Novels2Search
Beyond Infinity
Hopes and dreams

Hopes and dreams

Chapter 2

<47 DAYS OF HELL>(1)

✧HOPES AND DREAMS ✧

Imagine a mirror shattered into a thousand fragments, each reflecting something slightly different. That’s the best way I can describe it. The world was broken. Not ruined, not destroyed—broken.

Buildings leaned at impossible angles, their glass windows warping like liquid under an unseen pressure. The ground pulsed faintly, as though it had a heartbeat, and when I stepped forward, my shadow didn’t follow me. It stood still, watching me from the corner of my eye.

“Where am I?” I whispered to no one in particular.

The words echoed back, but they didn’t sound like my voice. They were warmer, almost mocking, as if the world itself found my confusion amusing.

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I couldn’t trust my senses. One moment, I was on a cracked street, the smell of burning asphalt thick in the air. The next, I was knee-deep in a crimson river that shimmered like liquid glass. Was I hallucinating? Dreaming?

Maybe. But the icy water soaking through my pants felt real.

“Focus,” I muttered, clenching my fists. “This is just a glitch. A weird dream. Maybe too much caffeine. Maybe…”

My voice faltered as the sky cracked open above me.

It wasn’t lightning—lightning doesn’t spread like spiderwebs, doesn’t burn holes in the air that bleed darkness. And it doesn’t make that sound, a low hum that seemed to vibrate directly into my skull.

I covered my ears, but it didn’t help. The sound wasn’t external; it was inside me, clawing at my brain like nails on a chalkboard.

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I wasn’t alone. That realization hit me like a slap to the face. In the distance, through the warped lens of this broken reality, I saw movement. Shadows—no, not just shadows. Shapes. Beings.

They slithered and crawled, their forms defying any logic I could cling to. One of them stepped closer, its body an amalgamation of bones and glass, its many eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.

I froze. It didn’t.

The thing moved like it had never been bound by the rules of gravity. Each step sent ripples through the ground, bending the space around it. My breath caught in my throat as it stopped just a few feet away, its jagged head tilting to study me.

“Don’t move,” I told myself. But the truth? I couldn’t move if I wanted to. My legs were rooted in place, my heart slamming against my ribs.

The creature leaned closer, its glassy skull inches from my face. I expected a roar, a lunge, something violent—but it just stared.

And then it spoke.

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The words weren’t words—not in the way you’d expect. They bypassed my ears entirely, worming their way directly into my mind.

“You do not belong.”

I stumbled back, the sheer force of the voice slamming into me like a physical blow. My head spun, the world twisting around me.

“I don’t understand!” I shouted.

The creature tilted its head again, as if considering my response. Then, without warning, it disintegrated. One moment it was there, a towering nightmare of bone and glass. The next, it was gone, scattered into shards of light that evaporated before they hit the ground.

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I don’t know how long I wandered after that. Time didn’t work right here. The sun hung frozen in the sky, or maybe it wasn’t the sun at all. Sometimes I thought I could hear voices—faint whispers carried on the wind. They sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place them.

Was I losing my mind?

Or had I already lost it?

I clung to fragments of memory like a drowning man clutching driftwood. I remembered my name: Hoshino. I remembered the dull monotony of my old life, the flickering lightbulb in my kitchen, the pile of unopened bills on my counter.

But the rest was hazy, like an unfinished painting.

It was only later—if “later” even meant anything here—that I found the Hall.

I didn’t walk there. I didn’t stumble across it. One moment, I was standing in an empty field of blackened grass. The next, I was here.

The Hall was massive, stretching infinitely in every direction. Its walls were made of light, shifting and pulsing like the beating of a cosmic heart.

And in the center stood them.

They weren’t people. That much was clear. Their forms were abstract, impossible—a swirling mass of stars, a shifting silhouette of ink and fire, a figure of pure light so bright it hurt to look at.

They spoke as one, their voices harmonizing into a single, overwhelming presence.

“You have entered the Fractured AU.”

“What… what is this place?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

The light-being stepped closer, its form rippling. “You are the anomaly. The fracture point.”

“I don’t understand,” I said, for what felt like the hundredth time.

Another figure, this one a storm of shadows, chimed in. “You tore the fabric of reality.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “That’s not possible. I didn’t do anything!”

The voices fell silent, the weight of their gaze pressing down on me. Then, the light-being spoke again, its tone colder than before.

