The Truth We Fear

The air outside the warehouse was heavy with tension as Dr. Kisaragi led Haruki, Aoi, Renji, and Natsuki through the dimly lit streets.

No one spoke at first, their footsteps echoing against the pavement. The weight of what had just happened still lingered, thick and suffocating.

Haruki glanced sideways at Kisaragi. The scientist walked with a purpose, his expression unreadable. Haruki had never seen him like this before.

Finally, he broke the silence. “Start talking.”

Kisaragi didn’t stop walking. “I will. But not here.”

Renji scoffed. “Seriously? You just saved our asses from some shadow demon, and now you’re acting all cryptic?”

Kisaragi’s eyes flicked to him. “Kain isn’t a demon.”

Aoi frowned. “Then what is he?”

Kisaragi exhaled. “Something worse.”

That sent a chill down Haruki’s spine.

Natsuki’s voice was unusually quiet. “Where are we going?”

Kisaragi stopped in front of a small café—one of those old, forgotten places that seemed frozen in time. The sign above the door read Midnight Coffee.

“Inside,” Kisaragi said, pushing the door open.

The café was empty. No customers, no barista. Just the faint smell of coffee beans and a radio playing a soft jazz tune.

Kisaragi led them to a booth in the back, away from the windows. As they all sat down, Haruki folded his arms. “Alright, talk. Who is Kain, and why does he know my name?”

Kisaragi adjusted his glasses. “Kain is one of the Harbingers.”

Aoi blinked. “Harbingers?”

“The ones who oversee the end of the world.”

Silence.

Renji let out a sharp laugh. “Okay, hold on. Oversee? You’re saying there’s some kind of… organization behind the apocalypse?”

Kisaragi shook his head. “Not exactly. The world’s end is inevitable. Whether it’s a natural disaster, war, or something else, the outcome doesn’t change. The Harbingers don’t cause it. They… ensure it happens as it should.”

Aoi paled. “That’s insane.”

Natsuki’s voice was calm but cold. “Then why was he interested in Haruki?”

Kisaragi hesitated. His gaze settled on Haruki. “Because he’s different.”

Haruki tensed. “What the hell does that mean?”

Kisaragi leaned forward, his tone measured. “You’ve been hearing whispers, haven’t you?”

Haruki’s breath caught. “...How do you know that?”

Kisaragi’s expression darkened. “Because you’re not the first.”

Aoi’s grip on her cup tightened. “Haruki… what is he talking about?”

Haruki exhaled sharply. “I don’t know. Ever since the announcement about the world ending, I’ve been… hearing things. Whispers. My name. Sometimes in my room. Sometimes when I’m alone. I thought I was just losing it.”

Renji muttered, “Well, that’s comforting.”

Kisaragi tapped his fingers against the table. “The whispers aren’t random. They’re a test.”

Haruki narrowed his eyes. “A test for what?”

Kisaragi hesitated. Then, finally, he said, “To see if you’re worthy.”

A cold knot twisted in Haruki’s stomach. “Worthy of what?”

Kisaragi’s next words sent a shiver down his spine.

“To become a Harbinger.”

The table fell into stunned silence.

Aoi was the first to react. “Wait, wait—what? Are you saying Kain wants Haruki to join them?!”

Kisaragi nodded. “Exactly.”

Haruki’s throat felt dry. “Why me?”

Kisaragi studied him. “Because you’re different. The Harbingers seek out those who stand on the edge—those who neither fully embrace hope nor succumb to despair. Those who understand the inevitability of the end.”

Haruki clenched his fists. “That’s bullshit.”

Kisaragi didn’t blink. “Is it?”

Renji leaned back, arms crossed. “Alright, let’s say we believe this insane story. What happens if Haruki refuses?”

Kisaragi’s gaze darkened. “Then they’ll break him until he accepts.”

Aoi’s breath hitched. “That’s…”

Haruki gritted his teeth. “And if I still refuse?”

Kisaragi exhaled. “Then they’ll kill you.”

The weight of those words settled over the table like a thick fog.

Aoi’s voice trembled. “There has to be another way.”

Kisaragi shook his head. “The Harbingers don’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

Renji scowled. “So what? Haruki just gives up and joins the apocalypse club?”

Haruki leaned forward. “If Kain is trying to recruit me, why didn’t he just do it tonight?”

Kisaragi’s fingers tapped against the table. “Because he’s watching. Testing you. He wants to see what you’ll do when you realize there’s no escape.”

Haruki exhaled. “So what can I do?”

Kisaragi was quiet for a moment before finally saying, “You fight.”

Renji smirked. “Now we’re talking.”

Aoi looked worried. “Fight how?”

Kisaragi’s voice was firm. “The Harbingers operate in shadows, but they are not invincible. There are others who oppose them—people who refuse to accept fate as it is written. I’ve been looking for them.”

Haruki narrowed his eyes. “And you want me to join them instead?”

Kisaragi nodded. “You have a choice, Haruki. You can accept Kain’s offer, become part of the end… or you can fight to defy it.”

Silence stretched between them.

Haruki could feel everyone’s eyes on him, waiting for his answer.

His mind raced. Everything about this was insane. The idea of Harbingers, the whispers, the apocalypse being orchestrated—it was too much.

And yet…

The memory of Kain’s ember-like eyes flashed in his mind. The way he had spoken, so confident, so certain.

"I wonder… what will you do when you realize that hope is a lie?"

Haruki exhaled.

Then he looked Kisaragi dead in the eye.

“…I’m not going to let some self-proclaimed end-of-the-world overseer decide how I live.”

Aoi’s breath hitched. Renji grinned. Natsuki watched him carefully.

Kisaragi nodded, as if he had expected that answer. “Then we don’t have much time.”

Haruki leaned back. “Where do we start?”

Kisaragi’s gaze sharpened.

“We find the others.”

That night, as Haruki lay in bed, he felt the weight of everything crash over him.

His phone buzzed. Aoi.

[Aoi: Are you okay?]

He hesitated, then typed back.

[Haruki: No.]

A moment later, her reply came.

[Aoi: …Me neither.]

He exhaled.

Then, just as he was about to put his phone down—

A whisper.

"Haruki…"

His blood ran cold.

Slowly, he turned his head.

At the foot of his bed, barely visible in the darkness—

Kain.

Smiling.

“I’ll be seeing you soon.”

The whisper lingered as the shadows swallowed him whole.

Haruki sat frozen in place, heart pounding.

He wasn’t imagining things anymore.

This was real.

And it was only just beginning.