Reiji Moriyama was your typical high schooler. He had just returned from another dull day at school. The stale air of the crowded classroom lingered on his uniform, a musty reminder of endless lectures and whispered conversations. As he stepped into the silent, empty apartment, a cold, eerie stillness brushed against his face. Without a word, he sighed and entered. Tossing his bag onto the bed, Reiji made his way to the kitchen. Each clatter of cutlery and utensils echoed through the quiet space of his apartment.
He prepared a simple meal—instant noodles, the usual—and sat down at the small dining table. "Thanks for the food," he muttered, picking up his chopsticks and digging in.
As he ate, his thoughts drifted—like they always did—back to the morning that changed everything.
It was a beautiful day. Just your usual morning. Upstairs, Reiji was looking at himself in the mirror when he heard his mom call out;
"Reiji, you'll be late if you don't hurry up!"
Hearing this, he hurriedly grabbed his bag and rushed downstairs. His father was seated in the living room, watching the morning news.
"Good morning, Dad," Reiji said as he passed by.
His father responded with a soft grunt—more of an acknowledgment than a response.
In the kitchen, his mother was almost done cooking.
"Good morning, Mom." He said
"Did you sleep well, dear?" she asked, giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek.
"Yeah, I did," Reiji said as he took a seat at the dining table.
She poured coffee for his father and handed him the cup. He sipped in silence, eyes fixed on the television. Reiji hardly noticed; that was just how things were at home. Shoveling breakfast into his mouth, he kept glancing at the clock. He was always in a race against time.
Then all of a sudden, the news anchor's voice cut through the room like a blade.
"A high school student was found dead in a locker this morning. Authorities are investigating what appears to be a case of extreme bullying that ended in tragedy..."
The room fell dead silent.
"How horrible..." his mother whispered, her hand rising to cover her mouth.
His father remained calm, but a shadow passed across his face.
"Hmmm..." he murmured, eyes still locked on the screen.
Reiji felt his appetite fade, replaced by disgust. He could no longer feel the urge to eat.
Reiji stood up and prepared to leave for school. But then he felt his mother's trembling hand holding the end of his sleeve. Her grip tightened, a silent plea for him to stay, her fingers clutching the fabric tightly.
He looked toward his mother—her face pale, her eyes glassy as if she could cry at any moment. The tension was palpable, an invisible thread connecting mother and son.
'Please, Mom… don't look at me like that. It's not like I'm going to die.' Reiji thought to himself.
"Reiji..." Her voice was soft, shaking. "...I know you're not being bullied at school. But if you ever feel threatened or endangered, please... promise me you'll run. Run, and don't look—"
A sharp voice cut her off:
"What are you teaching our boy? ...How to be a coward?"
His mother hesitated, then turned to face his father.
"A coward? Did you not hear the news? I'd rather have Reiji alive and afraid than brave and dead."
'My mom was right. I get bullied a lot in school. I never thought she knew. I never told my parents because I didn't want to trouble them. They were already dealing with enough, and I didn't want to add to it, I didn't want to lose them.'
His father exhaled heavily, breaking Reiji's inner dialogue. He walked toward Reiji and knelt on one knee in front of him, steady and serious.
"Reiji.." his father said, turning to look at him. "It's okay to run," he said. "If it's the only way to survive, then run... But remember, there will come a time when running seems like the smartest option... and yet, refusing to yield will mean everything. There are moments when what you're fighting for matters more than the logic or reason behind running away, Reiji."
Reiji, confused by his father's words, tried to grasp what he meant.
"You'll probably understand that one day, Reiji," his father said, probably knowing Reiji was struggling to piece his meaning together.
Reiji nodded, still trying to grasp his father's words. His mother looked calmer now. Relief washed over him. Her worry had faded, and that was enough.
He picked up his bag and walked out the door.
Off to school.
The scene abruptly cuts to Reiji returning from school.
Reiji stands frozen, staring at the horror before him.
"M-My house…? It's.. on fire? What… happened?"
His voice trembled. Smoke billowed upwards, darkening the sky. The flames danced like twisted spirits, devouring what little remains of his home.
Reiji sank to his knees, grief wrenching a scream from his chest. A raw, primal cry that tore through the night, echoing the depths of his despair
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
His body convulses as Reiji snaps back into reality. His breathing was ragged.
