Riku Sakamaki, a high school student, wakes up in a world where the sky glows purple. He has been transported to this strange place with no idea how or why. The first person he meets is a silver-haired girl named Vestia Zeta, an agent of a secret organization with the codename V.7. She wears key-shaped accessories and has access to data from the virtual world. Cool and mysterious on the outside, she also has a sarcastic, sometimes clumsy side that makes her oddly charming.
"[cold]You'll die her
Vestia Zeta: Heir of the Black Key - A night of isolation—a boy bearing the black key.
The air in the medical ward was stagnant with the smell of disinfectant and the faint heat radiating from crystal equipment.
Pale violet light running along the walls dimly illuminated the white floor. The medical ward, on the fifth basement level of Orthlink Headquarters. This was the quietest place in the organization—where severely wounded agents were brought in.
Sakamaki Riku sat on a round stool placed beside the bed.
He had been here for the past hour.
Ever since escaping from that underground passage and returning to Orthlink Headquarters under Kisaragi Ren's guidance, Riku hadn't changed his clothes once. His outfit was still stained with blood and mud, and the fingertips of his right hand trembled faintly.
Before him, Vestia Zeta lay sleeping.
To be precise, she wasn't sleeping. Unconscious, the medical officer had said. The laceration to her abdomen was deep, reaching her internal organs. Emergency crystal suturing and blood transfusions had barely saved her life. But whether she would wake up—no one knew.
"Vestia..."
Riku touched her hand, lying limp atop the white sheets.
Cold.
That hand—the one that always gripped the white key pendant and calmly issued orders. The same hand that had endured pain and held a sword even when Riku's black key had gone out of control and burned her.
(*Again.*)
Riku stared at the back of his right hand.
The black key's crest wasn't visible now. But beneath the skin, something seemed to pulse. The battle in the underground passage. Cornered by a swarm of Noise, Riku had let his power run wild. The ceiling had collapsed, putting Vestia in even greater danger.
That bone-crushing roar. The taste of dust. The warmth of Vestia's blood against his back.
All of it—the result of Riku's choices.
"Why does it always end up like this..."
Riku choked back his voice.
His right hand trembled in small spasms. Not just the fingertips. Everything from the wrist down moved on its own, twitching as if seized by convulsions.
Terrifying.
That power—the thought of it rampaging again—was terrifying.
(*Because I opened the power. Because I decided to use the black key in that underground passage.*)
If Vestia hadn't shielded him, he would have certainly died. But in exchange, Vestia had been gravely wounded.
Riku gripped the edge of the bed. The white sheets wrinkled.
"It's my fault... all of it. Mine."
At that moment, the medical ward's automatic door opened with a low sound.
Footsteps slowly approached.
When Riku turned, Orthlink's director, Freya Norlund, stood there.
A woman in her fifties. Her white hair was pulled back tightly, and she wore a deep indigo uniform without a single wrinkle. Deep lines were etched into her face, and her sharp gaze was feared not only by her subordinates but by the upper echelons as well. Vestia had told him that, in her active days, she had been a legendary agent who single-handedly defended three frequency towers simultaneously.
"Director."
Riku tried to stand.
But Freya stopped him with a single hand.
"Stay seated."
A low, heavy voice.
Freya stood on the opposite side of the bed and looked down at the sleeping Vestia. Her silver eyes were closed, her breathing shallow. Freya's gaze swept over the sheets as if assessing the extent of her injuries.
"Her life is not in danger. But whether she regains consciousness is still unknown."
"Yes."
"I did not summon you here for a visit."
Freya's gaze turned to Riku.
A heavy pressure bore down on his back.
"I am here to relay the Security Council's decision. Sakamaki Riku, as of today, you are relieved of your duties with Vestia Zeta."
Riku felt his breath stop.
"Huh...?"
"Additionally, for the time being, you will be confined to an isolation room within Orthlink's protected area. Visitation is prohibited in principle. Unauthorized movement will not be permitted."
"Wait a second. What does that—"
Freya cut him off.
"Records of the black key's rampage remain. The damage to Lumina Centra's outer wall, the collapse of the underground passage, and one A-rank agent gravely wounded. Furthermore, now that Duskbringer has clearly recognized your existence, the risk of allowing you to move freely extends to the entire organization."
Freya laid out the facts without emotion.
"But I... I decided to fight alongside Vestia. That's why I have to learn to control the black key's power."
"This measure was taken precisely because you cannot control it. Acknowledge that."
Riku was at a loss for words.
What Freya said was correct. She wasn't wrong. But—
"Vestia... I promised to protect her."
"Protect her? With that power of yours?"
Freya's voice grew slightly colder.
"Do you understand why she lies here sleeping? Because she protected you. From your own rampage."
Riku found it hard to breathe.
The center of his chest ached as if gouged by a sharp blade.
"I make my agents bear risks, including death in the line of duty. But I have no intention of losing subordinates to a comrade's rampage during a mission. You are a danger."
Freya stepped away from Riku and headed for the exit.
"You will be transferred tonight. Pray that her fingers so much as twitch."
The sound of the automatic door closing.
Silence returned to the medical ward.
For a while, Riku couldn't move.
He stared at Vestia on the bed. She knew nothing. Not that Riku was being cut off from the organization. Not that he had been branded a danger.
"Vestia..."
Riku wrapped both hands around hers.
Hoping to convey even a little warmth.
But the heat only escaped from her stiff fingertips.
—
The transfer took place that very night.
Blindfolded, Riku was escorted by two silent agents. Only footsteps and faint mechanical sounds pierced the darkness. They turned several times, rode elevators several times. He had no idea how deep underground they had gone.
