(The soft glow of the evening sun fades as streetlights flicker on, casting long shadows. The distant sound of cicadas fills the air. Anari takes a step closer to Asahi, her movements subtle yet deliberate.)
Asahi:(noticing her movement, his breath catches in his throat)
(Huh…?)(His heart pounds—not from fear, but from something else. Something… unexplainable.)
(She is so close now. So close that their hands could touch.)
Asahi:(mind racing, excitement swelling inside him)
(Oooooooooooooooooo…!)
Anari:(softly, almost hesitant)"So… the shopping is over, right?"(A slight disappointment lingers in her tone.)
Asahi:(feeling the same, voice quieter than usual)"Yeah… it is."(Why does this feel like something is ending?)
(A brief silence. The night breeze brushes past them.)
Anari:(suddenly, voice softer, almost teasing)"You know what…? I'll be home alone… till the night."
Asahi:(pauses, blinking)"Oh… okay."
(She looks at him. There's something in her gaze—something waiting.)
Asahi:(heart racing, voice a little rushed)"Hey… there's a park nearby. Why don't we go there?"
(Anari tilts her head, pretending to think.)
Anari:(grinning, secretly happy)"Hmmm… okay."(After all, I can spend more time with him.)
Asahi:(internally, fist-clenching excitement)(YES!!)
(The two of them walk side by side through the quiet park. The world feels different—slower, softer. The atmosphere is bathed in a warm, golden hue from the streetlights. A cool breeze rustles the leaves as they reach the lake.)
(The water is breathtaking. The surface is like glass, reflecting the sky in perfect clarity. The stars above shimmer, mirrored beautifully in the depths below.)
Anari:(gasping, eyes wide with wonder)"Wow!"
(Asahi stands still, staring at the lake—but not at the sky. His expression remains frozen.)
Anari:(smiling beautifully, eyes reflecting the starlit sky)"Asahi, it looks wonderful!"
(Asahi's eyes shift. Not to the lake. Not to the sky. But to her.)
(His breath hitches. His pupils slightly dilate.)
Asahi:(mind blank, heart pounding harder than ever)(Ahhh…)
(What he saw… was not the sky. Not the stars. Not even the reflection of the universe.)
(What he saw… was her.)
(A girl standing under the stars, bathed in golden light, her eyes reflecting the entire cosmos. A girl who, at this very moment, looked more beautiful than anything else in the world.)
(His heart clenches. His breath becomes shallow.)
(So… this is what it means to fall in love…?)
(He can't look away. His body refuses to move. All he can do is stare—completely lost in her.)
Anari:(tilting her head, noticing his gaze)"What?"(She follows his eyes, expecting to see something amazing in the sky.)
(But Asahi doesn't answer. He doesn't blink. He just keeps staring—silent, unreadable, but captivated.)
(Anari turns back toward him. Their eyes meet. The reflected sky still shimmering in hers.)
(Slowly, unconsciously—she moves closer.)
(Again. Closer.)
(The distance between them shrinks. The space where air should exist tightens. A heartbeat can be heard—steady, rhythmic, but loud. Deafening. Not from fear. Not from anxiety.)
(A heartbeat of a man who has fallen in love.)
Asahi Rentaro.
(His breathing picks up. His chest rises and falls quicker. His vision blurs—not from exhaustion, but from the overwhelming weight of this moment.)
(Then, she notices something. His gaze. Fixed. Intense. Not at the sky. But at her.)
Anari: (pouting, crossing her arms, voice playful yet slightly annoyed) "What are you looking at?"
(Asahi blinks. His lips part slightly. And then, the words escape—words he never thought he'd say.)
Asahi: (softly, filled with love, a man who has fallen in love) "Why should I even look at the sky… when the whole universe is in your eyes?"
(His voice is barely above a whisper, yet in the stillness of the night, it reaches her. And at that moment—time stops.)
(Anari's breath catches. Her heartbeat stutters. Her face burns with a deep crimson, her entire body stiffening in shock.)
Anari: (blinking rapidly, voice shaky, flustered beyond control) "Wh…what…?"
