Firstly, I'd like to apologize for my last story. I won't be continuing it anymore but will be making a new one with a few similar elements. This story was inspired by a game I played before called "the world ends with you" or TWEWY. I wrote a story on it a few years ago called TWBWY (The world begins with you) and it got a little popular. I can't access the account I used for that story anymore so unfortunately I had to end it abruptly. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one :)

"You may delay…but time will not"
- Benjamin Franklin

Advent
Chapter 1: Prologue

(Len's POV)

December 31ist, 2014…also known as the buried day. When the next year came around, everyone around me had forgotten that day ever existed. I was only 6 years old then, but I can still remember it like it was yesterday. I thought I was going crazy because of the bad New Year's dinner, but it turns out I wasn't just seeing things after all. The evening sky was being ripped apart by holes that suddenly popped up from nowhere. If I could compare, I'd say they looked a lot like black holes.

At that point, things were starting to go haywire. Buildings were falling, people were screaming and cars were flying. For the first time in the first 6 years of my life, I thought I was gonna die. It was then that "It" showed up. Among all the black holes tearing Tokyo apart, a single green light appeared high in the sky – higher than any of the black holes. As it shun, it slowly sprayed the city with tiny green crystals as if it was snowing. Looking at the falling 'snow' was the last thing I could remember before everything went black. When I woke up the next morning, no one could understand a thing I was saying because to them, December 31ist was just their yearly celebration. It was as if the year ended on a simple and uninteresting note.

But for me…that day marked the end for any chance of a normal life.

(Normal POV)

- Ten years after the Buried Day incident. June 21, 2025 -

"Shegeru…Shegeru" An automated voice emanated from a stopping train, informing its passengers that the locomotive had now ceased. Many passengers stepped out in a hurry to attend to their work, but there were also those who took their time leisurely. Among the latter crowd was a young man with blond hair and blue eyes. He wore a thin white sleeveless jacket over a dark long sleeved shirt rolled up a little lower than his elbow. The emotion on his face showed very little enthusiasm for the day ahead of him as he walked with a casual pace.

One of the first things people would see once out of Shegeru station is a large monitor used for commercial or news purposes. The boy stopped as he heard the voice of a local reporter on-screen. As the news anchor spoke, the picture of a teenage girl with short black hair appeared just above the headline.

"In other news, fans of rising artist Rina Mine have sent a number of complaints and letters regarding the singer's sudden disappearance. Just a month ago, rumors had spread that the 17 year old had actually gone missing in contrast to her manager's on-going claim that she was simply on vacation" Once the topic had shifted, the boy continued to tread on the streets of Shegeru. He wasn't particularly interested in the news that went around, but he felt that it may work to his advantage at some point. He was simply the type that was open to information.

As he walked along, the boy passed people left and right that were either suited up for work or dressed up for a casual stroll in the energetic city. The green pedestrian light lit up at a large crossing, and it was at that very moment that something strange had happened. It only took a moment, but the young man noticed a single student quickly and completely disappear from his sight. It seemed all the more strange when not a single person reacted to the student's abrupt exit. When the boy had reached the other side of the crossing, he stopped, and with a sigh he remembered that it was only him that could 'see' these things happen. He didn't know why he was the only one; all he knew was that ever since 'that' day, he'd noticed a number of strange occurrences.

"You saw that, didn't you?" A female voice suddenly muttered, drawing the distracted teenager's attention to a young girl staring right at him. "You're not alone. There are others just like you" she added with a welcoming smile. She had yellow hair just like him, albeit lighter in shade, styled in a fashionable manner that wasn't too loud, not too subtle. Glancing at her once, the boy continued to walk past her, but was stopped by the stranger's next words.

"It's Len, right? Len Kagami?" The boy's suspicion only grew with that question. Her guess was right, although it seemed more than an educated guess.

"And what if it is?" The teenager named Len replied, his alertness starting to kick in as he analyzed the yellow haired girl. Aside from her physical features, she wore clothes that consisted of a maroon short-sleeved shirt with a zip-on hood, a music player hanging by her neck, black shorts and dark brown boots. Lastly, a long belt hung by the right side of her shorts. For some reason, the girl looked strangely familiar.

"We've been looking for you" the girl uttered, stepping closer to Len. As she did, the layout of the whole area quickly began to change. The buildings disappeared, the roads vanished and the surrounding crowd had now faded away. Everything began to shift until finally, the two teenagers were standing just above a huge body of water: the ocean. It was an unbelievable change of scenery, but the moving waters lying below a sunset horizon all seemed and felt too real.

