My day was going the same as always: boring, tiring. All of it was just decent, you could say, except for the harsh and terrible weather. And on the day I didn't bring my umbrella—well, I didn't have one anyway because it's just some rain; why waste money on a useless umbrella? Well, I was wrong. I should have gotten an umbrella.
It was late at night; my shift had just ended. The moonlight was already high, but it was swallowed by the downpour, making it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead. The relentless drumming of the rain drowned out all other sound, creating a disorienting curtain of water and noise.
Someone could die in this weather!
I yelled out in annoyance as I rubbed my eyes from the rain.
I continued my routine, ducking into the usual convenience store. I grabbed a few things for a dismal dinner and stepped back out into the storm. As I moved to cross the street, a deafening horn blared from my left.
I turned my head, squinting through the rain. All I could make out were two blinding lights rushing straight toward me... and then—
Bam!
I blinked my eyes open. A vast, green plain stretched out before me, as far as the eye could see. The grass was a vibrant, unreal green, far richer than anything in the modern world, like something from a fantasy. I was lying under a colossal, thick-branched tree. Its leaves formed a perfect, lush canopy, teeming with life.
I pushed myself up, my legs wobbling from the shock. My mind struggled to process what had just happened.
Then I looked down at myself, to my hands, to my clothes. They were all the same. I had the same white, clean t-shirt and a black long tie, and some black, clean pants with nice shoes. My skin was the same white color; my long, light brown, messy hair fell onto my eyes—I hadn't cut it yet; that too was the same. Everything was the same, right?
I couldn't see my face, but I hoped it was the same as well.
But then I closed my eyes and tried to compose myself.
I've seen this in anime; a truck kills you, and then you get reincarnated into another world, a fantasy world usually, and by the looks of it, I'm in a fantasy world..
I once again scanned the horizon, my thoughts churning.
So usually there's a system or a goddess that introduces you to the world..
So a goddess didn't appear before me, so that leaves only one option: the system.
Then I tilted my head back and yelled out.
System!
Nothing happened.
Open system!
Nothing.
Stats!
Nothing.
I continued to try and call forth the system for what felt like hours, my voice growing hoarse.
Finally, I sank down at the base of the tree, completely defeated.
Nothing worked.. why? Am I supposed to survive this world by myself or something?..
My voice is quiet and exhausted from all the yelling and chanting.
Haaaaa.. what am I supposed to do now.. I can't even see any life for a few km from here..
I closed my eyes and, despite the turmoil, succumbed to exhaustion.
A few hours later, a sharp pang in my stomach woke me.
Shit.. I want something to eat..
I stood up and stretched my stiff limbs.
System!
I tried once again but to no avail.
Haaaa.. yeah, I thought so.
I cast my gaze across the endless plains once more before sighing in resignation.
Well, I want to eat, so I should start on finding a village or something.
Then I spun in a clumsy circle with my arm outstretched, my finger pointing at random until I arbitrarily stopped, aiming at yet more featureless grassland.
Alright, that's where I'm going then!
And with that, I began to trek straight ahead, moving further and further from the sanctuary of the beautiful tree.
I walked for hours, covering tens of kilometers until the tree had vanished completely behind me. Yet, it was to no avail; the plain continued without end. My hunger intensified, my body growing weaker with every passing hour. It wasn't used to going without food for two straight days, but I still had enough strength to put one foot in front of the other.
As the hours bled into one another and the sun began to set, I collapsed onto the ground, completely spent, and fell asleep immediately.
I awoke with the first light and forced myself to continue walking.
This cycle repeated for days on end. My body grew progressively weaker, and each day was worse than the last. The gnawing hunger made proper sleep impossible, jolting me awake throughout the night.
The days blurred together. I lost count long ago, my world shrinking to the agony of my empty stomach and the endless sea of grass. There was no other life—not a bird, not even a bug.
As the days dragged on, I could feel my body consuming itself to stay alive.
I began to collapse randomly from sleep deprivation and the slow erosion of my own strength.
And then, as had become inevitable, I collapsed to the ground. But this time, I didn't pass out... I died.
I blinked my eyes open. An endless black void surrounded me. The ground beneath me was damp, as if covered by a centimeter of water. Yet, I wasn't hungry. I felt fantastic, better than I had in years. I stood up with effortless ease.
What happened?.. did I die again?
I continued to look around, but the nothingness slowly began to hurt my eyes.
But then a voice resonated, not just in my ears, but in my mind, my body, and the void itself.
Greetings.. and yes, you just died, and I am the System in this place..
