Prologue

It may be a selfish thing to hold on to you, but I will never let go of you even if it kills me...

What? Why do I hear the voice of a boy as if he is whispering to me? There is a trace of sadness in his voice.

selfish thing...
never let go...
last thing...
villain...

He continues to whisper. I feel confused while hearing that voice.

As I tried to open my eyes, I immediately felt like I was electrocuted. My vision was still a bit blurry.

W-What?! This surprised me to realize my current situation while sleeping. What is happening to me? Why can't I leave this post?

I moved my body, but something hit my hand. A glass? I looked around and observed my surroundings.

N-No! Why am I even here?

"Whaaaa!" I panicked.

I am inside a capsule-like thing made of thick transparent glass, while sleeping in a standing position. It is big and wide enough to fit a person. It seems to me I’m floating in... space? I can see the bluish-dark surroundings illuminated with brilliant white dots. As I looked to my right, there seemed to be a Milky Way.

This is impossible!

I slapped myself on whether it was just a dream or not, but I was hurt, indicating that all of this was real. I tremble while hitting and punching the glass. I took a deep breath to calm down. What surprised me even more was when I saw other people around me. There are a lot of us forming a big circle.

I counted how many of us were here. 1 ... 5 ... 9 ... 13 ... 17 ... 20 ... 23 ... plus me, 24.

***

"Congratulations to all junior high completers," our principal continued to speak.

All 4th years in junior high school are gathered here in the school’s gymnasium. I am sitting wearing my usual school uniform while holding my certificate proving that I graduated from junior high school. I promise I will make a name for this school—a memory that will last long. I wish to be recognized in drawing. It's kind of embarrassing, but I’m still writing an ongoing story and making it into comics. I’ve no idea why I’m suddenly interested in writing. And the title of the story for the comics I am making is... Oh, what was it again?

"Let's take a picture!" I heard a woman's voice that brought me back to my senses. She looks like she is in her mid-40s. I saw her looking at seemed to be calling me because she was smiling at me.

Who is she?

"Say, cheese!" beamed a boy who looked just a little older than me and was holding a phone for a group picture of us three. He’s with the woman earlier.

"My turn!" he said and immediately stood next to me. "I'm proud of you. How fast time flies, huh? It felt like it was yesterday I was studying here and was this school’s former athlete. Now, look at you! But you still have two more years to go before college, haha!" he said excitedly.

I did not understand what he was saying, so I frowned and just looked at the camera again.

After the picture, some students were looking at me and seemed to be calling me.

"Come on, let's take a picture of our class at the gazebo!" a certain boy wearing a uniform called out.

To my recollection, he is my classmate. Apart from the fact that he said we would take a picture of our class section, it looks like he is.

I followed my classmates who were shouting and talking. I noticed a girl approach me; I knew her. She is Ella, my classmate. We are not that close at school. But what I wonder is, why do I remember her and my boy classmate who invited us to take a class picture, but I can't remember the previous woman and boy who took a picture with me, as well as the title of the comic I am making?

"Hey! You okay? Anyway, I’m excited to celebrate this day!" I was approached by a pretty girl who has curly, short hair. I do not remember her.

"Where are we after? Mall or food trip?" a girl with brown eyes, a ponytail, and eyeglasses asked us. I also don’t know her.

"Let's do arcade first!" A boy approached the three of us with braces, messy hair, and an undone button on his polo.

“Who are you, guys?” I questioned the three of them.

They paused chatting for a moment and looked confusedly at me. “Stop pulling your pranks on us, hahaha!” The girl with curly hair laughed.

They just kept talking, and I was shaking with confusion. Did I just have a short-term memory loss? Or amnesia? Did I encounter an accident and have brain damage? It seems that I have a selective memory of specific people and events only.

I walked away from the three until I bumped into someone.

"Sorry," Then I bent my head down as my way of saying a sincere apology. I raised my head to look at the one I bumped into.

He smiled at me but immediately changed his expression. His brown eyes widened, looking over my head as if he was seeing a ghost. He surprised me when he suddenly pulled me, and we ran away.

"Is there a problem? Who are you?" I questioned him as we continued running, and we stopped at the school garden, which was quite secluded.

He frowned at me. I was about to speak and ask him who he was and why he did that to me when he suddenly hugged me.

“No, stop!”

He let go and held both my shoulders. He looked into my eyes. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this. This is the only way, and I won't hesitate to do that one thing to save you." He forced a smile, but sadness could be seen in his eyes and tone of speech.

He grabbed my right hand and pulled a necklace out of his pocket. He showed the necklace to me, and his hands rested on mine. "Don't worry, I will protect you," he assured earnestly, staring at me.

“Protect me from what? Am I in some sort of danger?” He closed his eyes and left me speechless. “What's happening? I don’t understand!” he’s strange.

"Ahhh!" I shrieked.

The necklace he was holding suddenly lit up after he threw it on the ground. Its warm light hurt my eyes. I closed my eyes and covered them with my hands.

Slowly, I am feeling weak, like there is electricity flowing through my whole body. My senses are numbing. I completely lost consciousness, and the surroundings darkened.