"... Grandpa, Lisa and... Huh?... Moona?! You're Moona, right?"
Moona blinked at him, her expression unreadable. Then, with a small smirk, she crossed her arms.
"It's been a while, Mikail, good to see you didn't change that much"
Moona said, her voice carrying that sa confidence Mikail rembered.
Mikail stared for a second, still trying to process why she was here, in his house, with Grandpa and lisa.
He hadn't seen Moona since graduation. Back in high school, they were practically rivals, he was the best in their school, and she was always right behind him.
No matter how much she tried, she could never surpass him.
And yet, despite their academic competition, there was always sothing... Else.
A tension that lingered in the spaces between words, in stolen glances when they thought the other wasn't looking.
Moona had once, just once, almost confessed sothing to him. But she never did.
Now, standing in his living room, she looked different. Older, more composed. But that sharp glint in her eyes? That was the sa.
"What... are you doing here?" Mikail finally asked, glancing between her, Grandpa, and lisa.
His grandmother sighed, patting his hand.
"You've been unconscious for a while, Kail"
"...What?... For how long?"
"Three days"
Hearing that, Mikail stiffened. His mind raced.
He had only just woken up from that endless void, convinced it had been just one night. But three days had passed? What the hell was going on?
Moona watched his reaction carefully. Then, taking a step forward, she spoke.
"... Mikail"
Mikail looked at her. Waiting for what she will say.
"...We need to talk"
There was sothing in her tone... Sothing serious. And in that mont, Mikail knew.
Whatever had happened to him that night...
It wasn't over.
--------
Sensing the seriousness in the air, Grandma, although curious about what had happened to her grandson, still stepped back, leaving under the pretext of making Mikail sothing to eat, giving the four of them space to talk.
Mikail, who saw that his grandmother had gone to the kitchen, looked at the three people in front of him, especially at Grandpa.
"... What's really going on here, Grandpa?"
Grandpa didn't answer Mikail's questions Imdiately; he just looked at Mikail with a curious gaze as he tried to figure out sothing.
"... It's wrong"
Grandpa finally spoke after being silent for a while, but that's not the answer that Mikail wanted, so he tilted his head in confusion. Asking.
"... Wrong? What is wrong?"
Grandpa exhaled, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. His sharp gaze locked onto Mikail's.
"You"
Grandpa finally said.
"Sothing is wrong with you"
At that word, Mikail frowned, his fingers twitching slightly.
"What do you an?"
"... Three days ago... Do you still rember what happened that night?"
"..."
At that question, Mikail's breath hitched.
His mind flashed back to that night, the suffocating darkness, the creatures crawling out of the shadows, and the figure that wore his father's face. He rembered fighting, his instincts screaming at him to survive. And then... the void.
But only that, after sothing... Sothing awakened inside him, Mikail going blank, he rembered the sensation, but what had happened?
After sothing inside him was awakened.
What happened?
Mikail fists clenched unconsciously.
"... I... I only rember fighting the shadow... After that... I don't anymore"
Grandpa studied him for a long mont, then sighed.
"That's what I was afraid of"
Grandpa murmured.
Moona and Lisa exchanged glances, but neither interrupted. The air in the room had grown heavy and thick with unspoken words.
Mikail clenched his jaw.
"What do you an, Grandpa?"
Mikail asked, frustration creeping into his tone. Then continued.
"... Just tell already"
Grandpa leaned back, his gaze never leaving Mikail's.
"You say you don't rember... But the entire district... All of the being in the Zero Zone that night does"
Mikail stiffened.
lisa hesitated before speaking.
"That night, after the shadows appeared... There was an explosion"
"An explosion?"
Mikail repeated, frowning.
Moona nodded.
"A pulse of energy. It was massive. A burst of light and shadow at the sa ti. It wiped out every trace of those creatures"
At those words, Mikail blinked. Then asked.
"...I did that?"
Grandpa nodded gravely.
"And you collapsed imdiately after"
Mikail's mind reeled. He had no mory of this. If what they were saying was true, then... Just what had awakened inside him?
"You see the problem now, don't you?"
Grandpa said.
"Whatever happened that night, your body rembers, but your mind doesn't. That kind of power doesn't just appear out of nowhere"
Moona crossed her arms.
"Which ans soone, or sothing... Did this to you"
Mikail's breath caught.
The system.
He had ignored it earlier, thinking it was just so strange aftereffect of the battle, but now...
Mikail's hands trembled slightly.
That wasn't just a dream.
Grandpa watched his reaction carefully.
"Mikail"
He said slowly.
"I need you to tell the truth. Do you rember anything... Anything at all, about what caused that explosion?"
Mikail hesitated.
Could he tell them? Would they even believe him?
That he had seen sothing... No, felt sothing awakening within him? That he had heard a voice calling him a bug in the system? That the world itself had glitched around him?
Moona's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"You're not the only one looking for answers, Mikail"
She said. Then continued.
"After that night... Things have started happening"
Mikail frowned.
"What do you an?"
lisa spoke up, her voice quiet but firm.
"More shadows. More disturbances. We've been tracking them, and they all seem to be leading back to you... What happened that night had made you the target of the entire Shadow Realm"
Mikail's breath hitched.
This wasn't over.
Whatever he had awakened that night...
It was only the beginning.
--------
After that conversation, Grandma ca, announcing that the food was ready.
He also invited Grandpa and the others to join him for dinner, but for so reason, Grandpa couldn't join them. But lisa and Moona decide to stay.
"... Grandpa, Isn't there sothing you want to explain to ?"
Mikail asked Grandpa as he escorted him to the exit.
Grandpa stopped at the doorway, his back to Mikail. For a mont, he didn't answer, simply looking up at the sky as if searching for the right words. Then, with a deep sigh, he finally spoke.
"...There are things you're not ready to hear yet, Mikail"
Mikail frowned, stepping closer.
"You said that again... Grandpa, what are you hiding from ?... Sothing happened to that night. I need to know..."
Grandpa turned to face him, his gaze firm but not unkind.
"And you will know, lisa and Moona will explain to you what exactly that Shadow Creatures and Zero Zone to you... But more than that... You're not ready, Mikail"
Mikail clenched his fists, frustration bubbling up.
"Then when?"
Grandpa studied him for a mont before shaking his head with a small, tired smile.
"Soon. But for now, focus on what's in front of you"
His eyes flicked toward the house, where Moona and lisa were waiting.
"They will stay here with you and your Grandma... Tonight..."
Grandpa hesitated, but in the end, he remained silent. With a sigh, he simply shook his head before finally speaking.
"... I just hope you survive tonight because I'll not be around for a while; there's sothing I need to take care of before I co back... Stay close to lisa and Moona... And if you hear whispers... just ignore them, don't respond... I'll go now, take care"
Mikail watched his Grandpa leave, his heart heavy with unanswered questions.
The vague warnings and cryptic words only added to the growing sense of unease he couldn't shake.
"What is really going on...?"
Mikail muttered under his breath, but his voice faltered.
The door closed softly, and Mikail turned back toward the living room where Moona and lisa were waiting.
He could feel their gazes on him, sharp and expectant, but there was also an undertone of concern, especially from Moona, who hadn't broken eye contact since he'd returned.
....
...
..
.
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