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Chapter 1
Chapter 1
THE SHAPE OF REGRET
Chapter 3 — The Observatory at the End of the World
The first thing Ren Arakawa noticed about the night was that the stars were missing.
Not hidden behind clouds. Not drowned out by the glow of Kurohama City's streetlights. Missing.
He stood outside the Exorcist headquarters with his hands buried in his pockets, staring into a sky that looked like a sheet of black paper stretched over the world. The moon had disappeared hours ago, and the stars that usually scattered across the darkness had gone with it.
There should have been something up there.
There should have been thousands of tiny points of light.
Instead, there was nothing.
"You're doing it again," Toma Kisaragi said.
Ren glanced over. "Doing what?"
"Staring at things that aren't going to explain themselves."
"Maybe if people stopped hiding explanations from me, I'd stop looking for them."
Toma adjusted the strap across his shoulder. His collapsible spear, Shigure, rested securely against his back. Even at this hour, his uniform looked immaculate. Ren had begun to suspect that Toma ironed his clothes while sleeping.
"You're assuming the sky owes you an explanation," Toma replied.
"Considering the sun nearly disappeared yesterday, I think it owes everybody one."
Toma had no answer for that.
A few feet away, Mio Saegusa was attempting to force the lid of a weapon case shut. She pressed down with both hands, leaned her entire weight against it, and finally managed to make the latches click.
"There," she announced. "Perfectly safe."
Something inside the case rattled.
Ren stared at it.
"Was that supposed to happen?"
"No."
"Should we be worried?"
"Probably."
Mio picked up the case and slung it over her shoulder.
"Let's go before it decides to become somebody else's problem."
Master Genzō Kurobane emerged from the headquarters carrying his familiar cane. His long coat shifted in the cold wind, and the protective charms sewn into its lining whispered against one another.
Behind him walked Akira Kurobane.
She had been back among the living for less than a day, yet Ren still found himself looking at her as though she might disappear whenever he blinked.
The old photograph had shown five young Exorcists. Genzō had remembered a brother. Akira had returned as a sister. Somewhere between those two truths lay a gap in the world's memory, and none of them understood what had happened inside it.
Akira carried a battered notebook beneath one arm.
"Everyone ready?" Genzō asked.
"Ready for what?" Ren said. "A haunted observatory, an ancient entity that apparently remembers a previous world, or the possibility that our sun is going to vanish?"
"All three, if necessary."
"Great. I was worried we'd have a boring evening."
Genzō gave him a tired smile.
"Keep joking, boy. It's useful."
"Why?"
"Because when you stop joking, I know you're truly frightened."
Ren opened his mouth to argue.
Then he closed it again.
Genzō's smile disappeared.
"Stay close to one another. Do not follow any voice you recognize. Do not touch anything that casts a shadow in the wrong direction."
He looked directly at Ren.
"And if the sun appears tonight, no matter what it looks like, do not look directly at it."
Ren waited for the explanation.
Genzō turned toward the road.
"Let's move."
The observatory stood on a hill beyond the northern edge of Kurohama City.
The building had been abandoned for decades, after a series of une
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About this book
"The shape of regret chapter 3" is a general book by The-darkness. with 1 chapters and approximately 572 words. It covers key insights and practical takeaways on the topic.
This book was created using Inkfluence AI, an AI-powered book generation platform that helps authors write, design, and publish complete books.
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What is "The shape of regret chapter 3" about?
"The shape of regret chapter 3" is a general book by The-darkness. covering key insights and practical takeaways on the topic.
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The book contains 1 chapters and approximately 572 words. Topics covered include Chapter 1.
Who wrote "The shape of regret chapter 3"?
This book was written by The-darkness. and created using Inkfluence AI, an AI book generation platform that helps authors write, design, and publish books.
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