"Some gods test faith. Others test love."
Scene 1 – Home Again... For Now
May 9, 2011 – 10:32 PM – Tokyo, Shibuya Ward
The Hoshino home had settled into a familiar warmth. A fragile peace.
Ai had drifted into sleep on the couch, her arms loosely wrapped around Ruby, who nestled against her chest like a child clinging to the last remnants of a dream. Aqua sat at the kitchen table, his pencil dancing across the page, sketching out a storyboard—his mind lost in the quiet hum of creation. Happy perched on the windowsill, his tiny paws faintly glowing in the moonlight as he watched the stars flicker like distant whispers.
Souta stood alone in the hallway, barefoot on the cool wooden floor. His heart felt heavier than he cared to admit.
"Eight more days."
The words barely escaped his lips before Aqua, eyes still on his work, responded.
"Before what?"
Souta hesitated, then crossed the room and leaned into his older brother's shoulder, seeking something—reassurance, maybe.
"Until the choice." His voice was quiet, brittle. "Until one of us disappears."
For the first time that night, Aqua looked up.
"What are you talking about?"
Souta swallowed hard.
"The gods never let love go unchecked," he murmured. "They want one of us… erased."
Scene 2 – The Premonition
May 10, 2011 – 3:00 AM – Somewhere Between Dreams and Death
Ruby stirred.
Something was off.
She felt weightless, suspended between sleep and waking. Then—a voice.
"Tendouji Sarina."
She opened her eyes—and froze.
The hospital gown. The sterile touch of fabric against her skin. The endless fog stretching in all directions, flecked with distant starlight.
A figure stood before her. A presence more than a being—robed in obsidian light, featureless yet suffocating in its omnipotence.
"You've healed your past," it spoke. "Now we test your future."
Ruby's chest tightened.
"Leave me alone."
"Very well." A pause. "We'll ask another."
The air shifted. Shapes emerged behind the figure—Aqua… Ai… Souta… and—
"HAPPY?!"
Ruby's breath hitched.
Happy stood at the far edge of the fog, small and trembling. Alone.
"Choose one to keep," the god intoned. "Or lose them all."
The weight of the words crashed down on her.
Ruby screamed—
—and woke up, shaking in Ai's arms, sobs ripping through her chest.
Scene 3 – Souta's Hidden Training
May 10, 2011 – 6:13 AM – Outer Reality Layer 2: Between Existence and Choice
Souta stood in a place beyond reason. Beyond structure.
Oceans floated where the sky should be, their waves curling against invisible edges. Trees murmured, their voices not words but timelines—echoes of futures yet unchosen.
He wasn't just training anymore.
He was undoing.
"Rewind the moment before the question was asked."
"Erase the future where someone dies."
"Redefine 'choice' so no one must suffer it."
But every attempt pulled at him, unraveling pieces of himself.
Memories spilled forward—old ones. Bitter ones.
"You don't deserve this family," his past self hissed. "You're just pretending."
"You're lying to them."
The weight of the words sent him to his knees.
"I know," he whispered.
"But I'll lie for them. I'll be weak for them. I'll be anything that keeps them smiling."
"Even if it breaks me."
Scene 4 – Ai's Fear
May 10, 2011 – 10:45 AM – Living Room
Ai watched them.
Ruby, laughing, light in her eyes. Aqua, shaking his head at her antics, cracking one of his rare, deadpan jokes. Souta, stacking oranges in the most precarious tower she'd ever seen.
On the surface, everything was fine.
But beneath—
"They're hiding something."
She rose and walked over, arms crossed.
"Hey." Her voice was casual, but sharp enough to catch their attention. "Tell me the truth. Is something going on?"
The reaction was immediate.
They froze.
Souta opened his mouth—but Aqua cut in first.
"Everything's fine."
Too fast. Too controlled.
Ruby chimed in, too eager.
"Just tired from training!"
Ai's eyes narrowed.
"You know I can see through lies," she murmured. "I made a career out of them."
Souta hesitated. Then, without warning, he hugged her—tight.
"If something ever happened," he whispered, "would you still love me?"
Ai blinked, startled.
"Of course I would."
"Even if I couldn't save you?"
Her heart twisted.
She pulled him closer.
"Souta. I don't need you to save me."
"I just need you to be my son."
Scene 5 – The First Crack
May 10, 2011 – 11:59 PM – One Minute to Midnight
Time froze.
The hands of the wall clock hung still.
Wind outside paused mid-sway.
Ai blinked—expecting movement.
But nothing followed.
Then—
Ruby vanished.
Right in front of Aqua and Souta.
"RUBY!!"
No trace. No residual energy. No power trail. Nothing.
Souta's breath hitched.
"This wasn't supposed to happen!"
He tried to undo—nothing worked.
"Someone's blocking me," he gasped.
Happy hovered beside him, trembling.
"They're rewriting the story…"
"Souta, this is divine-level manipulation. You're not the only one who can bend fate anymore."
The Voice Returns
A voice echoed through their minds—familiar, cold.
"The game begins now."
"Save one."
"Lose the rest."
"Choose."