Chapter 10The human heart is the most complicated thing in this world.

  Humans have developed machines that surpass their own physical capabilities—yet they still struggle to create an AI that can match human logic and emotions. That alone speaks to the complexity of the mind.

  And if the human mind is this complicated, then it makes sense that mental disorders would be just as convoluted.

  This was what Jin told himself as he sat there, gripping his temples, trying to rationalize the absolute nonsense unfolding in front of him.

  It’s not because I’m stupid, he reassured himself. It’s just that the conversation is way too deep.

  Or maybe it wasn’t deep at all.

  Maybe it was just complete and utter madness.

  The three figures on the rooftop—Ryuji, Amamiya Ren, and that talking cat—were discussing something so bizarre that Jin wasn’t sure if they were joking, having a full-blown chuunibyou episode, or if they genuinely believed what they were saying.

  According to them, desires shaped the world.

  If someone’s desires became too infted, too distorted, they would manifest into a “Pace.”

  Jin had already seen it—the towering medieval castle he was dragged into? That wasn’t just a dream. That was Kamoshida’s Pace.

  Apparently, Kamoshida—the school’s prized volleyball coach and former Olympic athlete—had let his ego swell to such an extreme that he saw himself as the king of Shujin Academy. His delusions had grown so rge that his mind had literally built a castle where he could rule over everyone.

  And those armored knights inside? They were called Shadows—distorted fragments of cognition drawn in by his warped desires.

  It was insane.

  Jin had no idea how to process any of it.

  Then, as if that wasn’t enough, the cat spoke again, in that weirdly high-pitched, almost theatrical voice:

  "In short! If we want to make Kamoshida change his heart, we need to steal his twisted core—his Treasure—from his Pace!"

  Jin’s brain stalled.

  What.

  He stole another gnce at Ryuji and Ren, expecting them to look just as baffled as he was.

  Instead, they just… nodded.

  Like this was all perfectly normal.

  Kamoshida…

  Jin hated that guy.

  But he’d never once thought about fighting him.

  Why bother? As long as you didn’t cross him, he ignored you. Staying under the radar was easier than challenging someone like that.

  But for Ryuji, it was personal.

  The guy’s entire track career had been destroyed because of Kamoshida. He had to fight back.

  As for Amamiya Ren… Jin couldn’t tell if he actually hated Kamoshida, or if he just didn’t know how to say no to Ryuji. Either way, he agreed.

  The three of them reached a silent consensus and left the rooftop.

  Jin let out a long breath, slumping against the wall.

  So much for all those intricate pns he’d come up with. In the end, everything he prepared turned into meaningless nonsense.

  Turns out, no pn survives contact with reality.

  …Wait.

  Where the hell is Kasumi?

  Jin had asked her to tail Ryuji. But even though Ryuji was right here, she was nowhere to be seen.

  And then—

  "AHHHH! A GHOST!"

  Jin nearly jumped out of his skin.

  "What?! You’re a ghost yourself!"

  "Oh! That’s right!"

  Kasumi’s shrill scream instantly shifted to an airy giggle. She tapped her forehead, stuck out her tongue, and beamed like an anime character.

  Jin sighed. "What did you even see in broad daylight?"

  Kasumi dramatically waved her arms. "You won’t believe me! Just sit down first!"

  "Just say it."

  "I saw me!"

  Kasumi, for once, looked dead serious.

  Jin blinked. "…Hah?"

  His brain struggled to process the sentence.

  The words made sense individually. But together, they sounded deranged.

  "You… saw yourself?"

  "Mmmhmm! Over there with the first-years! Sooo cute, too!"

  Jin groaned. "So you just wanted to brag?"

  "Because I was cute!"

  Kasumi stomped her feet in the air, beaming with so much energy that it almost annoyed him.

  "Cute… Yeah, sure," Jin muttered, rubbing his temples. He had to admit—Kasumi was cute. Even if her personality was a mess, she was still ridiculously pretty.

  "You know, they say if you meet an exact copy of yourself, one of you disappears!"

  Kasumi’s voice took on an ominous lilt, like she was quoting some supernatural legend.

  Jin rolled his eyes. "You’re both still here. Obviously, nothing happened."

  But as soon as the words left his mouth—

  His stomach dropped.

  Wait.

  Wait, wait, wait.

  One of them should have disappeared.

  Jin was Chinese. He’d grown up hearing all kinds of ghost stories—about doppelg?ngers, lost souls, reincarnations gone wrong… And one particur legend came to mind:

  What if someone took over Kasumi’s body?

  Jin stared at her.

  Kasumi was dead.

  That was a fact. He had seen the news.

  And Kasumi, standing before him, was a ghost.

  Also a fact.

  So… how could her body still be walking around?

  Jin’s throat went dry. "Kasumi… What if you didn’t actually die? What if someone used some kind of ritual—something unnatural—to push your soul out? What if someone else is living in your body right now?*"

  The more he thought about it, the more his skin crawled.

  Kasumi shouldn’t exist.

  She had no lingering regrets, no unfinished business—nothing tying her to this world. She should’ve moved on.

  And yet—she hadn’t.

  Something was wrong.

  Horribly, horribly wrong.

  Kasumi, on the other hand, just tilted her head and smiled. "Ooooh, spooky! Expelling souls and taking over bodies? That’s way too unscientific!"

  Jin snapped. "*You are a GHOST and you’re talking to me about SCIENCE?!"

  Jin had two things on his mind.

