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 Cathedral of the Spiral stood silent. No longer groaning with time's burden, no longer alive with memory loops, it had become… still. For the first time since Renji arrived in this nightmare cycle, he heard nothing but his own breath.

The engine at the center had darkened, its once-living mirrors cracked and faded like soot after fire.

Renji stood alone, the final shard of the forgotten girl's heart glowing faintly in his chest.

But even in victory, he felt… empty.

He stepped out of the Spiral Cathedral, back onto the glass-like bridge of timelines. Where once twisted memories played endlessly, only silence remained. The time streams had gone still—like quiet lakes after a storm.

He didn't see loops or pain. He saw his real life, unfolding naturally:

Aoi standing at the school gate, looking at the horizon.

Kuro alone in the gym, head down, writing something in his journal.

His parents in separate rooms… both crying.

It wasn't perfect. But it was real.

And that was what he'd fought for.

As Renji walked, the bridge behind him vanished—disintegrating into particles.

A familiar voice echoed from the wind: "Are you ready to go home?"

But she wasn't a ghost or a memory anymore. She appeared beside him, smiling gently, wearing her old school uniform. She looked… peaceful.

> "You did it," she said. "You faced it all. You freed me—and everyone else."

Renji lowered his head, ashamed. "I couldn't save you."

She shook her head. "I didn't need saving. I just needed someone to carry the truth forward. You did that."

She pointed behind her, to a glowing door floating at the edge of the bridge.

Emiko gave a sad, sweet smile. "Not all of it. But enough."

She stepped back, fading with the light.

> "Tell Aoi I forgive her. And Kuro… tell him to stop hiding."

The light faded—and so did the sound.

When Renji opened his eyes, he was back in his bedroom. The spiral mark on his arm had vanished.

The mirror in the corner no longer pulsed.

His clock ticked forward. Just once.

He was finally back in a world where time moved only one way.

Stillness After Storm