In an old building in the city center, the building had been abandoned for a long time, with much of the paint and structure in disrepair, giving it a sinister appearance.
The old building stood silently in the shadows of the night. The paint was peeling, the windows were partially broken, and the incoming wind made the wooden door creak softly as if something were lurking. Shido was panting, his body still exhausted from running away from the crowd of students controlled by Miku. His breathing was erratic, but his eyes widened when he realized a figure standing in the shadow of the building's pillars.
"Kurumi…" he said softly, half in disbelief.
From the darkness, the girl with long black hair in a gothic lolita dress stepped forward. Her right eye was covered by bangs, while her blood-red left eye, with its slowly rotating clockwork, stared intently at Shido. Her smile was faint, as usual, a smile that made it difficult to tell whether she was being friendly… or dangerous.
"Fufu~. Ara, ara… who would have thought we'd meet in a place like this," Kurumi murmured in a sweet yet dangerous voice. "You look panicked, Shidou-san. Are you playing hide-and-seek?"
Shido swallowed. He knew very well that Kurumi wasn't an easy spirit to talk to. But now, Tohka had been captured by Ellen and DEM. He didn't have many options. "Kurumi… I… I need your help," he said in a serious tone, trying to contain his nervousness. "Tohka's been captured. I can't leave her alone in the hands of those people. I… please, can you help me save her?"
Kurumi stopped, her smile widening, as if amused by the request. She walked slowly around Shido, the sound of her footsteps echoing on the brittle wooden floor. "Ara, ara~. So you came to me? Innocent Shidou-san, asking for help from the spirit you most often call dangerous… isn't that ironic?"
Shido lowered his head slightly, clenching his fists. "I know… but I have no other choice. I know you have your own goals too. But… please, this time, help me. For Tohka's sake."
Kurumi stopped right in front of him. She stared at Shido's face with an unreadable gaze, then suddenly chuckled softly. "Fufu~. You're always interesting, Shidou-san. Alright… for a little amusement, I'll listen to you. Besides…" she grinned, "maybe saving Tohka might even bring me some benefit."
Shido raised his head, his eyes gleaming with relief. "Kurumi… thank you."
But before they could discuss the plan further, something strange suddenly happened. Kurumi stopped moving. Her smile vanished, her body stiffened, and the air around her felt heavy, as if time itself had stopped flowing. She tried to move her fingers, but it was futile. Even with the power of her Zafkiel, her body couldn't move an inch.
"…What is this?" Kurumi thought quickly. Her clockwork eyes spun rapidly, realizing that the world around her had stopped. The wind that had been blowing had stopped in the air. The floating dust had remained still as if frozen. And Shido… Shido stood before her frozen, his mouth half-open, his body completely stiff.
Kurumi was shocked. She was a spirit with the power of time. She could feel every second, every pulse that made up the flow of time. But this time, time had truly stopped. Not just slowed down, but stopped completely. And what shocked her… it wasn't her own power.
'This isn't my Zafkiel… this… belongs to someone else.'
A cold realization crept into her mind. There was someone out there… someone capable of the same feat, perhaps even more powerful than her. Kurumi rarely felt disturbed, but this time, the feeling was clear. Whoever had stopped time now… was watching. And it made her both curious and wary.
Nine seconds felt long to her, conscious yet immobile. She counted in her head, the clock hand in her left eye spinning, counting each passing second. Then, suddenly, the world moved again. The wind blew, dust fell to the floor, and Shido came back to life, calling her name worriedly.
"Kurumi? Hey, why are you suddenly so dazed?"
Kurumi blinked, flinching slightly. She looked at the confused Shido. She was silent for a moment, then smiled again, covering her surprise with her usual sweet expression. "Ah… nothing, Shidou-san. I just… was lost in thought for a moment."
But inside, she muttered coldly, 'Someone… someone can stop time like me. Even I couldn't move at that time. How interesting… who exactly is he?'
Kurumi turned her head toward the shadow in the corner of the room, as if trying to catch something invisible. But there was no one there. Only the calm darkness, as if nothing had happened.
