59: Bird’s-Eye View

This world felt too perfect.
The balance of the sun and moon, gravity and distance… everything was tuned just right.
It wasn’t by chance. I could feel it—some kind of will was at work here.
People often say that only gods can manipulate such things, but I don’t believe that.
In the end, everything is built by individual desires—by the strength of someone’s will.

“Tom… you’re there, aren’t you?”

Rena smiled gently as she spoke in my direction—though she shouldn’t have been able to see me.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t physically interact with anything here.
This place was born from my imagination—a story made of images.
Just like an author who can’t directly interfere with the characters once the tale begins, I had to respect their will.

I tore a page from the old book I’d brought from the mirror world, just to test something.
I could write on it with my pen.
So I scribbled down what I needed her to know, then handed it to her.
Or at least… I tried.
Would it really work?

“…Huh? What is this?
A piece of paper…? It just popped out of nowhere…!”

Of course she was confused.

—Rena, I need your help. The world you’re in feels real to you, but for me, it’s only a world of imagination.—

“Wha—huh? What the heck is this!?
Tom! What are you even talking about!?”

Yeah… I might’ve cheated just a little.
Still, if this was truly the world I hoped it was, then some flexibility should be allowed.
If I couldn’t interfere from my side, then the only option left was for her to take action.
If Rena could move of her own will, maybe that would be enough to shift the laws of this world.

“Is this okay…? I did exactly what you said,” I murmured, mostly to myself.

“That’s fine. It’s the furthest I can go without shaking the system.
I gave her the best hint I could.
Now it’s up to her—up to Rena.”

Thanks to the book, I was able to stay connected with the mirror world.
In my mind, I kept a quiet link with the black-cloaked version of Rena.
I was preparing to make this imagined world real.
Once everything was locked into my memory, the plan would be complete.

“Big sis! Look! Isn’t this cool!?”

My younger self came running toward Rena, hiding something in his hands, his voice full of excitement.
He opened his hands just enough for her to see, but I was too far away to make it out.

“Tom! Not that again! You know I don’t like it!” Little Rena backed away, flailing her arms and shouting.

“What is that…? It’s not… a frog, is it?
No—wait… that color…”

Rena leaned in slightly, peering at it with a mix of fear and curiosity.
I stepped closer, intrigued.

“Isn’t it awesome!? It’s a golden frog!
It just showed up, hopping around all lively—
…Ah! It got away!”

The frog leapt toward the pond and disappeared beneath the surface, leaving only a gentle ripple behind.
From above, I watched the whole thing, following it with a bird’s-eye view.
I could almost feel my own breath, I was so immersed.
Then, without warning, a signal pulsed in my mind—an access point from the Eternal Mirror.
And I heard her voice again.

“Tom Hawthorne.
If you sense anything unusual in the water… you must be ready.”

A chill ran down my spine.
And then—I saw it.
The ripples in the water stilled completely.

“The ripples… they stopped?
From when the frog jumped in?
No—wait… it’s like… like the water’s playing in reverse!”

The surface began to shrink inward, unnaturally.
Something began to take shape in its center.

From my elevated view, I looked straight down into the pond…
and what I saw confirmed my deepest fear.

From up here, I could see everything… but part of me wished I couldn’t.
Beneath the water, a shadow was rising—
not swimming, not floating, just rising.

As if something long buried was clawing its way back into the world of the living—
trying to tear its way into the world I had imagined.
A figure slowly emerged, lying face-up.

His eyes—cold and unfeeling.
That face… unmistakable.
Even as he rose to the surface, his expression never changed.
Calm. Absolute. Overwhelming.

Slicked-back black hair. A pitch-black suit.
That familiar, malevolent face burned itself into my mind.

“Th-that’s… Dan!!”

Just like Rena said—I had to be ready.
Before Dan could unleash his power, I shouted with everything I had.
Even though I knew my voice wouldn’t reach them.

“Rena!!
Take everyone and run—now!!”

The water around Dan shimmered strangely—liquid and solid at the same time.
And as it twisted like fractured glass, countless cracks began to form across the surface.

Just like a broken mirror.