“You exist. That is enough.”

Before I could respond, the Hall dissolved around me, the light swallowing everything.

When I woke up, I was back in the broken world, the ground trembling beneath me. My hands trembled as I clutched at my chest, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

And then, faintly, I heard it:

A voice, distant but clear.

“Fate is unavoidable.”

-

The air grew heavy, each breath like inhaling ash. Hoshino staggered, his legs trembling as a cold blue glow enveloped him. Floating before him was a screen—not glass, not light, but something in-between, ethereal and menacing. It pulsed faintly, as though alive.

He blinked, but it didn’t disappear. Instead, text began to appear, lines of code unraveling before his eyes.

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[SYSTEM INITIALIZING...]

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“What the hell is this?” Hoshino whispered, his voice cracking. His fingers brushed against the screen, but it wasn’t solid—it rippled like water, leaving cold tingles on his fingertips.

The text continued, relentless.

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[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE]

[WELCOME, HOSHINO.]

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Hearing his name made his stomach churn. This was no accident.

Before he could question further, another panel materialized, its contents making his blood run cold.

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[CHARACTER DETAILS DISPLAYED]

Name: 『Hoshino』

SYSTEM: 『GENOCIDE』

RACE: 『HUMAN』

Personality: 『DECEPTION』, 『BROKEN』

Trait: 『???』

Level: 『1』

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STATS:

* HP: 『1』 (Fragile as glass, a single blow will break you.)

* Strength: 『10』 (Barely above average.)

* Agility: 『10』 (Quick enough to survive, slow enough to fail.)

* Mentality: 『Unstable』 (A mind shattered, teetering on the edge.)

* Endurance: 『20』 (Surprisingly resilient for someone so broken.)

* Stamina: 『10』 (Not enough to run from what’s coming.)

* Mana: 『10』 (You’ve barely scratched the surface of the arcane.)

* Intelligence: 『¿?¿』 (Something is wrong here.)

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Each stat felt like a judgment, the descriptions twisting the knife in his chest. He bit his lip, a tremor running through him.

“What... is this? A game?”

The screen wasn’t finished with him.

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[SKILLS - PASSIVE:]

* 『FABRICATION』: Your words can deceive others easily. 【Lvl: 7】

* 『LIAR』: Your lies are believable by others. 【Lvl: 7】

* 『MANIPULATOR』: See thoughts when staring at someone. 【Lvl: Max】

* 『COLD HEART』: Immunity to empathy and emotional control. 【Lvl: Max】

* 『MASTER OF ALL』: Wield any weapon as though mastered. 【Lvl: Max】

* 『FORESIGHT』: Glimpses of the future, but at immense cost. 【Lvl: 1】

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[SKILLS - ACTIVE & LOCKED:]

* 『MAGIC: Ice, Fire, Void, Time, Blood』 【Locked】

* 『DOMAIN』: 【██████】 【Locked】

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[TRAIT ACTIVATED: 『BROKEN』]

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Hoshino blinked as a new screen unfurled, lines of text crawling across the blue field like scars.

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[『BROKEN』 TRAIT EFFECTS:]

* Feel emotions 100% stronger than others. Emotional wounds are amplified by 500%.

* Heartbreak inflicts unique penalties based on frequency:

* 『Trauma received: 135 times』

* 『Depression state: Immeasurable』

* 『Affection deprived: 60%』

* 『Suicidal attempts: 653』

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The numbers burned into his brain. Trauma: 135. Depression: immeasurable. Suicide attempts: 653.

“No,” Hoshino whispered, clutching his head. “This… this isn’t me.”

But deep down, he knew it was true. Every rejection, every betrayal, every gut-wrenching moment of being abandoned—they all came rushing back, sharp and fresh, like an open wound.

“I can’t do this,” he gasped, but the system wasn’t listening.

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[ERROR: #8273 - SYSTEM OVERLOAD DETECTED]

[ERROR: #8273 - DATA EXCEEDS LIMITS]

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The screen began to glitch, lines of text distorting and warping.

“What’s happening?!” Hoshino yelled.

The answer came in the form of jagged red text flashing violently before him.

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[YOU KNOW TOO MUCH.]

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The words carved themselves into his mind, leaving a burning afterimage in their wake.

Suddenly, his vision went black, the text flaring brighter until it consumed everything.

[ You have died! ]

[Your barin can't handle this much information ]

[Cause of death:Information overload]

[Warning!The system as malfunctioned during the overload of information]

[The system will now reset]

[Resetting the world!]

