A Long Absence

The sun rose as it always did over the sky of the world we knew.

Its rays spread between the clouds, touching the peaks of mountains and flowing over forests, plains, and villages that had begun to awaken slowly.

Birds flew across the sky, searching for new places to build their nests.

Animals ran between the trees, living their lives according to instinct.

Beneath the water, fish swam at full speed, fleeing predators that chased them, searching for food, or simply trying to survive another day.

In this world, no one cared about anyone else.

Everything wanted to live.

And everything else could become the reason for its death.

Even the sun itself, despite giving life, continued to rise above everything, as though watching them from a place no one could ever reach.

And somewhere far away from all of that...

Jenso woke up.

He slowly opened his eyes, then stared at the ceiling for a few moments without moving.

At first, he didn't know where he was.

He stared at the ceiling.

Then at the walls.

Then he turned to the side.

He was lying on a bed he still wasn't accustomed to sleeping on.

He shifted slightly, then frowned.

This bed really hurts my back...

He raised a hand to his back and rubbed it for a moment.

I didn't sleep well because of it.

Jenso sighed before sitting up on the bed.

The place was quiet.

Far quieter than it should have been.

He heard no footsteps.

No voices outside.

He couldn't sense anyone else nearby.

He took a deep breath, then raised his head toward the window.

And suddenly...

A voice reached him.

"Have you ever wondered why the sky is so far away from us?"

Jenso froze.

He quickly turned toward the source of the voice.

There was no one in front of him.

Then he looked toward the window.

And there...

Someone was sitting on it.

He sat there calmly, as though he had been there for hours.

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As though he hadn't entered the room at all.

As though he were simply a part of the place.

Jenso's eyes widened slightly.

He wasn't afraid of him.

But the shock wasn't caused by his presence.

It was caused by something else.

He hadn't noticed him.

Jenso possessed senses that allowed him to notice things an ordinary person couldn't even feel.

And yet this man had been sitting right in front of him the entire time without Jenso sensing his presence.

He wore red clothes, his chest exposed, while his long hair fell over his face, concealing much of his features.

In his hand was a bottle of wine.

He slowly rolled it between his fingers, as though contemplating something.

He didn't even look at Jenso.

He simply continued staring through the window at the sky.

Then he said,

"Are you not going to answer?"

He paused for a moment.

"Or are you going to keep analyzing me?"

Jenso snapped out of his daze.

"No... I don't know why."

The man chuckled softly.

Then he turned his gaze back toward the sky.

"Because the sky above us enjoys looking down at us."

He raised the bottle in front of his eyes, as though comparing its color to that of the sky.

"It has an arrogance that makes it watch humanity."

"But it doesn't want to get close to them."

He fell silent for a moment.

Then said,

"Humans are lowly creatures."

His tone was calm.

He wasn't saying it out of anger.

Nor was he trying to convince Jenso of anything.

He spoke as though he were merely stating a truth he had known for a very long time.

"They love destruction by nature."

He lowered the bottle.

"The sky is not like the earth."

He looked downward.

"The earth enjoys living beneath our feet."

He smiled.

"It enjoys being stepped on."

He looked at Jenso.

"And so do humans."

Jenso didn't answer.

So the man continued.

"Despite the size of the earth and the size of the sky..."

He paused.

"Humanity still imitates them."

He raised his eyes toward Jenso.

"There are two kinds of humans, Jenso."

He began counting them on his fingers.

"Either they step on you like the earth..."

Then he raised a second finger.

"Or you become as high as the sky."

Silence.

Then he smiled faintly.

"Which one are you?"

Jenso didn't answer.

He simply stared at him.

The question was strange.

But even stranger was the fact that the man didn't seem to be waiting for an actual answer.

As though he already knew Jenso wouldn't answer.

Jenso lowered his gaze for a moment.

He began thinking about the question.

The earth?

The sky?

To be beneath someone else's feet?

Or above them?

But something else bothered him more than all that philosophy.

He raised his eyes toward the man.

"You..."

He paused.

Then said,

"How do you know my name?"

For a moment...

Silence filled the room.

Then the man burst into laughter.

A long laugh.

It wasn't the laugh of someone who had heard something funny.

It was more like the laugh of someone who found the question itself amusing.

He grabbed the edge of the window and calmly stepped down.

For the first time, he turned his entire body toward Jenso.

Then he raised his head.

His hair fell away from his face.

Jenso could finally see his features clearly.

His eyes were red.

Strikingly red.

He looked directly at Jenso.

Then he raised the bottle and took a drink.

He stepped closer.

Then another step.

Jenso didn't retreat.

He simply watched him.

As the man approached, the strong smell of alcohol reached Jenso.

But he noticed something strange.

This person...

Jenso glanced at the bottle in his hand.

Despite the strong smell of alcohol, it came entirely from the bottle.

Then he stared at the man.

The smell isn't coming from him.

The man moved closer.

Then stopped in front of Jenso.

He leaned forward slightly and looked into his eyes.

He remained silent for several seconds.

As though searching for something deep within him.

Then he said,

"Because I know everything, Jenso."

Jenso's breathing stopped for a moment.

"Everything?"

The man smiled.

"Didn't you hear me?"

Then he let out a contemptuous laugh.

"I said I know everything."

The man's gaze changed slightly.

He stared into Jenso's eyes for a little longer.

Then said,

"That look..."

He fell silent.

"In your eyes."

Jenso didn't understand what he meant.

So the man continued.

"You remind me of someone from the past."

His tone changed.

For the first time, his voice no longer carried the same mockery.

"She was like you."

He looked toward the bed.

"Sitting on a bed like this."

Then he looked back at Jenso.

"And carrying the same emptiness..."

He paused.

"And sadness."

He moved slightly closer.

"The same look you carry in your eyes, child."

Jenso froze.

He didn't know why...

But those words made him feel something strange.

He didn't know the person the man was talking about.

And he didn't know why he felt that this man wasn't talking about an ordinary person.

Jenso opened his mouth to ask.

But before he could say anything...

BOOM!

The door shook violently.

Jenso quickly turned around.

The door hadn't opened.

It had been kicked.

Someone entered through it.

And when Jenso saw who it was...

Every thought vanished from his mind.

It was Ivo.

But...

It wasn't the Ivo he knew.

Jenso didn't see the familiar anger in Ivo's eyes.

Instead, he saw something different.

Real anger.

An anger so intense that it made his features look completely different.

The energy radiating from Ivo spread throughout the room, its pressure making Jenso feel as though the air itself had grown heavier.

His body instinctively moved back slightly.

But he endured it.

Jenso had never seen Ivo like this since the day he met him.

Not once.

Not even when Ivo had been furious at his worst.

But now...

It was different.

Ivo looked directly at the man in red.

He didn't look at Jenso.

He didn't care about anything else in the room.

Only him.

Then he said in a low voice,

"What are you doing here, Ryo?"

Silence.

The man who had been standing in front of Jenso...

Raised his head.

Then slowly turned toward Ivo.

A smile appeared on his face.

As though he had been waiting for this moment for a very long time.

He raised the bottle to his lips.

Took a sip.

Then said,

"Oh..."

His smile stopped for a moment.

Then widened.

"You finally came."

The two stared at each other.

And for the first time...

Jenso began to realize that the person who had been sitting beside him all this time wasn't merely some stranger who had entered the room.

He was someone Ivo knew.

Someone who had made Ivo...

Become this angry.

As for Ryo, he didn't look surprised to see Ivo at all.

As though he had known from the very beginning...

That this moment would come.