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

Morning light streamed through Renji's bedroom window, warm and golden, not twisted or fractured like the spiraled reflections he'd grown used to. He lay still for a moment, eyes open, listening to the soft hum of normalcy—cars outside, birdsong, the neighbor's dog barking at nothing in particular.

No rewinds. No resets. Just… now.

He sat up slowly, half-expecting the day to collapse in on itself.

The world had moved on, and so had time.

The first days were strange. Too still.

At school, Renji saw Aoi from across the courtyard. She was laughing with classmates, her bandage finally gone. When she noticed him, she hesitated—just for a breath—then smiled, tentative but real.

Kuro sat alone in the back of class again, scribbling in his notebook. He didn't look up much. But something about him was different. Softer. As if he'd found a thread of calm in the chaos.

Renji passed by the mirror in the hallway… and saw only himself.

No shadows. No whispers. Just him.

He remembered some things—shadows of what he'd seen.

The pain of others… the ones whose loops he'd witnessed and carried.

But the details blurred each morning.

Only one thing stayed sharp: the feeling.

The weight of truth. The responsibility of choice. And the joy of freedom.

That night, Renji sat at his desk and wrote letters.

One to his past self—promising he wouldn't run anymore.

And one he never expected—to the girl in the Spiral, the original looper.

> "You were never evil. Just lost. I understand now. I hope wherever you are, you're finally free."

He folded the letters and tucked them away in a drawer.

Some things didn't need to be sent to be heard.

A few days later, Aoi found him on the rooftop—their old spot.

She sat beside him in silence for a while, then finally asked, "Do you ever feel like… something big happened, and we're just trying to catch up?"

She smiled faintly. "But at least we're catching up together, right?"

He looked at her, really looked, and for once, didn't see guilt behind her eyes.

That night, as Renji lay in bed, the final shard in his chest pulsed gently.

Truth creates choice. Choice creates healing. And healing… begins with time.

The Days That Followed