[Part 2 - The Offer]

The final bell rings, mercifully bringing an end to the day’s torment.

With a collective sigh of relief, the students around me begin to gather their belongings and file out of the classroom like ants fleeing a disturbed nest.

I join the exodus, my footsteps echoing against the wooden floors as I make my way towards the exit. But just as I reach the door, a familiar sensation grips my bladder, reminding me of its urgent need for relief.

“Guess I’ll have to make a pit stop before heading home.”

I mutter to myself, veering off course towards the nearest staircase.

Finally reaching the stairs leading to the bathroom, I let out a silent sigh of relief. The staircase is deserted, its dimly lit corners casting eerie shadows that dance along the walls. I quicken my pace, eager to escape the suffocating atmosphere of the crowded hallway.

But just as I reach the top of the stairs, a sudden shove from behind sends me stumbling forward.

My heart lurches in my chest as the world spins around me, and before I can regain my balance, gravity takes hold, pulling me downwards in a chaotic tumble.

The sharp sting of pain shoots through my body as I crash to the ground, my limbs splayed out in every direction like a broken doll.

The impact knocks the wind out of me, leaving me gasping for air as I struggle to make sense of what just happened.

As I lay there, dazed and disoriented, a chorus of mocking laughter echoes in my ears.

I try to push myself up, but a wave of nausea washes over me, forcing me back down onto the cold, unforgiving floor.

“Looks like someone took a wrong turn.”

A voice sneers from above, its tone dripping with malice.

“Better watch your step next time, loser.”

The pain throbs relentlessly, pulsating through every me as I lay there, helpless and vulnerable. Tears well up in my eyes,

blurring my vision as I struggle to come to terms with the reality of my situation.

How could anyone be so cruel?

What have I ever done to deserve this kind of treatment?

But amidst the physical agony and emotional turmoil, a strange sensation begins to wash over me—a sensation that feels oddly detached from the chaos unfolding around me.

It’s as if I’m floating above my own body, observing the scene below with a sense of detached curiosity.

As the darkness closes in around me, swallowing me whole, I feel a strange sense of calm wash over me. It’s a realm devoid of light or sound, where time seems to stand still. The emptiness envelops me like a suffocating blanket, leaving me feeling lost and alone.

“I can still move, I can’t see anything, I can’t feel anything either. And the silence… It’s deafening.”

“—Where… where am I?” I murmur, but no sound comes out.

“… You are in your own mind.”

A voice intones, its timbre resonating with a power that seems to transcend all. Although I can’t hear myself, I can hear this mysterious voice, and it can hear me.

“Who are you?” I ask, though only silence ejects from me.

“Who I am is not necessary. Though, you’ll learn that fragment of knowledge soon enough.”

The voice replies, its tone soothing yet authoritative.

“I am here to offer you a choice.”

“What do you mean?”

“There is a choice before you, a choice between embracing the pain and suffering of your current life, or ending it to embrace a new world filled with promise and possibility.”

—End… my life…?

“Yes. But not in the way you may think. To end your current life is to shed the burdens that weigh heavily upon you, to leave behind the pain and suffering that have plagued you for so long.”

It responded to my thought? Well… I guess that would make sense if this never-ending darkness really is my mind. Wow… I’m empty inside.

I struggle to comprehend the gravity of the choice laid out before me. Is it truly possible to escape the torment of my existence so easily?

And if so, what awaits me on the other side?

“But what about my family?” I ask, my voice trembling with uncertainty.

“You do not have to decide right now. Just know that your fate rests on this decision.”

With those cryptic words hanging in the air, if air even exists here, I feel a sense of overwhelming uncertainty wash over me.

What should I do? How can I possibly make such a monumental choice without knowing the consequences? Will I really be free from all this torment?

The voice seems to sense my hesitation, and it offers one, single declaration.

“We will meet again.”

And as those words bellow through me, I feel my eyes forcefully shutting and my senses slowly returning.

⁂

… As my senses gradually return, I find myself lying in a bed, surrounded by the sterile atmosphere of the school infirmary. Blinking away the remnants of the darkness that had enveloped me, I struggle to piece together what had just transpired.

“Hey, are you awake?”