I sigh.
Great.. so what am I finally going to get a system but still be stuck in another endless world?
The system then responds.
No.. you're not getting a system by your terms, nor are you going to be stuck here.. you're going to be sent back into that world..
My eyes go wide in horror.
What?! I'm going to be sent back to that fucking nightmare!!?
Yet the system's voice didn't even flicker.
Yes.. you're going to be sent back.
I looked around, a fresh wave of terrified horror washing over me at the memory of starvation.
Are you insane? Why the hell am I being sent back there?!!
I waved my hands around, my anger, rage and desperation building up.
The system remained unfazed.
You are to be sent back after you confirm that you wish to be sent back.
Huh?
I just looked a little confused now..
What, so if I just don't want to, I can't stay here..?
I looked up at nothing, waiting for a response.
No.. if you stay here with no motivation to leave, I'm allowed to forcefully send you back..
Are. You. Fucking serious!? So I'll have to go back to that nightmare again!!
My rage once again started to build up, but this time far faster.
Yes, yes you will.. actually, I can send you there now, as you have no intention to do it yourself..
Then, in an instant, I blinked and was once again standing on the endless plain.
I looked around. The tree was nowhere to be seen. I hadn't been sent back to the beginning, but at least I wasn't hungry anymore.
I started to walk once again, fuming at the system for forcing me back.
What's wrong with that shitty system? Why did it just randomly send me back!
I continued to walk and walk. Once again, the same thing happened. The hunger returned, but this time my body handled it slightly better. I remained on my feet for longer, yet when my body began to cannibalize itself again, I slowly and surely died. Again.
I blinked my eyes open. The void was once again in front of me... my hunger gone.
For fuck's sake! You shitty system, why did you send me back so abruptly? What's wrong with you!
My voice was loud and full of anger.
The system responded with its same monotone tone.
Because you had no intention to leave..
Huh? So what?! At least you can help me out and let me stay here for a while..
I yelled out in dumbfounded anger at the system's rude, simple answer.
Why should I?..
For the first time, the system's voice changed to a calm, almost uncaring tone.
I'm allowed to send you back when you don't want to leave, so I will do so..
Then I just stopped, frozen in utter shock.. this shitty, idiotic system does NOT like me..
What have I done to you?! I died and got transported to another world where I'm stuck in an endless plain; how can you be so annoyed by me!..
Because now I have to work thanks to you.. and with an unlucky idiot that got cursed the moment he entered the other world, and your inner world isn't better..
I just looked up, stunned and speechless at his words.. he has to work?! That's why he's like this? Because I'm unlucky?!
How is that my fault!?
It's not.. but why should I care? Just go and keep dying till you break your mind or something..
Then, in an instant, I once again appeared on the plain.
Great! Just fucking great! My own system hates me because I exist and doesn't care to help me, and I'm still stuck in this nightmare!!
I yelled out at the sky, my face contorting in rage.
I started to walk once more.
The days went by in a grueling cycle. Yet, when I died once again, I simply woke up on the plain, full of energy.
Huh?.. I'm still in the plain? I'm not hungry? Why didn't I- oh..
My voice cut off as I realized why I hadn't been sent to the void.. the system didn't let me.. of course it didn't.
I had lost all sense of time, of self, of anything but the rhythm of my failing steps. My mind was a numb, hollowed-out shell, and my body was just a broken machine going through the motions of walking, collapsing, and dying. I was in the middle of another slow, agonizing collapse when the world… tore.
Until a crack in the sky split with a sound like reality itself was being ripped in two. From it came a flash that seared my vision, and a shape fell—a sliver of golden light that quickly became a scream of metal. It whistled past my head, so close I felt the wind of its passage and the hot, sharp sting as the very tip sheared a chunk clean off my ear.
It struck the ground behind me with a THOOM that shook the endless plain to its core. I scrambled to turn, clutching my bleeding ear, and my breath caught in my raw throat.
It was an axe. But to call it that felt like calling a hurricane 'wind'. It was a monument. The blade stood taller than some sinister altar, a symmetrical, double-headed terror. The wicked-sharp edges—the actual cutting parts on both sides—were forged of a blazing, untarnished gold, while the broad body of each blade was a field of polished, mirror-bright silver.
The handle was a masterpiece of impossible craftsmanship. Where it met the colossal head, it flared into a five-edged prism of gold, sharp enough to cut a hand that dared to touch it. And standing perfectly balanced on this very point was a girl. From that prism, the haft was not a single piece of wood, but a thick, woven braid of solid silver rods, twisted together like the ancient, powerful roots of a world-tree, all the way down to a heavy, golden pommel that had sunk deep into the soil.