(Asahi steps forward. Not aggressively. Not hesitantly. Just… naturally. As if drawn toward her by something stronger than fate itself.)
(Anari stands frozen. She doesn't move. She doesn't run.)
Asahi: (his heart beating faster, voice gentler than ever before) "Anari…"
(She looks at him. Their eyes meet. The reflection of the universe still shining in hers. And then—Asahi breathes in deeply. His hands clench at his sides. His heartbeat is loud—so loud it almost drowns out everything else.)
(And then, he says it.)
Asahi: (blushing, voice deep, raw, overflowing with emotion) "I… I LOVE YOU!"
(His voice carries through the night. A voice filled with so much passion, so much sincerity, that any woman would fall for it. Any woman—except the one in front of him.)
(Silence.)
(Anari doesn't react. No smile. No gasp. Just… blank.)
(Then, her eyes shift. And suddenly—everything changes.)
(The warmth disappears. The sky in her eyes fades. The brightness vanishes. Replaced by something colder. Emptier. As if the stars themselves had died inside her.)
Anari: (expression dark, voice chilling) "I would never love a man like you."
(She takes a step back. Away from him.)
(Asahi doesn't move. He doesn't even breathe. His heart—stops.)
(The world is silent. Heavy. Suffocating.)
Anari: (a dark chuckle, her voice laced with mockery) "You thought you had a chance?"
(Asahi just stands there. A man who has time-looped over 100 times just to save her. And yet—this is the moment that truly kills him.)
Anari: (emotionless, empty, cold) "I already love someone else."
(Asahi's heart doesn't break—it shatters. But there's nothing left to break. His body, his mind, his soul—everything is already gone.)
(His expression remains blank. No tears. No reaction. Just… nothing.)
(She turns her back to him, taking slow, steady steps away.)
Anari: (quiet, distant, yet sharp as a blade) "Are you even human?"
(That sentence. That one sentence. It buries itself deep into his heart, cutting deeper than any wound ever could.)
(Suddenly, a voice calls out.)
"Anari!"
(She stops. Her expression changes. She turns—smiling. Not just smiling—happier than she ever looked with Asahi.)
(She rushes toward the voice. Toward another man. Someone Asahi can't see clearly. His vision is blurred. Maybe because of the rain. Or maybe—because of the tears.)
(Asahi stands still. Unmoving. The sky, once so breathtaking, is now gray. The weather shifts. Raindrops begin to fall. One by one. Cold. Heavy. Empty.)
(His eyes, open—unblinking. He stares at the man. At her. At the happiness he was never meant to have.)
(But he doesn't cry. Or maybe he does. It's impossible to tell. The rain masks it all.)
(Then, slowly—he blinks. Once. Just once.)
(And when he does, all the warmth in his gaze disappears.)
(He turns around. No emotion. No hesitation. His movements—slow. Weak. Lost. A man who has lost everything. A man who has nothing left. A man who, at this moment, is no longer Asahi Rentaro.)
(Just a body, walking in the rain.)
(The rain falls heavier. The sky—once filled with stars—now drowns in storm clouds. The world feels colder, heavier. The wind howls through the empty streets, but Asahi… he doesn't hear it.)
(While others run for shelter, hurrying to escape the sudden downpour, one man walks… slowly. A man soaked from head to toe, his clothes clinging to his body, his steps dragging against the wet pavement.)
(A dead man walking.)
(People glance at him, their eyes lingering for a moment. But just as quickly—they look away. They ignore him. A stranger in his own world.)
(Step by step, Asahi moves forward—toward the only place where he believes peace still exists. His home. His mother. His father. The last remnants of his world.)
(The streets are empty. The streetlights flicker, their glow unstable. The wet pavement reflects their dying light, creating illusions of something broken—something lost.)
(Finally, Asahi reaches home.)
(He stops in front of the gate. His hands, trembling, slowly push it open. The creaking sound echoes through the silent night.)
(Standing before the front door, he lifts his hand—weak, slow—and knocks. Once. Twice. The sound is barely audible, drowned out by the rain.)