[1%]

.

.

.

[100%]

[System reset completed successful—]

[Error! due to the extensive amount of data the system can't function ]

[Error!]

[Errror!Trying t o fi x t he anyo m l y]

[Error!]

[Failed!]

[Errror!T r yi n g t o fi x t he anyo m l y]

[Fa!led]|

[Err—! memories are being erased ]

[Fixing th—

[Imaginary level threat dected!]

[ Warning!If error not fixed the—

Reality will be merged]

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[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[YOU HAVE DIED.]

[ Y O U H A V E D I E D ! ]

[Error!]

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The phrase repeated endlessly, the words overlapping until they formed an agonized scream, echoing across the void.

And then, everything stopped.

In the emptiness, particles began to form. Molecules and atoms arranged themselves meticulously, knitting the world back together as if someone was rewinding a film.

Stars and planets formed. Nebulas, galaxies, constellations filled the sky.

The air shimmered with dread .

And finally the past merged with future, binding the present.

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[NEW Sub–Scenario LOADED.]

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『SCENARIO: 47 DAYS OF HELL』

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【■】

「DAY 5」

Yesterday, my mother died. Along with the rest of my family, they perished in a car accident. I… I don’t know what to feel. I should be devastated, shouldn’t I? The grief should consume me, overwhelm me. But… I just feel numb. I am very sad about it.

But it doesn’t feel real. Am I even allowed to feel like this? It’s so quiet, like the world is holding its breath, waiting for me to break down. Maybe I am supposed to scream, to shout at the heavens. But I don’t. I… I just feel empty. Maybe I’m not broken enough.

I don’t even know who I am without them.

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「DAY 14」

I don’t know what to do anymore. My family is gone, and I don’t have anywhere to sleep. I walked from place to place, knocking on doors, hoping for a shred of kindness. But there’s nothing. No one. Maybe my relatives will take me in. They must, right?

But when I arrived, they just stared at me, like I was a stranger. "We can't help you," they said. "You’re better off on your own." So I left.

Where else is there to go? Maybe I’ll just sit here until I disappear. I don’t even have the strength to cry anymore.

[You have died!]

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「DAY 16」

Why? Why is this happening? I just want someone to care about me. When I asked my relatives if I could stay, they didn’t even look me in the eye. They shut the door in my face, as if I’m some kind of nuisance. Am I so worthless? Why am I nothing?

I don’t get it. Why was I born if I’m just going to be abandoned? Am I cursed to wander this earth like a ghost, unseen, unwanted?

I hate myself. No one wants me. Not even my family. And I can’t blame them. I wouldn’t want me either.

I see how it is. I don’t belong here. I never did.

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「DAY 20」

I’ve wandered for days. My relatives turned me away, every single one of them. I’ve asked for help, begged them to take me in, but they all say the same thing: "You’re a burden."

Maybe they’re right. Maybe I am a burden. I’m nothing but an empty shell, drifting in a world that doesn’t care.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

I’m nobody.

What’s the point of even existing if no one sees you? No one will miss me. No one will care if I’m gone.

I thought about ending it all. Maybe just jump off a building or fade away into the darkness of an alley, where no one would ever know. No one would ever care. It would be peaceful…

But then, a strange thought hits me. Maybe I will be needed. Someday, someone might care about me. Maybe. Maybe I’ll be seen.

But maybe… it’s better if I just disappear. The world doesn’t care. Why should I?

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「DAY 30」

You know what’s truly cruel about life? It’s the way it keeps going, even when you don’t want it to. When you do everything in your power to stop something, to hold onto something precious, but it slips away from you anyway.

I’ve learned that nothing goes as planned. Nothing is certain in this cursed world.

Yesterday, my family was with me. They were alive, smiling, even when life was hard. We fought, we laughed, we cried—but there was always love, always a sense that we were together in this madness.

And then, they were gone. Just like that. In an instant.

And now… I am alone. Truly, completely alone.

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「DAY 40」

I’ve been wandering for days. Forty days, no food, no water. I can feel my body shutting down, my limbs heavy and cold. I’ve been hungry for so long now that it no longer hurts. It’s just a dull, empty feeling. I can’t take it anymore.

I want to give up. I want to lie down and let everything fade away. But… something inside me refuses.

Maybe… maybe there’s still hope.

[You have died.].

