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

Renji's body twisted through the void.

Darkness swallowed everything—no sky, no ground, just an endless abyss.

He reached out, but his fingers grasped nothing.

"Aoi?!" he shouted. His voice echoed endlessly.

A sudden pull yanked him downward.

Renji hit the ground hard, gasping as pain shot through his body.

He wasn't in the spiraling hallway anymore.

He was lying in the middle of Kurohane's main street. The town looked normal—the neon signs flickered, the distant sound of cicadas filled the air.

It was exactly how he remembered it before everything spiraled out of control.

His left eye still burned. The memory of the Other Renji, of the spirals consuming everything, of the battle against the Watchers—it was all real.

He stood up slowly, scanning his surroundings.

> "It's getting harder to reset, isn't it?"

Standing across from him, near the old train station, was the Other Renji.

Still wearing that empty, knowing smile.

> "Not quite. This is what's left of the loop."

The Other Renji's gaze flickered with amusement.

> "You've broken too much. The cycle can't restart properly anymore."

The Watchers had been trying to erase him—trying to reset him—but it wasn't working.

He was slipping past their control.

"Then all I have to do is break it completely."

The moment he said that, the sky above them split open.

A horrifying spiral vortex twisted into existence.

More than before. Dozens. Hundreds.

Their blank faces turned toward Renji.

His left eye flared, energy surging through him.

The spirals in the sky pulsed, distorting reality itself.

The Watchers lunged—but Renji was ready.

The air around him warped, spirals twisting into existence.

With a single step, he vanished—

Only to reappear behind the first Watcher.

Before it could turn—Renji struck.

The moment his hand touched the creature, its body twisted—unraveling into nothingness.

Renji dodged, spinning through the air, the spirals in his wake ripping through the creatures.

The town around him distorted, warping under the sheer force of their battle.

But no matter how many he destroyed—more kept coming.

The loop was breaking. But so was he.

His vision blurred. His mind ached.

How much longer could he keep this up?

Renji turned—only to see the Other Renji standing untouched.

Renji's fists tightened. "Then tell me. How do I end it?"

Then, slowly—he pointed to the sky.

At the heart of the spiraling vortex above them—

And to reach it—he had to break through.

And with that thought—Renji charged toward the sky.

The Breaking Point