It had been twenty years since the first recorded sin appeared.
No one agreed on when it actually began.
Some said it was a single incident, a man turned an entire street into glass. Others claimed it started quietly, with smaller events, such as people predicting accidents, objects moving without explanation, emotions affecting reality.
But what everyone agreed on was this,
Things that shouldn't have happened... started happening.
At first, they were called anomalies.
Then phenomena.
Eventually, the world settled on a simpler name.
Sins.
No one knew why they were called that. The name just stuck, passed between news channels, research groups, and public discussion until it became official. Governments formed departments around them. Schools added basic awareness programs. Online forums tracked sightings and classifications.
Some sins were harmless.
Some were useful.
Some were dangerous.
A few were catastrophic.
Most people never awakened one. Or if they did, it remained small, barely noticeable, like a personality trait pushed slightly too far. But every now and then, someone manifested something undeniable.
Something real.
Something that changed everything around them.
And when that happened, the world paid attention.
Rei Yuu never had that kind of moment.
Nothing dramatic ever happened around him. No sudden awakening. No burst of power, no incident that made people step back in fear.
If anything, things just... went wrong.
Not in a major way. Just small things.
Pens would fall from his hand every now and then.
His phone would randomly freeze.
When he reached for something, someone else grabbed it first without noticing him.
Plans involving him fell apart for no clear reason.
It wasn't enough to call a sin.
But it also wasn't normal.
People joked about it sometimes.
"Dude, you gotta be cursed or something."
"You bring such bad luck."
"Don't team with Rei, he's just gonna jinx it."
He laughed along with them. It was easier that way.
Because honestly, it didn't feel like anything special.
Just... inconvenient.
Just small failures stacking on top of each other.
Just the kind of thing you stop thinking about after a while.
The news screen mounted in the corner of the room flickered slightly before stabilizing.
"...incident reported earlier today involving a registered sinner. Authorities have confirmed no casualties. The ability is believed to fall under perception inter-"
The screen glitched for a split second.
Then resumed.
No one else seemed to notice.
Rei did.
He stared at it for a moment longer than necessary, then looked away.
The bell rang.
Chairs scraped. Conversations overlapped. People stood and moved toward the door in clusters, already talking about lunch, plans, and rumors about the incident.
Rei stood up last.
As he stepped forward, someone bumped into his shoulder. Not hard.. Just enough to throw him slightly off balance. He caught himself on a desk.
"Sorry" the guy said, already walking away.
Rei nodded even though the apology wasn't meant to be answered.
He reached for his bag.
The zipper snagged.
He pulled again.
It came loose suddenly, almost too fast, and the bag slipped from his hand. It hit the floor with a dull thud.
A few people glanced over. No one said anything.
Rei picked it up quietly.
Just another small failure.
Nothing unusual.
Nothing worth noticing.
But across the room, the mounted screen flickered again.
This time, the audio cut out completely.
And for a fraction of a second...
Every camera feed in the broadcast froze.
Except one.
It showed a distant aerial view of a massive structure buried in sand... before the screen went black.
Then everything returned to normal.
No one reacted.
No one even looked.
Rei adjusted his bag and walked out with the rest of the class, thinking about the incident but just forgetting about it, enough things had happened to him for him to care about it.
Rei Yuu stepped onto the sidewalk, the sound of students fading behind him as the crowd dispersed in different directions.
A group of students passed him on bicycles.
One of them called out casually.
"Yo, Rei!"
Rei looked up.
"...yeah?"
The boy blinked, then tilted his head.
"Who?"
A short silence.
The others laughed.
Rei frowned slightly.
"I heard you call me."
"No we didn't."
They rode off, still laughing.
Rei stood there for a moment longer than necessary.
Then shrugged it off.
Probably misheard.
He continued walking.
The road home wasn't far.
Fifteen minutes, maybe less.
Halfway there, he stopped at a crosswalk.
A red light.
People gathered beside him, waiting.
Someone next to him checked their phone and muttered something under their breath.
Rei didn't pay attention.
The light turned green.
Everyone stepped forward.
Rei did too.
A shadow lagged slightly behind, but he barely noticed, and once he did, it returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.
"...what was that?"
No answer came.
He reached the other side of the road.
A small convenience store sat at the corner.
A digital sign above it flickered once.
Then displayed:
"WELCOME BACK"
Rei looked at it.
"...I've never been here before."
He kept walking.
The sign changed immediately back to normal advertisements.
A few seconds later, a woman exiting the store bumped lightly into him.
"Oh- sorry."
She stepped back, looked at him for a second longer than normal.
Then blinked.
"…sorry, do I know you?"
Rei paused.
"I don't think so.."
She nodded slowly, then smiled awkwardly and left.
But as she walked away, she glanced back once more.
Like she had forgotten something important, but couldn't remember what.
Rei continued home.
He finally reached his street.
His house was visible now.
Warm light through windows.
Normal life waiting inside.
He stopped for a moment before entering.
Not because anything was wrong.
But because for a split second..
He couldn't remember if he had always lived here.
Then the feeling passed.
He exhaled slightly, then stepped inside.
Rei closed the door behind him.
His mother looked up from the kitchen.
"You're late."
Rei blinked.
"...I am?"
She frowned.
"You always say that."
Then turned back to cooking.
Rei paused.
"…okay."
He walked to his room.
Dropped his bag.
Sat down, silence.
Then—
His phone buzzed.
Once.
He looked at it, then a message appeared.
"Did you get home already?"
Rei stared at it.
"...who sent this?"
The sender name was blank.
No number.
No contact.
Just the message.
He blinked.
Unlocked his phone.
Message was gone.
Rei slowly lowered the phone.
"...what?"
Silence... again.
He stared at the window, then his phone again.
"...I didn't imagine that. did i?"
No answer.
"Man, im tired..."
He sighs heavily.
"...i should really get some sleep."
He laid on his side, as if nothing had happened, closing his eyes slowly, falling asleep.
Outside, everything continued normally.
Inside his room...
the phone screen lit up for a fraction of a second.
No notification appeared.
No sound played.
It just lit up… as if something tried to exist.
Then it stopped.
Rei was already asleep.