After turning in the herbs at the guild, the two of them returned to the inn. Outside the window, the dinner bell rang across the town, signaling the slow descent of evening. On the desk sat a small pouch of silver—today's reward. Yu rolled the pouch in his hands, feeling the cold weight of the coins, staring up at the wooden ceiling with a restless energy he couldn't quite place. "So this is really how you earn money here," he murmured, his voice low, as if speaking only to himself. Rize sat on the edge of the bed, leaning her sheathed sword carefully against the wall.

  "You take a job, do the work, get paid. That's all there is to it." "That's all, huh..." Yu clenched his fist around the pouch. It was the first tangible reward he had ever earned in this world. But along with the relief of success, a heavy unease clung to his chest, refusing to let go. "Rize." "What is it?" "Can I really keep living here? Like this?" The sudden question seemed to steal her words for a moment. Then she smiled—softly, but with a trace of loneliness. "It's not 'can you live here.' It's 'can we live here together,' right?" Her voice was quiet and steady, yet somehow desperate. Yu's chest pinched painfully. The sounds of the night outside grew a little louder in the silence between them.

  And then—Drop. Yu's body lurched violently, as if the floor had vanished beneath him. "Huh?" He had been sitting in the chair, but his feet no longer felt the ground. His limbs turned to lead, strength draining from his fingers as if gravity had suddenly doubled. "Yu?" Rize's brows knit together. She shot to her feet, her hand gripping his shoulder before the chair even had time to creak. "Yu—what's happening to you!?" He couldn't answer. His throat wouldn't move. A soft white light began to bleed from the edges of his body, blurring his outline. It looked gentle, but it felt like iron chains snaring his ankles, dragging him backward the harder he resisted.

  "No!" Rize's voice trembled. She wrapped both arms around him, desperate to anchor him in place. "Don't go! Stay with me!" But his strength was evaporating. He couldn't move his hands or feet. He could feel her warmth so clearly against him, yet he couldn't even grip her back. This is my fault. The words echoed somewhere deep in his chest. He had dragged Rize into danger. His name called by Claval, the explosion of attention online, the way he had become a target. In the end, all of it started because he had gotten involved.

  "Because I... I'm here..." The rasp finally scraped out of his throat, guilt choking him. "That's wrong!" Rize shook her head, her cheeks wet with tears. "Because you're here, I made it this far! So—so don't disappear!" Her cry only made the light swell brighter. White swallowed his vision; a high-pitched ringing in his ears drowned out the thud of his own heartbeat. Yu forced his eyes open, fighting the blindness. The light kept growing. He tried to lift his arms, but the weight crushed them. His hand shook in empty air, trying to reach her back and failing.

  "I'm going to be pulled back," he managed to say, the words burning on the way out. "But... I'll come again." Rize's eyes flared wide with panic. "No... no!" She pressed her face to his chest, clinging to him like she could hold him there with sheer will. "I want to stay with you! I don't want to be apart!" Yu's chest constricted. Her tear-rough voice pierced straight through him. He hadn't come here to hurt her. He only wanted to protect her, to be by her side—nothing more. "Rize..." With everything he had left, he forced his arm up and hugged her. There was barely any strength in it, but he refused to let that warmth go. "Wait for me. I'll come back. I promise." "Yu...!" Tears pattered from her chin onto his cheek—hot, scalding, etching themselves into his memory. "I believe you... So you have to!" Yu's throat seized. The light thickened, prying them apart like a physical wedge. Rize tightened her grip, but there was no resisting the pull of the world anymore. "Rize—" "Yu!" Their names vanished into the white. The last things he felt were the scent of her hair, the heat of her tears—and a love so fierce it hurt.

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  FLASH. The light burst—and swallowed Yu whole. In the next instant, Rize's arms were hugging empty air.

  ?

  White devoured his vision; sound and scent vanished. There was no weight, no pain—just the sensation of floating in a void. When he opened his eyes again, it wasn't wood or hay above him.

  "...What?" His bedroom ceiling. The patterned white wallpaper. The stack of textbooks on his desk. The corner of a poster peeling up. Outside the window, the usual city noise drifted in. He could even hear cars passing by. The bed creaked; the mattress fit his back like it always had. Yu pressed a hand to his forehead. "...I'm home. Aren't I." He fished out his dead phone, plugged it in, and powered it on. The home screen blinked up like nothing had happened. The EWS app icon was right where it always was. Everything that had just been connected to "the other side" was gone without a trace. A heavy emptiness spread through his chest. Rize's voice. Rize's tears. The warmth of holding her. All of it had been real. And yet here, now, nothing remained. Yu covered his face and collapsed back onto the blankets. The lingering memory of her warmth on his fingertips only made the ache worse.

  "Rize..." He whispered her name, but there was no reply. In the silence of his room, the clock's second hand sounded unreasonably loud.

  ?

  The next morning at school. The moment Yu walked into class, the buzz pooled around him. It was his first day back in a while. Just sitting at his desk made the stares feel heavy. "You were sick, right? You okay now?" The guy in front turned around, half-teasing.

  "Yeah. I'm fine." Yu forced a smile, his voice a little hoarse. Harukawa frowned and rapped the corner of Yu's desk. "I was legit worried, man. Three days off? That's not like you." "Sorry." The apology felt hollow. How was he supposed to explain that the blank on his attendance sheet was really the space where he'd been torn from Rize? During the break, a couple of classmates drifted over, whispering loud enough for him to hear. "Hey, that 'Yu' from the stream the other day... you think—" "Bro, it's just a common name. Like our Yu is that big of a deal." They veered off into jokes, but every word seemed to stick to him. Harukawa slid his phone onto Yu's desk and lowered his voice.

  "By the way—did you see last night's news? About the Orbital Satellites?" "No." "Like, the comms satellites? There's a rumor they're secretly weaponized. Orbital weapons." "That's a thing?" "Dunno. Other country said 'no comment.' Our side pulled the usual 'no knowledge of such matters.' So, maybe those big domestic satellites? Same deal." Yu sighed and shrugged on purpose. "Got bored of streams so you're back on urban legends?" Harukawa grinned. "Maybe. But where there's smoke, there's fire, right?"

  ?

  After school.

  "Shiro. A word." Yu turned at the voice in the hall. Ms. Mamiya stood there. In the prep room, the door clicked shut. She was quiet for a moment, her back to him—then she spoke in a low voice. "I know you crossed to the other world." His breath stopped; his throat went dry like it had been scorched. "Sensei... who are you, really?" he barely managed to get out. Mamiya gave a small shake of her head. "I was on EWS's initial development team. I'm a researcher—and a teacher. By rights, I should report you to operations immediately." She paused, her glasses catching the afternoon light. "And yet... I can't help wanting to support you." "Sensei. I have to see Rize. I left her there—alone. Without even a goodbye." "I want you to meet someone," she said, turning to face him. "Give me some time."

  Even with her tone kept level, Yu could hear it—the conflict between her position and her heart. She knew exactly which lines she was crossing. And still, she'd stepped over them. Yu lowered his eyes and clenched his fists. He didn't know if he could trust her fully yet. But those words—they held him up. I'll go back. No matter what.