Chapter 0: Prologue

I look around.

What I see are the old pieces of furniture, now beyond familiar and bordering on intimate,
and a single mirror that feels out of place, considering the room’s atmosphere.

A clean mirror, contrasting sharply with the other dirty objects in the cluttered room.

Unlike me, who was already consumed by the shadows and stained by darkness.

…

I find myself standing before the mirror and gazing at my reflection.

As if I couldn’t resist the temptation,
as if I couldn’t start my day without this routine anymore.

And in the reflected mirror, as always, a girl with a pretty face is staring straight back into my eyes.

Since I looked into the mirror, it’s only natural that I’m seeing myself.

How bewildering would it be if I looked into the mirror and saw someone other than myself?

Wouldn’t I probably faint from the shock?

At least, I would.

After a moment of trivial thoughts, I gaze into the mirror once more.

The girl with beautiful ‘ash-gray’ hair is still looking at me.

‘Ash-gray’ hair, not ‘black’.

“……Ah.”

Upon confirming that, I let out a small sigh.

Even I, the one who made the sound, cannot easily discern the reason for this sigh.

Well, I suppose I could figure it out if I tried.

Actually, it’s not very important.

There’s no one else here,
and what great matter would arise from a sigh echoing in a room where a girl is alone?

…Although it occurs to me that the child in the next room, whom I’ve never seen before, might be startled.

As I said, it wasn’t that important.

What truly mattered lay elsewhere.

Whatever may be the reason, whatever caused the sigh, whatever the child next door was up to, didn’t matter.

When my hair, changes colors from ‘ash-gray’, and
becomes completely dyed in ‘pure white’.

“……Finally.”

That’s when I will die.

That’s all that matters, nothing else.