The atmosphere is different.
"What!?" Shinji said, confusion written across his face.
The figures laughed even louder, and the tension in his voice became glitchy and heavier.
While Shinji was still on the ground, an ominous wind consumed the figure.
Moonlight shone down upon it as it began to transform into a tall creature clad in a dark cloak, wielding a grim reaper's scythe.
The creature's eyes glowed red.
Shinji tried to stand up as he saw the creature grow a pair of dark, ominous wings and ascend into the moonlight.
"Regret. Pain. Destruction… Past," the creature said, gazing at Shinji with its uncanny red eye.
"Join me, Shinji. I'll show you the new world," the creature growled with a glitchy voice.
Shinji tried to steady himself. "No! T-this nonsense must stop… I don't want to join you," he said through a voice filled with pain.
Suddenly, Shinji felt a sharp pain in his right eye.
The figure laughed again—but this time, it was different. A dark aura surrounded the creature.
"Humility. Freedom. And now, you've chosen death… Shinji."
The creature raised its scythe as its wings flapped beneath the moonlight.
"I… don't understand. This isn't what I want… I am hopeless…" Shinji muttered as he watched the creature slowly approach.
"I am death. Together, we are unstoppable, Shinji. Embrace your regrets," the figure said.
"Regret, huh… I guess I'll die here," Shinji smirked, accepting his fate on the empty street beneath the moonlight.
He saw a puzzle piece falling from the sky.
The air turned cold, as if time had slowed.
A blinding blue light burst forth.
The creature stepped back, shocked by the sudden light.
Shinji's right eye glowed with a white light, and a vein of deep blue energy crawled up his arm like a crack in porcelain.
Shinji screamed at the top of his lungs, writhing in pain as it surged through his body.
The creature didn't hesitate—it swung its scythe at Shinji's neck.
Shinji's body began to disintegrate like scattered puzzle pieces.
But a blue, blinding light burst from within him.
The creature recoiled, stunned. "T-this can't be! An Echo!?" it shouted, its voice trembling.
Shinji's body returned to normal—but his right eye had changed.
Shinji looked at his left palm.
"It feels lighter... W-what is this?" he said.
The figure attacked once again, swinging its scythe recklessly.
"Use this power, human… Destroy the shadow," a mysterious voice suddenly echoed in Shinji's mind. "Use the power of Polaris wisely."
Before the figure's scythe could reach him, Shinji snapped his fingers.
"Polaris! I need your help!" he shouted.
A glowing scythe appeared in Shinji's hand—a long, radiant weapon given to him by Polaris, pulsing with immense energy.
Their scythe clashed again and again, sparks flying with each brutal strike.
The figure seems to be physically stronger than shinji.
And it overpowered shinji, which sends shinji's scythe to the ground.
"Urgh..damn it" shinji muttered as grab his shoulder in pain.
The figure seems like doing some magic ritual with his scythe.
"This will be your last, Shinji!" the figure roared.
It cast a burst of dark magic.
"Die, Shinji!"
A massive wave of dark energy circled around Shinji, paralyzing him.
Shinji growled in pain, the darkness holding his limbs in place.
"Polaris! I'll use your power once again!" Shinji shouted.
Puzzle pieces began to rain from the sky.
They formed a circle around the figure's body, clinging to it—tearing apart its wings.
"Urgh—Shinji!!" the figure cried.
The puzzle pieces completely consumed the figure in seconds, leaving no trace behind.
The dark energy vanished, releasing Shinji from his paralysis. His right eye returned to normal.
The mysterious voice suddenly rings in shinji's mind "this is only the beginning shinji, polaris ten no kagami will guide you to the truth" the mysterious voice suddenly fades.
"Am I... losing it?" Shinji muttered, staring at the puzzle piece forming around his body
"These… these pieces, are they part of me?"
Suddenly, he found himself back on the street where he had been walking before the figure appeared.
"Polaris… That name sounds familiar," he muttered as he continued walking toward the Nakayama residence.
As he moved, the moonlight followed. And, high above, in a starry sky, one glitched softly, like a warning.