A Glimpse into the Past (part 1)

Mochi walked forward through the tall grass, carefully pushing it aside as she looked around, searching for whatever it was she was supposed to find in that place.

It didn’t take long for her to notice that she was no longer alone.

Up ahead she spotted several people. From the way they were dressed—simple, worn clothing—Mochi immediately knew they did not belong to her era. Everything indicated that she was somewhere in the feudal period.

She stopped abruptly.

In front of her was a large group, at least thirty peasants, pushing carts loaded with tools, wood, and sacks. She hesitated for a moment.

Should I approach them and say hello?

Can I even talk to them?

Gathering her courage, she walked toward one of the men and raised her hand.

“H-hello…”

The peasant passed right by her without even looking, as if Mochi didn’t exist.

“Ah…” she murmured. “So they can’t see me…”

Frowning with curiosity, she cautiously extended her hand.

“But can I touch them…?”

Her hand passed through the man’s body without the slightest resistance, as if he were a hologram or an illusion.

“I see…”

Mochi stepped back, watching in silence.

The peasants began cutting down trees, clearing the land, and building. That was when something strange happened: the time within the vision began to accelerate.

Days passed in the blink of an eye. Structures rose one after another, houses took shape, fields were plowed and planted. Mochi watched as the seeds sprouted and grew with remarkable speed.

As she walked among them, she caught fragments of their conversations.

They spoke of fleeing.

Of villages laid to waste.

Of armies, of plunder, of cruelties committed in the name of war.

They were people who had escaped in order to survive.

Suddenly, the flow of time slowed again.

Mochi looked up just in time to see the arrival of a monk. He wore simple robes and walked with calm composure.

“Time slows down when something important happens…” Mochi whispered, beginning to understand the rules of that vision.

As the days passed, a small temple was built in the center of the settlement. There, they consecrated their protective deity.

That night, the entire village gathered.

Torches lit up the square, music echoed through the air, and laughter filled the night. It was a simple festival, but overflowing with life and gratitude.

Curiosity got the better of Mochi.

She moved through the crowd with ease, passing right through people without anyone noticing her presence. Her attention was fixed on the inside of the shrine.

As she drew closer, she finally saw it.

Resting upon the altar was a small statuette, carved with exquisite detail. It had the shape of a cat, made from white hinoki wood, polished with great care.

“How beautiful…”

Mochi was completely mesmerized.

It was, without a doubt, a work of art. But it wasn’t just that—when she looked at it, she felt something strange in her chest. An inexplicable pull, as if the statuette were calling to her.

Or as if, somehow, they already knew each other.

Time began to accelerate again.

The seasons passed without rest. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter followed one another again and again. The small settlement, which had once been barely a handful of houses, grew without stopping.

More people arrived.

More homes were built.

The village prospered.

And everything revolved, silently, around that small shrine.

Life in the village was good.

The fields were fertile and generous; the harvests never failed. No one lacked food or shelter, and hunger seemed like a distant word, almost forgotten. Grateful, the villagers attributed that prosperity to their protective deity and never forgot to offer their worship.

As the village grew, the shrine grew with it.

What had once been a simple wooden structure housing a statuette gradually became a full temple over the years. Monks and mikos served there every day, maintaining the rituals and spiritually guiding the villagers.

However, there was something that deeply troubled Mochi.

She could see and hear everything with perfect clarity… everything except one thing.

The name of the deity.

Every time someone pronounced it, the sound distorted unnaturally, as if interference completely covered it.

“Thank you for everything, crrrrsh-sama…”

“Grant us prosperity, zzzt-sama…”

No matter how carefully she listened, the name never reached her ears.

“Why…?” Mochi whispered uneasily.

But that was not what ultimately sent a chill down her spine.

Among the temple’s mikos, there was a young woman who stood out from all the others.

She was identical to her.

It wasn’t just that they shared the same face: her height, her hair, her gestures… even the way she slightly tilted her head when walking. If they had stood face to face, Mochi would have sworn she was looking into a mirror.

“That can’t be…”

Mochi tried to move closer, eager to observe her more carefully, to discover who that girl really was… but she didn’t have time.

The village’s peace came to an abrupt end.

That night, silence took hold of the place.

There was no music, no laughter, no light coming from the temple. Only the sound of the wind moving through the trees.

Then, from within the forest, shadows emerged.

A large group of people appeared from the darkness. They wore worn armor, torn and stained clothes. Their weapons were chipped and rusted.

They were defeated soldiers.

Deserters.

Men who, after losing the war, had also lost any trace of their humanity.

The plundering began without warning.

The doors of houses were kicked open. Screams erupted into the night. Mochi didn’t dare look inside the homes, but the crying, the desperate pleas, and the muffled sounds of blows made it clear what was happening.

“Please!”

“No, don’t come in!”

“Help…!”

People were being killed in the streets, run through with swords or beaten to death. Their bodies were left where they fell, like garbage.

Blood ran across the dirt ground, staining it a dark red.

Mochi felt her chest tighten.

“Stop…” she whispered helplessly. “Please…”

In front of her, a woman tried to flee, but she was caught. They grabbed her by the hair and dragged her across the ground as she screamed and struggled, leaving marks behind her.

Mochi turned her gaze away, trembling.

She couldn’t intervene.

She couldn’t shout at them.

She couldn’t save anyone.

She could only watch.

And the village that had once been a refuge of peace turned, in a matter of hours, into a living hell.

                                                                               * * *

Haruka watched both girls in silence.

Miyu was sleeping deeply, her breathing calm and steady. There seemed to be no sign of conflict within her.

Mochi, on the other hand, was the complete opposite.

Her face was tense, her brow tightly furrowed in a grimace of anguish. She moved restlessly on the futon, her fingers twitching and her lips murmuring unintelligible words, trapped in what was undoubtedly a nightmare.

Haruka knelt beside her without making a sound and took Mochi’s hand in hers.

It was the only thing she could do.

“I’m sorry, Mochi…” she whispered. “This is all I can offer you right now.”

She gently squeezed her hand, giving her what little warmth she could.

“Whatever it is that you’re seeing… I know you’ll be able to overcome it. You always do. You constantly exceed my expectations.”

Watching her in that state made doubt creep into Haruka’s chest.

Had it been right to rush everything?

After all, there had been the option of waiting another year, of waiting for the next exam. Giving them time to grow, to become stronger naturally.

But the world did not wait.

The situation across the country had become strange, unsettling. High-rank anomalies had become more active, forcing her to travel constantly to support other OHRA branches that could no longer keep up.

What worried her most was their behavior.

Anomalies that normally kept a low profile, that avoided direct confrontation, were now attacking without hesitation. They were not acting out of arrogance… but out of fear.

As if something were pushing them.

As if they were fleeing from something even worse.

For that reason, she had decided to accelerate the training, even knowing the risks it involved. If Mochi and Miyu managed to pass the exam, they would no longer be rookie agents. They would be able to take part in more complex, more dangerous missions… but ones that would force them to grow stronger quickly.

“The world is about to change…” Haruka murmured, barely audible. “I need you to become strong. To be able to survive on your own.”

Her fingers tightened a little more around Mochi’s hand.

“I won’t always be able to be there to protect you.”

Haruka remained kneeling beside her, never letting go of her hand, as if that small gesture were her way of defying the future that was approaching.