Renji's breath caught in his throat.
The reflection in his phone screen—
There was someone behind him.
A shadowy figure, its form distorted, its face hidden in the dark.
Aoi noticed his frozen expression. "Renji?"
His hands trembled.
Slowly, he turned his head.
Nothing was there.
Only the empty street.
The wind whispered through the buildings, carrying the faint scent of ash and decay.
Kaito straightened, eyes sharp. "What just happened?"
Renji stared at his phone. The call had come from his mother's number.
But that was impossible.
His mother was dead.
Aoi swallowed hard. "Renji… what did she say?"
His voice came out hoarse.
"…She asked why I wouldn't come home."
Silence.
Kaito clenched his fists. "This town is playing with us."
Renji's heartbeat pounded in his ears.
Was it?
Or was something trying to bring him back?
His mother. His home.
His memories.
Everything he had left behind.
---
The Spiral Marks
Aoi's voice wavered. "We need to find a way out."
Kaito exhaled sharply. "That's what I've been saying. But every time we try, something—" He gestured around them. "—pulls us deeper."
Renji's fingers curled around his phone.
If this town was trying to replace them, to erase them—
Then why was it still calling them back?
His gaze drifted toward the cracked pavement beneath his feet.
And then—
He saw it.
A spiral pattern.
Faint, barely visible, but carved into the asphalt.
Renji's stomach twisted.
He turned slowly—they were everywhere.
On the walls of buildings.
Scratched into old wooden doors.
Even drawn in dust on the abandoned cars.
Aoi's voice dropped to a whisper. "They're spreading."
Kaito's expression darkened. "Like a disease."
Renji took a step back. "Or a memory."
Kaito frowned. "What?"
Renji licked his dry lips.
"What if the spirals aren't just symbols?"
He looked up, eyes burning.
"What if they're the town's way of keeping everything trapped?"
---
The Mark on Renji's Hand
A sudden sting shot through Renji's palm.
He winced, lifting his hand.
A faint, spiral-like bruise had formed on his skin.
His breath hitched. "What the hell—"
Aoi grabbed his wrist. "That wasn't there before."
Kaito's jaw tensed. "It's marking you."
Renji's pulse pounded.
The town wasn't just keeping them inside.
It was marking them, branding them.
It was making sure they couldn't leave.
Aoi's voice was unsteady. "How do we stop it?"
Renji clenched his fists, his mind racing.
They needed answers.
They needed to find the heart of this town.
The place where it had all started.
And suddenly—
Renji knew exactly where to go.
"The old shrine," he murmured.
Kaito and Aoi looked at him.
He met their gaze, determination burning in his chest.
"If this town is alive—then we need to find where its heart beats."
The shrine was the oldest place in town. The center of everything.
If they wanted to break free—
That's where they had to go.
Aoi nodded. "Then let's go."
Kaito adjusted his bag. "Before it's too late."
Renji took one last look at the spirals surrounding them.
The town was watching.
Waiting.
And as they stepped forward—
The wind sighed.
Almost as if it was laughing.
---
End of Chapter 29
---
To Be Continue