Ekans_Kumar

In the isolated coastal town of Kurohane, eerie spiral patterns begin appearing everywhere—on walls, in trees, even in people’s reflections. When Renji Kisaragi, a skeptical high school journalist, returns home after hearing about his brother Shun’s sudden and mysterious death, he finds himself trapped in a nightmarish time loop.

Every time he dies, time rewinds—resetting two days earlier. But with each reset, reality twists further: people disappear, time fractures, and his own body begins to change. As he searches for the cause, he discovers his estranged father, Kaoru Kisaragi, may have been the one who triggered the loop.

Aided by his childhood friend Aoi Tsukimura, who holds secrets of her own, Renji must uncover the mystery of The Spiral Gate before it consumes everything. But some truths are worse than death. And the entity behind the spirals does not want to be stopped.

Renji must make an impossible choice: sacrifice himself to break the loop—or risk losing his humanity to escape.

The Spiral Gate

The air crackled with unseen energy.

The Watchers moved without sound, their blank faces unreadable, their forms flickering like distorted shadows.

Renji's pulse thundered in his ears.

Aoi's hand glowed with the spiral symbol. She stepped forward, her voice firm.

"There's only one way out of this, Renji," she said. "We have to fight."

The spirals… the messages… the warnings from himself.

Everything had led to this moment.

He wasn't going to let them erase him.

Aoi reacted instantly—slamming her palm to the ground.

A wave of unseen force erupted from the ground, sending the creature flying backward.

Renji barely had time to react before another Watcher appeared behind him.

Its hand shot forward, reaching for his face.

Renji's instincts screamed at him to dodge—

The spiral in his eye glowed fiercely.

And before he even moved—the air warped.

A pulse of energy exploded outward.

The Watcher froze mid-motion—then shattered like glass.

Aoi turned to him, her eyes wide. "Renji… you—"

But before she could finish, three more Watchers rushed them at once.

Aoi threw up a barrier, barely stopping the creatures from reaching them.

If the spirals were connected to him… then he would use them.

The spiral in his eye burned hotter, spinning faster.

The moment the barrier cracked—Renji moved.

With a single motion, he extended his hand—

The Watchers let out distorted shrieks as their bodies warped and collapsed into spirals.

Aoi stared at him in shock. "…Renji."

The mist around them rippled violently.

But something far worse was coming.

Aoi grabbed his wrist. "We have to go—now!"

When Renji's vision cleared, he was somewhere new.

A long, endless hallway stretched in front of him.

Strange symbols lined the walls. The air felt thick—as if the very fabric of reality was warped here.

"This is it," she murmured. "The space between the loops."

This was the place where everything had started.

And this was where he would find the truth.

A familiar, cold voice echoed through the hallway.

> You should not have come this far.

At the end of the hallway, a figure stepped out from the shadows.

Because standing in front of him—

The Fight for Reality