Stigma　 Episode 3: The Brand Begins　　Episode 4: Freezing　　　　　　Double Feature

◆ Episode 3: The Brand Begins

The Fool’s Radiance, the Crowd’s Roar, and the Quiet Machinery of Fate

Masa’s cry of “Amazing!” rang out with the unrestrained joy of a child, utterly devoid of remorse for his lateness. His innocence—if such recklessness could be called that—was almost infuriating.

I exhaled deeply. He was, beyond question, a fool. Yet since we had come, there was nothing left but to surrender ourselves to the day.

The thunderous drums, the fevered breath of the crowd, the tremor of thousands of feet striking the concrete ground— all of it surged through me until my irritation dissolved like mist beneath the sun.

He plunged into the sea of bodies, a reckless comet carving its own path. My burdened pack prevented me from following, but somehow—through elbow strikes, stepped-on feet, and the chaos of the crowd— he forced his way to the very front.

When he returned during the change of performers, he limped, his foot bruised and lightly injured.

“Sorry—got excited and threw my towel. It vanished somewhere. Give me another?”

“You’re the worst.”

Yet despite myself, laughter rose. His absurdity was too complete, too sincere, to be met with anger alone.

Mizusawa Yūshū—Masa—twenty-nine, soon thirty. Our vocalist. A man of great voice, great confidence, and catastrophically poor lyrics. A man who believed—truly believed—that he would one day stand upon this very stage.

And yet, from our humble beginnings—local festivals, department store event halls, small live houses—Volcano had grown. Slowly, undeniably.

Had we given up at the start, nothing would have begun.

日本語訳　烙印　第三話

◆ Episode 3：烙印の始まり

The Fool’s Radiance, the Crowd’s Roar, and the Quiet Machinery of Fate

（愚者の輝き／群衆の咆哮／運命の静かな機構）　

「最高！」 マサの叫びは、遅刻したことへの罪悪感など一切ない、子どものような無邪気さで響き渡った。 その無鉄砲さは、もはや“純粋”と呼んでいいのかすら怪しい。

俺は深く息を吐いた。 こいつは間違いなく、どうしようもない愚か者だ。 だが、ここまで来てしまった以上、もうこの一日を楽しむしかない。

雷鳴のようなドラム、群衆の熱気、コンクリートを震わせる無数の足音。 そのすべてが俺の中を駆け抜け、苛立ちは陽光に溶ける霧のように消えていった。

マサは人の海へ飛び込み、彗星のように突き進んだ。 荷物の重さで俺は追えなかったが、肘打ちや踏まれた足の痛みに耐えながら、なぜか本当に最前列まで到達してしまう。

転換のタイミングで戻ってきた彼は、足を軽く負傷していた。

「タオル投げちゃった！どっか行った！もう一枚ちょうだい！」

「お前は本当に最悪だ。」

それでも、笑いがこみ上げてくる。 あまりにも真っ直ぐで、あまりにも愚かで、怒りより先に呆れが勝つ。

水沢優秀――通称マサ。二十九歳、もうすぐ三十。俺たちのボーカル。 声は強く、音程は安定し、響きは鮮烈。 だが致命的な欠点がある。 どれだけ努力しても、歌詞だけは壊滅的に下手なのだ。 しかも本人はそれを“天才的”だと信じて疑わない。

過剰な自信は、彼の視界を曇らせていた。 必要な疑いを持てないまま、真っ直ぐ突き進んでしまう。

それでも―― 俺たちのバンド「Volcano」は、地方の祭りやデパートのイベントホール、小さなライブハウスから始まり、少しずつ、確実に前へ進んできた。

最初から諦めていたら、何も始まらなかった。

◆ Episode 4: Freezing

The Frozen Moment, the Controlled Crowd, and the First Misstep of Fate

“Please proceed in one direction only! You cannot return from this point!” The announcement echoed across the vast grounds.

