Some voices don't fade — they echo.
---
11:04 P.M.
North End — Burn Site
Naomi's car screeches to a halt.
Smoke coils into the night like a serpent.
Flames lick the air, sirens wail, but it's the smell that hits hardest.
Burnt skin. Burnt truth. Burnt innocence.
She rushes forward.
Paramedics stop her.
A firefighter shakes his head slowly.
> "One body. Unrecognizable. Alone. No survivors."
Naomi stares at the wreckage.
Not crying.
Just cold.
Inside the wreckage, they find something untouched:
A metal USB drive, blackened but intact.
She takes it from their hands.
---
12:28 A.M.
Naomi's Apartment – Lights Off
She plugs the drive in.
One file.
One video.
Sora.
His eyes are red, his breath shaky.
> "If this plays… I didn't make it."
"If you're watching, you already know the truth. I just hope it matters."
He lifts a drawing — one of Hina.
Smiling. Younger.
> "They said my voice was too soft. That I was weak. That I should move on."
"But I saw what they did to her. And I saw what he did to others."
He swallows.
> "I don't know who the Hollow really is. Maybe no one does. But I know what he is: inevitable."
"The system protects predators. Hollow destroys them."
"I just wanted to matter before I disappeared."
He ends with:
> "Don't forget her."
The screen goes black.
---
1:14 A.M.
Silas's Studio
Kai stares at the screen.
He's silent.
Sora's voice still echoes in the room.
Silas doesn't smile. Doesn't move.
Just turns the monitor off.
Kai finally speaks:
> "He wasn't weak."
Silas nods.
> "He was loud. Loud things break first."
---
2:32 A.M.
Anonymous Forum Post
> Posted by: HollowWatch_01
"Sora Nishida is dead. They burned him like garbage. You think silence will save you?"
"Truth dies. But not before it infects someone else."
"Watch carefully. Listen deeply. The next fire won't go out so easily."
It trends globally within an hour.
The school denies everything.
The police release no statements.
But the public?
They remember.
---
5:47 A.M.
School Rooftop — Hours Before Sunrise
Naomi stands alone.
She places the drawing Sora made of Hina in her coat pocket.
She whispers:
> "I should've gotten to you first."
A voice behind her.
Silas.
No mask. Just him.
> "You did."
"But you came as justice. I came as truth."
Naomi turns. Her eyes — raw.
> "You lit the match."
> "I handed him the lighter."
"He lit it himself."
He walks away.
> "You blame me, Detective. But I only ever give people the choice."
---
Final Scene
At the burn site, children leave candles.
They don't know the truth.
Only that a boy died speaking it.
And someone is out there — making sure none of them forget.
On the blackened walls of the ruins, in red spray paint, it reads:
> "WE DON'T FORGIVE LIARS."
—HOLLOW
---
Final Line:
> "He screamed until the world heard," Naomi whispers. "Now they'll scream with him."
---