The door's creaking sent a chill down Renji's spine.
Aoi clutched his sleeve. "Did you hear that?"
Kaito's breathing was shaky. "Yeah. And I don't think we're alone."
Renji's instincts screamed at him to run.
But his feet wouldn't move.
Because the house standing before them—the one with the open door—wasn't just any house.
It was his house.
The place where he had grown up.
But it had burned. He had seen it collapse into ash ten years ago.
And yet, here it was.
Perfect. Untouched.
Waiting.
---
A Step Into the Past
Renji swallowed hard. "We need answers."
Aoi hesitated. "You're not thinking of—"
But he was already moving.
His feet carried him forward before he could second-guess himself.
The moment he stepped over the threshold—
The air shifted.
The musty scent of old wood filled his nose. The dim hallway stretched before him, just like he remembered.
Everything was the same.
The old bookshelf. The coat rack by the door. The faded picture frames on the wall.
Even the framed photo of his family.
Renji's heart pounded.
He turned to Aoi and Kaito. "This isn't possible."
Kaito's gaze darkened. "It's like the town never burned."
Aoi whispered, "Then what the hell is this place?"
Renji wasn't sure.
But then—
A soft creak echoed from deeper inside the house.
Aoi stiffened. "We're not alone."
Renji's blood turned ice-cold.
Something was in the house.
And it wasn't them.
---
The Voice from the Hallway
Renji took a cautious step forward.
The floorboards groaned under his weight.
Aoi and Kaito stayed close behind him, their breathing slow and controlled.
Then—
A whisper.
A low, distant voice.
> "Renji…?"
Renji froze.
His chest tightened. That voice—
It was familiar.
Too familiar.
Aoi grabbed his arm. "Who was that?"
Renji's lips were dry. "It sounded like…"
His throat closed.
> Like his mother.
But that was impossible.
She had died in the fire.
Hadn't she?
---
The Truth Beneath the Floorboards
Renji's fingers trembled as he pushed open the next door.
Inside was the living room.
And standing in the center—
Was a woman.
Her back was turned to them. Her long, dark hair hung limply down her back.
Aoi sucked in a sharp breath. "Renji… that's—"
Renji couldn't breathe.
The woman's voice was soft. "You finally came home."
A deep, gut-wrenching dread pooled in his stomach.
His feet felt like lead, but somehow, he managed to whisper—
"…Mom?"
The woman slowly turned.
Renji's world shattered.
Her face was wrong.
Her skin was cracked, like porcelain barely holding together. Her eyes—black spirals.
And when she smiled, her lips stretched too wide.
> "You shouldn't have left us, Renji."
A sickening snap echoed through the air—
And the walls of the house began to twist.
---
End of Chapter 25
---
To Be Continue