Itomori will be destroyed by a meteor strike.

Hearing Rei Ao state that inevitable future, Miyamizu Mitsuha felt her blood freeze in an instant. Her limbs went so cold they went numb.

A ringing filled her ears.

Her vision wavered and blurred.

She could even hear her own heart pounding like a drum—yet it sounded so far away it didn't feel like hers.

Her throat felt clamped shut; no sound would come out.

The group chat had already exploded at Rei Ao's pronouncement.

Misaka Mikoto: "What? Are you serious?! A meteor strike? The whole town? @Rei Ao, you're not joking, right?!"

Shiba Miyuki: "Rei Ao-kun isn't the type to joke about something like this. We all know how powerful he is."

Erica: "A godlike-style verdict… Mitsuha-san, please place your faith in our king—his words speak the world's truth."

Stella: "Where is everyone? Why is it so quiet?"

Kasuga Hijiri: "I think Mitsuha's probably in shock from the news and hasn't recovered yet."

Busujima Saeko: "Mitsuha! Mitsuha, are you there?!"

Julis: "@Miyamizu Mitsuha, get a grip! This isn't the time to space out!"

Yomogawa Ayame: "The worst-case scenario has occurred. Mitsuha-san, please face it calmly."

Marcille: "A heartbreaking premonition… but if we've learned it in advance, perhaps there's a chance to overturn it?"

Frieren: "Knowing the future and changing the future—that's only natural, isn't it?"

Bibi Dong: "We do need to rule out whether Mitsuha's world even permits altering the future—and whether there are gods there who like meddling in the mortal realm."

Message after message flew by, full of concern.

But they felt as if they were separated from Mitsuha by a thick pane of glass, unable to truly reach her mind.

She just sat there, blank.

It was as if her soul had floated out of her body and now watched coldly from above, looking down at the girl named Miyamizu Mitsuha curled up tight in terror.

Destruction… everything will be destroyed.

"Big sis? What's wrong? You're so pale."

Her little sister Yotsuha's voice came from outside the door, care-free in that way only children are.

"Dinner's ready! We've got your favorite—pan-fried fish!"

Yotsuha… Grandma… Dad… everyone in Itomori…

"…!"

Mitsuha sucked in a breath, like a drowning person breaking the surface at last.

Cough, cough, cough!

She burst into a fit of coughing, tears welling from the sudden choking.

Her senses finally came back.

And then an indescribable panic crashed over her like a tsunami.

What do I do?

What should I do?

Save Itomori?

But how?

She was just an ordinary girl—what could she possibly do?

Report it to the town office?

Say, "I had a prophetic dream and a comet is going to fall"?

Who would believe that?

They'd just think the Miyamizu shrine maiden had gone crazy!

Run away?

Take Grandma and Yotsuha and leave right now?

But… what about everyone else in town? Are they supposed to… wait for death?

A crushing helplessness and despair seized her.

She was just a regular girl—at most, a shrine maiden in a country town.

How could she possibly fight a meteor falling from the sky?

It would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—utterly futile.

Chaotic thoughts battered around her skull, threatening to tear her reason apart.

Just then, a new message from Rei Ao appeared.

The calm words carried a strange, steadying power.

Rei Ao: "@Miyamizu Mitsuha, panic won't solve anything. Take a deep breath and listen."

His words felt like commands with a kind of magic.

Mitsuha obeyed almost without thinking.

She drew a long breath and slowly exhaled; her shaking fingers steadied a little.

Rei Ao: "First, let's confirm something: this future is not absolutely unchangeable."

"In your world there aren't many bizarre rules, and there are no highly sentient gods—only all sorts of odd legends. And in the original course of your world, the fact that you would have died has already been changed. I don't know if it's because of the group chat, but you did not proceed down that path…"

"The very point of a prophetic dream is that it offers the possibility of changing the future."

Those words cut through the darkness in Mitsuha's heart like the first light at dawn.

Miyamizu Mitsuha: "R—really? This can be changed?"

Her voice wavered on the edge of tears, the question tumbling out of her.

Rei Ao: "Yes. The key is you, Miyamizu Mitsuha. You are the 'variable' now."

Rei Ao: "What you must do isn't despair alone, but take action. You have roughly twenty-four hours."

Rei Ao: "Plan A: Evacuate as many people as possible."

Rei Ao: "The target area is the Itomori basin. As long as people leave the basin and move to the surrounding high ground, their chances of survival rise dramatically."

Rei Ao: "Even just moving to the hills at the edge of town will greatly increase their odds."

Misaka Mikoto: "Yes! Evacuations! As long as people are safe, buildings can be rebuilt."

Julis: "Evacuation is a good plan. Time is tight, but not impossible!"

Fubuki: "You can draft an emergency evacuation plan and use broadcasts, door-to-door notices—whatever it takes."

Rei Ao: "Yes. It's the most direct and most likely to succeed."

Rei Ao: "Try to persuade your family, contact people with influence in town, or create some disruptions and incidents to draw people toward the high ground."

Rei Ao: "Exactly how you do it depends on the situation—you'll have to judge."

Rei Ao: "But you must also prepare for the worst."

Rei Ao: "People may not believe you. You might run out of time. All kinds of accidents could happen."

His voice was calm to the point of cruelty—yet utterly realistic.

Rei Ao: "So I'm giving you Plan B."

Rei Ao: "If—and this is an if—you do everything you can and still can't stop the tragedy, or can't save the people you most want to save…"

Rei Ao: "You can make a deal with me."

~~~

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