One night had passed since being thrown out in front of the studio. At eight in the morning, Ren stood at the entrance of Sonic Bay Studio. Shibuya. Jinnan street. Staff members passed by on their way in. Just another morning. Same as always. But different. The automatic door opened. Behind the reception counter, Hikari Nonomura stood up. Twenty-six years old. Gentle face. But today's expression was different. "[sad]Otoha-san……" Apology seeped into her voice. "[serious]I received instructions from Manager Segawa to stop your entry to the building." "[serious]……Instructions?" "[serious]It's policy. Please return your ID card." Nonomura's voice wavered. Her reluctance showed at the edge of her expression. But she couldn't stop. She was part of the organization too. Ren removed the ID card from around his neck. The plastic card was placed on the counter. A dry click. He looked up. Felt a gaze. Above. Third floor window. Segawa stood there. Black hair. Glasses. Gray eyes looking straight down. Their eyes met. Segawa's mouth lifted slightly. He was smiling. A cold smile. That was enough. Ren understood everything. Segawa slowly closed the curtains. Ren left the entrance. The automatic door closed behind him. Morning in Shibuya. People flowing. Staff entering the building. The world unchanged. Only Ren stood on the sidewalk. Ten days. Arrived earliest. Cleaned most carefully. Organized cables. Polished equipment. Connected with Endo. Everything was supposed to start here. All of it shut behind one door. His feet wouldn't move. He stood there for minutes. --- He started walking after all the other staff had entered the building. Nowhere to go. He entered a café called "Terzetto" three minutes' walk from the studio. Small shop in an alley. Eighteen seats. He'd heard studio staff came here. Empty at this hour. "[serious]A blend." He sat in a corner. Coffee arrived. 480 yen. He didn't drink it. Just sat there. The morning passed. Useless. He pulled out his phone. Battery 21%. Dropping again. Couldn't charge it. The number kept shrinking. He searched for Miku's information. No real reason. His fingers just moved. Stopped. Tonight. Concert at Verdia Arena Yokohama. Minato Mirai district. Capacity seventeen thousand. A few day-of tickets remaining. Ren stared at the screen. (Can't enter the studio. But I can see Miku at the venue.) As a customer. Just watching. Even if I can't do anything. He bought a ticket. --- On the train to Yokohama Minato Mirai, he watched outside the window. The city flowed past. A river appeared. Wide sky. He put his phone away. Didn't want to drain the battery. --- Verdia Arena Yokohama rose against the twilight. Multi-purpose arena. Capacity seventeen thousand. The stage had special holographic projection design. Projectors from three directions—ceiling, floor, sides—cast light. Ren had watched Miku's concerts here many times before. Same building today. But what he saw inside was completely different. Mid-arena seating. Seventeen thousand people's heat surrounding him. Cheers already starting. The lights fell. Light filled the stage. Miku appeared. Cyan twin tails. Jade-green eyes. Small microphone at her ear. Her holographic body caught light from three directions, shining. 158 centimeters tall. Standing at the center of seventeen thousand gazes. "[excited]Good evening!" The cheers exploded. Around Ren. In front. Behind. People screaming. Ren watched silently. The stage. Beautiful. Right now. No problems. Miku sang perfectly. Laughing. Reaching toward the audience. That night three years later—on this same stage, he watched that body collapse. The gap crushed his chest. The concert reached the middle. New song chorus. Miku hit the high note. That moment. Ren's eyes stopped. Miku's body—wavered. Milliseconds. Noise ran through the holographic silhouette. Just an instant. Shorter than a blink. The neighbor didn't notice. The row in front. The row behind. No one screamed. No one stopped. The cheers continued. Ren knew. That night three years later. The first time he noticed. The same collapse. Tears came. Wouldn't stop. Didn't know how. In seventeen thousand people's cheers, only Ren cried. The middle-aged woman next to him glanced over. Shocked face. Ren noticed but couldn't do anything. Miku on stage didn't notice. Still singing with a smile. That smile disappears in three years. Even now, something is progressing. --- The concert ended. An announcement played. The audience stood. Shuffled toward exits. Voices. Laughter. Afterglow. Ren couldn't move. Both hands on his knees. Sitting. The surrounding seats emptied one by one. Lights fell. Staff began cleaning up. Miku's figure disappeared from the stage. Only dark equipment remained. Three years later, Miku collapsed on this stage. He watched from the audience. Tonight, he sat in the same venue's audience again. Thrown out of the studio. Entry stopped. Could only watch Miku's holographic flicker. He covered his face with both hands. A sound escaped. A sob. Seventeen thousand capacity arena. Almost no one left. One cleaning staff member noticed. Stopped. Didn't speak. Moved to another section. (Someone……) Words almost came out. No voice. His phone vibrated. He pulled it out. Hands trembled slightly. The screen showed—a short message from Keisuke Endo. "Back entrance. 10 minutes." Ren looked up. Wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Stood. His legs wavered slightly. He walked the corridor. Opposite direction from the exit. Around the arena's perimeter. Toward the back where loading docks lined up. Dim. Cargo shutters in rows. Concrete smell. A figure stood before one shutter. White work clothes. Silver short hair. 182 centimeters. Arms crossed. Back against the wall. Endo. He noticed Ren. Said nothing. Waited for him to approach. "[serious]Segawa threw you out. I heard." Flat voice. Not blaming. Confirming. Endo put his hand in his pocket. Pulled out something small. A USB drive. "[serious]Part of Miku's internal anomaly data. I extracted it myself." He held it toward Ren. Ren took it with both hands. Small. Light. But heavy. "[serious]I can't analyze it alone. Material to show external specialists. Keep it." Endo's face tightened. Sharp blue eyes looked straight at Ren. "[serious]During tonight's concert. Miku's internal data froze for a moment. You noticed too. That flicker." "[serious]……I saw it." "[serious]An error appearing for six months. Confirmed. The frequency is increasing." Endo paused slightly. "[serious]At first it was once every few weeks. Now it's once every few days." The USB in Ren's hand suddenly felt hot. Once every few days. The error logs from the phone data flashed in his mind. Six months. A graph that kept rising. By a month before the collapse, it was almost every time. This is the beginning. "[serious]Segawa?" "[serious]……Pretending not to know. He hasn't said anything to me." Endo pushed off from the wall. Looked toward the shutter. Staff movement nearby. Time was running out. "[serious]There's a limit to what I can do here. I know that. So you take it." Short words. But everything was there. Ren put the USB in his jacket pocket. "[serious]Understood." "[serious]Confirmed. Tell no one." "[serious]I won't." Endo nodded. That was all. He walked silently down the corridor beside the shutter. Ren remained alone at the back of the arena. Night wind blew. Minato Mirai's night lights glowed in the distance. Ocean smell mixed in. He confirmed the USB in his pocket with his fingertips. Small. But heavy. He pulled out his phone. Battery remaining—18%. Dropped again tonight. Miku's errors every few days. Phone battery shrinking every day. Both numbers moving in only one direction. Ren looked up at the night sky for one second. Almost no stars visible. The city's light too strong. He gripped his pocket again. The USB's corner dug into his palm. Not painful. But definitely there. The countdown has started. Still don't know how to stop it. But tonight, one weapon was added to his hand.