The impact of the traffic accident still lingers deep in his body. The sound of sudden braking. A floating sensation. Then, an impact that felt like his bones were shattering. That was Sasaki Yuuki's last memory of the living world. His chest churns. Nausea surges up, and Yuuki presses his hands against the ground. Cold. The rough feel of barren earth. He opens his eyes. His blurred vision catches something—a purple sky he's never seen before. "[scared]Ugh…" Stomach acid rises. The urge to vomit won't stop. Coughing repeatedly, Yuuki desperately lifts his head. He was in a small plaza. Around him stood wooden houses that looked ready to collapse at any moment. Stones lay scattered across the road—no proper pavement at all. The clothes of the people walking by were all dingy and somehow hazy. Some watched him from a distance. But their eyes held only curiosity and caution. Nothing more. "[scared]Wh-what is this place…" His voice trembles. The air is strange. Heavy. Clinging. His body won't move the way he wants. Like moving through water. (What happened to me?) Confused, Yuuki looks at his hands. Hands. His usual hands. But something is off. They seem slightly transparent. No. Just his imagination. He wants to believe that. Yuuki's cheeks are gaunt. His drooping dark brown eyes are wide with terror. His slightly long black hair sticks to his forehead with sweat. His average build—172 centimeters—trembles faintly with fear. A white shirt. School trousers. And over them, someone had draped a dusty-colored kimono without him noticing. He looks at his left wrist. A vivid scar. From the traffic accident. Even as just a soul, it remains—unable to fade. (I was in an accident… and then…) His mind goes blank. He looks up at the purple sky again. Back then, I definitely— "[cold]You're awake." A voice from behind. Yuuki's heart nearly leaped out of his chest. He whirled around in panic. Before he knew it, a small girl in a black kimono stood about three meters away. A slender sword hung at her hip. Her black hair, cut evenly at the shoulders, swayed gently despite the lack of wind. Her bangs were trimmed straight across above her eyebrows. Her large violet eyes—full of strong will—fixed firmly on Yuuki. Her face still held traces of youth, yet her eyes were eerily calm. Mature. No—something more. As if she had lived for hundreds of years. That kind of calm. She was small. Thirty centimeters shorter than Yuuki. Around 144 centimeters, maybe. "[serious]You died. And this is where the souls of the dead gather. The Soul Society." Yuuki couldn't speak. There was no way he could. Rukia continued matter-of-factly. "[serious]This is the 78th District of the Rukongai. The most remote settlement in the Soul Society." Soul Society. Rukongai. Words he'd never heard before. "[scared]D-died…? Me? But I'm still… breathing." "[cold]That's an illusion." A hint of pain mixed into Rukia's voice. Moments like that came now and then. Matter-of-fact, yet holding something back. "[serious]The living world and the Soul Society exist overlapping one another. Normally, when a soul leaves its body, it comes here directly. But your case was different. You wandered in with an incomplete separation of body and soul—a 'living soul.' An extremely rare existence." Confusion made Yuuki's ears start ringing. (What the hell? What does that even mean?) "[scared]That's… I want to go home. I need to contact my parents. How do I get out of here…" "[cold]You can't." Rukia declared it instantly. "[serious]The only gates connecting the living world and the Soul Society are called Senkaimon. Opening one requires permission from the Gotei 13. This isn't a place a lost soul like you can easily leave. Besides—you died. There is no way back to the living world." Yuuki's vision swayed violently. "[scared]No… you're lying… that can't be…" He collapses. The coldness of the earth forces reality upon him whether he likes it or not. The impoverished souls around him glance over, wondering what's going on. Thrown alone into a completely unknown place. Told he's dead. Yuuki grabbed the hem of Rukia's kimono. "[scared]P-please. I'm begging you. Do something. I'll pay you… I'll pay. If I ask my parents, I'm sure…" Clinging. His voice was on the verge of tears. But Rukia only looked at him with cold eyes. She let out a small sigh. "[cold]…We can't keep talking out here. Follow me." She said it and began walking briskly away. Yuuki scrambled to his feet and stumbled after her. She led him to an inn called Kawara. A shabby place run single-handedly by a landlady named Tae. Only six rooms in total. In a room with worn-out tatami mats, Yuuki was served tea. The teacup was cracked. He took a sip. A faint sweetness spread across his tongue. "[gentle]Have you calmed down a little?" Rukia sat across from him. Back perfectly straight. Beautiful posture. Yuuki nodded. His stomach still ached. His hands still trembled. But it was better than before. "[serious]What I'm about to tell you may be hard to accept. But I need you to listen carefully." With that preface, she began to speak. About 120 years ago. A great calamity called the Great Collapse struck the Soul Society. A rift opened in a dark realm known as the Void Realm. Tens of thousands of monsters called Hollows poured through. Roughly forty percent of the Soul Reapers died. And in that moment, there was one Soul Reaper who dove alone into the Void Realm's rift. That Soul Reaper cut down countless Hollows. Protected everyone. Sealed the rift. At the cost of their own life. "[serious]That person's name is Kagetsu Towa. We honor them by calling them the Hero." Her violet eyes wavered slightly. "[serious]The Hero now sleeps deep beneath the Seireitei, in