He extended the palm of his right hand toward her, deep within himself thinking and concentrating on simulating something.
"Dark Dawn… Melancholic Eclipse."
He whispered softly, as if something strange were watching him.
Suddenly, a strange spark erupted—one no one could see but the two of them, a spark born from an unexpected source.
Toki remained frozen in his position, unable to move.
"What's happening?! Where am I?" Toki muttered to himself, his eyes restless.
"What is this place… huh…?!"
He tried to move his head to see his surroundings, but he couldn't. All he felt was something heavy and cold pinning him down.
Massive chains—grotesque in shape—were wrapped around his neck and arms, tightening across his torso down to his legs, all of them connected to a dark abyss of deep, ominous purple.
Before his eyes, he saw Luna, asleep in an upright position, held between two enormous glass-like hands.
Beside her lay two broken laws upon the ground, like the surface of a still sea reflecting the white clouds with pristine clarity.
The boundary between Toki and Luna was distinct, and that alone was enough to throw his mind into confusion.
Was what he saw merely a dream, or an external force?
From his own perspective, he convinced himself that it was nothing more than an illusion, a lie—never realizing that what lay hidden was far greater.
Toki's face had turned frighteningly pale. The heartbeat that should have been racing with heat felt as though it had stopped entirely.
Again and again, he asked himself: When will I get out of this insane place?
Luna was right before his eyes, yet he could not move, and at the same time he was screaming inside:
"Move! Move! Move, my body—come on!"
"Just one finger! Come on, move… damn it?!"
"I won't let a situation like this stop me!!"
"Calm down… hah… calm down… hah… I'll find a solution."
"I definitely will… definitely—aghh?!"
Suddenly, the rusted chains transformed into worm-like monsters with serrated spikes, their lengths piercing straight through Toki's body.
Little by little, the chains began dragging him downward toward the abyss, accompanied by the muffled roar of whispers echoing within that depth.
In an instant, that aura swallowed the boundary between Toki and Luna. Everything turned a dark purple, streaked with white threads striking like lightning.
"What's wrong with you?"
A strange voice whispered—yet one familiar to him. The voices began increasing inside his ear.
"Are you okay?"
"Does this hurt? Why?" a child's tone.
"You're not ready for anything…" a mocking tone.
"Why did you choose this? This is bad… a terribly bad choice." an angry voice.
"This is scary… it hurts, please stop." a boy's voice.
The noise of questions steadily intensified—versions from past years climbing those writhing chains like a tangled mass of black ink.
Toki couldn't respond.
He stood frozen like a statue, blood flowing from his lips and nose like rivers.
All he could do was tremble and shake. His eyes, slowly turning red, yearned for nothing but release.
"That's not it… that can't be it…" Toki said in deep confusion.
"What's clinging to me… I just want to sleep and say goodbye to this world."
That version of him looked to be between twelve and thirteen years old.
It pressed against his heart, embracing him to the point of crushing him, a wide grin spreading across its face.
"That's not true! What am I even saying?!" he screamed in despair.
The version's expression shifted into something grimly serious. It leaned close to his ear and said:
"You won't change anything. You can't change anything… You'll stay the way you are. I and loneliness never part. Look carefully."
The version pointed toward Luna, as the place seemed to revert to the very moment he first entered this realm.
"That entity won't fill anything inside you… You are me, and I am you. So which of us is living in the present?"
It continued, its face pressed directly against Toki's, causing intense psychological pressure.
Toki clenched his jaw tightly and lunged right and left, trying to resist.
Crash! Crash!
A shrieking aura erupted from Toki's body, mingled with black, white, and violet.
The aura raged like tsunami waves and violent storms, carried by the force of his words:
"Never… not ever! I already made my decision!" he declared with unwavering resolve.
The version replied mockingly:
"Then why are you trembling? Do you really think recklessness is a solution? Hah?"
Toki answered with blazing, unhinged eyes:
"Is there any other path in your eyes? Of course not!"
"A liar and a selfish fool… I've never seen such traits gathered in one person." the version said coldly.
"Shut up, you loser! You chose to chase after that damned person too!"
Toki shouted as he staggered, struggling against the chains despite knowing it was impossible.
Silence fell between them, their gazes alone enough to sow an eerie tension.
"This conversation will never end—" the version said as it faded like mist.
"It seems you still don't understand."
The versions and the chains vanished, and Toki returned to his former position: his arm extended toward Luna, unable to move.
Suddenly, from the abyss beneath him emerged a massive entity of fog-like aura, shaped like ink scribbles on paper.
Its features were savage and severe—jagged teeth, eyes sharp as blades.
It spoke, blocking Toki's view of Luna:
"You're not ready… the time is still not right… you coward."
Those words struck Toki's cold, empty heart like a bolt of lightning.
Then everything was dragged away, as if erased, returning them to their original state before entering that mysterious place.
Toki returned to the present, gasping for breath, his hand still stretched toward Luna.
But…
The space around them was no longer the same.
The shadows stretched.
The light dimmed.
The moon's glow receded.
And the technique activated on its own.
— Dark Dawn… Melancholic Eclipse —
~~~
To be continued…
....
(Author's Note: Who was right? There is no single truth…)