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「DAY 47」

After 47 days of suffering, I was found. A strange man—a ‘uncle’, he called himself—took me in. He brought me to some place called an orphanage.

I don’t know if I trust him, but I couldn’t keep walking. I was too tired, too hungry.

At the orphanage, they gave me food. Real food. The first meal I’ve had in over a month. For a moment, I felt happiness. It was fleeting, but it was real. For the first time in so long, I didn’t feel like I was going to die.

But something’s wrong here. Something doesn’t feel right about this place.

[You have died.].

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「DAY 47」

I was wrong. Something is wrong here. Something is very, very wrong.

The people at the orphanage—they don’t look at me the same way. It’s like they’re watching me, waiting for something. And every time I ask about my parents, about what happened, they avoid the question.

I hear strange noises at night. Whispers, footsteps, things moving when no one’s around. I tried to tell someone, but they just smiled and told me I was imagining things.

Why do I feel like I’ve been here before? Why does it all feel so familiar, like I’m trapped in some endless cycle?

I’ve been here for days, and it’s like I’m stuck, unable to move forward, unable to escape.

I think I’m starting to lose my mind.

[You have died.].

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「DAY 6」

I don’t understand anymore. I don’t know where I am, I don’t know what’s real.

Why does everything feel so familiar? Why do I feel like I’ve been through all of this before?

I’ve cried, I’ve begged, I’ve begged for someone to help me, but they don’t. They can’t.

Is this some sick joke? Did I die? Did I already die, and I’m just stuck here, in this place of endless repetition?

I don’t know. I don’t understand anything anymore.

[You have died.].

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「DAY 5」

I can’t remember anymore. Why does this all feel so familiar? Like I’ve lived it a thousand times.

I… I don’t know what to think.

But I just hope… I just hope that maybe, someday, someone will see me. Someone will notice me.

Because I don’t know how much longer I can keep going like this.

[You have died.].

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「DAY 15」

I’m in the orphanage now. I don’t know how I got here, or how long I’ve been here, but I’ve been here before. I feel it.

Something is wrong.

I’m not sure if it’s the place, or if it’s me, but everything feels wrong. There’s something dark lurking here, something hiding in the corners of my mind. I keep thinking of the day my parents died.

It’s all so familiar.

I’m starting to wonder if I’ve been stuck in this loop for far longer than I realize. Maybe I’m just waiting for someone to break me. Maybe I’ve always been waiting.

I just want it to end.

But it won’t.

[You have died.].

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「DAY 17」

On any other morning, she would have gone about her routine at the orphanage without a second thought. Today was supposed to be no different. She walked briskly down the narrow, dim hallway, pushing the heavy wooden door open with a familiar cheerfulness.

“Hoshino, time to wake—” Her words fell dead on her lips, strangled by the sight before her. “Oh… Hoshi… no…?”

She froze, her voice barely a whisper, the warmth of her morning routine drowned by a deep, chilling horror. Lying sprawled across the floor was the body of Hoshino, her bright-eyed ward—a figure now unrecognizable, his once-lively face frozen in an expression of horror. Her mind clawed to reject what her eyes were seeing, to shield her from the nightmare before her. But the sheer horror of the scene was undeniable.

“Hoshino!?” She stumbled back, her hand pressing hard against her mouth to muffle the scream building in her throat. Finally, it broke free—a raw, piercing sound that echoed in the silent orphanage. “Kyaaaaaa!”

Her steps faltered; she staggered back, and ran as fast as she could, but mysteriously dispared somewhere.

The room was empty, yet far from empty. In the center, a small bed was splattered with blood, the bedding soaked through with dark, rust-colored stains. The walls, once pale, were marred with streaks of dark, dried blood, running in frozen rivulets up toward the ceiling as if the room itself had bled. A cheap wall clock ticked away, utterly indifferent, each second mocking the stillness of the figure lying lifeless on the floor.

Suspended from the ceiling light, swaying gently in the draft of the broken window, was Hoshino’s severed head. His face, once so full of life and curiosity, was twisted in a grimace of final horror. His eyes, glassy and vacant, stared into the dark ceiling above, and his mouth was open, frozen in a final scream he could never finish.

Blood pooled on the floor, seeping into the wooden boards, and deep, jagged scars marred his torso, carved into his flesh with chilling precision. His chest cavity lay hollow, emptied. Where once a heart beat, there was only an empty void, and along the windowsill lay his heart, discarded like some worthless trinket. The remnants of his intestines and stomach glistened in the cold light, strewn about like pieces of unwanted debris.

