Embedded Files
-Yesterday-
-Yesterday-
Knock knock
Mallory pounded on the door, her breath uneven from running all the way to Rein’s house. Her heart slammed against her chest, panic settling in her bones. The moment before the door opened felt unbearably long, each second stretching endlessly. Finally, the door creaked open, revealing Rein’s parents.
“Ah… Mallory.” Rein’s mother’s voice wavered as she forced a smile. But it was clear she had been crying. Her eyes were red and swollen, the tear stains still fresh on her cheeks.
Silence.
They stared at each other, words failing them.
“...M-May I see Rein?” Mallory stuttered. But the moment the words left her lips, Rein’s mother broke down again, sobbing into her hands.
“I’m sorry, Mallory,” his father said instead, his voice thick with grief. “Come inside.”
Mallory hesitated before stepping in, the weight of unspoken answers pressing against her chest. She had so many questions, but suddenly, she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answers anymore.
Even so, she forced herself to ask.
“...W-What happened?”
Rein’s father inhaled sharply, as if steadying himself. His wife sat beside him, unable to stop crying.
“I don’t know, dear,” he said, voice trembling. “All he told us was that he wanted to go somewhere… He seemed so excited when he left, so we didn’t ask much.” He paused, sniffing. “So he went out… without telling us where.”
Mallory’s vision blurred with tears. She clutched her hands into fists, waiting for him to continue.
“But then… he was gone for too long. We always set a limit—he wasn’t supposed to be out for more than an hour. But this time… it had already been more than that. We got worried. We called him. No answer. We texted. No reply.” His voice cracked. “We decided to go out and look for him. That’s when a man came to us.”
Mallory held her breath.
“He said he found Rein lying in the middle of the street.”
The room felt colder.
“We asked what happened,” his father continued, his hands trembling. “And all the man said was, ‘I don’t know. I just saw him lying there, so I grabbed his wallet to check his ID. That’s how I found your address. I already called an ambulance, don’t worry.’”
Mallory’s stomach twisted.
“When we arrived at the hospital…” Rein’s father took a deep breath.
“...He had already passed away.”
The room collapsed into grief.
Mallory covered her mouth, her sobs escaping despite her efforts to hold them in. Rein’s mother cried quietly beside her husband, who barely managed to stay composed.
“S-So… he’s already buried?” Mallory choked out.
His parents gave a silent nod.
The air was unbearably heavy, sorrow seeping into every corner of the house. It was suffocating.
Then, Rein’s mother spoke.
“There were no witnesses,” she whispered, her voice hollow. “And when we tried to check the CCTV footage from the buildings around the area…” She swallowed hard.
“Every single one of them was broken.”
Mallory stiffened.
At first, she had been too lost in grief to process it. Too devastated by the thought of never getting to see him one last time.
But now, her mind was clear.
This was too strange.
Way too strange.
Coincidence?
Or something much, much worse?
-On White Space-
-On White Space-
On the other side, Leo and Remon stepped into an endless, White space—pure white, without shadows or corners—yet they could stand perfectly fine.
“This is White Space,” Leo explained. “No sound, no people, just us.”
Remon glanced around. “Where’s Rein?”
“Slow down,” Leo smirked. “He’s not here. This is just the space between the real world and the Void World—his world.”
“Oh, then how do we get to him?”
“We… wait.”
“Huh?”
Before Remon could ask more questions, a soft, crystalline chime echoed through the space. A shimmering creature materialized before them.
“What is that?” Remon pointed at it, eyes wide.
Leo studied the being for a moment. “It seems… that’s our Clock Person.”
“Uh…?”
The creature slowly opened its eyes, lying motionless on the ground. From a distance, Leo and Remon watched cautiously. It had the shape of a small child, but something about it felt… empty. Its vacant eyes stared directly at them, unblinking.
“Uh… Leo, are they okay?” Remon asked hesitantly.
“I… guess?”
“What do you mean you guess??”
“Listen, I don’t know. This is my first time seeing a Clock Person, okay?!”
Remon shot him a look. “What?? Shouldn’t you be the experienced one here?”
“R-right! Haha! I was just joking… They’ll be fine.”
“...They’re not moving.”
“...Let’s check on them.”
As the twins slowly approached, the creature blinked sluggishly.
“Ugh…” Remon groaned weakly, feeling uncomfortable.
Now that they were closer, they could see just how hollow its eyes were completely emotionless.
“So, what do we do next?” she asked.
Leo rubbed his chin. “Hmm, if I remember correctly, we need to train them.”
“Train? For what?”
Just as Remon finished speaking, a box materialized out of nowhere behind her before immediately exploding into shards of light.
“THAT.” Leo pointed dramatically.
Remon’s heart skipped a beat. “What the hell was that?!”
“This creature possesses immense power. Dangerous power. They can create or destroy things without speaking, without seeing them. All they have to do is think and boom, it happens.”
“Huh… interesting.” Remon crouched beside the creature. “Hey, little buddy, can you tell me wh—”
“NOT SO FAST!!” Leo yanked her back.
Remon got pushed away a bit harshly, giving Leo the look.
“They don’t understand our language yet! And who knows what’ll happen if they think about something dangerous!”
“Ah… right. So.. what should we do?”
“Hmm…” Leo tapped his chin, deep in thought.
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