The streetlamps flickered as Haruki walked home, hands in his pockets, hood up against the wind. The evening air felt off—too quiet, too still. Like the world was holding its breath.
His mind hadn't stopped spinning since the dream. Since the mark.
He hadn't told anyone—not his mom, not Jin. Not even Ayame, though she hadn't shown up again since that strange day. Part of him thought he imagined her. Another part knew better.
What was that symbol? Why is it burned into me like a message I can't read?
The mark on his arm tingled again, faint and warm beneath his jacket. He paused under a streetlight and pulled back his sleeve.
It was glowing again. Brighter than before.
"What is happening to me…" he whispered.
A soft laugh echoed from the shadows behind him.
Haruki spun around.
Three figures stepped out from an alleyway—older teens, maybe late high school or college-aged. One had a metal pipe resting on his shoulder. Another cracked his knuckles. All three wore smug, hungry smiles.
"Look what we got here," the one with the pipe sneered. "Late-night stroll, pretty boy?"
Haruki backed up instinctively. "I don't want trouble."
"Too late," another said. "You wandered into our street. Gotta pay the toll."
The third reached for him—and in that split second, the mark on Haruki's arm flared.
FWOOM.
A sudden burst of heat erupted from his skin. The glow from the mark spread up his arm like liquid sunlight, veins of fire pulsing beneath the surface.
The thug yelped, recoiling before even touching him. "What the hell?!"
Haruki stared in shock. His entire arm shimmered like molten glass, no pain—just raw, pulsing energy. His heartbeat thudded in his ears, syncing with the rhythm of the flame.
"Back off!" he shouted, voice cracking with power he didn't understand.
The heat intensified.
The metal pipe in one thug's hand turned red-hot, forcing him to drop it with a curse. The others stumbled back, fear overtaking bravado.
"What is he?!"
"I'm not sticking around to find out!"
They bolted, disappearing into the alley like smoke.
Haruki fell to his knees, gasping. The light dimmed slowly, retreating into the mark. His body trembled, not from exhaustion—but from fear.
He hadn't meant to do anything. He didn't even know how he did it. But whatever that power was—it had come from him. And it was real.
Very real.
---
Above him, unseen, a figure crouched silently on a rooftop.
Ayame narrowed her eyes, watching the fading embers on Haruki's arm. She exhaled softly, almost a sigh.
"So it's begun."
Her fingers tightened around the hilt of the blade she carried—hidden beneath her long sleeve. She didn't move. Not yet.
Not until she knew for sure whether Haruki was a threat…
Or the key to everything they'd sworn
to protect.
Next Chapter Teaser:
The flames refuse to sleep. Haruki's body is changing, reacting to emotions he can't control. And when he returns to school, a single envelope with a strange symbol waits for him in his locker… along with a chilling message: "You're not the only one."