Chapter 7: A Path

The bus sat idling in front of the rotten house for the third time. The engine’s hum felt like a taunt. Panic was bubbling up in the seats; Yumi was crying, and Kaito was shouting at the driver to "just drive faster."

"It’s a loop," Sora cackled from the back, his eyes dancing with madness. "Go left, go right, go straight—the island always brings you back to the start. You're trapped in the circle!"

"Shut up!" Hiro yelled, but his voice was shaking. He looked at the driver. "Do something! Use the GPS!"

"GPS is dead," the driver said, staring ahead with empty eyes. "We're stuck."

"No, we aren't."

The voice was quiet, but it cut through the panic like a blade. Everyone turned to look at the back of the bus. Rei was standing up. He wasn't shaking anymore. His face was pale, and his eyes were as cold as the sea. He looked like a different man—someone who had seen the end of the world and survived.

He walked down the aisle, his footsteps heavy and rhythmic. He stopped behind the driver and pointed to the dirt path behind them—the direction they had come from when they first arrived in the dark.

"Turn the bus around," Rei said. His voice was flat, devoid of any warmth.

"But Rei," Hana whispered, her eyes wide. "That's the opposite direction. That leads deeper into the forest. We need to go back to the main road."

Rei didn't even look at her. He kept his eyes on the road ahead. "There is no 'back.' We’ve tried to leave three times, and the island corrected us every time. If the island wants us to stay in this circle, we have to break the logic of the circle."

He leaned closer to the driver, his shadow falling over the dashboard. "In law, if a contract is a loop, you don't keep reading it. You tear it up. Turn the bus around. We’re going toward the heart of the island."

The driver hesitated, but when he looked into Rei’s cold, dark eyes, he didn't argue. He slowly shifted the bus into reverse, spun the wheel, and headed toward the dark, purple-leaved forest they had been avoiding all night.

As the bus moved away from the house, Sora stopped laughing. He looked at Rei with a new kind of fear.

The bus groaned as it pushed deeper into the purple woods. The air grew thicker, smelling of ancient dust and sweet, rotting flowers. After an hour and a half of driving into the unknown, a structure finally appeared through the golden haze.

It was a hotel, but it was small and lopsided, built into the side of a cliff. The sign was rusted, hanging by a single chain, but the windows were intact. It looked like a ghost from the 1950s.

"Stop here," Daichi ordered the driver. "Park behind those overgrown trees. We can't let anyone see the bus from the road."

Once the bus was hidden, the boys gathered in the aisle. The atmosphere was different now. Back at the university, Kaito would have led the meeting. But as they looked at Rei—who sat silently with his cracked watch and blood-stained sleeves—no one questioned the plan.

"We need to be defensive," Daichi whispered, gripping a machete he had taken from Sora’s men. "We don't know if the people here are like Sora, or if they are even human."

They split the roles. Kenji, Kaito, and Rei were assigned to stay on the bus. Their job was to guard the injured teacher, the girls, and most importantly, to keep a close eye on Sora.

"If he makes a sound, gag him again," Kaito said, his voice hard. He looked at Rei. "And Rei... if anyone comes near this bus, do what you have to do."

The other boys, led by Daichi and Hiro, armed themselves with the gang's leftover knives and machetes. They stepped off the bus, moving crouched and low through the tall, purple grass toward the hotel entrance.

Inside the bus, the air was tense. Hana and Saki sat near the teacher, watching the boys outside through the tinted glass. Rei sat near the back, right across from Sora.

Sora looked at the hotel through the window and let out a muffled, terrifying whistle. "The 'Red Moon' Hotel," he whispered, his eyes wide. "You kids really have a death wish. You think you can get away with this? My master will find all of you.”

"My master will find all of you," Sora whispered, his voice like a snake. "He will peel the skin from your bones while you're still screaming. You think you’re heroes? You’re just fresh meat."

Yumi began to shake uncontrollably. She huddled closer to Kaito, her eyes fixed on the floor. The "Elite" life she knew—expensive clothes, parties, and law school—felt like it belonged to a different person. Here, she was just a target.

Rei didn't flinch. He leaned forward until his face was inches away from Sora’s. The coldness in Rei's eyes actually made the gang leader stop talking for a second.

"The Gate," Rei said, his voice a low, steady hum. "Where is it? How do we find the way out?"

Sora let out a dry, hacking laugh. "The Gate? You think it’s that easy? If I knew where the Gate was, I’d be in Yokohama right now, spending my money instead of rotting on this cursed rock. But using the magic and robbing others easily isn’t bad. Even if I knew, why would I tell a brat like you? I’d rather see the Master eat your soul."

Rei pulled back, his mind racing. He didn't expect Sora to have the answer, but he needed a starting point.

Clues, Rei thought. We need clues. We need someone who has been here longer than Sora. Someone who hasn't lost their humanity yet.

But then, a darker thought entered his mind. Why would anyone help them? If there are other people trapped on this island, they are probably just as desperate, just as broken, and just as dangerous as Sora’s gang. On the Island of Sins, "help" usually comes with a heavy price.

Rei looked out the window at the "Red Moon" Hotel. Daichi and Hiro were approaching the front door.

Suddenly, the bushes rustled. Kaito raised his metal pipe, and Rei gripped his bat, his knuckles turning white.

"Wait! It’s us!" Hiro’s voice called out.

Daichi and Hiro stepped into the clearing. They weren't running or hiding. In fact, Hiro had a look on his face that Rei hadn't seen since they were back in Tokyo—a genuine, wide smile. They climbed onto the bus, and the tension seemed to melt away instantly.

"Guys, you won't believe it," Hiro panted, leaning against the driver's seat. "We found people. Real people. And they’re... they're actually nice."

"What?" Kenji asked, standing up. "In that creepy hotel?"

Inside the hotel, Daichi, Hana, and Hiro sat at a large wooden table, finally letting their guards down. After the blood and screams of the farmhouse, the soft chairs and the smell of jasmine tea felt like a dream. Even Saki began to smile again, laughing quietly at a joke Hiro made.

"Sir," Daichi said, leaning forward. "We need to know how to get out. Sora—the man we captured—said there’s a Gate. Is that true?"

The owner sighed, his face turning serious. "Sora is a cruel man, but he is right. There is a Gate. But to open it, you need to understand the Sins of the Island. This island doesn't just have magic; it has laws of energy."

He gestured to a dusty map on the wall. "The magic here is tied to your spirit. The red energy did Sora’s men use? That is the 'Sin of Wrath.' It is easy to find but hard to control. To leave, you must find a different kind of power."

Hana watched the owner’s hands as he spoke. "Can anyone learn it? Even us?"

"In time," the owner whispered. "But the island chooses its masters."

While the others were talking and feeling happy, Rei stood by the window, his hand resting on his burned hip. He watched the receptionist—a young woman who moved with a strange, perfect grace. She was too quiet. Her eyes didn't look "kind"; they looked empty, like the glass on his watch.

Why would a hotel stay open in the middle of a monster-filled forest? Rei thought. How do they get food? Why aren't they afraid of Sora’s Master?

The contrast was sharp. On one side of the room, his friends were finally feeling like university students again—hopeful and happy. On the other side, Rei felt like a wolf at a dinner party. He wanted to believe the owner was a good man, but the "Lawyer" in his head told him that every contract has a hidden clause.

"Rei, come sit down!" Hana called out, waving at him. "The owner says there might be a way to heal the teacher!"

"I'll be there in a minute," Rei said.