Isayama Tore. I

“The ages of all affected so far don’t seem to follow a clear pattern. Or maybe it’s just me, incapable of making sense of it…” said the small speaker.

I hadn’t seen sunlight in days, nor had I breathed fresh air. A tornado had swept through my room, leaving only silence behind. Katy’s death hadn’t just filled my room with silence; it had drained it of all its color.

I just want this to end quickly… Why did you leave me...?

In the dark, I watched videos on loop—progress on the case and memories of my dates with Katy. My head throbbed, as if it could no longer discern reality from fiction.

The more recent the video, the clearer my deterioration became, culminating in the gaunt ghost now slumped in my chair. That ghost named Isayama Tore.

I could hardly remember the faces of those who had left me behind. All I knew was that I missed her.

How much longer until I die? Am I also infected with the virus from the videos?

I extended my finger, letting it pierce the phantom screen. On the other side, in the corner of the desk, rested Katy’s wrist hologram. I stared at it for a few seconds.

I hadn’t dared to touch it.

“Do you remember, Katy, the day we went to the aquarium? You were fascinated by how the seals and sea lions were fed,” murmured the hologram with a faint laugh.

The videos played automatically.

In silence, I observed my trembling arms, covered in overlapping scribbles and inscriptions in various colors. I couldn’t remember when I’d written them or why.

If I truly had written them, they should have been useful notes. But why they overlapped like that remained a complete mystery.

Suddenly, I burst into laughter.

The absurdity of clinging to false hope or even trying to survive felt unbearably amusing.

“No matter how confusing this video sounds, Isayama, don’t forget that you loved her…”

I laughed uncontrollably, slamming my forehead against the desk, sending the devices on it skittering.

Drones, hippies, Irina…

I couldn’t stop.

My mind had unraveled to such an extent that my past no longer mattered. What little I had left was already gone, and the people of Division 3 barely existed in my head.

I just wanted the end to come quickly.

“Damn you, Touji! Irina! Ilya!” I laughed.

“Let’s now move on to the data analyzed by Yamaguchi-sensei regarding the brand of affected implants,” my past self said in the background.

“You killed Katy, and I can’t fulfill my revenge!”

“According to the observations, the affected had implants from Cellos, Luminous, Cambra, and Ulitex. This simply proves that the weapon targets all implants equally.”

“Huh?”

I paused and rewound the recording, my forehead still pressed against the desk.

“The affected had implants from Cellos, Luminous, Cambra, and Ulitex. This simply proves that the weapon targets all implants equally.”

“Cellos, Luminous, Cambra, and Ulitex. This simply proves that the weapon targets all implants equally,” I repeated over and over.

“Of course… So that’s it…” I slowly lifted my gaze.

With newfound determination, I scoured through the latest grants awarded by the metropolitan government to emerging companies in the past decade.

The list was long, but then I found it—the detail that made everything click.

“Y-yes…”

Even my voice trembled as I tried to stand.

A breakthrough…

I dragged my feet to the door, on the verge of collapse.

“A new implant company… Attacking the competition with Their help…”

At night, the hallways leading to the elevator became my greatest challenge. I couldn’t run more than ten meters without falling.

“Radicals against implants… Of course, that’s it…” The world felt sped up. Blurry. “How did I not realize this before?”

I descended into the metro as fast as I could. My ragged breathing echoed through the tunnel, and my eyes, dulled by so much sorrow, struggled to adjust to the stark white light.

My body felt like nothing but rubble as I jumped into the car, landing face-first on the floor. The lights inside flickered—or maybe it was just me seeing them that way.

“Hold it together, damn it!”

Before I could even find a stable seat in the empty vehicle, I started fiddling with my wrist hologram, knowing that might be my last shot.

On the verge of collapse, someone on the other end picked up.

“Tatsumi!”