Ch 1 Past life

In a world far,far away from Earth...

There was a boy.

A boy who knew there was no salvation for weak in this rotten world.

Here,the strong would eat,while the weak were eaten — that was the irrational law of this world.Scavenging for leftovers,begging on the streets,suffering violent abuse,and being forced into crime...Everyday this boy was exploited as slave,His mind had long since been worn down.And yet,the boy still thirsted for something more.

He wanted to live — live and kill some certain people.he'd go as far as to eat dirt to get it done.He clung to that one desire...

The morning sun shone through the window of a dimly lit room,just barely casting light on the interior.The smell of rusty iron permeated every inch of the room.Dead bodies were scattered about the blood soaked floor ; a single sack sat in the corner.It was a sack just big enough to fit a small child —

"Mm! Mm,mmrgh!"

A muffled soun

The morning sun shone through the window of a dimly lit room,just barely casting light on the interior.The smell of the rusty iron permeated every inch of the small room.Dead bodies were scattered about the blood soaked floor;a single sack sat in the corner.It was a sack just big enough to fit a small child—

"Mm! Mm,mmrgh !"

A muffled sound came from inside the squirming sack .The boy's heart thundered in his chest. He held his breath to stop his trembling and approached the sack.Fearfully he untied the drawstring.The sack fell open with a soft sound. Sure enough,there was a young,pretty girl in an elegant priestess dress curled up inside.She had long, azure hair and blue eyes.

Ah ,I knew it.

The boy had known.

In this world ...

There was no salvation.

Chapter 1

Past life

Several years earlier, on a hot summer day in a residential area, the summer sun scorched the spans of asphalt with its rays.

Here, a little boy and a little girl were saying their teary goodbyes.

"Don't leave, please don't leave"! She clung to the boy beside a parked car. Her name was

Kyla, and she was only eight years old at the time.

"Don't cry, Mii Chan" the little boy said. "We will meet again, okay?" He added,

Trying to reassure the sobbing girl."

His name was Kyle and he was 8 years old at the time.

Kyle was about to move far away to a different city with his father; his parents were getting divorced, and he didn't know when he'd see_Kyla again, as he and his father had no plans to return anytime soon. His mother stayed in the area with her younger brother, but they had already ended the lease for their rented apartment.

Kyle's father and Kyla's parents were standing back and watching on with regretful expressions.

"No! I don't want you to go Kyle ! " _Kyla pleaded through her sobs.

Seeing her tears made Kyle want to cry too , but he couldn't.He had to be brave in front

Of Kyla . That's why he continued to act tough ,telling Kyla that it'd be all right and they do see each other again. He wanted her to stop crying... even through he was frustrated and upset himself,and wanted to bawl too.

Kyle loved Kyla ...

And Kyla loved Kyle .

There meeting had been a twist of fate; their parents just happened to move into the same newly built apartment building just happened to lease rooms next to each other ,just happened to have kids born in the same season of the same year.Thanks to that series of events,they somehow ended up as family friends. Kyle and kyla were even named for the same reason.

As both of Kyle's parents worked full time the boy would often end up at kyla's place. Since the two of them had been raised together since they were babies,they were the epitome of what one would call "childhood friends." That was probably why they were naturally drawn to each other before they even knew it themselves.

Though they had no idea of what love meant at the time,they knew they were incredibly precious to each other.It didn't matter whether or not they had a reason or not for falling in love,they just did.

They were plain and simple ,head over heels for one another.

"Kyle ,Kyle please stay with me "

Kyle wanted to do something to stop Kyla's tears. Seeing her sad made him sad too. But Kyla's tears showed no signs of ceasing — she only continued to bawl, leaving Kyle at a complete loss. He felt powerless. What could he do? He couldn't even prevent this farewell with his most beloved childhood friend from happening. With that thought, Kyle clenched his fist.

Kyle was happy simply being together with Kyla, but that wasn't possible for him right now. They were still children, after all. Instead ,he would make it possible one day — one day, he would be next to Kyla walking alongside her forever. That's why he had to convey his feelings to her; it was the only thing he could do in this moment.

"I will come get you when we are bigger ! We will get married!"

Kyle said ,mustering all his courage to make the first and last confession of his life. "That way ... we will always be together, I will always be beside you ,and I can protect you with my life!"

Thump,Thump. He could hear his own racing heartbeat. "Is that okay ?"Kyle asked with a trembling voice.

Kyla had stopped crying at some point ,staring at Kyle's face blankly instead .

" Yes," she answered after a beat, beaming with dazzling bright smile. "Yes I want to marry

Kyle!"

Seeing her smile made Kyle so happy. He vowed to fulfill that promise. No mattr how many years passed ... He would protect it — he would protect her smile. And so, with that promise and a small kiss goodbye, Kyle and Kyla went their seprate ways.

It was a faint and fleeting promise, with no binding power behind it at all. It was an innocent promise,made when they had no idea what the future held... But that promise was wedged firmly into Kyle's chest,continuing to support his life to a nearly foolish degree.

After their sepration,young Kyle pushed head on into moving forward dreaming only of his reunion with Kyla.

He wanted to see her ... but in order to do that,he couldn't afford to stop. As long as he put all of his effort into everything he did, he believed that their reunion would come faster.

He threw himself into his studies and helped with the chores on his family's farm. His strict father even taught him him ancient martial arts to train his mind — which was rare to see nowadays. Thanks to that, Kyle grew into a diligent and honest adult. And his unwavering efforts didn't go unanswered : his father allowed him to enroll in a famous prep school in town where he and Kyla grew up. As a result, Kyle reunited with Kyla in the most shocking way ....

In another twist of fate, the two of them enrolled into the same high school.