the Chamber of Eternal Rest. But they will awaken soon. To fight once more in the predicted next Great Collapse—the Eighth Great Collapse." "[serious]Then… won't this Hero save everyone again?" Rukia shook her head. "[sad]No. If things continue as they are, the Hero will certainly die. It's fate. And I… I can't stand that." She looked down. Her black hair fell across her pale cheeks. "[sad]My older sister died in battle during the Seventh Great Collapse. I couldn't protect anyone. I couldn't do anything. So this time, I wanted to protect someone. But my strength alone isn't enough to change the Hero's fate." Then she lifted her head and looked straight at Yuuki. So straight it was almost frightening. "[serious]You have a special power. Sleeping within your soul is a power called 'Retrograde'—the ability to rewind time. A maximum of twelve seconds. But those twelve seconds might be enough to overturn the Hero's death." Yuuki stared blankly. "[surprised]Rewind… time?" He was just an ordinary high school student. No special skills. And yet—rewind time? "[scared]Th-there's no way! I don't even know how to fight. Fighting an enemy that strong—there's no way I can—" "[serious]If you don't, the Hero will die." Her tone was sharp. Immediately, Rukia's face showed regret. "[gentle]…I'm sorry. But your power is our only hope." Yuuki closed his mouth. He looked at his clenched left hand. The scar was there. During the accident, the window glass shattered and cut his wrist. It hurt. But what hurt more was that he couldn't do anything. A memory from middle school surfaced. After school on a rainy day. In the corner of the classroom, a classmate was being bullied. His desk kicked over. His textbooks scattered everywhere. The others around him laughed. Yuuki pretended not to see. Because he was scared. Because he didn't want to be bullied himself. In the end, that kid transferred schools. Yuuki did nothing. Couldn't even say a single "Are you okay?" The guilt from that moment still catches in the depths of his heart. (Am I going to do the same thing again?) Knowing someone will die—and pretend not to see? (This time… I can't let them die.) He's scared. The trembling still won't stop. But he looked into Rukia's eyes. That girl who couldn't protect anyone—now desperately trying to protect someone. Those eyes made Yuuki's chest tighten. "[scared]…Alright. I'll do it. Let me try." His voice trembled. A pathetic voice. But he didn't look away. Rukia's eyes widened for an instant. "[surprised]…Are you sure?" "[serious]Yeah. I'm scared, but… I don't want to stand by and watch someone die." Rukia was silent for a moment. Then she nodded deeply. "[gentle]I see. Thank you." A face that looked relieved—and yet somehow apologetic. It was after that. "[sad]There's… something else I need to tell you." Rukia lowered her eyes. "[serious]Retrograde has been a forbidden power in the Soul Society for about four hundred years. If we're caught using it, both you and I will be sentenced to soul eradication." Cold sweat ran down Yuuki's back. "[serious]That's not all. Every time you use Retrograde, your existential intensity—essentially, the strength of your soul—decreases by about three percent. After thirty uses, you will vanish completely. And any possibility of returning to the living world becomes zero." She stared intently at Yuuki's hands. "[scared]So think carefully. Once you hear what I'm about to say, you won't be able to think the same way as before." He swallowed hard. The sound seemed unnaturally loud. Thirty times. My life only has thirty uses left? Every time I rewind time, I move closer to death? (What the hell.) The nausea surged up again. He could feel the blood draining from his face. A hallucination seized him—his own hands gradually turning transparent. The world spun. "[scared]Then… you're telling me to just shut up and die…" His voice was hoarse. Rukia choked on her words. Then, she bowed her head. Deeply. Deeply. "[sad]I'm sorry. Even so… even so, your power is our only hope. There is no other way." Her voice sounded like it was about to break into tears. Yuuki collapsed to his knees. He clenched his fists. But the trembling wouldn't stop. (I'm going to die.) Terrifying. So terrifying he wants to scream. But what happens if he runs? The Hero dies. This girl cries alone again. And he spends his whole life blaming himself for doing nothing. Again. In middle school, he did nothing. This time is different. Yuuki lifted his head. He looked once more at the small Soul Reaper before him. "[scared]…I'll do it. I'll do it." His voice still trembled. "[scared]Disappearing scares me. Dying—I hate it. But… doing nothing, like back then… I hate that even more." Rukia's large eyes opened wide. "[scared]Sorry. I'm not just acting tough. But I've… made my decision." Rukia bit her lip for a moment. Then, for the first time, tears welled up in those violet eyes. "[crying]…You idiot. A real idiot." "[gentle]But thank you. From now on, we'll fight together. I swear I'll protect you until the very end." Yuuki couldn't say anything. He just nodded. Rukia wiped her eyes with her fingers. Small hands. Outside the inn's window, the purple sky slowly deepened its color. In this world, time apparently flows just a little slower than in the living world. The color of an unfamiliar sky. The distant howls of Hollows from the outskirts. This isn't the world of the living. The next time they meet, there will be no returning to that everyday life. But inside Yuuki's chest, alongside the terror, there was a small resolve. (There's no turning back now. But that's fine.) He gently traces the scar on his left wrist. This was the first day. The day he would begin rewriting fate.