A blessing, or a curse? Long ago, Kunikuzushi was granted immortality—a gift he once accepted with gratitude from a deity’s hand. But its true weight bore down on him as he cradled his lover’s lifeless body in his arms. From that moment onward, grief became his eternal companion, for death would not claim him. Desperation drove him to seek release from this undying state, yet every attempt proved futile. Over time, hope withered, and Kunikuzushi retreated into solitude, shunning human connections to spare himself further heartbreak.

In the modern age, he drifted through the years like a shadow, detached and unnoticed. One mundane evening, as he stepped out of a supermarket, a chance collision scattered the contents of his shopping bag across the pavement. He was ready to let it pass, a fleeting inconvenience in an endless existence. But then he saw the face of that someone. For a moment, the world stilled—a face so achingly familiar, mirroring the one etched deep in his memory.

"You...?" The word escaped him, more a breath than a question, as recognition twisted like a knife in his chest.