Shidou, unaware of what had just happened, resumed talking excitedly about the plan to rescue Tohka. Kurumi smiled, but it was more of a smile.
Kurumi smiled, but it was colder than usual. She sensed a new piece on the game board. Someone capable of manipulating time other than herself. And that… made things even more interesting.
…
Meanwhile`
Inside the Fraxinus control room, the atmosphere was usually filled with holographic lights, computer sounds, and reports from the operators. That night, everyone was focused on monitoring the movements of Miku Izayoi and the spirits, who seemed to be starting to show significant changes. Reine, sitting quietly in her chair, stared at the data-filled screen with half-closed eyes, a habit that always made her appear relaxed even in serious situations.
"The analysis of the spiritual wave parameters is stable, Reine-san!" exclaimed one of the operators.
"Miku's hypnotic pattern continues to expand, its radius is increasing… almost the entire city is within range," added another.
Reine responded with a slight nod, her fingers moving lightly over the panel, noting every fluctuation. But behind that calm face, her mind was working rapidly. She knew Miku was dangerous, but that wasn't what truly alerted her. Something felt… strange.
And just as she was about to open the data further, everything stopped.
The sound of the machines vanished. The holographic screen froze. The operators, who had been busy typing, were now frozen as statues. The airborne hand movements froze in their final positions, and their half-open mouths remained frozen, soundless.
Reine blinked once. Her breathing was still flowing, her mind clear. She was conscious. Her body might be immobile, but her consciousness was full, intact.
'…Time stopped?' she thought slowly, her eyes sweeping around the now silent, vacuum-like room.
This kind of experience wasn't new to her. She knew one spirit capable of defying time: Tokisaki Kurumi. However, what was happening now felt different. Her aura, spiritual pulse, and atmosphere… all of it wasn't Kurumi's.
'Kurumi can manipulate time, but not to the point of stopping it like this. This is something… much purer.' More absolute.'
Reine tried to sense the flow of space around her, but all she found was emptiness. It was as if the entire world had been forced to a standstill by an invisible hand. Even she, a spirit of origin whose power surpassed that of any other spirit, was unable to free herself. She could only remain conscious, watch, and wait.
The seconds felt long. Every flicker of consciousness brought new questions.
'Who… did this? Kurumi is the only logical candidate, but this pattern clearly doesn't belong to her. Was there another spirit born with similar powers? Or perhaps… not a spirit?'
The shock pressed harder on her mind. All this time, only she knew that beneath her human form, she hid a power that could change the balance of the world. She believed herself to be above many secrets, but the fact that someone could stop time completely forced her to reassess everything.
Nine seconds.
To an ordinary person, nine seconds was just a flash. But to Reine, who realized how precious every second in this suspended space was, nine seconds felt like a long conversation with herself. She groped for possibilities, trying to imagine the face or identity of the person who dared to defy the flow of time.
However, before she could find an answer, everything shifted again.
As if nothing had happened, the screen lit up again, the operator resumed typing, voices filled the room. A staff member beside her continued the sentence that had been frozen, as if unaware of the nine-second pause that had evaporated from the world.
"…and the estimated spread will reach 70% in the next few hours!"
Reine nodded slowly, adjusting her rhythm so as not to appear out of place. Her face remained the same, calm, her eyes half-closed, as if she were simply an analyst focused on her work. No one suspected that she had just witnessed something impossible.
But behind that calm screen, her mind was still spinning.
'It's no coincidence… this definitely isn't a coincidence. Whoever it is, they chose to reveal themselves—or rather, their powers. The question is… why?'
Her eyes narrowed slightly, staring at Miku's continuously scrolling data. Everyone assumed the greatest threat was that Diva. But Reine knew that, in the shadows, there was now something even more dangerous. Something, or someone, that even she couldn't define.
And for the first time in a long time, she felt the need to keep an eye on not just the spirits, not just DEM, not just Shido and his comrades, but also the mysterious figure who had just demonstrated the absolute power of time.
Calmly, she returned to typing on the panel, suppressing the wave of questions within her heart.
'...Who are you, really?'