Another entry appeared in Kairo's diary. It wasn't just words—it felt like a warning.
> 📖 [2:17 AM] – "I'll meet a girl with frostbitten fingers. She'll offer me a secret.
If I accept, I'll lose a life.
If I refuse, I'll lose her."
He stared at the glowing red text. Red meant danger. The clock showed 1:57 AM—only 20 minutes until it happened.
Kairo was hiding in an alley, cold and alert. The world around him was silent and strange, like time had stopped. No people. No cars. Just flickering streetlights and wind that felt… fake.
Then, footsteps.
A girl stepped through the mist.
She looked about his age, maybe older. Her skin was pale, almost ghostly. Her fingers were purple and stiff—clearly frostbitten. She held a black, bloodstained diary that dripped red with every step.
"You're one of us," she said gently. "A Player."
Kairo didn't speak. This was her—the girl from the diary.
She stepped closer, holding up her bleeding hand and opening her book. Inside, one sentence stood out:
> "He is the key to ending the game. But if you trust him, you'll die."
Her voice trembled. "I don't even know your name yet. But my diary said I'd find you here."
"I'm Kairo," he said cautiously. "And you?"
"Elya," she replied. "My diary is called The Mirror. It shows me other people's pages—but only if I bleed on the paper."
She took a deep breath and reached out to him. "I want to share a secret with you. But if you accept it… you'll lose a life."
Kairo froze. The diary had warned him. Accept her secret and lose a life. Refuse it—and lose her.
He didn't know if he could trust her. But she looked just as scared and alone as he felt.
He stepped forward. "Tell me."
Elya handed him her diary.
Then she leaned in and whispered:
> "I've seen how you die, Kairo.
Not by a weapon or a monster…
You died because you fell in love."