Prologue: "The Monster Behind the Mirror"

> “Daddy will come home before your candles melt, okay?”

That was the last thing I said to her.

---

The silence in this room is so thick I can hear the blood inside my ears.

I count the seconds by the flickering bulb above me, its hum is the only lullaby I know anymore.

There is no sun. No stars. Just four walls and the bitter taste of memories.

I think… I died long ago.

What crawled out of my old skin is not a man—just something hollow, breathing, and waiting. A thing.

It has been one thousand, eight hundred and twenty-five days.

Five years since someone took me away.

From my life.

From my daughter’s 7th birthday.

From my wife’s warm hand.

I screamed until my throat bled. I kicked and clawed until my nails peeled.

Nothing answered. Nothing changed.

Except me.

Now I sit in front of this mirror, staring at my own reflection as if he's a stranger.

> “Who are you?” I whisper.

But he doesn’t respond.

Because monsters don’t talk. They just watch.

And I have become one.

---

I imagine her face every night before I sleep—

My little girl, blowing out candles.

Did she wait for me that day?

Did she cry?

Does she think I abandoned her?

...Or are they dead?

---

They send me the same food every day. Same tray. Same flavorless soup.

But one day, the tray had something else.

A pen. A notebook. A TV.

Perhaps a joke. Or pity.

I don’t know.

But I began writing.

> “My name is Rei Kirishima.

I am a police detective.

I am 34.

I don’t know who did this to me.

But I will find you.

And when I do—

I will look you in the eyes.

And ask you why.”

And then maybe I’ll tear you apart.

Or maybe I’ll cry.

Because I am no longer sure what I want more—revenge or redemption.

I started learning from the television.

Karate. Languages. History. Anatomy.

I filled my notebook with diagrams and timelines, keeping my mind alive while my soul rotted.

I planned to escape.

Dug at the corners of my wall. Sharpened my fork into a weapon.

But on the day I finally decided to break out...

They let me go.

Just like that.

---

I woke up inside a suitcase.

Left on a rooftop.

When I opened it, the first thing I saw wasn’t the sky.

It was the sunlight reflecting off a mirror.

And for a second, I thought I was still dreaming.

Because that mirror showed a man with sunken eyes, long hair, pale skin.

A monster.

That’s me now.

Rei Kirishima:

A man with no past.

No answers.

Only questions—and blood in his mouth.

---

But I will find the truth.

Even if it kills me.

Even if I have to become the monster I once swore to fight.

Because someone out there destroyed my life.

And if I don’t find them soon…

> I’ll forget who I was entirely.

---

To my daughter,

If you're reading this one day...

I’m sorry. I couldn’t protect you. I couldn’t protect mom.

But I will uncover everything. And if I’m too late—

Please don’t remember me as a monster.

Just remember me as the man who never stopped loving you.

- Rei Kirishima