In the isolated coastal town of Kurohane, eerie spiral patterns begin appearing everywhere—on walls, in trees, even in people’s reflections. When Renji Kisaragi, a skeptical high school journalist, returns home after hearing about his brother Shun’s sudden and mysterious death, he finds himself trapped in a nightmarish time loop.

Every time he dies, time rewinds—resetting two days earlier. But with each reset, reality twists further: people disappear, time fractures, and his own body begins to change. As he searches for the cause, he discovers his estranged father, Kaoru Kisaragi, may have been the one who triggered the loop.

Aided by his childhood friend Aoi Tsukimura, who holds secrets of her own, Renji must uncover the mystery of The Spiral Gate before it consumes everything. But some truths are worse than death. And the entity behind the spirals does not want to be stopped.

Renji must make an impossible choice: sacrifice himself to break the loop—or risk losing his humanity to escape.

It had been almost a full year since the last Summer Star Festival—the night the Spiral first whispered.


But this time, the town of Yukihama stirred not with unease, but genuine excitement.


Paper lanterns lined the streets. Vendors reopened with cheerful shouts. Music floated gently through the air, familiar and warm. There was no underlying dread. No pull in the mirrors. Just laughter, lights, and life.


For Renji, the return of the festival was more than tradition.


Some people, especially the older ones, walked with a kind of caution—like they sensed something had changed, even if they couldn't name it. Like they carried faint dreams of spirals, of still mirrors, of things they had never truly seen.


Children ran between booths, free of that weight.


But the adults… their smiles took a little longer to settle.


Renji walked among them with Kuro and Aoi, feeling each step like a prayer. His eyes scanned every lantern, every reflection in shop windows.


That night, as tradition dictated, a giant flame was lit in the shrine's courtyard.


People gathered to write wishes on folded papers, tossing them into the sacred fire as drums echoed across the forest.


Aoi stood beside Renji, holding her paper quietly.


"You gonna write one this time?" she asked, glancing at him sideways.


He nodded. "Yeah. I think I finally know what I want to say."


Kuro, nearby, smirked. "Bet it's something lame like 'peace.'"


Renji just grinned. "Close. But not exactly."


Aoi's wish: "I want to forgive myself."


Kuro's wish: "I want to keep moving forward, even if I'm scared."


Renji's wish: "I want this to be real. This moment. This peace. Let it stay."


The flames consumed the papers slowly, curling each message into smoke that rose into the night sky.


A girl in an old school uniform. Her hair tied in a ribbon. Her eyes deep with memory.


She didn't speak. She just smiled, placed two fingers over her heart… and vanished into the crowd like a dream finally at rest.


Chapter 62 - The Festival Returns