Kazuki sat in the quiet darkness of his room, the light of the moon creeping in through the window. The air was still, but inside his mind, chaos erupted. Memories long sealed away now surged like waves crashing onto a desolate shore.

  ---

  The classroom was silent as the teacher called out a name with excitement. “Top of the class once again—Kazuki Hayashi!”

  Cheers erupted from the students, clapping and smiling.

  But Kazuki… he sat still.

  Expressionless.

  Empty.

  His eyes, distant. He didn’t understand what joy was. What pride meant. He didn’t even smile.

  ---

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  Another flash.

  A small boy trembling before his mother.

  “You got 98?! Where are the other two marks?!”

  A harsh slap.

  The sound of a stick striking skin. Again. And again. The boy didn’t cry. He simply stared at the floor, emotionless.

  ---

  Another memory.

  He sat alone in his room, watching anime after anime. Games blinking on his screen. Fantasies where people smiled, laughed, cried… and were loved.

  His world was different. Cold. Silent.

  ---

  Another punishment. Another slap. His mother’s voice shouting. His father’s silence. The emptiness grew larger.

  ---

  Friends laughing behind his back.

  “Did you really think we liked you?”

  Betrayal. Isolation.

  ---

  A car screeching. Bright lights. A crash.

  Then silence.

  ---

  Three coffins.

  His parents.

  His younger brother.

  People cried. Kazuki did not. He stood there, unmoving, staring at the ground.

  ---

  Days passed. Weeks. Months.

  Alone in a house too big. Watching anime. Playing games. Creating theories. Dreaming of other worlds where pain wasn’t real.

  And then one day…

  A strange glow filled the room.

  A magic circle beneath his feet.

  Wind howled. Light consumed him.

  He reached out—

  And vanished.

  ---

  Kazuki’s eyes snapped open, sweat trickling down his face. He sat up, gripping the bedsheets tightly.

  He remembered it all now.

  His hands trembled slightly—but his face stayed calm.

  Emotionless.

  He looked at the dagger again.

  “…So this is who I was,” he whispered. “I understand now.”

  He stood up slowly, walking to the window. The stars above shined, cold and d

  istant—just like him.

  But in this world… things could be different.

  He could be different.

  Or could he?