Small, shadowy figures, hunched over Hoshino’s remains, gnawing and tearing at his flesh with a ravenous hunger that defied human comprehension. Monsters, or some twisted mockery of life. Their forms flickered, as if they struggled to maintain coherence in the dim room, constantly shifting and warping with every passing second. They were pale, their sickly flesh stretched tight over grotesquely elongated limbs that ended in clawed hands slick with blood. What passed for faces were merely empty, hollow voids, eyeless yet somehow watching, sensing, and filled with a hunger that seemed endless. Their mouths—if they could be called that—were filled with jagged, needle-like teeth, biting and tearing through Hoshino’s remains as a twisted chittering sound echoed through the room.

A faint line of text flickered across the room, only visible to few with keen eyesight:

[ You have died ]

「DAY —」

The sky looms gray, thick with clouds, smothering any hope of sunlight. The air is bitter, as frigid as ever, with frost creeping over every inch of the landscape like an iron grip that will never let go. The world lies frozen, unmoved. Static.

How long can I keep doing this?

No, I don’t have to keep doing this anymore. I could stop. I could let go, end this—step away. But if I did, everything would be meaningless, rendered void by my own hand. And yet, even if I were to end it, nothing would change. Nothing would matter. This world, this reality, would still repeat, dragging me back through the cycle no matter how much I wished otherwise.

[Time remaining: 10 seconds]

I can still feel it… the weight of the cycle. The pull of something greater, something unshakable. Somewhere deep down, I hoped it would disappear, that I’d wake to find this endless cycle broken, shattered, gone. A pointless dream, but one I cling to all the same.

But that hope is dead, crushed under the icy grip of inevitability.

[Time remaining: 0 seconds]

[Initializing a new world-line]

[Searching for viable instance...]

[World-line Number 72,593 located]

[Checking world-line parameters...]

... ... ...

[World-line 72,593 information]

[World Rank: D]

[Difficulty setting: Immersible]

[Error! Cannot proceed]

Nothing changes. No matter how many times I restart, the outcome is always the same. This cursed loop pulls me through the dark corridors of countless worlds—yet each is a mirror of the last. Every world, every line, is a prison, keeping me confined. Each “new” cycle just another layer of the same nightmare.

And I’m starting to forget what came before.

[YOU HAVE DIED]

「DAY 15」

–Claasifed information.

"What's this?" Hoshino thought, looking at the strange file placed on the director's table.

"What the hell are you looking at, you brat!" an old voice rang out. Hoshino looked for the source and found a middle-aged man in his 60s returning from whatever he was doing.

"Nothing," Hoshino replied.

The director, now getting ready to sit in his chair, looked at Hoshino with disbelief for a while. He dismissed it as nothing and sat down.

After a few minutes, the director asked a question. "Name?"

"Hoshino," he replied nonchalantly.

Hearing Hoshino's answer, the director wrote it on an empty sheet of A4 paper.

"Where did you live before?" the director asked another question.

"I don't know," Hoshino replied weakly.

The director gazed at Hoshino for a bit and muttered, "Amnesia?"

The director asked Hoshino for more information, but Hoshino kept repeating, "I don't know." The director, who was about to lose his temper, asked another question, but Hoshino's reply didn't change. The director snapped. He stood still, clenched his fists, ready to hit the boy, but a maid working at the orphanage, cleaning near the door, saw the director ready to strike a child. The maid quickly rushed over and grabbed the director's hand.

Seeing the lowly maid touch his hand made the director even angrier, and he slapped her.

"Get away from me, you pest!"

The infuriated director forgot about Hoshino and started beating the maid with his fists until he was satisfied.

Hoshino watched the maid getting beaten up with hollow eyes.

Hoshino never really understood what others felt or thought. Even if he tried to understand them, it became too sophisticated to comprehend. If he tried harder, it would cause a headache and make him go insane. So, naturally, he wouldn't understand the maid's sorrow, but surprisingly, he grasped the despair she was feeling. He even had a sudden urge to help her, but he knew too well that if he recklessly tried to interfere, he would undoubtedly be kicked out.

The director finished beating the maid, looked at Hoshino, and clicked his tongue, saying, "What are you looking at, brat? Get the hell out of here!"