But then came the silence.
His head began to spin. His vision blurred. He gripped the edge of the table for balance, but his knees buckled beneath him.
"W-What's going on…? I can't… move... Am I… dying?"
'No… I can't die like this… Why? Why is this happening to me?' Reiji thought to himself. He could not grasp why this was happening; it was all too sudden and abrupt.
'What was the point of everything…? I had no purp...' Reiji's last thought as his mind went blank.
...Darkness.
It was complete darkness. It wasn't just darkness… it was nothing—an unending void of nothingness. The silence of nothingness was so deep that even the quietest room in existence paled in comparison.
Reiji's consciousness floated in the void—weightless and disembodied. He had no limbs, so he couldn't walk; he had no nostrils, so he couldn't breathe; he had no eyes, so he couldn't see; only thought remained.
"Where… am I? What happened? Did I actually… die?"
He tried to move—but there was nothing to move. No arms. No legs. No body.
"So this is death, huh?... Makes sense, I guess I can't feel a thing."
He looked... or tried to, in every direction. Nothing. It was just 'Nothing', endless swallowing black.
"It's like I'm floating inside… nothing."
Then suddenly, a voice echoed across the void. To Reiji, it was a strange yet warmly familiar presence, like a tune remembered from a bygone dream. It resonated through the nothingness, enveloping him like a gentle aria.
"Welcome back, Master. I am so happy to see you again. I have waited for eternity just for this exact moment," the voice intoned with a lyrical grace, each word flowing as though carried by a timeless melody.
"Wait—what? Who are you? Where am I? What do you mean by 'welcome back'?" Reiji asked the beautiful voice.
The voice cut off for a moment—a pause. Then began to talk again, softer and uncertain this time.
"Master…?"
"Uhm.. I don't think I am anyone's master," Reiji responded sharply. "I don't know who you are. I can't see you—or anything, for that matter," he added.
A long silence followed. It was heavy and unsettling.
Then the voice spoke once more, almost trembling:
"You… don't remember me? Why? Can't you remember?... how could you say something so cruel to me…?"
Reiji, still dazed, tried to make sense of the voice.
"... Can I at least see you?" he asked.
The voice spoke a word, "Light,".
Suddenly, Reiji could see again. It was as if the void itself became light. The light felt no different from the nothingness around him; it was still nothing, but a different form of nothing.
In front of him stood a girl, small in stature, hair whiter than snow. Her blue, teary eyes seemed to hold all the beauty and melancholy of the world, reflecting a depth of emotion that left Reiji transfixed, his own feelings swirling in a tumultuous mix of awe and wonder. She was crying, but her tears were so exquisite that he couldn't help but feel drawn to her, wanting to offer comfort even if he couldn't physically reach her.
"...Oh yeah. I don't have a body," he muttered.
Still, he tried to offer comfort. "Hey… I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to upset you or anything. Just… what is this place? Where am I?" He asked in a calm, comforting tone.
The girl wiped her eyes with her fists.
"You're my master," she sniffled. "You said you wanted to experience the human world and see what it was like to be human, you to-" Just as she was about to finish her sentence, Reiji cut her off.
"Wait, I said that? But… I'm human. Why would I want to explore something I already—"
"You definitely are not human." She said, cutting Reiji off before he could finish.
"HUH!?" Reiji was confused. He couldn't understand what this little girl was saying.
"M-Me? Are you sure you've got the right guy? I'm just a high school student."
Tears began to stream down the girl's face again as she sniffled.
"Okay, okay!" Reiji tried waving his arms instinctively, only to remember again that he had no body. "You're right. I'm your master. Totally. I remember you too... uh… uh…"
He trailed off, searching for a name to call the unknown girl.
"I'm not a little girl, you know," the girl muttered. "You don't have to lie to make me feel better."
"Right, sorry about that..." Reiji said, letting out an awkward short laugh. "..Wait—you're not a little girl?" he added, judging by her petite stature.
She glared. Then grabbed him.
Reiji's entire being ignited. Pain seared through him like his very soul was being burned to ashes.
"GAHHHH—how!? How are you even touching me?! I don't have a body!"
"It's rude to assume a lady's age!" she shouted. "And don't call me little!"
"Okay! I get it! I won't say that again! Just let me go—it freaking hurts!"
She released him with a huff.
