SCENE 1 – MIRROR DIMENSION: "THE THRESHOLD"
Aoi awakens on a floating terrain made of shattered mirror fragments. The entire landscape glows with shades of gray, blue, and white. Distorted voices echo around him—like whispers from a broken dream.
Aoi (breathing heavily):
This isn't a dream…
Just a few meters away, on a suspended platform, stands Kureha. Her silhouette glows faintly.
Kureha:
—Here, every wound becomes a reflection.
—And every reflection… can kill you.
Aoi:
—Where is my reflection? What does it want?
Kureha:
—It doesn't want anything.
—It only exists… because of you.
Close-up on Aoi's face. His eyes widen with fear.
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SCENE 2 – REVERBERATION CHAMBER (TRAINING)
Inside a dome made of curved floating mirrors, thoughts echo like foreign voices. Aoi wears a black jacket that pulses in sync with his heartbeat.
Kureha:
—Feel your heartbeat.
—In here… the heart is everything.
She places a stethoscope on his chest. A wave of light expands from the contact.
Flashes: Yui laughing. The reflection smiling. Aoi falling.
Kureha:
—Listen to the resonance…
—And face what you deny.
Before him appears his first Echo: a distorted version of himself, with a vertical crack running down its face.
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SCENE 3 – INNER COMBAT
The battle isn't physical. Each attack from the Echo projects a painful memory. Aoi tries to resist… but hesitates.
Echo of Aoi:
—Do you remember when Yui screamed your name?
—You did nothing!
Aoi drops to his knees. The world darkens around him. Kureha watches silently.
Kureha (softly):
—You can't win… unless you accept.
Sudden flashback: Yui standing in the rain. The mirror glowing. Aoi closing the door.
Aoi (shouting):
—I DON'T WANT TO SEE THIS!
A pulse. The mirrored world cracks. The Echo stumbles. Aoi slowly rises, tears in his eyes.
Aoi:
—But I have to see it.
A white light envelops him. His jacket transforms partially into a crystalline armor. He strikes with a resonant wave—his heartbeat turned into a weapon. The Echo shatters.
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SCENE 4 – POST-COMBAT: THE THRESHOLD
Aoi gasps for air, injured but standing. The shattered world begins to reform itself. Kureha approaches him.
Kureha:
—You survived your first Echo.
—But your true reflection… will be far worse.
Aoi:
—Why are you helping me?
Kureha:
—Because I lost someone too.
—And I never faced my Echo.
She removes a glove. Black, branch-like marks are etched into her skin—resonance scars.
Aoi stares in silence.
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SCENE 5 – SCHOOL: REAL WORLD
Aoi wakes up in his bed. His chest is pounding. He touches it instinctively.
The mirror in his room looks normal…
…but within its reflection, something has changed.
Inside: a frozen shard of Yui, trapped in a crystalline prison.
Aoi (V.O.):
Maybe… she's still in there.