Chapter 34: The Chase Through Time

Ren starts running before he fully understands where he’s going.

The chime from Miyazuma Shrine still echoes in his ears, guiding him like a thread being pulled through the world. He follows it down the stone steps, onto the quiet morning road, and into the heart of the town.

Every few seconds, something shifts.

A blink.

A ripple.

A distortion in the corner of his eye.

The world is no longer stable.

Time itself is breathing.

He stops at the old pedestrian bridge—the one he and Yuki crossed together countless times. The metal railing is humming, vibrating softly.

A faint glow coats the bars.

Ren reaches out.

The moment his fingers touch the metal, the world snaps sideways.

Suddenly he’s seeing the bridge at night, lit only by street lamps. Rain is falling. Yuki stands beside him, holding a broken umbrella and laughing at how pathetic it looks.

The memory breaks apart like shattered glass.

Ren gasps and grabs the railing again to steady himself.

“Okay,” he whispers. “If this is how I find you… I’ll follow every piece.”

He continues down the path, watching for any shift, any flicker.

---

As he passes the closed school gates, the world flickers again.

The brick walls change. Sunlight vanishes. Desks appear.

Yuki is asleep at her desk, cheek pressed against her notebook, hair falling across her face.

He remembers that morning—when she woke up with a start, mumbling something about a dream, and found her passion for photography the same day.

Another flicker.

The image melts away.

Ren steadies his breath and pushes forward.

---

He barely makes it three steps before someone grabs his sleeve.

“Ren! Slow down!”

Haru’s bent over, panting like he just sprinted a marathon.

Mina arrives seconds later, also out of breath. “We—saw you running—like you were being chased—by a ghost!”

Ren shakes them off gently. “I can’t slow down. She’s out there somewhere. I just need to follow—”

Another ripple. A street sign warps, bends backward for a second, then straightens.

Haru stares. “Okay, what in the world was that? Am I still alive?”

Mina nudges him. “You’re fine. And stop screaming.”

They exchange a look, then return their attention to Ren.

“We’re coming with you,” Mina says firmly.

Ren sighs. He wants to argue… but the truth is he needs them.

“Fine. But stay close. Time is—unstable. It reacts to whatever I touch.”

Haru mutters, “Great. We’re chasing ghosts in a collapsing timeline. Love this. Totally normal day.”

But they don’t leave.

---

The next distortion appears near the train tracks.

Wind picks up suddenly, warm and salty.

The asphalt beneath their feet turns into sand for a moment. Ren hears waves crash—loud, too real. Then Yuki’s laugh echoes across the air:

“Ren, you can’t even win in the water. How were you ever married to me?”

He remembers chasing her through the waves.

He remembers loving her smile.

He remembers forgetting how to keep her.

The memory folds back into the real world.

Haru whistles softly. “Dude… this is like watching someone else’s dream. But it’s yours.”

Ren nods, throat tight. “And maybe it’s the only way to reach her.”

---

The next sign pulls them near the old photography shop—the one Yuki adored but closed years later in the original timeline.

The front window glows faintly.

Ren touches it.

A swirl of pictures floods his mind:

Yuki holding a camera for the first time.

Yuki laughing after taking his picture without permission.

Yuki crying because her own dreams felt too small.

Yuki, after the kids were born, taking photos of everything—birthdays, messy mornings, their first steps.

Every image is a reminder of what they lost.

What he let fade.

Mina watches him quietly. “You really loved her, didn’t you?”

Ren’s voice is barely a whisper. “I still do.”

Haru puts a hand on his shoulder. “Then don’t give up. Even time can't beat that.”

Ren almost laughs at Haru giving relationship advice—almost.

Then another pulse hits.

This one is strong enough to shake the pavement.

--

The glow snakes across the road like a silver ribbon, pulling them toward the forest behind Miyazuma Shrine.

Ren breaks into a run.

Haru groans but follows. “Why does every supernatural problem involve running uphill?!”

Mina swats him. “Just run!”

They reach a clearing where the wind dies completely.

No sound.

No birds.

No leaves rustling.

Just a soft, glowing line in the air—like a doorframe without a door.

Ren steps toward it.

His breath shakes.

“Yuki… you’re in there, aren’t you?”

He reaches out.

The moment his fingers brush the light, the world tears open with a sound like a bell dropping underwater.

---

The clearing dissolves into a place that feels like sky and water at the same time.

Light stretches in every direction.

A quiet place between moments.

Ren steps forward—and sees her.

Yuki stands alone in the glow. Not moving. Not speaking. Like she’s frozen in thought.

Her eyes are open, but distant, as if she’s looking through the world instead of at it.

Ren’s voice breaks.

“Yuki!”

She doesn’t turn.

Doesn’t blink.

She looks unreal, almost transparent.

Ren rushes forward but stops inches away—his hand passes through empty air.

He can’t touch her.

His chest tightens painfully.

“Please… look at me,” he whispers.

For a second—one fragile second—her eyelashes tremble.

Her lips move as if she’s trying to speak.

But no sound comes out.

The light around her flickers like unstable film.

Haru and Mina stare from the boundary of the space, unable to enter.

Mina grips Haru’s arm. “Ren’s the only one who can reach her.”

Ren presses his forehead against the invisible barrier separating them.

“Yuki… I’m coming for you. I swear. I’ll fix everything. I’ll say everything I never said.”

Another pulse shakes the space.

Yuki’s form flickers—and fades.

“Yuki!”

Ren lunges forward, but the space collapses like shards of glass falling in reverse.

Just before she disappears completely, he hears her voice:

Faint.

Broken.

Distant.

“Ren… find me.”

Darkness swallows the light.

And Ren is thrown back into the forest, gasping, shaking, heart torn open—but more determined than ever.