Chapter 1

Blink. Blink. An action repeated by the eyes of a hundred, no… ninety-nine Japanese men, and women.

“Huh?”, “What?”, were the first few words uttered. Following their simple predecessors, sentences such as “Where is this place?”, “How did I get here?”, “What is going on?”, so on and so forth. Even the universal syllable, “Fuck.”

Within the confused and nonsensical crowd however, there was an odd one out.

Alice.

Just, Alice.

Standing beside her model-like friend, Alice the European transfer student was just… standing there, no different than a doll. With auburn eyes devoid of light, Alice stood unmoving, her body and thoughts unwavering at the clamorous surrounding.

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“Alice! Alice!” Alice blinked at her name being called.

‘Huh…?’ Light returning to Alice’s eyes, she blinked, several more times. How long has it been, since her name was called? The last she remembered, it was either bitch, slut, or whore. Was she dreaming? Or was this heaven? Alice wondered.

“Alice!” There it was again. Timidly, carefully, and gently, Alice turned her head towards the source.

‘Huh?’ Alice paused, a new thought coming up in her mind. ‘I… don’t feel pain…?’ With bated breaths, Alice continued turning her head, but this time at a quicker, but still slow pace.

‘No… No, no, no…!’ Alice trembled, transparent liquid forming at her eyes. She remembered. Alice remembered, the last time she was healed. No, the last several times she was healed.

Pain. Pain. More pain. Unimaginable pain.

‘She… She lied to me…?’ Alice despaired at the thought.

Sarah Barrett, her Goddess and Savior. The angelic woman who had given Alice her salvation, or at least, Alice had thought so…

As if giving Alice the revelation she had prayed for, Sarah had said, ‘I… know of a way that can help you escape this prison. Not physically, but… if you take this, it will… break your mind, and rest assured, no healing can bring you back.’

Alice remembered. She remembered the red cylindrical pill that was slipped into her cage. With no hesitation or thought, Alice had gobbled it down. Be it death of her brain or her beating heart, she just wanted it all to end.

“Alice!” Again, her name was uttered. This time however, her body was shook.

“Hi-!! I’m sorry!! I’m sorry!! I’m sorry!! I’m sorry!! I’m sorry!! I’m sorry!! I’m sorry!! I’m sorry!!” Alice broke down, her mind in shambles as she awaited the punishment for her disobedience.

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Kanade Kyoko blinked both surprise and worry, her eyes looking down on her kowtowing and shivering best friend.

Kyoko looked at her friend, her mind failing to react.

“What’s going on there?”, “Is something going on?”, “What’s happening?”, “Why is that girl doing that?”, and such questions started going off, the previously confused crowd turning their confusion towards Kyoko and her friend.

Snapping out of her daze, Kyoko quickly bent down to her friend, “Alice! What are you doing?! Stop that! This isn’t funny!” Kyoko stated, her mind partly thinking this was a prank by her usually shy friend. That is… until she felt how disturbingly real her friend’s shivering was.

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‘Wha- What happened to her?! She was just fine minutes ago!’ Kyoko panicked. Was it some kind of sickness? Kyoko instantly dismissed the thought. To begin with, what kind of sickness would cause someone to kowtow…?

‘Ugh… I swear, Alice, if this is some kind of prank…!’ Not knowing what to do, and noticing the ongrowing spectators, Kyoko hesitantly picked up her shivering, and seemingly apologizing, friend, pulling her to an empty corner of the building while loudly saying, “Ahahaha-! Very funny, Alice! Time to stop playing around!”

Her seemingly baseless plan worked out better than expected, as a few amongst the crowd had went, “What? Kids these days with their stupid jokes…”, while some, “That’s the first time I saw someone performing the dogeza!”

Her trembling body remained but her apologizing stopped, Alice’s mind timidly wondered when will the pain truly start.

“Alice! Alice! Can you hear me?! You’re scaring me here!” There it was again. Who, Alice wondered. Who would be calling her name?

“Gods dammit!” A curse entered her ears, reminding Alice of her master’s rage, and the pain that would soon follow. Gritting her teeth and clamping the lids to her eyes, Alice prepared for what was to come.

A jolt. A thunderous jolt was sent through Alice’s body as she felt a… soft touch…?

‘Is this… a new monster… master has tamed…?’ Alice thought, relief washing over her as she thought of her fate. At the very least, intercourse with this soft monster might be pleasurable, or a little less painful, a far better fate than the usual torture, Alice thought.

Seconds passed in silence as Alice awaited her fate, but nothing. Nothing was happening. Her orifices intact, and her pain receptors untriggered, Alice’s unclouded mind started wondering, of what was happening.

‘…? Why isn’t it doing anything…?’ Curiosity winning slightly over her fear, Alice took a peek, a small peek. Peering through the paper thin slits, Alice’s eyes laid upon a familiar cobblestone floor.

Bit by bit, the lids on Alice’s eyes slacked and widened, her concentration focused on recalling this seemingly familiar flooring. It was neither the solid wooden floor of her master’s mansion, nor the coldblooded metal of her solitary home.

Thump. Thump. Alice felt a pulse, or pulses. Thump. Thump. She felt it similar to her heart beat, but definitely not hers. Thump. Thump. It came from her back. Was it the monster’s? That was a possibility. Thump. Thump. Heightening her senses, a trait she long discarded, she felt warmth. A calming warmth, permeating through the layer of… fabric…?

‘Huh…?’ Alice blinked. The material was soft, gentle to the touch. Other than enchanted chains and cuffs being her companions, never has she felt fabric in her two years of hell. At least, not any worn on her body.

Curiosity pushing stronger, surpassing her ever-present fear, Alice raised her head slowly, increasing her vision. Carefully and attentively taking in information, Alice reminded herself, to stop immediately and bow, were she to locate her master. Alice remembered. The last time her eyes met with his, he made sure she remembered.

Millimeters turned to centimeters, centimeters turned to decimeters.

“Alice?” There it was again, her name being called. Alice stiffened, though her reaction mild when compared to before. Noticing the person was female, and not her master, Alice relaxed, though only slightly. However, just as she was reaching towards the source, the person who knew her name, something appeared, directly in her vision.

[Task 1: Choose your weapon!]

That was it. A line of text.

Alice blinked, surprise currently defining her entire existence. Blinking several more times, Alice stared in shock.

“Huh-!? Wha-!?” A soft jolt went through Alice’s spine as she heard those words. However, the person’s surprise was most definitely, different from Alice’s.

Alice stared, the sight ringing through her mind. How long has it been since she last saw those words?

Ten years. A decade old memory she had long forgotten.

Unable to think, Alice did the unthinkable. Ignoring the pains, be it phantom or real, Alice’s neck snapped around, her head turning to look at the monster, no… person behind her.

“K-Kyo-ko…?”