"For your information, you're much older than I am. My name is Selphyne. You used to call me Sel, so jst keep on calling me that."
"Alright, Sel. Nice to meet you..again. I'm Reiji—"
"No, you're not," Sel said.
"...Huh?" Reiji said, confused.
"You're not Reiji."
"No, my name is Reiji!"
"I said no, it's not."
"Then what is it!?"
"I'm not telling you."
"Why not?... Are you sure I'm your master? Because I sure as hell don't feel like it."
"You are my master," Sel said firmly. "But something's wrong. It seems like you've lost your memories."
"Oh yeah? You think?"
"I don't think, I know. But it shouldn't be possible for someone like you to experience this. Not unless… You did this to yourself."
Reiji was stunned.
"I chose to forget?"
Sel folded her arms. "It's the only explanation. But why would you willfully erase memories? I wonder."
Sel paused, left puzzled. She was deep in thought, trying to find a reason as to why 'He' would do this."
"Hello? I'm still here, you know," Reiji cut in. "You're really sure I'm your master?"
"Yes, I'm sure," she said. "Listen—if I'm right, it seems you've been regressing endlessly, and without your memories at that. You probably sealed them away somewhere."
"Wait. Have I been reincarnated? Like… legit reincarnating? I thought that was just a novel fantasy trope?"
"It's real. And it's why we're stuck in this mess, human life isn't long enough to live through all that time with a single body."
Reiji paused.
"Wait… isn't that kind of a big deal?"
"Yes," Sel said grimly. "If your memories had truly been destroyed, reality itself would cave in on itself, both me, you, and the 'world' itself would be gone."
"WHAT!? Please tell me you're joking," Reiji said in a panicked voice.
"Calm down," Sel said. "Clearly, you're still alive. I'm still here. So is the rest of the 'world'. Which means… your memories weren't destroyed. They were probably just locked away, as I said earlier."
"'Probably'? So… you don't know?"
"Keep panicking, and I'll burn you again," Sel said.
"Hey! I'm panicking for a good reason! This could be the end of everything!"
"If that were true, we wouldn't be talking right now," Sel said. "So breathe."
Reiji exhaled.
"Okay… you've got a point."
Sel nodded.
"We need to find where your memories were sealed. There's only one place they could be. The Archive."
"Nice. Let's go there now and fix this!" Reiji said, already trying to move into the void.
Sel held up a hand.
"We can't."
"Why not?"
"Do you even know where the Archive is?"
Reiji blinked.
"...No. But you do, right? ...You've probably been there."
"Yes. But knowing where it is doesn't mean we can go."
"Why not? Don't I own the place?"
Sel groaned.
"The Archive exists in an entire other plane than this one."
"So, what's the problem? Why can't we go there!" Reiji said, still not grasping what Sel was trying to say.
"Were you not listening? You can't exist in that realm, not in your current state. I also can't go there—not anymore anyways. You've lost a majority of your powers. Right now, you don't even possess nearly what you once had."
Just as Sel finished speaking, the void began to tremble—subtle at first, then violently. The endless void of nothing was shaking, more than any earthquake ever experienced.
"No… This can't be happening," Sel muttered, her voice trembling.
"What's going on? Is this supposed to happen?" Reiji asked, confusion twisting into dread.
Sel backed away, eyes wide with terror.
"No… no, no. This is bad. Really bad. The void—no, the world is reacting to you. They're being drawn to you."
"Drawn to me? Why?!"
"Because you are you. The world only exists by feeding on your essence. You left a piece of yourself behind to sustain it… But now it has sensed you again. And they want more. If they get to you in this state, you'll die and so will everything."
Reiji froze, panic clawing at him. If he had a face, it would have contorted into pure horror.
Reiji began to tremble.
"We need to run. We need to run quickly. I'm scared. We have to escape before it's too late."The intense trembling of the void was shattering what little stability he had left. His soul was beginning to fade—no, more like it was trying to balance between sanity and utter insanity. The void had started to take what was left of Reiji.
Sel, probably knowing what was going to happen, tried to reach him.
"There's no time—you need to regress again or—Reiji?"
Silence.
He was gone.
Vanished.
Sel stood frozen, winded.
"What just happened? Where is he?" Sel couldn't understand what had just happened.
"No, this can't be happening. Not again, I can't let this happen again.