What if you wake up the next day and the world, as you knew it, has been destroyed?
Dubious thoughts like these sometimes pop into my head.
Maybe during my darkest moments, or on a silly daydream when I doze off at school.
It's an alluring concept, since it's a valid excuse to throw everything aside as if it were a dream.
The people you knew were gone, modernized infrastructure all withered and overgrown with nature, and the atmosphere feels entirely different.
Well, probably because there's no one present, of course.
"Mmm-hmm~"
I hummed a catchy tune and walked around, looking for any abandoned convenience stores.
My voice was squeaky and delicate compared to before, inspiring me to sing a little more.
"Ah, there's one!"
Like a child spotting an ice cream truck from a distance, I entered the store and opened the door.
"Pardon for the intrusion!"
Although I was excited a few moments ago, there was barely anything in here.
Everything was already taken a long time ago, leaving nothing but scraps.
"Hmm…"
My footsteps echoed inside the empty store to scavenge any food, even if there's a low chance of finding one….
…And there it was, a canned good just around the corner, tailored especially for me.
"Canned Tuna?!"
I ran to the shelf where it was located, eager to see if it had expired yet.
"Hnnggg…! Aagh! Why is it so high up, dammit!" I couldn't reach the shelf due to my short height.
'If only I had my previous body instead…!'
No matter what I did to grab the can, it was an impossible task.
Tsk tsk tsk, looks like I really have to use it for such a small matter such as this.
—Shoowp!
I snapped my fingers with a slight sense of defeat, and the canned tuna, which I couldn't reach a second ago, levitated in the air…
—Plop!
And fell onto my hands.
"Alright, where's the expiration date? Come on, come on."
Before I got too excited, I looked at the lid and tried to find it. As long as it doesn't reach a specific year, then it'll be fine.
Alas, lo and behold,
"…It's edible!" My face gradually curled into a grin, happy that I got to eat something nice today.
Excited that I got something, I spent the remaining time looking for more in the store and luckily spotted a couple more cans.
If I have to say, this was a good find.
"Heh… let's go back for now." I stretched my back and left the store satisfied.
It's been a month since I adjusted to this situation.
Not a living thing in sight, and buildings were abandoned… Everything seemed quiet.
Many things happened when I woke up to this… the most notable one was the fact that I… turned into a girl.
A rather pretty one, I guess.
Black hair with golden ends, golden eyes, pupils slit like a cat's, and a petite figure that's short enough to piss me off compared to my old one.
I don't get it. Why did I turn into a girl out of all things?
Was it because I was too ignorant and spiteful?
Maybe someone granted a wish I made out of a whim?
"Or the one who made me like this in the first place was a pervert…" I sighed, conflicted about that possibility.
Anyways, although I held an enthusiastic mindset to counter this post-apocalyptic setting, I couldn't simply relax and enjoy what I have left in this world.
"…"
Without uttering a word, I looked at the distance, gazing at the massive flying structure that had been there since forever.
It was a symbol, a sacred ground… and my dreams.
"Ah~ even after all this, you're still here to haunt me."
Everything began one day, when I was a guy… sadly.
Magi Arcana.
A novel I wrote when I was a teenager.
It was a story like any other. The protagonist enters the academy, Arcadia, with companions to save the world from evil, that kind of thing.
But what if things went wrong? What would happen if none of that happened?
That's right, the world I'm living in isn't just a simple apocalyptic world.
This was a world in a novel that changed without the protagonist's interference.
As if God sent me here and told me, "lol oops my bad maybe you can try fixing it as the protagonist yourself or something."
…
…
…
Ah. I think I'm fucked.