The Velvet Key

[He hadn't expected to leave, and he hadn't expected to come back, either. Not that he remembered this place when he was there. But it was a shock to wake up again in a mortal body, with the phone sitting next to his bed as if he had never left.]

[He stared at the calendar on the phone. A week? That's how long he was gone? That… he'd have to talk to his boss about missing a week of work.]

[But what he had seen when he was back there… it was too much. Too painful, and he groped around for his pillow, knocking his phone to the floor, turning on the video. He pulled his pillow to his chest, starting to cry.]

[The video flicks on to show part of the underside of Ryu's bed as well as part of the ceiling. Ryu is visible on the edge of the screen, though he's curled up into a ball and his voice is muffled and choked with tears.]

Why? Why do they do this? I don't understand. Elina… that mortal… I'll kill him. I'll kill him for what he did to Cray and Nina. If… if he ever shows up here, I'll kill him then, too. I can't… there's nothing else for someone like him…

[There's a blue-haired boy staring into the camera, a huge grin on his face.]

There we go! It's working now! Okay. Hey there. Um… my name's Ryu. I'm still not really sure where I am…

[He fiddles with the buttons and then suddenly the screen goes upside-down. Ryu frowns.]

I've never seen anything like this before, either. Does this work on magic? It's really strange.

I might just be talking to myself again…

Oh. Uh… if anyone's seen someone named Fou-Lu, let me know please? I… can't tell you what he looks like because I don't know… but I really need to find him.