The wind did not move.
Not even a little.
Luna felt it first.
That strange stillness.
Like the world had taken a breath…
and decided to keep it.
No one attacked.
No one moved.
Not them.
Not the others.
Eight people stood on the broken platform.
Four real.
Four reflections.
Kenta swallowed.
"Why is no one doing anything…?"
His voice echoed more than it should have.
The other Kenta tilted his head slightly.
"You're waiting."
Kenta frowned.
"For what?"
"For something loud," the other one said softly. "A signal. A moment. Something that tells you it's started."
Kenta blinked.
Silence stretched.
"You think fights begin with noise?"
Kenta didn't answer.
Because it was true.
Ron spoke, low and steady.
"This is not a fight."
His reflection looked at him.
"No," he said quietly. "It's worse."
The air pressed in around them.
Each second felt longer than the last.
Like time itself was dragging.
Luna looked at her other self.
Her voice came out barely above a whisper.
"Why are you smiling?"
The other Luna didn't respond at first.
She just watched her.
Then,
"Because you still think you're leaving."
The words landed deep.
Too deep.
Kai stepped forward, just a little.
"Move."
Calm voice.
Cold edge.
The other Kai didn't budge.
"You still haven't answered."
Kai's eyes didn't shift.
"There's nothing to answer."
A slow nod.
"There is."
He raised a hand.
Pointed behind them.
The gate.
Glowing.
Waiting.
"Will you walk through it?"
Silence again.
Luna's chest tightened as she looked at it.
She already knew.
But saying it felt heavier.
"Yes."
Quiet.
But firm.
The wind shifted.
Just a little.
The other Luna stepped closer.
"And forget everything?"
Luna said nothing.
Kenta looked between everyone.
Then lowered his voice.
"…we don't have a choice, right?"
Ron stayed silent.
Kai answered.
"There is always a choice."
Kenta let out a dry laugh.
"Yeah? Both options are trash."
The other Kenta spoke.
"One hurts now."
A pause.
"One hurts forever."
Kenta froze.
Luna turned back to her reflection.
"What happens if we stay?"
The answer came without hesitation.
"You become part of this place."
Ron narrowed his eyes.
"That's not an answer."
The other Ron met his gaze.
"It is."
He stepped forward.
"You stop being… you."
A breath.
"But you remember everything."
Luna's voice trembled slightly.
"And if we leave…"
The other Luna finished it.
"You stop remembering."
Silence.
Heavy.
Endless.
Kenta stared at his hands.
"So either we lose ourselves…"
He looked up.
"Or we lose each other."
No one disagreed.
Because that was the truth.
The wind whispered faintly.
Luna closed her eyes.
Images flooded in.
The park.
The bench.
Kai laughing.
Kenta talking nonstop.
Ron sketching quietly.
She opened her eyes.
"What if we try to remember?"
The other Luna shook her head slowly.
"You won't."
"How do you know?"
A quiet answer.
"Because we tried."
Everything shifted.
Ron stepped forward.
"You tried to leave?"
A nod.
"Yes."
"What happened?"
A pause.
Then,
"We forgot."
Kenta shook his head quickly.
"No… that's not possible…"
The other Kenta stared at him.
"You think you're different?"
Kenta said nothing.
Kai's voice cut through everything.
"Enough."
The wind snapped in response.
Sharp.
"We are leaving."
The other Kai stood still.
"Then prove it."
Kai lifted his sword slightly.
"I don't need to prove anything."
A faint smile.
"You do."
The ground cracked beneath them.
Ron glanced at the gate.
"It's reacting."
Luna followed his gaze.
The light was stronger now.
Pulling them.
Kenta's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Guys… it's opening…"
The petals began spinning faster.
White.
Black.
Blending.
The air twisted.
And then…
Everything stopped.
The light folded into itself.
The petals froze.
The wind vanished.
The gate disappeared.
Luna's heart sank.
"What…?"
Something else took its place.
A bench.
Old.
Familiar.
The same one.
Faded paint.
A small crack.
Slightly tilted.
Luna's breath caught.
"No way…"
Kenta blinked fast.
"That's… the same one, right?"
Ron stepped forward slowly.
"Yes."
Kai didn't move.
But something in his face changed.
The bench stood there.
Quiet.
Unchanged.
Like time had never touched it.
The other Luna spoke softly.
"This is where it began."
Luna moved before she could think.
"Don't," Ron said.
Too late.
The bench felt real.
Too real.
The wind returned.
Soft.
Gentle.
White petals drifted down.
Slow.
Luna reached out.
Her fingers hovered.
Her heart pounded.
"I remember this…"
The moment she touched it…
Everything broke.
Sound vanished.
Light twisted.
Her vision blurred.
"Luna!"
Kenta's voice.
Distant.
"Don't touch it!"
Ron.
Fading.
Kai moved.
Too slow.
The bench glowed.
Soft white spreading.
The petals turned black.
The air cracked.
Luna's eyes widened.
"What is happening…?"
A voice.
Right beside her.
"Do you really want to leave?"
She froze.
That voice.
Too familiar.
She turned.
And saw…
herself.
Not the same.
Closer.
Real.
Tears filled her eyes.
"Stay."
Her hand wouldn't move.
Behind her…
Ron, Kai, Kenta reached out.
But the space stretched.
Pulling her away.
Ron shouted.
"Luna! Let go!"
Kai rushed forward.
Kenta screamed.
"Don't listen to it!"
But their voices felt far.
Drowned.
The voice grew softer.
Closer.
"You don't have to forget."
Her heart trembled.
"You don't have to go back."
Her grip tightened.
"You can stay."
The wind surged.
The bench burned brighter.
The world cracked around her.
Ron reached out.
"LU—"
Everything snapped.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Luna vanished.
Silence.
The bench stood still.
Ron's hand hung in the air.
Kai stopped.
Kenta stared.
Luna was gone.
The wind whispered.
Like it remembered.
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2.