SCENE 1 – INTERIOR, SCHOOL – CLASSROOM – MORNING
Wide shot. Students are chatting. Aoi sits at his desk in silence, eyes distant. He's gazing at a polished window. His reflection blinks—a second late.
Rina (OFF):
—Aoi… Did you have a weird dream again?
Aoi (avoiding eye contact):
—It wasn't a dream.
Rina (concerned):
—Are you still seeing… things?
The bell rings. Aoi rises. In the reflection of the window, a brief flicker of Yui's face appears. He freezes.
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SCENE 2 – SCHOOL BATHROOM – MOMENTS LATER
Aoi locks himself inside. He stares at the mirror. His hands are shaking.
Aoi (V.O.):
If she's still trapped in there…
Then I need to go back.
Silence. This time, the reflection stares back—as if it were a camera.
Reflection (softly):
—You're not ready… not yet.
The image distorts. A crack forms across the mirror's surface. Aoi stumbles back. A drop of blood falls from his nose.
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SCENE 3 – THE THRESHOLD – ADVANCED TRAINING
Kureha guides Aoi. They stand on a mobile platform gliding through massive fragments of memory, suspended in the void. Some show scenes of strangers: faces Aoi doesn't recognize.
Kureha:
—Echoes don't belong to just you.
—We all carry something that refuses to die.
She touches one of the mirror shards. A memory plays: a child crying as his mother screams behind a door.
Aoi:
—These memories…?
Kureha:
—Echoes from others.
—If someone falls too deep, their pulse breaks… and mixes.
A shadow crawls across a nearby shard. Kureha pulls out a crystalline dagger.
Kureha:
—Get ready.
—This one isn't yours.
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SCENE 4 – COMBAT – FIRST FOREIGN ECHO
A semi-humanoid figure appears—made of broken fragments, shifting between laughing, screaming, and weeping faces. It lunges at Aoi erratically. Kureha pushes him aside.
Kureha:
—Link to the pulse!
—You can't fight it with brute force!
Aoi closes his eyes. He hears labored breathing—as if the creature itself is pleading. His jacket responds, partially crystallizing.
Aoi (extending his hand):
—You're not me…
—But you're suffering too.
A resonant wave pulses from his chest. The Echo halts… shatters… and releases a memory: a boy holding a letter.
The creature vanishes into light.
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SCENE 5 – UNSTABLE REALM – POST-COMBAT
The environment trembles. Aoi drops to his knees. Kureha helps him up.
Aoi:
—Why wasn't that echo… evil?
Kureha:
—Some echoes just want to be seen…
—Before they disappear.
A deep rumble echoes. Something unseen has sensed Aoi's resonance. In the distance, a massive distortion rises on the Threshold's horizon: a faceless figure surrounded by countless echoes.
Kureha (softly):
—No…
—He's awakened.
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SCENE 6 – REAL WORLD – AOI'S ROOM – NIGHT
Aoi stares at his mirror. A word is written across the surface in fog:
> "HELP HER"
He turns to his nightstand—
There, an object that wasn't there before: a crystalline stethoscope, identical to Kureha's.
Aoi (V.O.):
If the echoes can cross over…
Then maybe…
So can I.