It was 1:30 when Renji finally fell asleep.
Exhaustion pulled him under almost instantly. The quiet hum of the night wrapped around the small house, and within seconds his mind drifted into darkness.
He had no idea that this night would mark the beginning of a storm that would tear his life apart.
When Renji opened his eyes again, the room felt strangely cold.
Still half-asleep, he stretched his arm toward the door.
But something was wrong.
He couldn't see his hand.
Renji blinked, confused. He lifted his arm higher, moving it in front of his face.
Nothing.
Panic crawled up his spine.
He looked down at his body.
There was nothing there.
No arms. No legs. No shadow.
It was as if he didn't exist.
His breathing quickened.
"W-What…?"
Heart racing, Renji turned toward the bed.
And froze.
Someone was lying there.
The figure was completely still.
Renji slowly stepped closer.
Closer.
Until the dim light from the window revealed the face.
It was him.
His own body lay on the bed, unmoving.
His chest barely rising.
"Hey…!"
Renji shouted.
No response.
He shook the body.
Nothing happened.
A cold wave of terror washed over him.
"Wake up…!"
But the body remained lifeless.
The realization struck him like lightning.
If my body is there…
Then what am I?
Panic took over.
Renji rushed out of his room and ran downstairs.
His mother was in the kitchen.
Relief flooded through him.
"Mom!"
He ran toward her.
But she didn't react.
She continued making breakfast, completely unaware of his presence.
"Mom!"
Renji stood right beside her now.
Still nothing.
He waved his hands in front of her face.
She didn't even blink.
A chill crept into his chest.
She couldn't see him.
She couldn't hear him.
He was standing right in front of her…
Yet to her, he didn't exist.
Fear gripped him tighter.
Without thinking, Renji sprinted toward the front door.
Maybe if he went outside—
Maybe—
He grabbed the door handle.
His hand passed straight through it.
Renji stared at the door in disbelief.
Before he could even process what had happened—
The ground vanished beneath him.
And suddenly—
He was falling.
Darkness swallowed everything.
There was no floor.
No sky.
Only an endless void stretching in every direction.
Renji kept falling.
Faster.
Deeper.
His screams echoed into nothingness.
Then—
A deafening scream shattered the darkness.
Renji gasped.
His eyes flew open.
But the world felt wrong.
His body felt wrong.
He looked down—
And froze.
He was looking through someone else's eyes.
A pair of unfamiliar hands trembled before him.
A woman's hands.
He looked around.
Then realized the horrifying truth.
He was inside his mother's body.
His heart pounded wildly.
"What is happening to me?!"
Before he could react—
Another scream echoed.
And everything went dark again.
When Renji opened his eyes once more—
He was lying on a railway track.
Cold steel pressed against his back.
The ground trembled.
A distant rumble grew louder.
Renji lifted his head.
A train was racing toward him.
Full speed.
The blinding headlights swallowed his vision.
His body refused to move.
The train slammed into him—
And he woke up again.
Renji gasped for air.
His mind spun in confusion.
Nightmare after nightmare.
Body after body.
Each time he woke up, he was someone else.
A stranger.
A criminal.
A dying man.
A terrified child.
Over and over again.
Lives that were not his own.
Deaths that he could not escape.
The cycle repeated countless times.
Hundreds.
Maybe thousands.
Until the line between dream and reality completely disappeared.
And then—
At last—
Renji truly woke up.
But when he looked down at himself…
His breath caught in his throat.
This body…
Was not his.