A female voice cuts through the haze of pain and confusion, pulling me back to reality with a jolt.

Blinking against the harsh fluorescent lights, I turn my head to find Hoshikawa-san, the school nurse, standing by my bedside, her expression a mix of concern and relief.

“… Yeah. I think so.” I mutter, my voice hoarse and raspy from disuse.

Hoshikawa-san offers me a sympathetic smile as she adjusts the blanket covering me, her hands gentle and reassuring.

“That’s good. How do you feel?”

I try to speak, but my throat feels dry and scratchy, my words catching in my chest like a lump of lead. Swallowing hard, I manage to croak out a response.

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“Like I’ve been run over by a truck.”

Hoshikawa-san offers me a sympathetic smile, her eyes filled with compassion.

The memories come flooding back in fragments—the blinding pain, the darkness closing in around me, the sensation of falling into oblivion.

It’s all still so surreal, like a nightmare I can’t wake up from.

“How long was I out?” I ask, my voice trembling slightly.

Hoshikawa-san checks the clipboard at the foot of my bed before responding, her brow furrowing in concentration.

“About an hour. You were brought in late after collapsing in the hallway. Do you remember what happened?”

I shake my head; the events of that night are still a blur in my mind.

“Not really.”

I lie, not hoping to get into trouble for snitching on the person who pushed me down the stairs. Hell, I don’t even remember who it was.

Hoshikawa-san nods understandingly with a sympathetic expression before growing sombre, as if she’s just remembered to inform me about something.

“So… Uhm.. Mugenshi-kun? … I’m afraid there’s been… a tragedy.”

I can sense the weight of her words before she even speaks them.

“What… what happened?” I ask, my voice barely a whisper as I brace myself for the worst.

“It’s your family.” She says gently, her eyes filled with sorrow.

Sorrowfully, she hesitates for a moment, choosing her words carefully.

“I received a message from the principal, informing me about a call he received from the hospital a few minutes ago…”

She explains, her voice gentle yet firm.

“There’s been a fire at your family’s home.”

My stomach churns with dread, and my mind races with worry.

“Are they okay?” I ask in absolute fear.

Her expression darkens, and she shakes her head slowly.

“I’m afraid not. Your family… All of them… they didn’t make it.”

The words hit me like a physical blow, the breath knocked from my lungs as the full weight of her words sink in. My family… gone. It feels like the ground has been ripped out from beneath me, leaving me adrift in a sea of grief and despair.

“No…” I whisper, my voice trembling with disbelief.

“It can’t be true…”

But deep down, I know that it is. The pain in Hoshikawa-san’s eyes tells me everything I need to know, confirming my worst fears with devastating clarity.

Alone and adrift in a sea of uncertainty, I struggle to make sense of the harsh realities of my new reality. My family… my parents… my sister—all gone in an instant, leaving me to navigate this cruel world on my own.

Hoshikawa-san’s gentle touch brings a fleeting moment of solace, but her words only serve to deepen my sense of loss.

As she offers words of comfort and reassurance, I can’t help but feel the weight of my grief grow heavier with each passing moment.

⁂

As I trudge along the familiar path to school, the weight of despair presses down on my shoulders like a leaden cloak.

I’m fortunate enough for Hoshikawa-san to allow me to stay in her home… But how long can I burden her with my presence… with my grief?

“Hey, look who it is! It’s the loser from yesterday!”

The familiar taunts and jeers follow me like a dark shadow, echoing in my ears as I try to block them out. But no matter how hard I try to tune out the noise, it’s always there, a constant reminder of my own inadequacy.

“You gonna cry again, crybaby?”

I grit my teeth against the onslaught of insults, my fists clenched at my sides as I try to maintain my composure. But inside, I’m crumbling, the weight of their words like a knife to my heart.

“Just ignore them, Sora.” A voice whispers in the back of my mind, but it’s a hollow comfort.

There’s no escaping the relentless torment of my bullies, no respite from the pain and humiliation they inflict upon me day after day.

Unable to endure another day of torment from my bullies, I make the decision to end my current life for a new one. My spirit is battered and broken, and my will is shattered by the weight of my sorrow.

