The sky was wrong.
It wasn't something obvious. Not something people could immediately point out or describe. If anyone had been asked, they would have simply said, "It looks normal." The clouds still drifted slowly across the blue, sunlight still poured gently over the streets, and the distant sounds of daily life continued without interruption.
And yet—
Something felt off.
Like a quiet distortion hiding beneath reality.
Like the world itself had developed invisible cracks… fractures too deep to be seen, but impossible to ignore once felt.
Akira Noctis didn't understand it.
He was only eight.
To him, the world was simple — a place of small joys, soft laughter, and moments that felt eternal. A place where holding someone's hand meant safety, where smiles erased fear, and where tomorrow was always guaranteed.
"Akira! Hurry up! It's going to melt!"
That voice broke through everything.
Warm.
Gentle.
Home.
Akira turned immediately, his expression lighting up.
"Coming, Mom!"
His mother stood beside a small roadside stall, holding two ice creams carefully, trying to shield them from the sun. Her smile was soft, filled with a quiet kind of love that didn't need to be spoken to be understood.
Akira ran toward her, his footsteps light and careless.
The air carried the scent of summer — warm dust, sweetness, and something comforting.
"You're too slow," she teased, handing him one.
"That's because you didn't wait!" Akira protested.
She laughed — a sound so simple, yet so full of life.
"Then next time, I won't buy you one."
Akira widened his eyes dramatically.
"That's unfair! You can't do that!"
"Watch me," she replied playfully.
Their laughter blended into the world around them.
A man passed by talking on his phone. A bicycle rolled lazily down the street. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked.
Everything was ordinary.
Peaceful.
Safe.
And yet…
Tick… tick… tick…
Akira stopped.
"…Mom?"
The sound was faint.
So faint it almost didn't exist.
But once it reached him… it refused to leave.
"What is it?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Don't you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
Tick… tick… tick…
The sound grew clearer.
Not louder.
Just… closer.
Akira slowly lifted his gaze toward the sky.
And then—
His breath caught in his throat.
The sky…
…was cracked.
Not physically.
Not like broken glass.
But something deeper.
Something wrong on a level he couldn't understand.
Like existence itself was beginning to split apart.
"…What is that…?" he whispered.
A strange fear wrapped around his chest.
Cold.
Heavy.
Unfamiliar.
Before his mother could answer—
💥 BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The world shattered.
A truck lost control.
Its massive body tore through the street like a violent force of nature.
Metal screamed.
Glass exploded.
Fire erupted.
People screamed.
"RUN!!"
"MOVE!!"
Chaos swallowed everything.
"AKIRA!!"
His mother dropped the ice creams instantly.
They fell, melting into the pavement, forgotten.
She ran toward him.
Fast.
Desperate.
Terrified.
But the ground exploded between them.
The shockwave threw Akira backward.
He hit the ground hard.
Pain shot through his body.
His vision spun.
His ears rang.
He tried to stand—
But his legs refused.
The truck.
It was coming straight toward him.
Too fast.
Too close.
Too unavoidable.
"Mom!!"
She reached out.
Her hand stretched toward him.
But the distance between them felt endless.
Time slowed.
Tick… tick… tick…
The screams faded.
The fire dimmed.
The world blurred into nothingness.
Only the ticking remained.
And then—
A voice.
"Balance must be maintained."
Akira's breath trembled violently.
"…Who…?"
"Life cannot exceed death."
The truck loomed over him now.
Its shadow swallowed everything.
His mother screamed—
"AKIRAAAAAA!!!"
"Do you wish to live?"
Everything fell silent.
Akira looked at her.
Really looked.
Her shaking hands.
Her desperate eyes.
The tears falling endlessly down her face.
He didn't want to disappear.
He didn't want this moment to end.
He didn't want to leave her.
"I… don't want to die…"
The ticking stopped.
Everything stopped.
The flames froze mid-air.
The truck halted.
Even the air itself ceased to move.
Akira felt his body lift slightly.
Weightless.
Disconnected.
In front of him—
A crack formed.
Not in the sky.
Not on the ground.
In reality itself.
From that crack…
Darkness began to leak.
It wasn't empty.
It wasn't void.
It was watching.
"Request accepted."
The atmosphere grew heavy.
Oppressive.
Unavoidable.
"Death… denied."
💀 BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The truck—
Vanished.
Not moved.
Not broken.
Erased.
Reality snapped back violently.
Akira collapsed onto the ground.
Gasping for air.
Alive.
"…I…"
His entire body trembled.
"I… survived…?"
His mind couldn't process it.
This shouldn't have happened.
This wasn't possible.
"AKIRA!!"
His mother rushed toward him.
She dropped to her knees and pulled him into her arms.
Holding him tightly.
As if confirming he was truly alive.
"You're safe… you're safe…"
Akira clung to her.
"I thought I was going to die…"
She smiled gently, stroking his hair.
"But you didn't. You're here… and that's enough."
Her warmth surrounded him.
Her presence grounded him.
Her heartbeat…
Steady.
Real.
For a moment—
Everything felt okay again.
But then—
Something changed.
Her body stiffened.
"…Mom?"
Her grip weakened.
"…Akira…"
Her voice trembled.
"…why… does it hurt…?"
Akira's world froze again.
A drop of blood fell onto his hand.
Then another.
Then more.
"No…"
Her body collapsed.
"NO!!"
He caught her.
His hands shaking uncontrollably.
"Stay with me! Please! Please don't leave me!"
Her breathing grew shallow.
Her eyes slowly losing light.
"…Akira…"
A weak smile.
"Live… okay…?"
💀 Silence.
Her hand slipped from his.
Gone.
"…Mom?"
No response.
"…MOM!!!"
His scream shattered the air.
At that exact moment—
Across the world—
Lives ended.
A man collapsed mid-step.
A child stopped breathing.
A heart stopped.
Thousands.
But Akira didn't know.
For him—
Only one life mattered.
And it was gone forever.
Tick… tick… tick…
The sound returned.
Inside him.
His chest burned violently.
As if something unseen was carving into his existence.
Symbols.
Unknown.
Unforgiving.
"Debt… recorded."
"GIVE HER BACK!!"
He screamed into the empty sky.
No answer.
Only silence.
Far beyond reality—
Something observed.
NULL.
A presence without form.
Without emotion.
Without mercy.
"An anomaly has been created."
The universe trembled.
"Balance disrupted."
Its gaze locked onto the boy.
"Correction… will be required."
Stars dimmed.
Reality bent.
"If one life refuses death…"
Darkness spread infinitely.
"Then something equally precious must be taken."
Back on Earth—
Akira held his mother's lifeless body.
Tears fell endlessly.
"…It should have been me…"
Tick… tick… tick…
His heartbeat changed.
No longer a heartbeat.
A countdown.