The sky was falling apart.

Ren could see the cracks spreading across the clouds like broken glass.

Golden light leaked through them.

Below, the city of Asteria had gone completely silent.

No traffic.

No music.

No voices.

The streets were frozen beneath a strange silver darkness.

Aiko flew above the rooftops, her glowing wings carrying Ren and Sora toward the eastern district.

“Where are we going?” Ren shouted over the wind.

“To the old train station!”

“Why?”

“Because the city won’t be safe for long!”

Sora held tightly to Ren’s jacket.

“Can someone explain what is happening?”

Aiko didn’t answer.

She looked toward the horizon.

The last sunlight was shrinking.

Ren noticed something.

The golden star on his palm was glowing.

But the black crown beneath it was growing darker.

He covered his hand.

Aiko noticed.

“You shouldn’t hide it.”

Ren looked at her.

“You said you didn’t know who I was.”

“I said you weren’t the person I thought you were.”

“What’s the difference?”

Aiko looked away.

“You’ll find out.”

Ren frowned.

“I hate mysterious answers.”

Sora shouted:

“Same!”

Aiko almost smiled.

Then a huge black creature burst through the clouds.

It looked like a dragon made from smoke.

Its eyes were crimson.

Its wings covered half the sky.

Aiko’s expression changed.

“Hold on!”

The creature roared.

A wave of dark energy exploded toward them.

Aiko turned.

Her wings became enormous.

The attack struck.

BOOM!

Ren felt himself falling.

“SORA!”

“I’M HERE!”

Aiko grabbed them both.

But her wings were damaged.

“We’re going down!”

They plunged toward the city.

Ren closed his eyes.

They crashed through the roof of an abandoned building.

CRASH!

Dust filled the room.

Ren opened his eyes.

Sora was lying beside him.

Aiko was standing near the broken wall.

Her wings had disappeared.

“Are you okay?” Ren asked.

Aiko nodded.

“We’re close.”

“To the station?”

“Yes.”

Ren stood.

“Then let’s go.”

---

The old train station was hidden beneath the eastern district.

The entrance was covered by an enormous metal door.

Aiko placed her hand against it.

Nothing happened.

Sora looked at her.

“Wrong password?”

Aiko shook her head.

“The station has forgotten me.”

Ren stared.

“How can a station forget someone?”

“In this city, anything can forget.”

She looked toward the streets.

“People are already losing memories.”

“What kind of memories?”

“Their memories of tomorrow.”

Ren frowned.

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“It will.”

Aiko opened the door.

Inside was a massive underground station.

Hundreds of people stood on the platform.

Every person was completely still.

A little girl was holding a red balloon.

An old man sat on a bench.

A couple stood beside the ticket machine.

Nobody moved.

Sora walked toward the little girl.

“Are you okay?”

The girl looked at her.

“Do you know when tomorrow is?”

Sora froze.

Ren looked around.

Everyone was asking the same question.

“When is tomorrow?”

Aiko whispered:

“The Crimson King is erasing the future.”

Ren turned toward her.

“How?”

“The city is connected to a magical clock.”

“The clock tower?”

“Yes.”

“And if the clock stops?”

Aiko looked at the frozen people.

“The world loses tomorrow.”

Ren’s eyes widened.

“So if he stops it completely…”

“There will be no next day.”

Silence.

Sora looked at the station clock.

It showed:

6:13 PM.

The same time as before.

Then a train arrived.

It had no driver.

No passengers.

Its windows were completely black.

The doors opened.

Aiko stepped forward.

“We need to get on.”

Ren stared at the train.

“Where does it go?”

Aiko answered:

“Somewhere the Crimson King can’t see.”

Sora looked suspicious.

“That’s not exactly reassuring.”

The train doors began closing.

Aiko grabbed Ren’s hand.

“Now!”

They jumped inside.

Sora followed.

The doors slammed shut.

The train moved.

But it didn’t travel forward.

It went down.

Deeper.

And deeper.

The city disappeared above them.

---

Inside the train, everything was silent.

The seats were old.

The windows showed nothing but darkness.

Ren sat opposite Aiko.

He stared at her.

“Tell me the truth.”

Aiko looked at him.

“About what?”

“Everything.”

Sora nodded.

“Please.”

Aiko sighed.

“You really want to know?”

“Yes.”

She looked out the window.

“My real name is Aiko Hoshina.”

“I know.”

“I was born inside the Clock Tower.”

Ren blinked.

“Born inside a building?”

“Not exactly.”

She touched the golden star beneath her eye.

“I was created.”

“Created?”

“Yes.”

“By whom?”

Aiko hesitated.

“The people who guarded the sunset.”

Ren stared.

“What is that?”

“A power that keeps time moving.”

Sora leaned forward.

“So the sunset is magical?”

Aiko nodded.

“Every sunset contains a piece of tomorrow.”

Ren frowned.

“That sounds impossible.”

“It is.”

Aiko smiled.

“That’s why it’s magic.”

The train suddenly shook.

BOOM.

Lights flickered.

Sora grabbed her camera.

“What was that?”

Aiko looked frightened.

“They found us.”

Ren stood.

“Who?”

Aiko pointed toward the rear of the train.