Though they were in diffrent classes, the sight of Kyla's name on one of the class lists made him freeze in shock. He froze once more when he saw her.

The sight of Kyla in a school uniform took his breath away.

There was no mistaking her despite the time that had passed — because she had always been precious to him. Dhe was so near, yet so far.

Her silky straight black hair reached all the way down her back. Her facial features were elegant and refined, and her skin was porcelain white. Her height was almost equal to Kyle and her figure was well — balanced and she seemed to be quite lively and graceful person that attracted the gaze of anyone around her.

Kyla had grown into a picture perfect beauty .

Kyle felt his heart skip a beat— he was overwhelmed with joy at seeing his beloved childhood friend again. Yet at the same time, he was dumbstruck... Next to Kyla was a boy that Kyle didn't know. Seeing Kyla chatting intimately with this unknown boy shook Kyle to his core.

He lost the will to talk to Kyla on the day of entrance ceremony. On that Kyle went home deep in thought. It wasn't as if he fully expected their promise to be unconditionally fulfilled upon their reunion... but Kyle's memories with Kyla were special to him. And it was because of those memories that he had been able to come this far without wavering. The thought of Kyla forgetting their promise— the thought of there no longer being a place for Kyle — made him feel as through he had lost his way. They might never be able to return to their past relationship.

Kyla might have someone else she loves... and Kyle may have been the fool for having such dreams. And yet ,even so,Kyle still wanted to talk to Kyla. Tomorrow,he had gather the courage to do so . But then ... Kyla disappeared from Kyle's sight. She was absent for a few days after the entrance ceremony before suddenly dropping out of school completely.

There were several other students who dropped out in a similar fashion to Kyle, which caused quite a bit of a commotion amongst the students. But the school never disclosed any details,citing the protection of personal information. As he was but a helpless student at the time, Kyle could only watch as time passed by with no further hints or leads. He came to resent himself.

Why didn't he speak to Kyla on the day of the entrance ceremony? If he had spoken to Kyla that day,at that moment,the future might have turned out differently. He had no proof, but he couldn't help believing that.

With nothing left in him but regret,Kyle's feelings towards Kyla intensified and grew twisted.

He couldn't give up. He didn't want to give up.

A silent scream of agony reverberated through his body. He'd received romantic confessions from girls before,but the thought of a future with a woman other than Kyla left him with an indescribable guilt. And yet despite his strong feelings,there wasn't a thing he could do to find Kyla. With no path to follow,Kyle became more and more detached from the world around him.

Five years passed since Kyla's disappearance.

Now,in the present day, Kyle was a 21 year old

senior attending a university in the city. But time had stopped for the young man.

He might have been attending university and through he is putting efforts into his studies, but he doesn't show interest in any club activities.Expect his studies at university he had nothing he wanted to do other than a part- time job at the tidy little cafe. He woke up in the morning,went to university,went to work ,and came home — every day was an unchanging, fixed routine. To an onlooker,it might have seemed normal for a university student. But that's all it was. Kyle was wandering aimlessly with no goal, and time continued to pass in the world—until that day.

It was in the middle of summer; just like that summer day when he parted with Kyla, the sun hovered in the clear blue sky and shone down brightly on the asphalt— covered ground. But contrary to the summer weather, Kyle's expression was cold as he boarded the bus near his university campus. As it was still early in the afternoon, there weren't many passengers on board yet. After a few of them had gotten on, then off, there were only three passengers left on board: Kyle, a female university student a primary school- aged boy.

Other than the occasional announcement from the bus' PA system,the rumble of the engine was the only sound that could be heard

as Kyle stared out the window at the passing scenery.

... Hmm?

Kyle suddenly felt someone's eyes fixed on him. At the other end of the gaze was the primary-aged-school little boy.

He's ,...Asahi -san if I recall correctly .

It just so happened that Kyle knew this boy. One time,he'd fallen asleep on his way home and missed his stop. He burst into tears when he realized how lost and Kyle him back to his house. Every now and then they'd end up on the same bus again, with Asahi looking his way. It made an impression on him. This time,Kyle returned the gaze and watched as he panicked and looked away.

.......

Did I do something wrong ....?

Nothing came to mind,obviously. The only time he'd ever spoken to him was the time he'd saved him. He'd taken him to his house and was thanked by his mother,so it was hard to think of any issues.

Was he just imagining it...? He considered asking him directly ,but didn't want to be mistaken and end up coming off like a creep. Afterall people ,were extremely wary of child predators nowadays.

Kyle thought "No matter how you look at it, only a creep would talk to a little boy they barely know on the bus,right?"

Yeah,better not. It was a little bothersome, but Kyle gave up with a small sigh and forced Asahi gaze out of his mind.

"—!"

The bus gave a sudden lurching jerk. Kyle felt a soaring sensation before intense pain rippled throughout his body – he was launched through the air and slammed into roof.

" Gah ,Gah."

Everything hurt. He couldn't breathe.

His body felt hot,like it had been doused in the boiling water. The horribly crused interior of the bus reflected in his darkening vision as his consciousness rapidly slipped away.

D-Did we crash?

Despite his extremely hazy mind,Kyle somehow managed to process that thought. He was aware of his probable death. Everything should have been in pain, Yet he was slowly losing feeling in his body instead. He could tell he was on death's doorstep. With that thought,he was suddenly wracked with fear.

"Nngh... hah"

He mustered the last bit of strength he had to open his mouth, but all escaped was a cough filled with blood.

Ky....laa..

As his heart called out for Kyla's name,a single tear drop fell from his eye mixed with blood. But just as Kyle was about to lose consciousness....

Kyle ........

A melodic voice echoed in Kyle's head. At the same time,a huge ,circular,geometric pattern started to rise from the ground,emitting a glowing light.