The ride back from the temple was quiet.
Renji sat in the backseat, watching the trees blur past, the spiral mark faintly warm against his skin—no longer burning, but present.
He wasn't sure if he had returned entirely alone.
---
The Aftershock
Back at their motel, Aoi insisted Renji sleep.
But even in rest, he felt it: a low, persistent hum in his bones. Like the Spiral Realm had left a piece of itself inside him.
And worse, his dreams had changed.
He no longer saw the twisted mirror version of himself. Now, he saw other people—strangers with familiar faces—their flesh warping, their eyes glazed, as if the spiral had moved on from him to seek new hosts.
> I might've stopped it in me… but I didn't destroy it.
It's spreading.
---
The Whispering Skin
In the morning, Renji noticed the first change.
His mark had spread—not deeper, but outward, like veins of ink along his wrist. But instead of pain, it brought clarity.
When he touched it, he could hear something faint.
Not voices—memories.
A child crying inside a school closet.
A man kneeling at a gravestone.
A girl laughing on a beach just before a storm.
They weren't his memories.
He jolted back. "What the hell…"
Aoi watched him. "What did you feel?"
Renji clenched his hand. "People. Places. Things I've never seen."
Kaito leaned in. "You think the spiral connected you to… what? Other victims?"
"Maybe." Renji stood. "Or maybe it's letting me see the parts of people the spiral wants to claim."
---
The Visitor
That evening, a knock came at their motel door.
An old woman stood outside, wrapped in layers of gray shawls. Her eyes were milky but sharp.
"I felt the spiral shift," she said, as if this were a perfectly normal greeting. "You brought something back, didn't you?"
Aoi stepped in front of Renji protectively. "Who are you?"
"I was once like him," the woman said, pointing to Renji's mark. "Tethered to the spiral. But I buried mine. I thought it would stay gone."
She walked into the room uninvited, lowering herself into a chair.
"The mark doesn't leave us. It evolves. It's not just a curse. It's a door."
Renji approached slowly. "What's on the other side?"
The woman gave a weary smile. "That depends. Some see horror. Some see truth. And some… see too much."
She pointed to his hand. "You've opened the echo."
Renji's throat tightened. "What does that mean?"
She leaned forward, whispering:
> "It means the spiral is now watching through you."
---
End of Chapter 43
---
To Be Continue