And there she was. A small figure—so small that a dozen of her could have huddled in the weapon's shadow—perched effortlessly on the sharp, golden point of the axe's neck.
She was a doll-like vision of chaos. Her hair was the color of sunshine, bright yellow fading to a blondish-gold at the tips, pulled into two high, defiant pigtails. Her eyes were pools of molten gold, and within them, her pupils were not circles, but the sharp, elegant Roman numerals: IX. A manic, ecstatic grin split her face, a smile that promised beautiful, unhinged destruction.
Her attire was a chaotic declaration of her nature. On her legs, she wore mismatched white stockings: one patterned with sharp silver stripes, the other with gleaming gold, both disappearing into thick, heavy black boots that looked made for stomping. A plain black skirt swished just above her knees.
For her torso, she wore a loose, oversized black crop top with a delicate white lace trim at the collar and sleeves, looking for all the world like luxurious sleepwear. Thrown over it was a soft, black leather jerkin, worn and supple, its rugged practicality making the delicate top beneath seem even more bizarre and unsettling.
Hehe~ hi... hi~
The greeting bubbled out of her, a singsong taunt that was far too sweet and far too cheerful. Her voice was light and airy, completely carefree, which somehow made the sarcasm dripping from her next words cut even deeper.
So how's it going? With leaving this plain and everything?..
She might as well have been asking a drowning man how his swimming lessons were progressing. It wasn't just a question; it was a performance of mock concern, designed to highlight how utterly impossible my situation was.
What do you think?
I dragged my gaze up to meet hers. My voice was a deadpan monotone, thick with exhaustion and a tone that skirted the edge of pure annoyance.
Yet hearing my words she only grins further and giggles to herself.
Hehe~ well I think it's admirable that you're trying so hard, but I wanna know.. how have you not died yet?.. by your appearance and mana.. you should long be gone..
She leaned forward slightly, the manic grin stretching wider, her wide, golden eyes fixed on me as she waited for a response.
My hand rose unconsciously, fingers brushing against the raw, bleeding notch in my left ear. My eyes then drifted past her, to the colossal axe that stood like a pagan idol, its shadow large enough to swallow three of me whole.
Don't know.. I guess the gods just love me or something..
I let my hand fall back to my side, my voice flat and simple, drained of all emotion. It was a statement of fact, devoid of any pride or hope, making it clear there was nothing special about me at all.
She giggles as she stands upright on the axe..
Hehe~ I don't believe that.. but whatavvs..~
Sooo I was sent here to kill the lich in here and destroy this "soul lock," but I guess he's gone.. and if I'm right, you stumbled on it by accident. And your lucky self will get a free ticket out of here!~
She grinned before leaping down from her weapon, landing silently in the grass directly in front of me with impossible grace.
Just go through that crack and you should be out of here.. but you'll probably end up in the middle of nowhere.. or do you wish to stay here and die with this place?
She tilted her head back to look up at me, her expression one of casual, almost bored curiosity.
Why? Why are you letting me go so freely? Aren't you here to kill me?
I stared down at her, a frown of genuine confusion creasing my brow.
Why would I kill you? Or are you the lich? No.. that's not possible.. well, you better go quickly before I change my mind~
But why did you cut a chunk of my ear th-
She cut me off before I could finish, waving a dismissive hand as if swatting a fly.
Alright, get going already; I'm going to destroy this place. You don't wanna go with it..~
Before I could protest further, she placed both hands on my back and gave me a surprisingly strong shove towards the shimmering rift. I stumbled forward, my balance lost completely, and tumbled through the crack.
The sensation was instantaneous and excruciating. It wasn't travel; it was disintegration. A white-hot agony seized every nerve ending, feeling as though my very atoms were being pulled apart while simultaneously being set ablaze. What lasted only a few seconds in reality felt like hours of relentless, screaming torment.
Then, it stopped. Abruptly. I fell through open air for a heart-stopping moment before landing with a thick, wet squelch in a pool of cold mud.
Gasping, I pushed myself upright, my body trembling from the residual shock. I wiped the mud from my eyes, blinking as I took in my new surroundings. I was standing in the middle of a thick, oppressive forest, the canopy so dense it cast the world beneath in a perpetual twilight.
Fuck!! Why am I again in the middle of nowhere!
A guttural groan of pure annoyance ripped from my throat. My voice was laden with disdain and a profound, weary sense of defeat.