When the blindfold was removed, Riku found himself in a small room of about four and a half tatami mats.
The walls were dull gray metal. A hard cot served as a bed, and a small sink was embedded in the wall. No windows. A single pale light glowed in the corner of the ceiling.
"So this is the 'protected area,' huh."
Riku spat the words out.
No response.
The agents confiscated his communication terminal and disappeared beyond the metal door. The sound of a heavy lock turning. Only the dry clank remained.
Riku slumped against the wall.
His clothes were the same as in that underground passage. The smell of blood clung to his nose.
(*I'm such an idiot.*)
He stared at the black key's crest.
If I don't use it, no one gets hurt. That's what he'd thought.
"If only I'd realized sooner not to use it..."
Voices came from beyond the corridor.
Muffled conversation filtered through the door.
"So, did that black key heir really draw the enemy from within?"
"Unknown. But the direct reason Duskbringer targeted Lumina Centra was probably him. The Noise's movements changed."
"The talk about a mole hasn't gone away either. Can't trust anyone."
"Are you suspecting me too?"
"Who knows."
The footsteps faded.
Riku clutched his head with both hands.
A mole. Duskbringer. Noise. The black key. Everything was tangled in a mess around Riku. And at the center of it all—himself.
(*Did this world break because I came here?*)
The back of his right hand grew hot with a prickling sensation.
Riku clenched the black crest.
"...I..."
A voiceless sound leaked from his throat.
Something welled up from the pit of his stomach.
His vision blurred with heat.
"—Riku."
Suddenly, a voice.
A clear, low male voice.
Riku raised his head.
No one was in the room.
"Who's there...?"
"You can hear my voice, it seems. Impressive—as expected of the Heir of the Black Key."
The air trembled.
The sound traveled along the walls and entered directly into the depths of Riku's ears.
"You should sleep. I'll be waiting in your dreams."
The voice was sweet, and sticky.
Unable to resist, Riku slowly closed his eyes.
—
Hot wind seared his face.
Riku stood in an unfamiliar place.
No—not unfamiliar.
Gray sky. Charred pillars. Mountains of rubble.
The town in the real world where he'd once lived. The night of the fire.
Riku stood in his childhood town, still in his eighteen-year-old body.
"Help me."
A small hand reached out from beyond the flames.
A friend. The voice of the kid he'd walked to school with.
Riku broke into a run.
Hot. His skin burned.
But he couldn't stop.
"—!"
He reached out his hand.
In that instant.
The back of his right hand turned pitch black.
The black key's crest rose to the surface.
"Stop...!"
Riku screamed.
Black light overflowed from his fingertips.
The target wasn't the Noise. Not the fire.
It was his friend's small body.
"STOOOOP!!!"
The light enveloped everything.
Explosion.
Riku's consciousness burst into white.
When he came to, Riku was standing in the underground passage of Lumina Centra.
At his feet, Vestia lay collapsed.
Her silver hair spread through a pool of blood.
Her abdomen was torn open.
"Vestia!"
He tried to lift her up—but his hands.
They were emitting black light.
"No...! Please, move...!!"
The black key's light enveloped Vestia's body.
Her form was fading, about to vanish.
"Riku."
A voice came from behind.
Riku couldn't turn around.
He felt he must not turn around.
"As long as you desire power, everything around you will break."
The air was heavy.
Something invisible crushed Riku's entire body.
"Sink into solitude, Heir of the Black Key."
The voice echoed inside his head.
Heir of the Black Key.
"Stop... stop...!!"
Covering his ears, Riku ran.
He didn't know where to go.
A burning town. A sea of blood. Broken buildings. Swarms of Noise. The scenery changed again and again.
In every one of them, Riku was hurting someone.
"As long as you exist, someone will be hurt."
Decibel's voice.
He could hear it clearly.
Riku's legs tangled, and he fell.
The ground was stained the color of blood.
"It's my fault... because I exist... everyone..."
Riku saw his own face reflected in the sea of blood.
Black eyes. The black key's crest. And deep within—something was laughing.
"————Ah."
Riku woke.
Sweat drenched his entire body.
His heart pounded painfully.
"Hah... hah..."
Gray ceiling. Pale light.
The isolation room. He'd returned from the dream.
"A dream, huh..."
Riku forced the words out.
But deep in his ears, that voice still lingered.
*'As long as you exist, someone will be hurt.'*
Low, resonant—Decibel's voice.
"No. I..."
Riku stared at his own hands.
On the back of his right hand, the black crest stood out clearly.
He hadn't tried to use the power. He'd only felt afraid, and pained, and desperate to escape—and yet beneath his skin, black light swirled in a vortex.
"Because I exist, Vestia... Ren... everyone..."
Tears spilled over.
He couldn't stop them.
He couldn't even stand.
"I just want to disappear."
Riku hugged his knees and curled up.
From that day on, Riku dreamed again and again—dreams that tormented him.
The night of the fire. His friend's hand. The black light. Vestia's torn abdomen. The burning city.
The same dream, over and over.
Time didn't exist in the isolation room.
Meals came twice a day, slipped under the door by silent agents. Thin soup and hard bread. No taste.
Riku leaned against the wall and barely moved.
He had no idea how much time had passed.
Occasionally, he heard agents' conversations from the corridor.
"You think the black key heir is the most suspicious?"
"Someone from outside has the highest probability of betrayal. That's common sense."
"But A-rank Vestia protected him. There's a chance the mole isn't him."
"That's why finding the mole is my job. Whether he's black or white, it doesn't matter."
The voices faded.
Riku rested his head against the wall.
(*I won't trust anyone anymore.*)
He clenched the black key's crest.
(*If I don't use it, no one gets hurt. If I
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