Takeshi sat up in bed.
His heart was still beating fast—even though the dream had ended, it didn't feel over.
The morning light came through his window, soft and warm. Birds chirped outside. His school uniform hung by the door.
But his eyes weren't on any of that.
They were locked on the mirror.
There it was.
A thin, glowing line floating in the air.
Blue.
Still.
Right behind him.
---
He stood slowly and turned around.
Nothing.
No line in the air.
But when he looked back at the mirror—it was still there.
A perfect vertical line.
Floating like someone had drawn a crack in space.
> "What… is that?"
He stepped closer.
The line didn't move.
Didn't flicker.
Just floated, quiet and cold.
Takeshi raised a finger.
And touched the glass.
---
His fingertip passed through.
Like dipping into water.
But there was no splash.
Only cold.
A deep kind of cold. Like it came from far away.
Suddenly, a sharp buzz hit the back of his head.
He stepped back, gasping.
---
> "This isn't normal," he whispered.
He pulled out his phone and took a picture—but the camera showed nothing.
Just his room.
Just his reflection.
---
Downstairs, he heard his mom call.
> "Takeshi! You'll be late!"
He looked at the mirror again.
The line was still there.
But somehow, it felt like it was… waiting.
Like it knew he'd be back.
---
At school, things felt off.
Not loud. Not wrong.
Just off.
People talked, laughed, messed around.
But their voices felt far away.
Asami walked past him in the hallway. She glanced at him.
Just for a second.
Then looked away.
But in that second, Takeshi saw her eyes flick to the side of his head.
Exactly where the line floated.
She saw something.
---
At lunch, he sat alone.
Until someone slid into the seat across from him.
Rei.
Smiling like nothing had happened.
> "How was your night?"
> "You already know."
> "Maybe," Rei said. "But I wanna hear you say it."
Takeshi leaned in.
> "The crack followed me."
Rei's smile faded.
> "You saw it?"
> "In the mirror."
> "Did you touch it?"
Takeshi didn't answer.
Rei closed his eyes.
> "Don't touch it again."
> "Why?"
> "Because if it opens here... Nehvarra won't be the only world in danger."
---
Takeshi looked around.
Students. Laughter. Food trays clinking.
But all of it felt fake now.
Thin.
Like a curtain hiding something big behind it.
The line hadn't moved.
But it was still there.
Waiting.
---
End of Chapter 17.