
"Oi Aen, didn't you use to go traditional hunting? How did you even catch your prey back then?" Riven asked, annoyed.
"I did... seven years ago. I'm not like you with your stupid wooden stick that glows creepily and makes you super fast and strong," she snapped.
"Hey, it's not a stupid stic—" Riven started, but Lyra cut him off.
"Alright, children, are you done bickering? If Kairo's in trouble, this is no time for jokes."
Neither of them argued further. They knew Lyra was right.
Kairo was in danger, and they had to reach him as fast as possible.
The streets were empty, but screams and the distant gunfire of the Corrupted echoed all around. The air was heavier than usual.
Something big was coming.
The three sprinted through the central streets, turning a corner into the Harajuku district.
What they saw was horrifying.
Women, children, and men lay on the ground, their bodies covered in blood, riddled with bullet holes. This wasn't genocide—this was an execution.
The stench of blood was overwhelming.
Lyra's eyes widened, and she fell back, trembling, a knot tightening in her stomach. She couldn't believe it.
Aenna turned to the side, pale, overwhelmed by a wave of nausea and panic.
Riven's hands shook. He gripped his bōken so tightly his knuckles turned white.
He took a few steps forward and looked at a small, bloodstained sign:
Café Yuro.
Lyra stood back up and walked over to Riven, who was still trembling—not with fear, but rage.
Her steps were slow, hesitant. She knew that looking inside would only reveal more nightmares… but she had to.
She stood beside Riven. What she saw crushed her even further.
The knot in her stomach tightened.
She covered her mouth.
And broke into tears, burying her face into Riven's shoulder.
"No… no, not this place… not this café," she sobbed.
Riven couldn't tear his eyes away from the inside.
Ten bodies. All gunned down.
The same grim scene.
Aenna, having recovered, approached with a neutral, distant expression. It was like her mind couldn't even process the grief.
That café was special to them.
Spring, summer, autumn, winter—they were always there. Laughing, joking.
The group of Kairo, Aenna, Lyra, and Riven was well-known. They brought youth and energy to that little café.
Every special event. Every "meeting," as they called it. Every kendo victory of Kairo's, every new melody Lyra composed, every good grade Aenna received, every snarky line from Riven—it all lived there.
That café was full of memories.
Now, it was a grave.
Riven gathered his strength.
He gently brushed Lyra's head aside, like picking a fragile flower.
He patted Aenna's shoulder.
Then, cautiously, he stepped toward the door.
He opened it.
— Dring, dring.
The bell above the door rang.
A tear slid down Riven's cheek.
He expected to hear the voice of the barista:
"Welcome back, Aenna, Lyra, Riven, Kairo. Your usual?"
That's what Miss Mikui would've said from behind the counter.
Reflexively, Riven whispered, "Yes… the usual, Mikui,"
as he stared at her corpse leaning against the bar, a bullet hole in her forehead.
He walked toward the wall beside him.
A bulletin board full of Polaroids.
At the center—
The group's smiling faces, with Miss Mikui laughing among them.
Below, a small handwritten note:
"The Café Yuro team never loses."
Lyra and Aenna entered.
Stunned.
Lyra's tears continued to fall.
Riven took the Polaroid from the board and wiped the blood off on his shirt.
He handed it to Lyra.
"You're the most emotional of the group… better if you keep this,
so that when we lose our way… we remember there's always hope."
Still trembling, Riven turned to leave.
But Aenna's comment stunned him.
"Guys, it's awful, I know… but why are you crying so much over that girl behind the counter?" she said, colder than expected.
Lyra froze.
Riven stopped in his tracks.
"Aen, that's not funny. You're really being heartless—how can you not remember Miss Mikui?!" Lyra yelled, emotional.
"Who's Mikui?" Aenna asked, eyes lost in confusion.
Riven flinched. He turned toward her—
And then Aenna dropped to her knees, clutching her skull.
A migraine throbbed in her head.
Like a thousand needles piercing her brain.
She screamed in agony.
"AHHHH! WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?! Who is Mikui?! Dad—please, I can't see you—I can't remember you!"
She kept screaming, falling to the floor, writhing in pain.
Lyra and Riven rushed to her, panicked.
"Aen! What's wrong?!" Lyra cried, shaking.
Riven tried to hold her still to prevent injury.
"My head… something's inside my head… Riven, Lyra, help me, please…" she whimpered, gripping her pendant.
"Who's inside your head, Aen?" Riven asked, desperate.
"That masked man… help me," she whispered.
Suddenly, she struck Lyra, slamming her into the window.
"LYRA!!" Riven screamed.
Aenna stood up in one unnatural motion, and kicked Riven against the wall.
A violet light began to swirl around her.
She clutched her head, struggling to resist.
"Riven… r-run…"
"Aenna, what the hell's happening?" Riven groaned, dazed.
"Riven… be careful,"
a voice echoed in his mind.
Then a figure materialized beside him:
Gremit.
"Gremit, what the hell is going on with Aenna?!"
"She's showing the same symptoms as those cops we fought on the rooftops… I'm afraid the Keeper of Oblivion is corrupting her."
Riven gritted his teeth, raising his bōken.
"How do we neutralize her without killing her?"
Gremit smirked hungrily.
"A well-placed hit should bring her back. But we need to act fast,
or she'll become a Shadow."
Aenna stood, eyes empty, staring at Lyra's unconscious body.
She lunged forward.
A punch aimed straight for Lyra's skull.
But Riven moved at inhuman speed, blocking the attack with his bōken.
"Aen, damn it, snap out of it!"
No response. Just another kick that forced him back.
"How the hell is she so strong?! She's just a girl—she's way tougher than those cops!" Riven gasped.
"That might be the problem," Gremit said, appearing beside him.
"Your friend Aenna has a Remembrance inside her. This fight could be much worse than we thought."
"A Remembrance? But… aren't you a Remembrance? So there's something like you inside her?"
"Not like me. I'm a being of knowledge. Hers may be latent… or innate—even worse."
Gremit looked Riven dead in the eye.
"If we're not careful, we might be facing a Wandering Remembrance."
"What the hell is that?" Riven asked.
Gremit didn't answer. He just stared at Aenna, who continued to emit that violet aura.
"Fine, got it. We end this here."
Riven took his stance.
"You'll help me save Aen—and then you're gonna explain all this Remembrance stuff, 'cause I don't get a damn thing."
"Ugh, fine. But I'll ask for something in return later. I'm not free, you know," Gremit chuckled.
Just as Riven was about to lunge—
The ground cracked with multiple tremors.
The air grew oppressive, knocking Riven and corrupted Aenna off balance.
A strange wind blew through the street.
Gremit looked up—
and saw two pillars of light, one azure, one black as night.
For the first time, Gremit was rattled.
"What… is this pressure?" Riven asked, struggling to stay up.
Corrupted Aenna couldn't move.
"The Fox and the Serpent," Gremit whispered.
Then he laughed—no, roared.
"Now you humans are truly screwed.
Two Catastrophes are about to wipe this city clean."
Meanwhile, Riven stared at the sky, where those two columns of light rose—
And on Aenna's phone screen, a message flashed:
"Subject Aenna Yuki – Memory Drift 30% – Curse of Oblivion in progress."