Vermillion Chapter 3

Kei absentmindedly dreamed .

A dream of playing outside with a friend from his childhood .

It looked innocent and fun .

Maybe it was tag . His younger self ran around .

Just like sand it smoothly melted away until it disappeared .

A white room .

From the window he could see a bird flapping away with outstretched wings .

He merely followed the bird’s flight in the clear sky with his eyes .

Atop the clean bed, he laid motionless . Entirely motionless .

He gently closed his eyes .

Everything was dyed blue .

The world ebbed and surged with a light blue hue .

It wasn’t hard to breathe .

That’s just how things were .

He wasn’t even scared .

He was sinking . Sinking into himself .

Deeper and deeper―

― He continued walking for what felt like a while .

Directly in front of him was a mirror .

A mirror that didn’t reflect anything .

No, he could see something if he focused his eyes .

Black hair and black eyes rose to the surface .

Subtly ornamented leather armor .

A feathered headpiece .

A single saber next to a quiver on someone’s hip .

And a vermillion bow in his left hand .

“…It’s me . ”

His murmured words resonated clearly .

As soon as he recognized it, the form became clear .

Kei .

So he had once named himself .

Up to now, his two selves lived alongside one another .

“…My… body . ”

He made a fist and squeezed .

His hand steadily unclenching and relaxing . The blood coursing through his veins . The tingling of his nerves to all his extremities .

He firmly felt it all .

Before he knew it, the mirror disappeared before his eyes .

In its place was a long path stretching on .

Somehow his surroundings felt lively .

A horse prancing about energetically .

A girl wearing a robe of feathers .

It was almost like a revolving lantern .

The illusions of shadows whispered to no one in particular, “Let’s go . ”

And Kei took the first step forward .

Chapter end