"Uh... Ah!"

Leaving the warm blanket, I pulled open the curtains, allowing the damp cold air to dissolve a little.

Once again, I prepared for the new day, splashing my face with water from the faucet.

It seems to be warning myself that without such opportunities, there might not be so much sadness.

As long as I strive forward and don't dwell too much on lost time... after all, no matter how hard I search, I can't find it again.

There, the phone; I dialed the number several times, the number engraved in my mind, but each time I quickly hung up as soon as it connected.

I keep telling myself that beautiful things are always worth the slow search.

Looking at the face in the mirror, still youthful but already showing signs of weariness, I truly feel that aging has a close connection with one's mood.

"Yes, I know exactly what you think, but..."

Life is like a bowl of bitter buckwheat noodles, meaningful but hard to swallow!

The coastal town where we once lived by the sea has now been connected by roads, turning into a much larger city.

"Beep... Beep... Hello, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later."

"You still won't answer, huh?"

Disheartened, I turned off my phone and tried to calm down. Suddenly, I received a very unfamiliar call; no matter who it was, I couldn't have made a second choice!

Forgot to introduce myself, I... am still the person who broke away from the mundane life at school.

But the place I live in has undergone earth-shattering changes.

The previously seaside artist's house, Tsubaki Kyuugenshu's neglectful and useless son, now resides in a hundred-story highrise as a bloodthirsty assassin.

Beep beep...!!

As I expected, the phone suddenly rang. Could it be that she replied to my letter?!

Excitedly, I took out my phone, but the number on it... what is this, the Sandman? Is there another task?

"Hello, Sandman... I didn't expect you to call me so early, there must be..."

"Shura Shura, I am the Sandman. Headquarters has a special mission for you, and I hope you can complete it alone!"

The Sandman rarely sounds so serious; there must be something very important.

So, I reluctantly accepted the task, even though I had originally planned to quit.

"Fine, if it's important, I obviously can't refuse."

"Good, then the mission is..."

Possibly feeling my resolve, he unexpectedly gave me an order that I had never anticipated.

"Rest for a few days and clean up all that disgusting vomit for me!"

Uh, so it's because he's afraid I'll faint from blood? I'm not that weak, but the task he mentioned earlier sounded important, so I wondered why he cared so much.

"Forget about that for now, what is the new task?"

I cannot let personal factors ruin the overall plan of the Alliance Army.

Anyway, I want to ignite myself, I just don't want to be idle.

But my superior, the Sandman, was extremely strict and refused to let me take on this mission.

"Don't worry about that... Shura, I just noticed that you've been absent-minded lately, and that's not the best state for carrying out a mission."

The Sandman's tone on the other end of the phone seemed somewhat disappointed; after all, it's not a joke when his top agent makes a mistake!

"Sigh," I had the same thought, so I replied, "Yes."

After a simple conversation, I couldn't wait to hang up the call.

"Hmph, I should have known I would be fired, so there's no point in wasting my breath!"

After going in a big circle, I ended up back in this small town... oh, pardon my slip of the tongue, it should be a big city.

The bustling seaside town was devoid of the simplicity and freshness it once had!

The school we used to attend, which disappeared after our graduating class left, had now been replaced by a hospital under construction.

"That's great."

In front of me, facing the direction of the school's ruins, was a middle-aged man in a gray robe. He gazed at the emerging hospital with a hint of sadness in his eyes.

"At least the diseases in this small town will finally have some hope!"

Though the man's words were filled with excitement, his expression froze.

"But..."

Tears quietly slid down his cheeks.

These tears held a trace of desolation, conveying an overwhelming sense of helplessness.

"Hey, you... you must have been a student at this school too, right?"

The man, barely standing on his feeble body, was lonely as he swayed in the wind. For him, this academy might be everything.

But I couldn't admit it, couldn't acknowledge a past that wasn't mine.

Looking at the busy workers on the construction site, watching the gray trucks dragging away desks and chairs.

I knew, their final fate might be the incinerator, right?

