"Stupid."

All around me, I could only hear that word being repeated.

I wasn't sure where I was. I was lying down, floating along what felt like the ocean.

But what my hand was gripping at wasn't water. It was a chasm of darkness.

"Stupid."

It really did irritate me.

I don't get bothered by a lot of things, but Kaido's deep cutting words rang out in my head like an echo.

I could see him now.

The brooding figure of Kaido as he lurched over me.

I wanted to squeeze my eyes shut, but I couldn't look away.

The moment he forced me to look into his empty white eyes, I was captivated.

"Stupid."

Yeah, I was pretty stupid to get so caught up in his insults.

I was even more frustrated by the fact that I punched him in the first place.

I didn't care that he stopped me. If anything, I felt relieved that he did.

At the very least, now I knew there someone stronger than me.

Someone who could stop me if I ever went too far.

But then I wondered, was that really the true "me"?

It's a question I've asked myself before.

It was after I punched Ritaka that I came to the conclusion that...

One day, I'd have to face the real me.

"Stupid."

During that encounter with Kaido, I faced him for a split second.

I saw the real "Yuuto".

I was the real "Yuuto" when I punched him.

Everything I hid my glass heart spilled out in that moment.

I felt an intense emotion well up in my heart.

It was hatred.

That scared me.

Was I a person who could only solve things with violence?

Was that my real nature?

"Stupid."

I truly lost all my composure in that moment. And it wasn't even Kaido's fault.

It was his.

Kaido isn't him. I know he isn't.

Yet in that moment, they were the exact same person to me.

In front of me wasn't Kaido anymore.

"Stupid."

It was him.

He stared down at me with blood red eyes.

The scar on his left cheek haunted me.

I remember it clearly.

I was still small and naive back then.

I remember not understanding anything.

I remember not understanding why mom was crying.

I remember not understanding why he wasn't there for us.

I remember not understanding why I was blamed for everything.

"Stupid."

A black hand reached out to caress my head.

I wanted to scream "don't touch me!".

Instead, that hand crushed my head.

My brain spilled out.

My body began sinking in that chasm.

The sensation of floating had disappeared entirely.

I was slowly slipping away to a place far away from those gruesome memories.

Take me somewhere far away...

Where I don't have to think about this...

When I landed at the bottom of the chasm...

There was an exorbitant amount of death.

Skulls piled on top of skulls.

Bones laid on top of each other.

The scent of blood was so strong, I wanted to throw up.

The bodies of my classmates with the the red coloured status "Dead" scattered above them.

Shimizu tackled Tadokoro to the floor.

Kai smashed through Akari.

Imaishi smothered Mitsuba from thin air.

Mikitaka crushed Nora under his foot.

Albert sent Katsumi flying with a punch.

John shanked Taiga.

Shigeru drove Kawaguchi into the ground.

Satou casually sat on top of Yukina.

Akihiro was beaten half to death by Zyriot.

I was Commander, yet I couldn't do anything to save them.

My body wouldn't get up.

The status "Dead" floated above me too.

I had become just another body D Class had buried.

Zyriot looked down at me.

"Stupid."

That was what left his mouth.

His eyes, once full of warmth, were now exceedingly cold.

They were the same eyes as Kaido's eyes.

Zyriot reached out, just like him.

His hand reaching for my head.

His hand caressing my head.

"Don't touch me!"

I had the courage to scream this time.

However, it didn't matter.

It was a muted cry for help.

No one would come to save us.

It was all my fault.

The ghost of Matsushita whispered into my ear.

"Stupid."

The end result was the same as before.

His hand crushed my head.

This time though, I didn't sink from it.

Instead, I was dying from it.

"Stupid."

I fell.

My legs twitched up and down.

I woke up, covered in sweat.

Rolling over in my bed, I glanced at the clock on my bedside table.

6:36am. Nearly half an hour before my alarm would wake me up normally.

I could've slept in, but after that harrowing dream, I wanted to wake up and forget about it.

I pulled back the curtains of my room to let the sunlight in and checked the date on my phone.

It was Friday.

The day of the war.