A lemon boy with yellow hair walked around the town, monitoring addresses while humming softly to himself. As he wandered, he carried a multimeter, checking the back of houses for their voltage."Sigh… this is tiring," he muttered as he squeezed himself through a narrow passage. So tired…"This is the right spot, right?" he thought, stepping back out with an electricity bill in hand for each house he had visited.
Walking further and further, he came across an elementary school. The field was full of kids hopping around, laughing, playing cards, pretending to be heroes, or climbing the playground structures.
He checked his voltage tester again, preparing to bill each of the rooms."Sigh… if it's by the government, shouldn't taxes cover the electrician's bill?"
"Mam… don't ask me. I just work for the government—or at least I think I do," he muttered under his breath. "Those companies I work for, like TEPCO… I was just an apprentice under my uncle. I don't even have a college degree."
Realizing he was sighing and talking about his problems out loud, he stopped."I don't know, I just work, ma'am," he said absentmindedly.
A short, black-haired girl stood nearby with a brush in hand, painting a deathly yet breathtaking landscape—something that looked worthy of being hung in a museum.
It was a scene of gray, dead leaves scattered over a hill, a burning trunk beneath a falling rain, and a trail of white and red flowers leading down the slope. A small lantern flickered beside it—its glow brighter than the fire itself, both reflecting in the wet earth.
Several other paintings stood along the wall.
"You know… this journey really was something," the girl said quietly. "But I don't know what the end of it will be."
"Ma'am, I don't know you… I'm just tired of working this job," I replied, falling silent before turning to leave.
"I hope it just ends well…" she whispered.
"What?" I turned—then heard a sound. Small bells, twinkling like shards of light, rang in the air. I felt uneasy. A black figure stared at me, its body wrapped entirely in bandages.
Then, a massive slab of flesh fell from above, crashing into the schoolyard and shattering the ground. The sky—dawn-colored—reflected the moon, but now it had an eye staring down from it.
"What's happening…?" I thought. "Is this the end?"
I couldn't think. Everything was happening too fast—something I'd never experienced before. The rain stung like stones—but when I looked closer, they were teeth falling from the sky. I ran.
I didn't care about the lady or the kids—I just wanted to survive. But guilt gnawed at me. I wanted to help… I just didn't know how.
"FORGIVE ME!?" I screamed, terrified as the sky warped into countless faces.
A massive arm reached for me, but two kids grabbed me, pulling me aside. I gasped for air, staring at a boy with glasses and another with bright violet-and-blue hair.
"Seriously… I was saved by kids?" I muttered.
Sirens wailed. Police arrived, but their screams followed soon after—fleshy, twisted creatures absorbed them alive.
注意してください.正体不明の物体が街を歩いています.助けが来るまで家の中に避難してください.(Be careful. Unknown entities are walking the streets. Take shelter inside your home until help arrives.)
I crouched beside a wall, hiding with the two kids. My hands trembled."This is exhausting… and my payday was supposed to be this week. Now what do I even do?"
A monstrous, human-like figure stomped through the city. I swallowed hard as its head turned in my direction. We ran, ducking through empty backstreets.
"If I were a main character in one of those movies, I'd survive this," I whispered. But the monster was faster—far faster than any human. We hid behind a slab of concrete, holding our breath as its heavy steps echoed closer.
"Am I dreaming…?" I thought. "If I die here, what'll happen to me?"
An eyeball peered at me from behind. I swung my fist and hit it—then froze as the fleshy mass began to move, writhing around us.
The ground was slick with rain and blood. "This is too much…" I breathed out. The kids were trembling. I lifted them one by one, helping them climb a wall. "Run!"
Pain seared through me—my leg half torn and melting away. I looked down.
"The only thing I regret," I whispered, "is never becoming rich… after all this time. I wonder what that would've felt like…"
I closed my eyes and let calm return.
{Back at Adam}
Kneeling on the ground, surrounded by screams and the rumbling of the earth, I felt… nothing. The sound of dripping water echoed through the silence.
"I failed," I muttered. "I hate failing when something… wasn't supposed to happen."
A small mole slapped my arm."Adam! Adam!"
My eyes widened slightly. The mole looked familiar. "Minori?"
My chest eased a little when I saw him—then another figure appeared: a boy with streaked hair and a half-mask, smiling faintly.
"Can't believe you got trapped in here. Weren't you supposed to be doing something?"
"Oh… right, the letter," I said quietly. "Something happened."
"Yeah, I figured," he replied. "I knew she'd do that."
The mole crawled up my arm, almost as if to comfort me."Don't worry. It'll be fine. I know you're hurt, but this isn't real… or at least, it isn't supposed to be."
I stared at the floor, feeling pitiful. Empty.
"I have another request," Minori said. "Can you save me—save myself, Adam—from losing all hope?
[Quest]Minori's Request:Help Minori from losing all hope.Reward:Re-Creator
[Accept] [Decline]
Adam sighed."I just feel empty… I failed something like this. How do I even come back from that…?"
A rope hung from the ceiling."I failed…" he whispered again.
A trashed and a fool...
The mole transformed—turning into a human shape. A gray-and-black shadow loomed in silence, yet the silence was deafening.
He patted my head."I know you. You've reached the end, right? The only real person in this mindscape. You're the only one who can help. Please."
[NO] [NO] [REFUSED…]
A distorted face pressed against the walls, crushing the space. Manori flicked his fingers, summoning a box-like void that stopped it. A massive, human-shaped mass of flesh and organs, twisted upside down, pounded against the cube, shaking it violently.
"What's your choice, Adam?"
The air evaporated—no wind, no sound, no space. I was floating. The moon's eye opened wide and began to fall, rushing toward the earth.
[How dare you!]
[ACCEPT][LVL MAX][SANDBOX MODE][ADMIN MODE][SETTINGS ENABLED]
Manori raised his arms and waved goodbye. His body turned to dust, glitching like shredded paper, then was absorbed into me.
I closed my eyes. The moon shone above as the world around me twisted into an ocean of flesh and monstrous forms. A worm spanning a thousand miles leapt toward me.
[Nuclear Explosion][Luck Max]
A blinding light consumed the land. A massive explosion—the size of a small country—erupted, shaking the entire world.
An eye the size of the moon lunged toward me. I raised my hand—then a beam of light, like a pulsar, surged from my palm, tearing through the sky and obliterating it.
The world trembled.
"I gotta go back…"
As a faceless creature in the vastness of space staring at me, I looked out at the stars, the galaxies, and the solar systems but not even the clusters were bigger than this...