I was submerged in a deep ocean. But everything was quiet.
Is this death? Did I... die? Again?
I can't help but feel confused... but I can't help but feel as if I continue to sink into a bottomless pit... All I can remember was getting inside my gate and then... then something went wrong, I was trapped in my mind; it didn't matter how much I screamed or tried to fight back, nothing worked, the memory of that was so suffocating. After that, I came back to my senses only to be in a big pain and surrounded by worried people, just to black out again.
"Is that so? I died again without any accomplishment?"
It was frustrating. I wanted to cry and to hit something, in that order. But after a couple of seconds, my anger and sorrow quickly began to vanish.
"Hahahaha!" I laughed out loud, "Everything seems so empty now."
Worrying about mortal achievements feels like something so dumb now. The triple tiara? The Arima Kinen? Those were cute things, but nothing compares to the bonds that you can create on the way toward those goals.
"I hope they can be in peace, Aoi, Flashy, Golshi," I tilted my head, "Maybe Mambo too... scratch that, give peace to Mambo too."
As I finally touched the Darkness at the bottom of the pit, a space around me was suddenly illuminated, as if someone had turned on the lights. I wanted to trick myself into feeling at peace, but I was scared and also in denial. Of course, I didn't want to die, and even less without accomplishing anything... but then I looked around... I was in some kind of weird room... no, it's not weird... it was my old room?
"Ah... yeah, I used to live in this room when I wasn't working flipping burgers," I told myself.
I almost forgot this place. It looked... disgusting to say the least. Now that I'm used to Tracen tiddyness, it's hard for me to look at this scenery. Piles of snack bags on the ground, trash bags, and also that PC screen emanating so much light... this used to be my concept of happiness, and for some reason, my parents never told me I had to clean the place, even if I myself knew I had to do it, I was too lazy for that... but something was off... There was something under the desk, and I almost didn't notice it because of the blinding light of the screen.
"What's that?"
Each passing second, I was feeling more and more confused. Is this my limbo? Is this my punishment for being lazy and calling Flashy a flat chest? Once again, I was trying to formulate a bad joke in my mind to relieve the tension I was feeling. I didn't want to look under the desk, but there was something under it.
"I can do this... I can do this... Ok..."
I stepped closer and took a deep breath. I bent my knees to check it out and then...
"Aaaah!!! Aaaaaaah!!! What the f...k!!!"
It was me, my older me, but it wasn't right, it was a twisted blob with my face pulsating. It was something that scarred my mind, that thing moved like jelly, not advancing, but even so was disgusting and scary... and behind it was something, two big red eyes and a red smile.
"Finally, we meet each other, dear Meek," I heard the same voice as back then when I died. "Little troublemaker, somehow you managed to break the system I created to keep you in check."
"Who who who are you!?" I demanded, yes, I was terrified at this point, and speaking with some kind of demon wasn't something I ever wanted to do.
"Oh, I have many names," It said. "That's a lie, but you don't really need to know, don't you?"
"..." I couldn't answer.
"What matters to you is that I deeply hate you." The voice was calm, but it was cold; it was just stating a fact.
"Why? What have I done to you!?"
"You don't need to know that too, what is done is done" The voice kept speaking "But I also hated the host of that body, so I thought of killing two birds with the same stone, I hollowed her, and placed your lame soul inside masking it as a fun thing from your world while I worked, since it seems you already know there is no point in pretening anymore, you are almost ready to become a hollow shell too, and allowing me to get inside that body thanks to the energy I harvested from you"
"Eh?"
"You thought I was giving you points? Fool, stupid, I've been feeding from your energy again and again. I only made you train so I could harvest more. You are so stupid to think there exists such a thing as a system? It was pretty easy to manipulate the reality to get you killed after I drained the original Happy Meek soul, and now I'm almost complete again."
"You bastard..." I finally said, snapping, "You know, I don't really care about who you are, or what I might have done, with your attitude, you totally deserve it."
"Hahaha! That's more like it!" The demon in question seemed to rejoice with my defiance. "Don't worry, you moron, you are not dead yet." After a small pause, it began speaking, "But someone interfered from the outside, disconnecting the system once again, as soon as I recover my hold on you, you will meet your end, and will spend your eternity like this blob." The evil spirit kicked the jelly version of me towards me, creating a disgusting sound.
"He... you see... all my life I was peaceful and fearful... but you deserve to disappear, I will make sure you are gone for good this time"
"Until next time we meet, then, I'm dying to eat your soul."
As soon as I heard those terrible words, I felt as if I was pulled to the skies. I maintained my bravado for a moment... until I suddenly opened my eyes.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! WHAT I'M GOING TO DO!?" I screamed as soon as I awakened.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!" A very scared uma musume that was standing by my side screamed too.
After a weird moment of silence, I looked at her and she looked at me... and then we both screamed again.
Poor Fukukitaru jumped on the spot. She was wearing a strange set of clothes full of good luck charms while holding a giant cat, which moved its hand using a battery. Around my bed was a complete circle of candles as if some kind of ritual was performed around me.
"It worked?" She asked, confused, "It worked! The lucky number was correct!" She celebrated, "Ah! I mean, of course it worked!"
"F..Fukukitaru?" I asked, confused, my heart pounding in my chest after the terrifying experience in my dream, and now for some reason the uma I was trying to find was before me while doing some kind of ritual, "Uuuh? Where were you? I looked for you everywhere! You won't believe the strange dream I just had..."
"Meek-san, I don't think it was a dream..." She said nervously, "Just a moment before you woke up, something really spooky surged out of your body and disappeared into thin air!"
I looked around. I was back in my room at Tracen, not at a hospital. That made me even more confused. I remember I had some kind of accident at the racetrack... yesterday?
"You are wondering why you aren't in the hospital? Well... they checked you and they said you were okay, no injuries, so after confirming you were just asleep, they brought you here and you have slept for an entire day..." She smiled, "Then I had a vision of the great Shiraoki-sama who told me what to do!"
After she mentioned Shiraoki, I remembered that strange thing at the festival, and took the amulet she gave me from under the pillow and gave it to Fukukitaru.
"Well, she sent you her regards," I said.
After looking at the amulet, the poor Fukukitaru opened her mouth and gasped a couple of times, incapable of believing what was in her hand. And then... she fainted.
"Oh come on! I said, frustrated, I have fainted too much lately, and now the one who was supposed to help me fainted too!