A dark figure stood there.

It had no face.

Only two red eyes.

Then another appeared.

Then another.

Sora whispered:

“How many are there?”

Aiko answered:

“Too many.”

Ren opened his sketchbook.

“Can I draw something?”

Aiko smiled.

“Draw something impossible.”

Ren began drawing.

A shield.

A massive silver shield.

The moment he finished—

FLASH!

The shield appeared.

The creatures attacked.

BOOM!

The shield blocked them.

Ren pushed forward.

Sora’s camera flashed repeatedly.

CLICK!

Every photograph became a magical weapon.

Aiko raised her hand.

Golden threads wrapped around the creatures.

Together, they fought.

But every time one creature disappeared—

Two more appeared.

Ren became exhausted.

“I can’t keep doing this!”

Aiko looked at him.

“Then stop fighting them.”

“What?”

“Change the drawing.”

Ren understood.

He opened his sketchbook.

Instead of drawing a weapon—

He drew a door.

A simple wooden door.

Sora stared.

“A door?”

Ren finished the drawing.

FLASH!

A door appeared in the train wall.

Aiko smiled.

“Perfect.”

She opened it.

Behind the door was a bright blue sky.

Sora stared.

“That’s not outside.”

“No.”

Aiko stepped through.

“It’s a memory.”

Ren followed.

---

They entered a beautiful meadow.

Golden flowers stretched toward the horizon.

A little girl was running through the grass.

She had silver hair.

Aiko stopped.

Ren looked at her.

“Is that you?”

Aiko nodded.

The little girl laughed.

A woman was sitting beneath a tree.

She looked exactly like Aiko.

But older.

Ren recognized her immediately.

“The woman from the photograph.”

Aiko’s eyes filled with tears.

“My mother.”

The scene changed.

Aiko’s mother was standing beside a young man.

Ren looked closer.

The young man had the same eyes as him.

Ren’s breath stopped.

“Who is that?”

Aiko whispered:

“Your father.”

Ren couldn’t move.

“My father?”

“He disappeared eighteen years ago.”

“Why?”

Aiko looked at him.

“Because of the Crimson King.”

The memory changed again.

A dark figure appeared.

The Crimson King.

He was younger.

He stood before Aiko’s mother.

“Give me the Star Child.”

Aiko’s mother shook her head.

“No.”

The King raised his hand.

The memory exploded into darkness.

Ren suddenly felt a sharp pain in his palm.

The black crown burned.

He fell to his knees.

“Ren!”

Aiko rushed toward him.

A voice whispered inside his mind.

You remember me.

Ren looked around.

“Who are you?”

The voice laughed.

Your father.

Ren’s eyes widened.

Aiko stared at him.

“What happened?”

Ren looked at her.

“I heard a voice.”

“What did it say?”

“My father.”

Aiko’s expression changed.

“That can’t be.”

“Why?”

“Because your father died eighteen years ago.”

Ren shook his head.

“He said he remembers me.”

The ground began shaking.

The memory started collapsing.

Aiko grabbed Ren’s hand.

“We have to go.”

---

They returned to the train.

The mysterious creatures were gone.

The train had stopped.

The doors opened.

A city stood outside.

But it wasn’t Asteria.

It floated above the clouds.

Hundreds of buildings drifted through the sky.

Bridges connected floating islands.

Huge airships sailed between towers.

Sora stared.

“Where are we?”

Aiko stepped onto the platform.

“The City of Forgotten Memories.”

Ren followed.

“Why did we come here?”

Aiko pointed toward a giant library in the distance.

“Because the answers are inside.”

---

The library was enormous.

Its doors were taller than houses.

When they entered, thousands of books floated through the air.

A librarian with glowing eyes approached them.

“Who seeks the forbidden memories?”

Aiko pointed toward Ren.

“He does.”

The librarian stared at Ren.

Then bowed.

“Welcome back, Prince Ren.”

Ren froze.

Again.

The same word.

Prince.

He looked at Aiko.

“Why does everyone keep calling me that?”

Aiko didn’t answer.

The librarian opened an ancient book.

The pages turned by themselves.

A painting appeared.

It showed a royal family.

A king.

A queen.

A young princess.

And a baby boy.

The boy had a golden star on his palm.

Ren stared at the painting.

“That baby…”

The librarian whispered:

“Was you.”

Ren couldn’t breathe.

Aiko lowered her eyes.

“Ren Kaito was never your real name.”

Ren looked at her.

“Then who am I?”

Before Aiko could answer—

The library doors exploded.

BOOM!

The Crimson King entered.

His red eyes glowed.

The librarian screamed:

“Protect the memories!”

The King smiled.

“You’ve made it very easy for me.”

Ren raised his sword.

The King looked at him.

“Hello, little brother.”

Ren froze.

Sora whispered:

“Little brother?”

Aiko looked horrified.

The Crimson King smiled.

“Did nobody tell you?”

He removed his crown.

Beneath it was a familiar face.

A face Ren had seen in the old memory.

His father’s face.

The King whispered:

“I’m not the Crimson King.”

He pointed at Ren.

“I am your brother.”

The entire library went silent.

END OF CHAPTER 2