  One—Kamoshida’s so-called castle, the one Ryuji and the others kept talking about.

  Two—Kasumi’s body.

  Had she been possessed? By who? Why? And most importantly, could she get it back?

  Jin carefully weighed his options, deep in thought.

  And after a grueling, excruciating internal debate sting a whole three seconds—he made his choice.

  Obviously, he was going with the cute girl.

  What was there to hesitate about?!

  On one side, you had three dudes, a cat, and a medieval castle. On the other, you had a beautiful ghost girl and a beautiful girl’s body. The choice was painfully obvious.

  Besides, plenty of great men before him had set the precedent. Ning Caichen? Xu Xian? Cssic schors who fell for ghosts and snake spirits and were rewarded for their kindness. And Japan had its own version—the crane who repaid a favor.

  Yes. This was definitely the correct choice.

  "Wow… Jin, your smile is looking kinda sleazy right now," Kasumi deadpanned.

  "Kasumi," Jin said solemnly. "Have you heard the story of the crane repaying a favor?"

  "Uh, yeah? Why?"

  "Nothing. I’ve made up my mind." Jin crossed his arms, nodding to himself. "You are my partner. We have to solve your mystery first."

  "I'm so touched!" Kasumi clutched her chest dramatically, then narrowed her eyes. "Wait a second—why did you suddenly bring up the crane thing?"

  Jin didn’t answer. He was too busy getting ready to move. He was going to find out who was walking around in Kasumi’s body.

  But just as he took his first step, his phone buzzed.

  He gnced at the screen—his crappy part-time job with a name so long he never bothered to remember it.

  Store Manager: "We have important guests. Get here. NOW."

  Jin frowned and quickly typed: "I took the day off."

  Store Manager: "No days off. If you don’t come, don’t come back at all."

  Jin clenched his teeth. The malice practically oozed off the screen.

  "Looks like I have to go," he sighed.

  "Yeah, yeah, go ahead," Kasumi waved him off casually.

  She acted like she didn’t mind, but Jin knew better. She had gone silent earlier when she saw her body, which meant she did care. She was curious.

  And now, right when they were finally about to investigate, he had to ditch her.

  Damn it.

  "Well… now that we know she’s at Shujin Academy, I can check in on her anytime," Jin muttered to himself, trying to make peace with the situation.

  Then he booked it to the subway.

  Elsewhere.

  Amamiya Ren happened to be heading toward the station at the same time. He and Jin swiped their train cards in sync, nodded at each other in silent greeting—

  Then the crowd swallowed them both.

  "He sure ran off in a hurry when he saw you," the bck cat in Ren’s backpack muttered suspiciously.

  "Maybe he's just in a rush," Ren replied calmly.

  "Hmmm... I don’t know about that," the cat hummed. "That kid's on leave, isn't he? So why was he leaving school at the exact same time as you?"

  Ren thought for a moment.

  Then—

  "Lemme tell you what I think, Lian," the cat continued, voice lowering. "I think we should follow him."

  Ren nodded slightly, took a step—

  And froze.

  From behind a nearby pilr, a furious female voice rang out:

  "Didn't I tell you I'm not feeling well today?!"

  Ren turned his head.

  A blonde girl in a Shujin Academy uniform stormed past him.

  Takamaki Ann.

  He recognized her immediately.

  In front of him, Jin was still running off.

  But—

  Takamaki Ann’s expression was wrong.

  Her brows were furrowed, her lips pressed tight, and there was a tension in her shoulders that screamed something was very, very wrong.

  Ren hesitated.

  Jin was acting suspicious.

  But Ann… Ann looked like she actually needed help.

  And so, his feet moved before he even processed it.

  It was absolutely not because she was beautiful.

  Really.

  Back to Jin.

  He had been to Shibuya many times before.

  But today?

  Today, everything felt off.

  It didn’t matter how many times he ran this route—the fact that he was being forced to work overtime on his day off pissed him off beyond reason.

  "Seriously, how busy can they be? Why the hell do I have to come in—?"

  Grumbling, he turned a corner, expecting to see his usual workpce—

  And then he stopped.

  Dead in his tracks.

  What the hell...?

  The door.

  The door.

  It wasn’t rectangur.

  It was a perfect hexagon.

  What kind of store has a hexagonal door?!

  His stomach clenched.

  And when he reached out to touch the handle—

  It wasn’t metal.

  It was smooth. Almost waxy.

  Like… a candle.

  That’s when Jin knew.

  This wasn’t real.

  This was exactly like Kamoshida’s castle.

  His eyes darted up—

  And sure enough, a thick, purple-red fog coiled around the building.

  The reality he knew was fading—warping, distorting. The once-familiar store stretched, the walls curving upward, transforming into something else entirely.

  A massive tent—narrow at the bottom, wide at the top—rising into the sky.

  His hands went ice cold.

  What the hell is this?!

  Then—

  "HEY—what do you think you’re doing?!"

  Meanwhile.

  At the front of the store, the manager, his son, and another worker stood in a deep bow, nearly bent at the waist.

  This was Japan. Respect was everything. And whoever had just left? They were important.

  Under his chef’s hat, the manager’s face twisted into something vicious.

  "That damn Chinese worker wasn’t here today..." his voice seethed. "Made me lose face..."

  A muscle twitched in his jaw.

  "I absolutely will not let him off the hook."

  His tone carried something beyond mere frustration.

  This was no longer resentment.

  It was pure malice.