Hearing the director's words, Hoshino started to walk away but stopped at the door, remembering that he didn't know the way to his room. He turned around and saw the furious director, then turned back. He didn't want to deal with him.

The maid, half-dead, got up, apologized, bowed down, and begged for forgiveness. The director dismissed the maid as if it had absolutely nothing to do with him.

The maid left—at least she tried to—but saw the kid she had saved struggling to find his way out in the corridor. She approached Hoshino and guided him to his room.

Hoshino, who received help from the maid, thanked her, or at least he tried to, but due to his introverted nature, he kept stuttering.

The maid, seeing Hoshino struggle to say thank you, chuckled and asked him his name with hand signs because, for specific reasons, she couldn't talk.

"Hoshino," replied Hoshino, who strangely understood.

The maid, hearing his name, gave a slight nod and left.

Hoshino, seeing the maid leave, sat on the bed and viewed the file he had picked up from the office.

After a bit of contemplation, he opened up the file and flipped up the cover.

–Classified information.

He filped up another page.

–Warning! Do not open!

Hoshino saw a bunch of warning signs on the first page saying "don't open." Another page flipped, and there were more warnings, but Hoshino kept flipping pages. The warnings continued increasing, and the text became distorted. On the 20th page, Hoshino saw something very strange: text distorted and colored in red and blue.

–Co nti n ue At Y our o w n ris k!

Hoshino pondered for a moment whether to continue or not. He glanced at the clock and saw it was past noon. Deciding he might never get another chance like this, he flipped to the next page.

–Entry no.■

Entity-■

Threat-■

■O■■E■

■-1 6■ ■■8267

Hoshino saw a bunch of distorted text, which was blocked by something that he couldn't describe. He flipped another page; it contained strange letters. He flipped another page; he saw some strange symbols. He kept flipping pages until he saw something he could read at the end of the file.

-R u n ning, hi di ng,t al kin g,won't w or k j u s t nev r s a y it s na me,he w o n’t bo t her you,yo u h a ve t o bu r n t his a fter see ing th is,h e is ve r y sensitive abo ut h i s inform ation, i f y o u s kiped p ast the wa rnings,i t will hunt un til yo #r soul brea ks.

Hoshino raeding the distorted text,fliped the page again.

It s al ready to l ate.

Keter! will hunt you!

He will not leave you.

Until he hunts his prey he won't stop!

Remember! Keter! will! Always! Be! Around! You!

Hoshino, after reading the heavily distorted text hued red and blue, flipped the page and found that he had read all of the file. Hoshino, now covered in sweat, checked the time and it was past midnight. He got up and walked towards the director's office to return the file. After walking for a few seconds, he arrived in front of the door. The door was slightly open, but enough for him to walk through. Hoshino arrived in front of the director's table, which was illuminated by the moonlight, and placed the file where it was before. Hoshino, after returning the file to where it belonged, tried to leave but was soon mesmerized by the moon outside the window. He got closer to the window and saw the moon for a bit, then walked towards his room. He, who strangely remembered the way towards his room, soon arrived and got ready to sleep. But he checked the time one last time; it was still midnight, which confused Hoshino, but he decided not to think about it too much and went to sleep.

Hoshino hadn’t noticed that he’d been standing at the window, staring out, for over fifteen days. Nor had he realized the unsettling truth: the number of children here had quietly dwindled to half.

「DAY 30」

『????』

└The longer you hide, the easier it is for it to find you.

「DAY 31」

『Entry:1』

└Researchers investigating the entity carefully observed its actions and behavior. Their findings were compiled into a detailed report and sent to the foundation. But by the time the report reached its destination, the researchers had disappeared, leaving behind only the file that held the entity’s secrets.

「DAY 32」

『Entry:2』

└ Days later, the foundation discovered the researchers’ grotesque bodies scattered throughout the abandoned research site. Organs were missing, their bodies torn apart. Shaken, the foundation retrieved the remains and transferred them to a secondary facility, hoping to find answers

「DAY 33」

『Entry:3』

└During the examination, several disturbing details surfaced:

• The victims appeared to have been partially consumed.

• Organs had been carefully removed from each body.

• Heads had been severed cleanly from their torsos.

• Blood was splattered in wide arcs, covering the walls and floors.

• The bodies emitted strange electromagnetic waves, interfering with nearby technology.

• Curiously, all other organisms near the site had vanished—only the victims remained.