"What…the hell?" An awed Len muttered as he stared at where his two feet were planted. It was as if an invisible sheet of glass was slipped under his feet. "This can't be real! None of this could possibly be real"

"It's as real as it can get" the girl contrasted, clasping her hands behind her. "But you've already seen things in the past that aren't exactly normal, haven't you?" At that, the young man stopped. It was true that he'd experienced the abnormal ever since he was six years old. People occasionally disappearing, shops suddenly changing their whole look and name in just a single day, and the worst of it all was something Len didn't even want to think about.

"So then…just who the heck are you, anyway?" Len interrogated, causing the stranger to smile.

"I didn't want to say it in public, but I guess it's okay now. My name's Rina Mine, but feel free to call me Rin. Nice to meet you!" As if things couldn't be anymore surprising, the one person who turned the world upside down happened to be the singer thought to be "missing". Len couldn't fully believe her, but when he thought about it, he did see the similarities. It was no wonder why he thought she looked familiar awhile back.

"Don't worry though. We're still actually in the real world; or at least, another representation of it"

"And what kind of representation is this, exactly?" Len replied with a sarcastic tone.

"My representation" the girl added matter-of-factly before pointing to a single object behind Len. "See that door over there? That's where the crossing was, and that door represents the person who just disappeared" As she spoke, Rin took notice of a few dark circles swirling near the door. Although Len couldn't figure out what it was, he could feel a bad presence emanating from these objects and backed away instinctively.

"You might wanna stay behind me this time" Rin noted, reaching into her pocket to take out what seemed like a normal pink cellphone. Flipping the lid up, she pointed the phone towards one of the circles with a steady arm. " Len thought that if whatever he was feeling was a bad omen, then it wouldn't be a good idea to try taking a picture of it instead of running.

The boy grunted, "Hey! What the hell are you doing? This isn't the time to take a new blog photo!"

Ignoring the yelling voice, Rin kept her focus on the target. "Forte!" She exclaimed, starting up the cellphone with a quick spark.

Slowly, the circle grew in size until finally; a four-legged figure rushed out of it and dashed towards the girl, only to be met with a burst of light that enveloped the black figure. Everything had happened in a split second, leaving Len to guess what had just happened. Suddenly, three more unknown beings rushed out, with one of them being disposed of by the same attack. Stepping to the right to avoid their charge, the girl pulled out from her pocket a small knife with a glowing blue edge.

Rin evaded the wolf-like creature again, this time hitting it with a quick slash once she moved out of harm's way. Another enemy approached, but she did the same to that one as well before shooting the downed hostile with another shot from the phone's lens. One more creature approached from behind, but the girl hastily turned around and pointed it straight at the enemy's face, obliterating it with one more shot. Len watched as the creatures all faded away into dust.

"Not bad if I do say so myself" Rin chuckled as she closed the lid of her phone and slipped it back into her pocket. In all honesty, a part of Len actually believed that whatever happened ever since he met Rin was real. It was probably because of the few paranormal experiences he'd already come across in his life. Even so, the teen still found himself speechless.

"What…what were those things?" Len finally muttered, staring at his companion with uncertain eyes as the waves below him continued to flow.

"They're called the 'Keii'. It's because of them that these strange things are happening" As she spoke, the young lady walked closer to the door until her hand could firmly grasp the knob. "Those people disappear because the Keii use them as 'payments' to try and enter the normal world. All of this may sound unbelievable…but what you've witnessed just now exceeds anything you'd see on your usual day"

Once the door had been opened, the scenery began to revert to its former bustling noises, blinking lights, towering buildings and clattering footsteps.

"We're…back?" The yellow haired boy said as he looked around. He was indeed back In Shegeru.

"Yup, you can relax now" Rin replied with a smile. "I 'stabilized' the bridge that the Keii made using that person awhile ago. Unfortunately…he can't be brought back, but at the very least, we can prevent an even bigger problem from happening. This is one of our jobs – the job of an 'Engraved'"

At that point, Len felt a mix of emotions. He felt relieved that there were actually people just like him, yet unsure if that was a good thing or not because of the circumstances. Throughout his life, Len always tried to see the reality in life even through the abnormalities he'd come across. There was just a big part of him that didn't want anything to do with these supernatural occurrences.

"So what you're getting at is…I'm this so-called Engraved just like you?"

"That's right. I was assigned to come get you. In the end, it's your choice whether to accept all this or not. We can't force you to do something you don't wanna do…but please hear us out first before making a decision"

But even though there was a part of Len that refused to be involved with the current matter, there was also a side of him that wanted to know the truth. Just by witnessing this single event, the teenager had a good hunch it wouldn't be a smooth ride, but the practical person that he is, giving a certain topic some thought was something he did on a regular basis.

"Tch…I guess I don't really have a choice now, do I? I've got some time to kill so I'll hear you out" The boy mumbled with his slightly monotonous tone, making a big smile show on his new friend's face. He wanted to know the truth, no matter how bizarre it could possibly be. After all, he'd gone through enough to face whatever would come next.