Itomori.

Night draped over the mountain-ringed town like soft, deep-blue velvet.

Stars, like crushed diamonds, were strewn thick across the velvety sky—so clear it felt as if you could reach out and touch them.

With no neon from a big city to stain it, the sky here was pristine and grand, carrying an ancient, unchanging calm and mystery.

Mitsuha Miyamizu sat alone on the small hill behind the shrine, knees hugged to her chest, chin tipped up, staring—entranced—at the glittering river of stars.

A mountain breeze, clean and sharp with the scent of grass and trees, brushed her cheeks and teased the hair across her brow.

After a day of miko duties and housework, this was her one pocket of quiet that belonged only to her.

The day's fatigue seemed to ebb away before the vast sea of stars, leaving only a spacious, steady stillness in its wake.

"So beautiful…"

She whispered it. In her indigo eyes, ten thousand stars were reflected, as if her gaze were part of the night itself.

Just then, a particularly bright streak scored across the sky—like a god dragging a brush across the deep-blue canvas—ripping the night open with a single, decisive stroke.

A comet!

A spark of delight flickered in Mitsuha's eyes. Instinctively, she pressed her hands together to make a wish.

But before she could even form it, something shocking happened.

Mid-flight, that falling comet suddenly split in two.

It became two blazing fireballs with white-hot tails, hurtling down along different paths.

One fell toward the distant mountains.

The other…

The delight on Mitsuha's face froze into blank astonishment, then disbelief.

Instead of shrinking, that second fireball was swelling in her vision—growing, growing at a terrifying pace.

Its fierce light outshone the stars, bleaching her frightened face bone white.

Its trajectory… its target…

It was headed… for Itomori?!!

No. Impossible!

A vast, icy fear clamped around her heart. She lurched to her feet, wanting to scream, to run—only to find her body nailed to the spot, knees buckling, unable to move.

All she could do was watch as the meteor, wreathed in the flames of death, ballooned in her pupils, filling her entire world.

The next instant—

"BOOM!!!"

A blast beyond words.

It felt as if heaven and earth were torn in two.

The ground beneath her feet heaved and cracked, violently, madly.

An enormous shockwave—an invisible tsunami—swept down the slope, obliterating everything in its path.

The shrine's torii, houses, trees—everything was crushed, flung, set ablaze in an instant.

Mitsuha didn't even have time to feel pain. A shrill, piercing ring flooded her ears. Her vision was devoured by scorching white and flying debris.

Faintly, she seemed to hear distant, despairing screams—snatched away at once by the roar of the blast.

Then… endless blackness and silence swallowed all.

"Ah!!"

Mitsuha jolted upright on the tatami with a scream.

Her chest heaved. She gulped for air. Cold sweat beaded across her forehead. Her indigo eyes were wide with terror and confusion.

"Sis?"

From the other futon, Yotsuha Miyamizu rubbed sleep from her eyes, puzzled by her sister's violent start. "What's wrong? Bad dream?"

Bad… dream?

Mitsuha snapped back to herself. Her breathing slowly eased. She blinked around the room—the familiar bedroom, the quiet night outside, her little sister's drowsy, confused face…

No apocalyptic blast. No tower of fire. No ragged, heart-rending screams.

She touched her face, her arms, her body, almost without thinking—everything intact. Then she whipped her head toward the window.

Itomori slept peacefully in the moonlight. Far off, Lake Itomori mirrored the stars like a sheet of glass. All was well.

"It… was a dream?"

She murmured, her voice still trembling with aftershock. Her heart hammered on. The sensation of being targeted by a meteor, annihilation bearing down on her, was branded into her mind so vividly it chilled her to the bone.

"Of course it was a nightmare!" Yotsuha yawned and burrowed back under the covers, mumbling, "Sis, aren't you overworked lately? Go back to sleep—we have to get up early."

Yotsuha drifted off again.

Mitsuha couldn't. She sat hugging her knees beneath the blanket, staring at the familiar view outside.

That dream… it was too real.

Every detail was terrifyingly clear: the comet splitting; the crushing pressure as the meteor swelled; the blast's roar and heat; that soul-rending despair…

Was it really only a dream?

She exhaled long and slow, trying to shake the panic and unease.

"If it was a dream… good."

"If it was a dream… good."

She told herself that, lay down again—and didn't sleep a wink. The too-real nightmare settled over her heart like a quiet, ill-omened shadow.

…

Morning.

With faint circles under her eyes, Mitsuha got up as usual, washed, and helped her grandmother prepare for shrine duties. She kept herself busy, trying to banish the awful dream from the night before.

Under the sun, Itomori was peaceful and serene—last night's vision of ruin felt ridiculous. Her mood finally began to settle.

Until evening.

After a long day, Mitsuha bathed and was toweling her damp hair dry. Passing through the living room in a loose yukata, she heard the TV news.

The anchorwoman's clear, steady voice drifted out:

"…According to the latest observations from the observatory, there will be a sizable meteor—comet—shower over the city tomorrow night. The best viewing time is expected between 10 p.m. and around 2 a.m. If the weather holds, residents may be treated to a gorgeous fireworks-like display across the night sky…"

A comet shower?!

Mitsuha's hands froze mid-towel. It was as if lightning struck her; she went rigid on the spot.

The newscaster said something more, but not a single word reached her. Only one image spun and swelled in her mind:

In a pitch-black sky, the comet suddenly splitting in two. One piece trailing a blazing tail, swelling and swelling in her pupils—until it plunged straight toward Itomori—

"BOOM!!!"

The annihilating thunderclap exploded in her ears all over again. A cold chill shot up her spine like a snake from tailbone to crown, and in an instant all the blood in her body seemed to freeze.

Tomorrow… a comet shower.

That dream—wasn't a dream?!

It was… a prophecy?!

~~~

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