"No," I finally chose to escape reality, "I just pass by here occasionally... Sorry!"

"Heh, apologies should come from me..."

The man gave me a kind smile, a heavy sense of apology weighing upon me.

"I involved someone who shouldn't be involved."

After saying that, the man sighed and walked past me. In that moment, as he brushed past my shoulder, I recognized that face with a trace of apologetic expression.

... Chairman?!

I unexpectedly met Yu Nai's father, the chairman of the school, here. Though any traces of her and I overlapping in this world had long vanished, I still remembered that I once existed.

To be honest...

"Hello, welcome!"

"Huh?!"

In my dazed state, I realized that the girl in front of me had already called out to me.

She wore a Santa Claus costume, smiling while holding a stack of thick Christmas pamphlets in her red, chubby gloves. It seemed she was promoting the upcoming opening of a bookstore.

"Hello! Sir, please visit our bookstore often. It's a great place to relax after work!"

"Mm."

Taking the pamphlet handed to me, I looked at its contents...

"Bookstore... Treehouse... Tree... Treehouse?"

It wasn't just a treehouse, but also everyone, who were all here. Everything that happened before was a dream, right... it was all a dream?

A treehouse really did feel like a dream, because my friends were all still by my side!

Yu Nai...

Jeana...

Yuanhui...

Me...

And...

Youka?!

I suddenly opened my eyes, only to be greeted by a long-haired female ghost with disheveled hair, who punched me in the cheek.

"Snap!"

I was heavily punched in the face, and instantly pulled back.

"Juxi, you have been living in a world created by your own consciousness. Don't you care about yourself at all? And even if you disappear, don't you care about it?"

"Yukari... What am I to you?"

"..."

When I woke up, my upper body was lying on the floor, but this time it wasn't a warm bed, it was the cold floor.

"I feel like it's been ten thousand years... No, maybe even longer." I murmured softly, and my body quickly began to weaken.

Because at that moment, I remembered that I was already over a hundred years old, I didn't belong to this generation at all, this was a terrible mistake!!!

"I... I want to go back!"

I shouted loudly at Yukari, "I want to go back, let me go back! I don't belong here, my friends... my lover... and, and... sob, my child!"

My spirit was on the verge of collapse. After countless lifetimes, I felt like I had never lived, as if everything was just in my own head... no, they were just illusions in my head, just self-deception of consciousness!

"I know I was wrong. I should have let you go in the first place, instead of letting you continue to suffer." Yukari's expression remained as cold as before. Although a barely visible teardrop appeared in the corner of her eye, it couldn't change anything.

"I'm sorry, time cannot be reversed. You can only continue to live in your fantasy world, or muster the courage to face this new world. When you have burned up the last of your life completely, we can be together forever. Forever!"

"Forever?"

"Yes!"

Yukari's lips curled slightly as she spread her arms.

"You saw it too! To me, who has been dead for over a hundred years, I have gained my memories from before death and I know that death is just a state."

"A state?"

"That's right, as long as you can give me a body without consciousness, I can take over that person's body."

"...Isn't that possession by a ghost?"

I was astonished, my mouth couldn't close properly. Ghosts are actually real, and they're right in front of me!

"There is a big difference, because possession by a ghost coexists with the original host, just like the relationship I have with you now."

"Oh..."

After listening to her narration, I suddenly felt a chill running down my spine.

"Humans, these creatures are just a vessel that we control. Once we leave... heh, there's really no value worth clinging to."

"So... what do you want?"

"Do you want to continue like this, or will you just hand over your body?"

"Hand over my body?"

I had a bad feeling. I could feel the murderous aura emanating from the woman in front of me.

This is definitely a destructive power, and now I realize that it has been eroding my body all along.

"You need my body?" I said without any hesitation, "What do you need my body for?"

"Nothing, I just want to be with you. Isn't that what you want?"

"...It's what I want, but I have never been this clear-headed before! Because..."

I suddenly stretched out my hand and grabbed her neck, looking at her with terrified eyes.

"I remember everything now, not just about myself... but also about you!"