Regression And Discussion (2)

After the conversation at the café, the seven decided to head home for the day.

Reo lived alone. His parents were always away traveling for business. The apartment was small, just enough for one person. Right now, Reo lay on his bed, moonlight spilling through the window and painting his body in a silvery glow.

He stared at the white ceiling. The scent of lavender drifted through the room, calm and comforting. It reminded him of his mother.

"Mom, Dad... I wish I could’ve seen you one last time."

He knew that was impossible, unless he boarded a plane right that second. He had tried calling them—but, as always, no one picked up.

He turned his head towards the window, eyes falling on the beautiful full moon.

‘Primordia had three... It feels strange seeing only one moon.’

Primordia—known as the Primal World—was like a medieval Earth, but with races like dragons, elves, and vampires. Magic existed there too.

Thinking of Primordia, Reo’s expression darkened. The King—his adoptive father—everything had been his fault. The reason he framed the Seven Heroes was simple: they were becoming too famous, worshipped like demi-gods. Their growing influence rivaled the king’s own. So he set his plan in motion, pinning rebellion and mass murder on them—atrocities likely caused by him, or by the Demon Lords he secretly backed.

But none of that mattered right now. Reo knew what needed to be done.

His phone, lying beside him on the bed, lit up and vibrated softly. He picked it up, glancing at the notifications, then unlocked it—his wallpaper showed a lone samurai gripping a sword under a crimson sunset.

He swiped over to the group chat app.

———

Ayaka: Are we skipping school again tomorrow?

Hina: Yeah, I’m planning to read all my webnovels before we get summoned again.

Ren: Hina, that’s not a valid reason. As your class rep, I’m telling on you.

Hina: NO!! Please! Do you know how long it’s been since I binge-read?!

Ayaka: So, are we skipping?

Ren: No.

Hina: Yes.

Ren: No.

➤ Aoi joined the chat

Aoi: Yes.

Ren: Aoi! Don’t just pop in and side with Hina!

Aoi: lol

Hina: LOL

➤ Itsuki joined the chat

➤ Itsuki left the chat

Ayaka: Why did Itsuki just leave?

Ren: Probably has better things to do? He's been acting weird lately. Anyway, wasn’t today... strange?

Hina: Yeah. It was scary.

[Swipe to view further messages...]

———

Reo turned off his phone without scrolling further and set it on the desk beside him. As Hina said—it was scary. For everyone. Himself included. Was it a language barrier? Or maybe something entirely different?

Thinking about it wouldn’t give him an answer. Some things simply defied logic.

Reo turned to his side, closed his eyes, and slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

***

A few hours earlier, inside the café—

"Reo, repeat what you just said." Itsuki’s frown deepened with confusion.

Everyone turned to Reo as he repeated himself calmly, “It wasn’t a human but a [STATIC ] that sent us back in time.”

The other six froze as a sudden chill crawled up their spines. When Reo uttered a certain word, a static noise distorted it—yet, somehow, even though they couldn’t hear it, dread gripped their hearts.

Hina quickly rummaged through her bag, pulling out paper and a pen. “Here. Write it down.”

Confused, Reo did as she asked. He scribbled the word—

—but as the others leaned closer, they squinted. They couldn’t see it. Their eyes blurred the moment they tried to focus, as if reality itself forbade them.

"What’s happening...?" Yui rubbed her eyes, tears welling up.

Reo scanned their pale faces, anxiety building in his chest. “What’s wrong?”

Hina’s voice trembled, “There’s a word... we can’t read it. It’s like—”

"—like we’re not allowed to see it," Itsuki finished grimly.

Ayaka picked up the paper, bringing it closer, eyes straining. “The more I stare, the more my vision goes blurry...”

Yui gently pulled Aoi close as she clung to her arm. Aoi shivered and hissed out, “That’s not even the worst part! Don’t you feel it? Like something’s watching us... breathing down our necks...?”

Everyone nodded. Except Reo. He felt something was off—but nothing like what the others described.

Reo clapped his hands sharply, snapping them back to focus. “Forget about that word for now. We need to focus on the real problem.”

He turned to Itsuki, who sat with arms crossed, glasses catching the café’s warm light. Lost in thought.

"The summoning... the being that summoned us—let’s call it the ‘Summoner’ for now. What if it remembers everything too?"

Hina crossed her legs as she sat back down. “That’s... possible.”

"Wait! Then doesn’t that mean we might not get summoned at all?" Ayaka exclaimed.

"No. That’s unlikely," Hina cut in. “Don’t you remember what the Summoner said when Reo asked why it chose us?”

"That our souls were the only ones it could summon at the time," Ren recalled.

Hina nodded. “Exactly. We weren’t chosen. It had no choice. And that won’t change, even now.”

It made sense—somehow, the seven of them were compatible with the ritual. The reason? Still unknown. But it was one burden less—for now.

Then Itsuki spoke, calmly but with an unsettling edge, “Everyone.” His fingers adjusted his glasses as his eyes gleamed. “I think... we should kill the Summoner.”

Gasps filled the café. Eyes widened. Questions formed on trembling lips.

Ayaka leapt up, voice shaking. “N-No! That’s insane!”

"Y-Yeah..." Ren stammered.

Yui just clung tighter to Aoi’s sleeve. Aoi gently stroked her hair, eyes narrowed in thought.

Meanwhile, Reo and Hina weighed the impossible idea in silence—Reo wondering if it was right, Hina thinking of the countless consequences.

Itsuki, however, was certain. He slammed his hands on the table, rattling the cups. “This is our only chance! Do you know how it felt to lose everything I built... to die like that?!”

Aoi’s voice rose to meet his. “We know! We’ve all lost something! Even I lost—” She bit her lip, swallowing the rest.

"E-Everyone, please, calm down. Fighting won’t help," Ren interjected, trying to ease the tension.

Itsuki exhaled harshly and sat back down. “I’m sorry for yelling.”

"Me too," Aoi murmured.

Silence fell like a blanket until Reo spoke, eyes serious. “So, Itsuki. Your plan is to kill the Summoner. But how?”

"And what if it backfires? A butterfly effect could ruin everything," Hina added quietly.

Itsuki clenched his hands. “Remember how it used its own blood to draw the summoning circle?”

"Yeah! And that’s when Ayaka made that terrible joke!" Yui piped up, a mischievous grin flickering.

Ayaka’s cheeks flushed bright red. “T-There was no need to bring that up!”

Laughter bubbled up—thin but enough to break the dread, if only for a moment.

Itsuki pressed on, “That means it can be hurt if it can bleed.”

"But we don’t have weapons," Ren pointed out.

A confident smile curled on Itsuki’s lips. “I have connections. I can get weapons—guns, knives... even a rocket launcher if needed.”

Ren gawked. “Haha... that’s a joke, right?”

Itsuki just pushed up his glasses. That was answer enough.

"We know how to fight. Our experience is real. I think this plan can work," Itsuki said, ignoring Ren’s stunned expression.

Finally, his eyes fixed on Reo. “But the final decision is yours—Captain.”

All eyes locked on Reo—waiting, hoping, fearing.

Reo shut his eyes, taking a slow breath. When he opened them again, they burned with unwavering resolve.

"We’ll kill the Summoner."