Renji sat on his bed, staring at his palms.
The sigil that had appeared in the cursebook still haunted him — a swirling spiral bound by four claw-like arcs. He could feel it beneath his skin, like it had etched itself into his bones.
He touched his chest, half-expecting to feel it there.
But there was nothing. Just a cold sweat… and the sound of something ticking.
No clock ticked in his apartment.
The sound was inside him.
He rushed to the bathroom mirror.
Nothing unusual… until he looked closely.
His pupils were slightly distorted — not round anymore. They looked like the spiral from the book.
"No no no no… what the hell is happening to me?!"
He grabbed the sink, breathing hard.
A drop of water from the faucet hit the metal drain — and the sound echoed unnaturally loud in his ears.
And with it, a faint voice.
"Renji…"
He spun around.
Nobody.
He turned back to the mirror — and saw Kagura standing behind him.
But when he turned again, she was gone.
---
That night, Renji decided to follow the sigil.
He flipped through the cursebook again. The ink had shifted, rearranged.
A map.
It showed an abandoned shrine on the western outskirts of the city.
He didn't remember this shrine ever existing. But the book pulsed when he touched the page.
Decision made.
---
He reached the shrine just past midnight.
It was half-buried in fog, with cracked stone steps and worn-down lanterns.
But what caught his attention was the large bell at the top — rusted and broken.
Except… it was ringing.
Slowly.
Softly.
He stepped inside the shrine, each creaking wooden plank beneath him feeling like a warning.
Then, a voice from the shadows:
"You shouldn't have come here alone."
Renji froze.
Kagura emerged, her bells silent this time.
"You said the Shrine of Echoes was waking," Renji said. "Why?"
Kagura's expression was blank. "Because you rang it. The moment you remembered her name."
"Asami…"
Kagura nodded once. "She's not what you remember, Renji. None of them are."
He stepped closer. "Who is she then? Why do I keep hearing her voice?"
Kagura looked down, her lips tightening.
"She's the first name you ever cursed."
Silence.
Renji staggered back. "What are you talking about?! I never—"
"You did," she whispered. "You just don't remember."
---
Suddenly, the walls of the shrine trembled.
The bell tolled again — this time loudly, violently.
Renji fell to one knee as pain exploded in his skull.
A memory forced itself into his mind — uninvited and sharp:
A girl, standing on a bridge.
Rain pouring.
Renji screaming her name — Asami!
Then… a red mark glowing on his arm, as she fell backward into the river below.
Renji gasped. "I… killed her?"
Kagura's face turned cold. "No. You cursed her."
He looked at his hand, trembling. The sigil from the cursebook was glowing faintly under the skin.
"She was the first… and now she's coming back."
---
Kagura walked toward the bell and placed a hand on it.
"She's not the only one, either. There are others. All of them cursed, waiting to awaken."
Renji staggered to his feet. "Then I'll break the curse."
"You can't," Kagura said softly. "Because it was never a curse."
He blinked. "Then what was it?"
She turned to face him.
"A promise."
---
End Message for Readers:
Renji's past is unraveling, and it's darker than he ever imagined.
What do you think happened on that bridge with Asami?
Drop your theories in the comments — let's see who figures it out first!