(Seconds pass.)
(Then—suddenly—the door swings open.)
Dad:(deep voice, unfamiliar, almost… hollow)"Ahhhh…"
(Asahi blinks, looking up at the man who raised him. But something feels… wrong.)
(His father's expression is twisted—dark, unreadable. His eyes are hollow, almost as if he were looking at a stranger. Then, he speaks. And the words carve themselves into Asahi's soul.)
Dad:(cold, unrecognizing)"Who are you?"
(The words hit harder than any blade. Asahi's body stiffens. His breath catches.)
Asahi:(heart pounding, hands shaking)"D-Dad… it's me. It's me—Asahi."
(No response. His father's expression doesn't change. It remains dark. Unforgiving.)
Asahi:(desperate, voice breaking)"I'm your son!"
(For a moment, there is silence. A silence so heavy it threatens to crush him.)
(Then—his father laughs. A low, dark laugh that doesn't belong to him.)
Dad:(laughing darkly, his voice twisting)"Hah… my son?!"
(His expression shifts. Darker. More twisted. His lips curl into something unnatural—something cruel.)
Dad:(mocking, voice sharp as a knife)"My son is better than you."
(Asahi doesn't move. He just stares. His father's words don't just hurt—they kill. His hands, still trembling, slowly fall to his sides.)
Dad:(cold, eyes narrowing)"What are you…?"(his voice drops, almost inhuman now)"Are you even human?"
(Asahi doesn't blink. He doesn't breathe. His heart—silent. There is nothing left to beat.)
(The door begins to close. But before it does, Asahi sees something. A figure. Standing inside the house. A man. The same man from before. The same man Anari ran to.)
(Asahi's body doesn't move. His lips part slightly, but no words come out. The door slams shut.)
(He turns. Step by step, he walks away. Slow. Weak. Hollow.)
(Ten steps.)
(That's how far he gets before his body gives out. His knees hit the pavement, his hands barely catching him before he collapses completely.)
(The streetlights flicker. The rain pours. The world is cold, and yet—he feels nothing.)
(Lying there, his face turns upward. The sky looms over him, endless, indifferent.)
(The rain falls directly into his eyes, yet… he doesn't blink.)
(His vision drifts. To the side. To a shattered mirror lying discarded on the street. And in that broken reflection—he sees himself.)
(A man's face. A face that looped 100 times… for nothing.)
(His eyepatch, soaked from the rain, slides off—falling to the ground, exposing his left eye. The scars. The exhaustion. The inhuman emptiness inside them.)
(He stares at himself. His own reflection. His own soulless gaze. And then—his breathing changes.)
(A tremor runs through his body. His fingers claw against the wet pavement. And then—suddenly—he moves.)
(His fists slam into the ground.)
Asahi:(screaming, voice cracking, pain spilling from his throat)"ARARARARARARARARA!"
(His screams rip through the night. His hands pound against the earth, again and again. Desperate. Broken. Furious. Hopeless.)
Asahi:(voice shattered, desperate)"WHY?!"(His voice drowns in the storm.)
"WHY?! …WHY?!"
"ME?!"
(He lifts his head, eyes locking onto the broken mirror.)
(His reflection stares back. A man who no longer looks human. A man whose eyes hold nothing but emptiness. A man who lost everything.)
Asahi:(voice cracking, barely audible, a whisper meant only for himself)"Am I… even human?"
(The words hang in the air, swallowed by the rain. His body trembles. His fists, bloody from pounding the pavement, slowly fall to his sides.)
(Then—his breathing changes. Slower. Weaker. His voice, once filled with rage, now empties into nothingness.)
Asahi:(voice fading, a final cry into the night)"ARARARARARARAR!"
"ARARARARARARAR!"
"ARARARARA…"
(His screams die down. His voice lowers. Lowers. Lowers.)
(Until, at last—only silence remains.)
(His breaths slow. His vision blurs. His mind—empty. No more thoughts. No more questions. No more pain.)
(For the first time in so long… he allows himself to close his eyes.)
(And in that moment—everything shatters.)