Natsu had laughed, run a virus scan (it found nothing), and ignored it. But the download started anyway. A stubborn phantom process eating his bandwidth, refusing to be cancelled. His ISP couldn't explain it. His tech friend, Mika, said it was probably a crypto-mining botnet. But crypto miners don't name files after you.
A second later, a tiny, shimmering thread of light, like a strand of fiber-optic cable, extended from the device and attached itself to the back of young Natsu's neck. The young man didn't flinch. He just kept walking, sipping his coffee. The thread stretched, then snapped, retracting back into the device. The man in the black coat smiled, turned, and walked out of the frame. Download - Layarxxi.pw.Natsu.Igarashi.has.been...
He deleted the bump on his neck with a sterilized x-acto knife, packed a bag, and walked out into the Tokyo night. Behind him, his computer screen flickered. A new file was already downloading. Natsu had laughed, run a virus scan (it
“You are already in the archive. Would you like to download yourself?” His ISP couldn't explain it
In the footage, as his younger self walked out the door, a tall, thin man in a black coat stepped into the frame from the opposite direction. The man didn't look at the camera. He looked directly at Natsu's younger self. Then he pulled a small, rectangular device from his pocket—it looked like an old MP3 player with a cracked screen—and pointed it at the retreating figure.
He opened it. One sentence: