The blue stone hovered silently in front of me, glowing with a soft, almost gentle light.
But nothing about this world was gentle anymore.
I reached out slowly. The moment my fingers touched the stone, a sharp chill ran up my arm, like ice sliding beneath my skin. The stone dissolved into particles of light and sank into my chest.
A black screen appeared in front of me.
「Chose An Atrocite :
1. The Bamboo Princess
2. The Son Of Poseidon
3. The Original 」
Atrocite...? What's that ? Do I really need to choose one ? What will happen if I do ? All those questions crossed my mind.
I looked at all the options. "Interesting. I never saw the last one. Yes, I'm picking that one." I clicked on the last option and I didn't feel anything. "Nothing happened?" I said until I saw the screen in front of me vanishing and another one appearing.
[Your Atrocite has been chosen]
[You have obtained an item from your Atrocite]
I saw the words floating in front of my eyes. An item ? Why can't I see it ? Stupid system. Where is the item ? Is it free ? I thought to myself.
The words reshaped once again, [Open Inventory]
I clicked on that. A big screen appeared in front of me. Lots of boxes there, I scrolled down but all of them were... Well empty. But at the top there was a large sword.
"So...this is the item? A sword?" Aoto said in a boring tone. He then clicked on the sword. The sword started floating in front of his eyes and the screen vanished. Aoto held the sword. "It's a little heavy. But that's fine."
"I don't want to hold it forever. How will I open inventory? Do I need to say it? Open Inventory." Suddenly the inventory appeared in front of me again. I held the sword in front of the screen and it went inside the box it was in before. "Cool."
Around me, the air felt heavier. Somewhere far away, screams echoed—cut short too quickly. That one-hour limit wasn't a suggestion. It was a countdown to slaughter.
I stepped out of the circle and looked around. As I was going out I looked at my surroundings the once-crowded Skytree now felt like a battlefield after a sudden retreat. Bags lay abandoned. Phones cracked on the floor. Blood stained the tiles in places I tried not to look at too closely.
This isn't a game, I thought.
Games don't smell like fear.
Another screen flickered to life above the city.
"Time Remaining for Task 1: 12 minutes."
My chest tightened.
"Only one minute...?"
That meant most people still hadn't found a Divine Stone.
As if answering my thoughts, the barrier above Tokyo pulsed. A low, thunderous hum spread through the air, vibrating through my bones.
A moment of silence
Then it started.
People's head started blasting, they were screaming. Aoto tried not to look around. It was a horrific sight. He stood beside a wall his one hand was on that wall as he covered his mouth.
Don't look. If you look, you'll break. He thought
Survive first. Feel later.
Suddenly, a screen reappeared in front of his eyes.
"Round 1 completed."
"Await further instructions."
He realized something then.
Tokyo was quieter than it had ever been before. Not because the chaos were gone but because there were less people to scream.
He dropped to one knee. "What the hell… was that?" He muttered.
Before he could steady himself, a new message appeared—this time, different.
"Players who survived round 1 are now officially registered."
"From this point onward, death will be permanent."
"…Wasn't it permanent already?" I muttered.
The system didn't respond. After sometimes the message was gone.