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Yoakemonogatari

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Synopsis
"Ryujima: The Island of Desperate Wishes" Six Players. Seven Days. Only One Winner. They arrived on the mysterious island of Ryujima, each chasing their deepest desire — wealth, power, resurrection of a loved one, freedom from a curse… But none of them knew the price, surviving a game where losers vanish forever. The rules are simple: Live until dawn on the seventh day. Trust no one. Remember: there can be only one victor. The island is ruled by the Witch, and her game is more than a test of endurance. It’s a labyrinth of fear, lies, and bloodstained secrets, where the players are both hunters and prey. Some will break from despair. Others will betray first. And someone already knows the truth… but remains silent. Can you guess who will survive?
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Chapter 1 - Chapter 0: Prologue

The Mysterious Island on the Edge.

An island that appears only once.

That's what they call it. Because it tends to disappear. As if it's trying to be forgotten before it can be remembered.

It...

Is separated from everything: space, time, height, width, even logic. Here, there are no laws. Neither physical, nor moral, nor those that can be disputed in court. Here, there is no time by which one could check. Only one tiny island, resting against the infinity of the ocean.

And nothing.

More.

At all.

— Do you understand? — The Guide smirked, his voice sounding as if he was both the joke and the listener to himself. — By the way, there will be no way out of here. Even if you suddenly howl in fear, with snot and tears in your eyes, start begging. Everything is useless.

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-hahah!

He laughed.

As if he was laughing not because it was funny, but because someone had to do it. And continued to row his boat, not too reliable, not too beautiful, but alive enough not to sink.

And the man sitting opposite, named Hov or, perhaps, simply a man who didn't really want to talk, was still silently looking into the emptiness of the ocean.

— Hey, you know, it's not very fun to talk to oneself. Although I am used to it. Maybe you feel sick? Or are you one of those who gets seasick on the water? Tell me, you don't happen to have... seasickness?

Ha-ha-hahah…ghh!

— Shut up. I don't have a particular desire to chat with a psychopath with a "slaughter" level laugh. Just row. Where needed, row there.

— Well, at least you said something! I was already thinking you were one of those… shy ones. Although, you know, there are such ones too.

— By the way... while we have time, and the island hasn't yet peeked out from behind the curtain of reality, do you want to talk about it? About the island. You did look so... thoughtful.

Silence in response.

The ocean was only breathing quietly.

As if it was listening too.

— Hm… well, okay. I wanted to discuss it a bit later anyway, when we reach your "imaginary island". But, you know, never mind.

— I'm listening to you, Mister Hov! — The Guide said this with such a wide smile that one could hide from the rain under it.

— Don't call me that.

— Yes-yes.

— Let's get to the point. So what is this island?

— Ah! With the greatest pleasure! — The Guide seemed to have been waiting only for the chance to start this performance of his.

— Its name is Ryujima Island.

— In fact, it doesn't exist in any reality. And I'll even say more... Even this ocean that you see is a fake. An absolute fake!

— It simply doesn't exist. I could say it's a dream, but even a dream is too bold. It appears only once per… an unimaginable amount of time! I cannot predict when it will appear again, and to be honest... even for me, the Guide, it's almost a miracle. Almost.

— Your voice sounds too joyful for a man who lives in a box between worlds. You already said all this at the beginning, I remember. Nothing new.

— Hey-hey, well, I haven't finished yet.

Allow me to continue.

— Imagine a box. A box in the void. That's how one can explain this place, it's nowhere. It has no dimensions, no limits either.

— That's why I added an imaginary ocean to the imaginary island. By logic, if you are inside a box, then everything around seems real. But if you look at it from the outside… you will see just a black emptiness. Is the principle clear?

— AAA… and you're not interested at all?

— Why are you silent? I just laid out for you, well, almost all the cards on the table! Where is your "wow"? Where is your "what the hell"?! You are a terrible interlocutor! Just raise your hands up and die in your worthless agony if you can't say anything coherent!!!

He continued.

Muttered.

Mumbled.

Monotonously, as if counting words instead of sheep before sleep. And then fell silent. Only the ocean remained, and even it seemed to cough embarrassedly and fell silent.

A dim fog hung around, nothing was visible. Although… if you believe the Guide, then there shouldn't be anything here except this ghost-island that appears once in an eternity. So, most likely, this is not fog — this is the background.

And suddenly. From nowhere.

From impossibility.

From the very idea of "cannot be" an island appeared. Tall trees, outlines, shape, everything was. It truly "was".

— And here it is! — The Guide joyfully yelled, as if he had won his soul back in dice. — Twelve hours of fucking drift, but it finally appeared! And I already thought the island had disappeared, without even having started the game yet!

Ha-ha-hah-hah…ghhh!

«He said something about a game...»

Hov took a deep breath. Breathed in not air, restraint. His thoughts quieted down. And after a few minutes, the boat reached the shore.