**Mysterious island on the edge**
The Island That Appears Only Once
That's what they call it.
Because it has a habit of disappearing.
As if it's trying to be forgotten before it can even be remembered.
It is…
Separated from everything — space, time, height, width — hell, even logic.
There are no laws here.
Not physical, not moral, not even the kind you could argue in court.
There is no time to keep track of.
Just one tiny island, pressed against the endless ocean.
And — nothing.
Else.
At all.
— You get it? — The Guide smirked, his voice sounding as if he was both the joke and the audience. — By the way, there's no way out of here. Even if you suddenly scream in terror, snot and tears streaming down your face, begging — it's useless.
Ha-ha, ah-ha-ha-ha-hahah!
He laughed.
Not because it was funny, but because *someone* had to.
And then he kept rowing his boat — not too sturdy, not too pretty, but alive enough not to sink.
Meanwhile, the man sitting across from him, named Hov — or maybe just a man who didn't feel like talking — continued silently staring into the void of the ocean.
— Hey, y'know, it's not very fun talking to myself. Not that I'm not used to it. You feeling sick? Or are you one of those who gets seasick? Tell me, you don't happen to have… motion sickness, do you?
Ha-ha-hahah… ghh!
— Shut up.
Not in the mood to chat with a psycho whose laugh screams "slaughterhouse." Just row. Wherever we're going —just get us there.
— Oh, so you *can* speak! I was starting to think you were one of those… shy types. Though, y'know, those exist too.
Speaking of… while we've got time, and the island hasn't peeked out from behind reality's curtain yet — wanna talk about it? The island.
You looked… pensive.
Silence answered him.
The ocean merely breathed softly.
As if listening, too.
— Hm… fine. Was gonna bring this up later anyway, once we got to your "imaginary island."
But, y'know, whatever.
— I'm all ears, Mr. Hov! — The Guide flashed a grin so wide you could've used it as an umbrella.
— Don't call me that.
— Sure-sure.
— Get to the point. What's this island?
— Ah! With pleasure! — The Guide seemed to have been waiting for this exact moment to start his little performance.
— Its name — Ryujima Island.
— Truth is, it doesn't exist in any reality.
And I'll go even further…
Even this ocean you see? A fake. A complete fake!
— It's just not real. I could say it's a dream, but even that's too generous.
It appears only once in… an unfathomable stretch of time!
I can't predict when it'll show up again, and honestly… even for me, the Guide, it's almost a miracle. Almost.
— You sound way too cheerful for a guy who lives in a box between worlds. You already said all this at the start. Nothing new.
— Hey-hey, I wasn't finished.
Let me continue.
— Picture a box.
A box in the void.
That's how you can describe this place.
It's nowhere.
It has no dimensions. No limits, either.
— So, I added an imaginary ocean to the imaginary island. Logically, if you're inside the box — everything around you feels real. But if you look at it from the outside… all you see is black emptiness.
Makes sense?
— Aaaand… you're not even a little curious?
— Why the silence? I just laid out, like, almost all my cards! Where's your "wow"? Where's your "what the hell"?!
You're a terrible conversationalist! Just throw your hands up and die in your pathetic misery if you can't even muster a coherent response!!!
He kept going.
Muttering.
Mumbling.
Monotonous, like counting words instead of sheep before bed.
Then, he fell silent.
Only the ocean remained — and even it seemed to let out an awkward cough before quieting down.
A dull fog hung in the air, obscuring everything.
Though… if the Guide was to be believed, there *shouldn't* be anything here except this ghost of an island that appears once in an eternity.
So, most likely, this wasn't fog — just the background.
And then.
From nowhere.
From impossibility.
From the very idea of "cannot be" — the island appeared.
Tall trees, outlines, shape — everything was there.
It truly "was."
— There it is! — The Guide whooped like he'd just won his soul back in a dice game. — Twelve goddamn hours of drifting, but it finally showed up!
I was starting to think the island had vanished before the game even began!
Ha-ha-hah-hah… ghhh!
"He said something about a game…"
Hov took a deep breath.
Not of air — of restraint.
His thoughts stilled.
And a few minutes later, the boat reached the shore.