「DAY 34」

『Entry:4』

└The foundation continued its investigation, pressing on despite the danger. A few staff members attempted to read the file’s contents, but each met the same horrific fate as the researchers who had compiled it.

「DAY 35」

『Entry:5』

└ Suspecting the file itself was the cause, the foundation sealed it in a reinforced container designed to contain unknown energies, hoping to avoid further casualties.

「DAY 36」

『Entry:6』

└Efforts to study the bodies further failed, as the electromagnetic interference disabled all electronic equipment, and the bodies decayed entirely within days. Attempts to transcribe the file onto a regular sheet proved futile—each time, the writing distorted and faded into incomprehensibility.

「DAY 37」

『Entry:7』

└The foundation branch responsible for investigating the file vanished. All that remained was a twisted, cursed file—one that claimed the life of anyone who read it to completion.

「DAY 38」

『Entry:8』

└Headquarters received urgent reports of the cursed file. An investigative team was dispatched with a singular mission: destroy the file completely.

「DAY 39」

『Entry:9』

└Klein knew he was taking a risk when he signed up for the foundation. At twenty years old, he was one of the youngest agents, driven by an intense urge to save lives. Despite the eerie task before him, he couldn’t have imagined turning it down. This was his first major assignment, a mission that seemed straightforward: destroy a cursed file. But the foundation had been secretive, providing only glimpses into the file’s bloody history.

The situation’s gravity hit him when he was joined by his teammates. Jiro, an investigator in his forties with an impeccable record, had seen more than enough horror in his years. Known for his cool-headed approach, he seemed unfazed, though Klein sensed a tension beneath his calm exterior.

Then there was Maya, the analyst assigned to document every detail of the mission. She was a sharp-minded woman in her thirties, known for solving complex cases through her analytical mind. Her usual confidence faltered as they approached the abandoned facility, where eerie silence and stale air pressed heavily against them.

They walked in tandem through the desolate corridors, Klein gripping the flashlight tightly. Flickering shadows played tricks on his eyes, casting shapes that seemed to lurch with each step. "Just stay focused," Jiro said, his voice a reassuring presence. "This is just another job."

But Maya’s voice wavered slightly as she answered, “We’ve heard what happened to the others. This file…it’s different.”

Klein nodded, a shiver running down his spine. The foundation’s order had been crystal clear: retrieve the file, then destroy it, without reading so much as a word. They pressed forward, eventually reaching the containment room where the file lay hidden inside a thick glass case, encased with layers of steel.

A soft, oppressive hum filled the room as Klein approached the case, his hand resting on the latch. "Ready?" he whispered, glancing back at his teammates.

Jiro nodded, a faint smile flickering across his lips, and Maya offered a brief nod of encouragement. With a deep breath, Klein lifted the case's lid. The air felt immediately colder, almost as if it recoiled from the file inside. Shadows seemed to creep along the walls, drawn toward the open case.

Klein placed the file on a metal table, and they prepared to burn it. But just as Maya lit the torch, the lights flickered. For a moment, everything fell into darkness. The silence pressed in around them, thicker than before, broken only by their nervous breaths.

From the pitch-black void, an overwhelming sense of dread settled over them. Klein couldn’t explain it—he just knew something was there. The oppressive presence seemed to move closer, shifting in unseen ways.

"Maya…" Klein whispered, unable to shake the fear clawing up his spine. But before he could finish, a low growl filled the room, and the torchlight died out completely.

They were plunged into utter darkness.

「DAY 40」

『Entry:10』

└The foundation's cleanup team arrived at dawn, finding the remains of Klein, Jiro, and Maya. Their bodies lay scattered in the same horrifying pattern as the previous victims—organs removed, heads severed, blood staining the walls and floors. The cursed file was gone, nowhere to be found among the wreckage.

Technicians tried to capture the scene, but electromagnetic interference corrupted every recording, reducing the images to hazy, distorted shapes.

The foundation sealed off the facility indefinitely. The cursed file, they concluded, was too dangerous to pursue, but the question remained: What did it summon, and where was it now?

And so, in the depths of the foundation's darkest records, the final note about the cursed file remained:

"Do not seek what cannot be found."

「DAY 41」

Hoshino opened his eyes to the same pale ceiling. The room was quiet and dull, his mind blank as he sat up. The file lay on the table beside him, as it always did, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel anything about it. He vaguely remembered opening it, maybe in a dream, or maybe here, though he couldn’t remember when. It hardly mattered.

