The night after Aoi left, Yukihama felt... different.
Not broken. Not cursed.
But as though something shifted beneath the surface, like a breath held too long or a faultline beginning to tremble. Renji felt it first—an ache in the space behind his eyes. A whisper in the corners of mirrors that no longer spoke.
The Spiral was gone.
But its roots remained.
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A New Unease
Renji sat alone on the rooftop, the mirror now tilted slightly from wind or time. Kuro hadn't shown up yet. Aoi was gone. And for the first time in weeks, he felt the edge of isolation again.
He glanced into the mirror.
No visions. No warps.
Just… a thin crack that hadn't been there before.
A shiver ran through him.
He reached out—his fingertips grazing the cool surface—when Kuro's voice cut through the silence.
> "It's spreading."
Renji turned. "What?"
Kuro stepped forward, tossing a manila folder onto the ground between them. Inside were photos—dozens of them.
Reflections in puddles. Storefront windows. Glass doors.
All slightly cracked.
And all of them from within Yukihama.
---
The Spiral's Echo
Kuro knelt beside him. "I started noticing two days ago. Thought I was being paranoid. But the more I looked…"
He pointed to a grainy photo of the school's water fountain. In the reflection, a pair of eyes could just barely be made out—watching.
> "I think the Spiral didn't die, Renji."
"I think it fractured."
Renji's stomach tightened. "But the engine is gone. The loops ended."
Kuro nodded. "Sure. But energy like that doesn't just disappear. Maybe the Spiral girl's power was shattered… but something slipped through the cracks."
> "Something new. And it's learning."
---
Hollow Reflections
Over the next few days, Renji and Kuro quietly investigated.
They visited homes, shops, public buildings—any place with mirrors or reflections. Most showed nothing unusual.
But then came the hospital.
In the long hallway on the third floor, lined with floor-to-ceiling windows, none of the reflections matched the people walking by.
A nurse paused, confused, when her mirrored self didn't move with her.
A patient screamed when his reflection smiled without him.
Security footage showed nothing. But Renji felt it.
The Spiral's echo was alive. And it was watching.
---
A Message Appears
That night, Renji returned to the rooftop.
The mirror stood cold and still.
Until it fogged over—as if something inside it breathed.
Then a single line scrawled across the glass, written in reverse:
> "She broke the loop. You must seal the cracks."
Renji stepped back.
Kuro arrived seconds later, eyes wide.
"You saw it too?" Renji asked.
Kuro nodded slowly.
"Then we're not done."
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End of Chapter 67
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To Be Continue