As the final bell tolls, signalling the end of another day of suffering, I make my way to the rooftop, seeking solace in the quiet sanctuary of solitude. There, amidst the vast expanse of sky and concrete, I hope to find some semblance of peace.

But my solitude is short-lived, shattered by the unexpected arrival of Kokomi Tachibana, a gyaru whose brash demeanour and flashy appearance belie a deeper pain.

“What are you doing up here, loser?”

She sneers, her words cutting through the silence like a knife.

I turn to face her, my expression unreadable as I meet her gaze with a mixture of resignation and defiance.

I sigh, steeling myself for the inevitable barrage of insults and verbal abuse.

“I just want some peace and quiet.” I mutter, my voice barely audible over the din of the city below.

Kokomi rolls her eyes, taking a long drag from her cigarette before stubbing it out against the railing.

“Well, you’re not going to find it up here. So why don’t you do us all a favour and jump already?” She replies, her tone dripping with obvious sarcasm.

Yet her words hit me like a punch to the gut, the cruelty of her words leaving me reeling.

“What did you say?” I whisper, my voice trembling with disbelief.

Kokomi’s laughter rings out like a knife in the silence, the sound grating against my ears like nails on a chalkboard. “You heard me,” she replies, her smirk widening into a sinister grin.

“Why don’t you just end it all and save us the trouble of dealing with your pathetic existence?”

I feel a surge of anger coursing through my veins, my fists clenched at my sides as I struggle to contain the rage bubbling beneath the surface.

“You think this is funny? You think it’s funny to mock someone’s pain and suffering?!”

Kokomi’s grin falters, a flicker of uncertainty crossing her features before she quickly regains her composure.

“What’s the matter, loser? Can’t handle a little teasing?”

She taunts, her voice dripping with venom.

But her words fall on deaf ears as I step closer to the edge, the abyss below beckoning me with open arms.

“You want me to jump?” I say, my voice cold and devoid of emotion.

“Fine. I’ll jump.”

I feel myself teetering on the edge, the abyss below calling out to me with a seductive whisper.

“W-wait… what…?” I hear her whisper.

But even as I take that fateful step forward, a part of me still clings to the hope that someone will stop me, that someone will reach out and pull me back from the brink.

“Wait don’t! I take it back!”

But just as I think all hope is lost, I feel her hand grasp mine, her grip firm and unyielding as she fights to save me from my own destruction.

In that moment of chaos and confusion, I make a split-second decision.

I push her away.

The wind rushes past me as I plummet towards the unforgiving ground below, my mind consumed by a whirlwind of emotions.

Regret… Anger… Despair…

But amidst the chaos, there’s also a strange sense of peace, a calm acceptance of my fate.

As my body collides with the cold concrete below, pain explodes through every fibre of my being, a symphony of agony that drowns out the world around me.

And then, there’s nothing.

No pain… No sorrow… Only darkness.

⁂

“We meet again, Sora Mugenshi.”

That voice again?

“I believe you are prepared for your new dawn.”

The words hung in the air, carrying a weighty significance that I couldn’t quite grasp. Was I ready? Honestly, I didn’t have much of a choice, did I?

“Yeah… Sure.”

“This will be disorienting. But everything will proceed smoothly.”

I tried to heed the advice, to let go of my apprehension, and to trust in the process.

I felt a strange sensation washing over me like water rushing through my veins. It was both exhilarating and terrifying, a rollercoaster of emotions that threatened to overwhelm me. But I forced myself to remain calm, to ride out the storm, and to see where it led.

I felt myself slipping further and further into the unknown, surrendering myself to the whims of fate. It was like falling into a bottomless pit, with no end in sight.

But then, just as suddenly as it began, the darkness of my mind receded, replaced by immensely lurid light that seared my vision. I squinted against the brightness, feeling disoriented and out of place.

And then came the pain. It was like a thousand needles stabbing into my flesh, a searing agony that consumed me from within. I tried to scream, to cry out for help, but no sound escaped my lips as I writhed in torment.

But as quickly as it came, the pain subsided, leaving behind a dull ache that throbbed in every fibre of my being. I took a shaky breath, trying to steady myself as I took in my surroundings.

I found myself in a strange, mythical place, unlike anything I had ever seen before.