Human movement was tightly controlled, the flow of bodies guided like water through narrow channels.

My throat was parched. I had given Masa two bottles of water, and my own supply had vanished in moments.

On impulse—foolish impulse—I bought a can of Hyōketsu from a nearby stall, not even checking the alcohol content.

“There you are! Rui—where the hell were you? Masa’s still jumping over there.”

“Eiji… you can’t handle alcohol.”

Damn. I knew that. And yet I drank.

Rui handed me water. “I ran into one of our fans. Didn’t expect it. But… it made me happy.”

Rui—tall, foreign, red-haired, unmistakable—could never hide.

“We should move.”

We headed toward the stadium’s stands.

The Stands, the Lingering Chill of Alcohol, and the First Descent Toward Ruin

The stands offered a quieter realm suspended above the chaos.

The moment I sat, the world tilted.

The alcohol spread through my veins like a slow, icy poison. My limbs felt heavy, my breath uneven.

Rui watched with quiet concern.

The stadium stretched before us, vast and shimmering. But here, a strange stillness settled— a pocket of quiet in which the consequences of my mistake began to crystallize.

Somewhere far below, Masa continued his reckless dance, unaware of the slow, silent shift that had begun to unfold elsewhere.

The air cooled. The sunlight dimmed behind a passing cloud.

Something in the day’s rhythm felt irrevocably altered.

The Quiet Descent, the Shifting Air, and the First Touch of Calamity

The alcohol spread through me like frost creeping across glass. My breath grew shallow.

Rui remained beside me, steady as stone.

Below us, the crowd surged and swayed, yet the sound felt distant— as though the world were beginning to tilt away.

A cloud passed over the sun. The temperature dropped.

“Feels colder,” Rui murmured.

Not merely in the air— but in the atmosphere itself.

A subtle wrongness. A whisper of fracture.

The Gathering Frost, the Stands Above the World, and the Moment When Fate Takes Shape

The alcohol’s cold fingers tightened around my chest.

“You’re getting worse,” Rui said.

The cloud overhead thickened. The air cooled further— a creeping chill that felt out of place beneath the summer sun.

“Something’s off.”

The frost within me deepened. The world narrowed.

And somewhere far below, the first true shadow of the incident began to take form.

The Cracking Frost, the Tilt of the World, and the First True Slip Toward Disaster

I tried to stand.

The world tilted sharply— as though the stadium itself had shifted beneath my feet.

The frost inside me cracked.

A thin, sharp line of pain ran through my chest.

Rui caught my arm, steadying me.

“Easy.”

The hum in my ears rose, a trembling note vibrating from within my bones.

The day had cracked.

The Collapse, the Shattered Balance, and the Moment When Fate Finally Strikes

The world tilted— not gently, but with a sudden, merciless lurch.

The frost broke.

My vision fractured. My knees buckled.

Rui caught me.

“Eiji—stay with me.”

But breath would not come. My chest seized. The edges of my vision darkened.

The machinery of fate did not merely turn.

It struck.

Cold. Absolute. Final.

The Aftershock, the Fractured Silence, and the Moment When the World Tilts Away

The collapse unfolded inward— quiet, suffocating.

Rui held me upright, his jaw tight with tension.

“Masa’s too far. We’ll find him later.”

The sunlight dimmed again— but this time the shadow felt heavier, as though cast by something deeper.

The world had cracked.

The aftershock had begun.

The Passage Through the Crowd, the Weight of a Fading Consciousness, and Rui’s Silent Resolve

“Lean on me,” Rui said.

We moved through the walkway above the crowd, the air colder, thinner.

The moment we stepped into the shadow, the chill deepened.

“Stay awake.”

My pulse stuttered. My breath caught.

The walkway opened into a wide, empty corridor.

“We’re stopping here.”

The corridor waited, silent and cold.

And the incident was no longer approaching.

It was here.

日本語版はこちらのマガジンからお読み頂けます。⤵