The figure in the hallway stood motionless.
Its body was too thin, too stretched, as if something had worn it rather than been it.
Renji felt his pulse hammer in his throat.
Aoi's grip on Kaito tightened. "That can't be him…"
Kaito's breath was ragged. "It's his voice."
Renji swallowed. "That doesn't mean it's him."
The shadow of Haruto tilted its head—a slow, deliberate movement.
> "Kaito… you shouldn't be here."
The voice was soft. Hollow.
Like something pulling from memory.
Kaito took a small, hesitant step forward.
"Uncle Haruto?"
The shadow's jaw unhinged slightly. Not in a smile—but in something grotesque, unnatural.
> "You have to leave."
The house shuddered.
Renji's breath caught. It was happening again.
The walls began to shift—
The spiral on the far wall pulsed.
Aoi yanked Kaito back. "We need to run!"
Kaito's fists clenched. "Not until I know the truth!"
The figure took another step forward.
And then—
It whispered something.
Something only Kaito could hear.
Kaito's eyes widened in horror.
And suddenly—he turned and ran.
Renji barely had time to process before Aoi grabbed his wrist. "Go!"
The three of them bolted toward the exit.
Behind them—
The walls groaned, twisted, cracked.
The house was falling apart.
But just before they could escape—
The shadow spoke one last time.
> "Don't let the town take you."
Then—
The house collapsed.
---
The Truth He Heard
They didn't stop running.
Not until they reached the edge of the abandoned shopping district.
Kaito finally stopped, his hands on his knees, breathing hard.
Renji grabbed his shoulder. "What the hell did you hear?"
Kaito's face was pale.
His lips trembled.
"…He told me…"
Renji's stomach twisted. "Kaito."
Kaito's voice cracked.
> "…He said I died ten years ago."
Aoi stiffened.
Renji felt his blood run cold.
Kaito's fingers dug into his temples. "That's not possible."
Aoi's voice was barely above a whisper. "Kaito… you were with us. You were never in the fire."
Kaito nodded numbly. "I know. But—" He swallowed. "He said… the town already took me."
Silence.
Renji's mind raced.
The notebooks.
The spirals.
The thing that had pretended to be his mother.
And now—this.
Aoi hugged herself. "What if… what if the town isn't just replacing people?"
Her next words sent a deep chill down Renji's spine.
> "What if it's erasing them?"
---
The City Breathing
The wind howled through the empty streets.
Renji could feel it now.
The eyes on them.
The town wasn't just haunted.
It was alive.
And if Haruto's warning was true—
Then they weren't just here to uncover the past.
They were here to escape before it was too late.
But then—
A phone rang.
Renji's phone.
He grabbed it—his heart nearly stopping when he saw the caller ID.
His mother.
But she was dead.
His fingers trembled as he answered.
"…Hello?"
Silence.
And then—
A soft, familiar voice.
> "Renji… why won't you come home?"
The call cut out.
The screen went black.
And in the reflection of the dark glass—
Something stood behind him.
---
End of Chapter 28
---
To Be Continue