Chương 17: Chapter 4 The Night I Became a Witch(Part 4)

Rina's POV The drive felt endless. At some point I called Nayuta. The conversation was a disaster. I was panicking. He was trying to calm me down. Neither of us was particularly successful. By the time we arrived at Tsukasa's workplace, the area surrounding the Gate had become a small war zone. Police. Firefighters. Ambulances. Reporters packed the outer perimeter. Cameras pointed toward the impossible ring standing silently in the middle of the facility. And somewhere inside it— My husband. Or so we thought.

Hours passed. Questions were asked. Statements were taken. One of Tsukasa's coworkers, a man named Sasaki, apologized repeatedly. Apparently the two of them had been documenting the Gate when they realized they were missing photographs. Tsukasa had gone back to take a few more pictures. Then vanished. Just like that. I couldn't bring myself to blame him. No one could have predicted something like this. No one could have imagined a person simply disappearing after approaching a giant ring. So I waited. And hoped.

The sun began to set. The shadows stretched longer. The world grew darker. Then— Without warning— Tsukasa appeared. No flash. No explosion. One moment there was nothing. The next moment he was standing there. If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. Everyone nearby swore he hadn't been there a second earlier. The emergency crews reacted instantly. An ambulance rushed forward. People shouted. Questions flew from every direction. I tried to follow.

The paramedics stopped me. Instead, I followed later to the hospital. The examinations found nothing unusual. No injuries. No signs of illness. Nothing. The only symptom was a severe headache. Relief hit me so hard I nearly cried. Actually... I did cry. A little. Maybe more than a little. Then came the meeting. The strange conversation. The impossible claims. The promise that everything would change at midnight. And now... Midnight had arrived.

At first, nothing happened. Then Tsukasa stopped speaking. Mid-sentence. Like someone had pulled the plug on a machine. His eyes closed. His body went still.

"Tsukasa?" No response. A second passed. Then another. A faint glow appeared beneath his skin.

"Doctor!" I jumped to my feet.

"He's glowing!" Dr. Takatsuki immediately moved closer. The glow intensified. Soft at first. Then brighter. And brighter. The room fell silent. Nobody spoke. Nobody breathed. We simply watched. Tsukasa's beard vanished. His face became smoother. Younger. His body began shrinking. The hospital gown folded inward as his frame rapidly lost mass. His skin turned pale. Not pale from sickness. Pure white. Like fresh snow. The transformation accelerated. For a moment his proportions became grotesque. Arms too long.

Body too narrow. Almost inhuman. Then everything shifted again. Bones. Muscles. Features. The entire body reshaped itself as though sculpted by invisible hands. The process should have been horrifying. Instead— It was beautiful. Terrifyingly beautiful. Silver-white hair spilled across the pillow. His face changed. The sharp lines of an adult man softened. Became delicate. Refined. Perfect. Like a masterpiece crafted by something that understood humanity better than humans themselves.

The glow lingered for several more seconds. Then vanished. The room became quiet. Very quiet. What remained on the hospital bed wasn't my husband. At least, not physically. A small girl lay where Tsukasa had been. White hair. Snow-white skin. Crimson eyes hidden behind closed eyelids. She looked less like a person and more like something from a dream. Or a myth. Or a fairy tale. Beautiful. Unnaturally beautiful. The kind of beauty that made your spine shiver. The kind that reminded you something wasn't quite human.

No one moved. No one spoke. The entire transformation had taken less than ten minutes. Yet it felt like we'd witnessed a miracle. Or a nightmare. Maybe both.

"Extraordinary..." Dr. Takatsuki whispered. His voice trembled with excitement.

"Do you realize what we've just seen?" He turned toward me.

"Mrs. Kuroe! Human physiology doesn't work like this! Nothing in medical science—" His words accelerated. Research. Papers. Experiments. Questions. A thousand thoughts seemed to be racing through his head at once. Then suddenly he froze. His expression changed. Immediately. The excitement vanished. Replaced by alarm. He stepped toward the bed. Placed a hand near Tsukasa's mouth. Waited. Nothing. He pressed an ear against the girl's chest. Waited again. Still nothing. The color drained from his face.

"Oh no." My stomach dropped. The doctor looked up.

"Call the nurses!" His voice exploded through the room.

"No respiration! No heartbeat!" Everything stopped. No. Everything shattered. The next thing I knew, he was performing chest compressions. The girl's small body bounced with each push. Hard. Fast. Desperate.

"What are you doing!?" I screamed.

"Emergency treatment!" The doctor didn't stop. His arms pumped rhythmically. Again. Again. Again. My vision blurred. No. No no no no no. That couldn't be right. Just minutes ago he had been talking. Laughing. Crying with me. Kissing me. How could he be dead? How?

"Tsukasa!" I heard myself screaming.

"Wake up!" The nurses rushed in. The room became chaos. And then— A voice spoke. Calm. Annoyed. Very much alive.

"Since I'm alive..." Everyone froze.

"... would you mind stopping that?" Dr. Takatsuki's hands halted instantly. The girl's eyes opened. Crimson. Clear. Awake. Several seconds passed. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. Then all at once the room erupted. The impossible had happened. Again.