He moved toward the file, feeling nothing but a faint tug of obligation, like a task he couldn’t avoid. Lifting the cover, he began flipping through the pages, skimming past shifting words like “cursed,” “foundation,” “entity,” barely noticing them. The file was full of strange phrases, but they blurred together, becoming meaningless shapes on a page.

The hum started again, low and insistent, like it always did. It grew louder, filling his mind, but he felt no need to resist. After flipping to the last page, he closed his eyes, and the world around him slipped away.

「DAY 41」

Hoshino awoke, staring at the ceiling, his mind empty as he sat up and walked to the file. He opened it with a sense of dull familiarity, barely glancing at the words on the pages. The hum began, slowly filling the room, pressing in on him, but he didn’t care. The pages blurred as he flipped through them, one after another. The darkness swallowed him, and he drifted into it without a second thought.

「Day 41」

Hoshino opened his eyes to the same dim ceiling. He stood up, walked to the file, and opened it. The hum started, growing louder as he flipped each page, his eyes sliding over the words without comprehension. When he reached the last page, he let the darkness take him again.

「DAY 41」

The same ceiling, the same file. He didn’t know how long he’d been doing this, but he didn’t care. He opened the file, flipped through the pages, and felt the hum fill his mind. The words meant nothing to him, and he barely registered them as he reached the end.

「DAY 41」

Hoshino sat up, feeling a vague, lingering emptiness as he stared at the file. He picked it up, feeling as though he’d done this countless times. As he opened it, something flickered at the edge of his mind, a faint sense of *déjà vu,* but he brushed it aside. The hum began, as always, swelling in the silence as he reached the final page.

「DAY 41」

Hoshino opened his eyes, moving toward the file before he even thought to question it. His fingers flipped the pages mindlessly, his eyes sliding over the words. They were strange, familiar phrases—“cursed,” “foundation,” “entity.” For a moment, he thought he’d seen these words somewhere before, but he couldn’t bring himself to care enough to remember. The hum grew louder, filling the room with an oppressive weight, and he drifted back into darkness.

「DAY 41」

The ceiling again. The file again. He felt numb, each movement automatic, each flip of the page a hollow gesture. But this time, something tugged at the edges of his mind—a faint recognition, like he’d lived this moment more than once. It was a strange feeling, one he couldn’t quite grasp, but it lingered as he flipped through the pages.

The hum filled his head, as always, drowning out any thoughts, and he let the darkness take him once more.

「DAY 41」

Hoshino awoke, staring blankly at the ceiling. He moved to the file, opened it, and flipped through the pages. He knew each word before he saw it, each phrase before he read it. Yet, there was an eerie familiarity that tugged at his thoughts, a nagging sense that this wasn’t the first time he’d done this. But the thought was too faint to hold onto, fading as the hum grew, and he let the darkness envelop him.

「DAY 41」

He opened his eyes, moving mechanically to the file. He could sense a pattern, something repeating, but he was too numb to fully grasp it. As he flipped through the file, the same hum filled his mind. It seemed louder now, almost as if it were taunting him, but he barely felt anything. The darkness closed in, and he surrendered to it.

「DAY 41」

Hoshino opened his eyes, a hint of awareness finally flickering at the edges of his mind. He walked to the file, feeling an inexplicable sense of dread as he opened it. Each page felt hauntingly familiar, each word like a whisper from a memory just out of reach.

He stared at the word cursed as the hum began, louder and more oppressive than ever. A shiver ran through him as he realized he knew this file, knew this moment, as if he’d been here before. He tried to recall the last time he’d opened it, but his thoughts slipped away, lost in the risk.

Hoshino realized something really amusing is happening to him.

I’ve done this before.

「DAY ■」

Hoshino floated in the endless void, his gaze hollow as he drifted through the darkness, indifferent to the emptiness surrounding him. He felt no fear, no curiosity, only a dull acceptance, like he’d surrendered to whatever this was long ago. The stillness was absolute, wrapping him in a numb, unfeeling haze.

Then, something shimmered into existence before him, faint at first but sharpening as it flickered in and out of view. The words seemed to form out of nothing, twisting into translucent letters that hung in the air, half-formed and broken. Glowing in a muted red and blue, they pulsed rhythmically, almost like a heartbeat. But Hoshino merely stared, his face unreadable, his mind unmoved by the strange, distorted message before him.

[QUEST: KILL KETER]

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