VERITAS: The Last Lie

In the grand Verdict Hall of Ashvale, a public trial is underway for Councilman Ojiro Hale, accused of misusing funds. The entire city watches as the Sincerity Directorate — the ruling body that executes liars to prevent them from turning into monstrous Wraiths — conducts its interrogation. Seventeen-year-old Ren Kuroze, a boy who has never told a single lie in his life, sits in the witness gallery. When the Examiner accepts Councilman Hale’s evasive but technically true answers, Ren stands up and calmly, relentlessly forces Hale to admit the truth through nothing but precise, honest questions. Hale is exposed not by a lie, but by his refusal to give a direct answer. The hall falls silent. After the trial, Suzu Amagi, a rising young Examiner, confronts Ren. She is both impressed and disturbed by his cold precision. Ren reveals that he doesn’t enjoy what he does — he simply refuses to let comfortable half-truths slide. The chapter ends with the revelation that Chairman Isao Voss, the head of the Directorate, has been watching Ren and now wants to meet him.In the grand Verdict Hall of Ashvale, a public trial is underway for Councilman Ojiro Hale, accused of misusing funds. The entire city watches as the Sincerity Directorate — the ruling body that executes liars to prevent them from turning into monstrous Wraiths — conducts its interrogation. Seventeen-year-old Ren Kuroze, a boy who has never told a single lie in his life, sits in the witness gallery. When the Examiner accepts Councilman Hale’s evasive but technically true answers, Ren stands up and calmly, relentlessly forces Hale to admit the truth through nothing but precise, honest questions. Hale is exposed not by a lie, but by his refusal to give a direct answer. The hall falls silent. After the trial, Suzu Amagi, a rising young Examiner, confronts Ren. She is both impressed and disturbed by his cold precision. Ren reveals that he doesn’t enjoy what he does — he simply refuses to let comfortable half-truths slide. The chapter ends with the revelation that Chairman Isao Voss, the head of the Directorate, has been watching Ren and now wants to meet him.In the grand Verdict Hall of Ashvale, a public trial is underway for Councilman Ojiro Hale, accused of misusing funds. The entire city watches as the Sincerity Directorate — the ruling body that executes liars to prevent them from turning into monstrous Wraiths — conducts its interrogation. Seventeen-year-old Ren Kuroze, a boy who has never told a single lie in his life, sits in the witness gallery. When the Examiner accepts Councilman Hale’s evasive but technically true answers, Ren stands up and calmly, relentlessly forces Hale to admit the truth through nothing but precise, honest questions. Hale is exposed not by a lie, but by his refusal to give a direct answer. The hall falls silent. After the trial, Suzu Amagi, a rising young Examiner, confronts Ren. She is both impressed and disturbed by his cold precision. Ren reveals that he doesn’t enjoy what he does — he simply refuses to let comfortable half-truths slide. The chapter ends with the revelation that Chairman Isao Voss, the head of the Directorate, has been watching Ren and now wants to meet him.

Blank Hours

Rin Asakura is an ordinary high school girl until she finds a diary entry written in her own handwriting about a Saturday she has no memory of. The entry is calm, detailed, and personal — proving that someone lived that day as her. As she investigates, she discovers this isn’t an isolated incident. Other students are also losing exact 72-hour periods, and those who experience "Blank Hours" often return changed… or don’t return at all. The deeper she digs, the more dangerous the truth becomes — especially when the new transfer student Kaito seems to know everything about her missing day… and what might happen next.Rin Asakura is an ordinary high school girl until she finds a diary entry written in her own handwriting about a Saturday she has no memory of. The entry is calm, detailed, and personal — proving that someone lived that day as her. As she investigates, she discovers this isn’t an isolated incident. Other students are also losing exact 72-hour periods, and those who experience "Blank Hours" often return changed… or don’t return at all. The deeper she digs, the more dangerous the truth becomes — especially when the new transfer student Kaito seems to know everything about her missing day… and what might happen next.Rin Asakura is an ordinary high school girl until she finds a diary entry written in her own handwriting about a Saturday she has no memory of. The entry is calm, detailed, and personal — proving that someone lived that day as her. As she investigates, she discovers this isn’t an isolated incident. Other students are also losing exact 72-hour periods, and those who experience "Blank Hours" often return changed… or don’t return at all. The deeper she digs, the more dangerous the truth becomes — especially when the new transfer student Kaito seems to know everything about her missing day… and what might happen next.