The silence didn't last.
It never did.
Not anymore.
The village remained still—
Broken.
Empty.
Gone.
But something had changed.
Not outside.
Inside.
Haruki felt it first.
A subtle shift.
Not pain.
Not pressure.
Something deeper.
"…Haruki?"
Karin's voice sounded distant.
Too distant.
He blinked.
And the world—
Split.
For a moment—
There were two versions of everything.
The ruined village.
And—
The same village.
Whole.
People moving.
Talking.
Living.
Then—
Gone.
Haruki staggered slightly.
"…What…?"
Raizen's voice cut through.
"…Your eyes are changing."
Haruki grabbed his head.
"…No… this is different…"
Because it was.
Before—
His visions came in fragments.
Moments.
Flashes.
Now—
They overlapped.
Layered.
Unstable.
He looked at Karin—
And saw two versions of her.
One standing beside him.
And one—
Turning away.
Leaving.
"…Wait—"
The second version disappeared.
"…What was that…?"
Karin frowned.
"…What are you talking about?"
Haruki's breathing grew uneven.
"…I just saw you… leave."
"…I didn't move."
"…I know…"
That was the problem.
Raizen stepped closer.
"…Describe it."
Haruki hesitated.
"…It wasn't like before."
"…It wasn't a prediction."
"…It already happened."
Silence followed.
Raizen's expression sharpened slightly.
"…Not just the future…"
"…Multiple timelines…"
Haruki's eyes widened.
"…Timelines…?"
Raizen nodded.
"…Your Eyes of Memories are evolving."
"…You're no longer seeing what will happen."
"…You're seeing what could happen."
That felt worse.
"…That's not helpful," Karin muttered.
"…It is," Raizen replied.
"…If he learns how to use it."
Haruki clenched his fists.
"…It's too much…"
Another split.
The ground—
Cracking.
Or not.
Two outcomes—
Happening at once.
He stepped back instinctively.
"…Stop…"
But it didn't.
The visions surged again.
Faster now.
Stronger.
Overlapping endlessly.
Raizen moving forward—
Raizen staying still—
Karin speaking—
Karin silent—
Every possibility—
At once.
Haruki dropped to one knee.
"…I can't… separate them…"
Karin stepped forward.
"…Then don't."
He looked up.
"…What?"
"…You're trying to pick one, right?"
"…Yeah—"
"…Then stop trying."
That didn't make sense.
"…If you try to control everything, you'll freeze again."
Her voice softened slightly.
"…Just trust yourself to move."
Haruki stared at her.
"…Even if I don't know what's real?"
Karin smirked faintly.
"…You've been doing that since the beginning."
That—
Was true.
Raizen nodded slightly.
"…The difference now…"
"…Is that you're aware of it."
Haruki exhaled slowly.
The visions didn't stop.
They couldn't.
But—
Maybe…
He didn't need them to.
He stood.
Slowly.
The world split again—
Two paths.
Left—
Clear.
Right—
Unstable.
Both possible.
Both real.
Haruki took a step.
Not choosing one—
But moving anyway.
The visions shifted.
Aligning.
Not perfectly—
But enough.
"…It's working…" he whispered.
Karin blinked.
"…What is?"
"…I'm not trying to control it anymore."
Another step.
The overlapping timelines—
Started to thin.
Not disappear.
But—
Organize.
Raizen watched carefully.
"…Good."
"…You're adapting."
Haruki looked around.
The ruined village remained.
But now—
He could see it differently.
Not just what was.
But what had been.
And what could have been.
"…This place…"
His voice lowered.
"…There are too many outcomes."
Karin frowned.
"…What does that mean?"
Haruki hesitated.
"…It means…"
"…This wasn't a simple attack."
Another flash.
The creature emerging—
But differently.
Slower.
More deliberate.
Almost—
Controlled.
Haruki's eyes widened.
"…It wasn't random…"
Raizen's gaze sharpened.
"…Explain."
"…There are too many versions where this happens the same way…"
"…Too precise…"
"…Like it was planned."
Silence.
Karin's expression hardened.
"…You're saying something chose this place?"
Haruki nodded slowly.
"…Yes."
The weight of that settled immediately.
Because that changed everything.
This wasn't chaos.
This was intention.
Raizen turned slightly.
"…Then we're already behind."
Haruki looked down.
The visions pulsed again.
But this time—
He didn't resist.
He focused.
Not on everything—
But on patterns.
Connections.
And then—
He saw it.
A thread.
Thin.
Faint.
But consistent.
"…There's something else…" he said.
Karin looked at him.
"…What?"
"…A presence."
"…Far away."
"…But connected to this."
Raizen's expression darkened slightly.
"…You can trace it?"
Haruki hesitated.
"…Not clearly…"
"…But I can feel it."
Another vision—
A distant landscape.
Dark.
Distorted.
A massive fracture.
Larger than anything before.
Haruki's breath caught.
"…There's a bigger one…"
Karin's voice dropped.
"…Bigger than this?"
Haruki nodded slowly.
"…Much bigger."
Silence.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Raizen turned.
"…Then that's where we go."
Karin blinked.
"…Wait—seriously?"
"…If something is controlling these events…"
"…That's where we'll find it."
Haruki looked up.
The visions pulsed one last time.
Not chaotic.
Not overwhelming.
But—
Clear.
A path.
Not guaranteed.
But possible.
"…I can guide us," he said.
Karin smirked faintly.
"…Now that sounds useful."
Raizen nodded once.
"…Then we move."
The three of them turned—
Leaving the ruined village behind.
But Haruki glanced back once more.
The empty circle.
The place where something had almost entered their world.
And for a brief moment—
The visions returned.
Not chaotic.
Not overlapping.
Just one.
The same circle.
But intact.
Opening again.
Haruki's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…It's not over…"
Because now—
He understood something important.
This wasn't just happening.
It was spreading.
And somewhere—
Something was watching.
Waiting.
For them to arrive.