I opened my eyes.
'I think I had a dream where a tentacle monster was grinning creepily at me.'
That was what I wanted to mutter to myself, but the blazing sun pounding down from above made it clear this wasn't a dream.
Come to think of it, since arriving here, hadn't I spent more time passed out than awake?
I slowly pushed myself up and looked around.
Then, in the corner of my vision, the Nameless Entity waved a hand-like tentacle in greeting.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Well, do you understand the situation now?
"..."
What was I supposed to say?
If I admitted I still didn't get it, something terrible would probably happen—I could see that coming a mile away.
Look at those eyes.
Anyone would think it had swapped them out for new ones while I was unconscious.
Staring at me with such clear, sparkling eyes, it looked ready to knock me out again at any second with a "You don't understand?"
I didn't want to go through that again.
My head was still throbbing from it.
I put on the most serious face I could muster and answered as quickly as possible.
"Yes, I understand everything."
As soon as the words left my mouth, a strange silence fell.
It felt like even the air had seen through my lie and paused for a moment.
But there was no taking it back now.
It wasn't entirely wrong, anyway, was it?
Roughly speaking: my Charm was so high that this massive Anomaly called "The World" had fallen head over heels for me.
That had to count as understanding, right?
'Maybe I shouldn't have said "everything"?'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Tsk, good...
Safe, I guess.
But if it's such a relief, why does it look so disappointed?
That lingering reluctance at the end of its words didn't inspire much trust.
I narrowed my eyes and muttered inwardly.
You've fallen for me too.
No matter how charming I am, isn't falling in love with your charge going a bit far?
How long have we even known each other?
If that Anomaly called The World found out, it might get jealous, don't you think?
With those thoughts swirling, I forced a casual smile.
"Haha, yeah, what a relief."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Yes, what a relief. Really... a relief.
The tentacle monster, which had been scanning me with an ominous glint in its eyes, continued slowly.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Speak comfortably. I'm merely your servant.
"Uh..."
I wanted to refuse.
But those eyes were the problem.
In the face of that gaze piercing straight to my soul, no words came easily.
"S-sure, I guess?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Yes. Having a servant speak formally to you makes me uncomfortable.
'I'm the one who's uncomfortable...'
The unspoken words circled in my mouth without escaping.
With nothing more to say, an awkward silence settled in.
This situation felt oddly familiar, like I'd been through it before.
It hadn't been that long chronologically, but thanks to the memory implantation, it felt like days or even weeks had passed.
The one to break the awkwardness was, predictably, the tentacle monster.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Yes, The World should be here soon, so let's chat a bit before then.
"R-right! First off, let's sort out how we address each other. Calling you 'tentacle monster'—"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[...]
The air turned icy in an instant.
A brief silence followed, and I stiffened without realizing it.
'In a way, I'm its superior... so why am I the one on edge?'
At that moment, the monster's tentacle slowly writhed.
'Eek! ...Yeah, it's an Outer God, so of course I'm the one who should be careful.'
The Nameless Entity quickly softened into a gentle smile, resuming its calm expression.
For some reason, that brought me a sense of relief.
The mood seemed to lighten a bit.
'But... was my personality always like this?'
My thought processes felt subtly off somehow.
A suspicion that my mind had been tampered with flickered through—but
'...Nah, probably not.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙I didn't realize you thought of me that way.
"Ah..."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Just kidding! One of the humans I ate loved jokes like that!
"Ahahaha... That was a joke, right?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Hahaha
"Hahaha"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Hahaha! This one's serious. Sorry if it made you uncomfortable.
"?...Haha! No, I'm fine!"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙I'm flattered you like my jokes!
"Haha!"
Laughter burst from my lips, but my mind had frozen solid.
'Fuck, I... think my mind really has been altered.'
When the laughter died down, a strange emptiness lingered in my chest.
This should have been tense, but oddly, I felt calm.
My life was on the line, yet no fear rose up.
It was as if some emotional circuit had been severed somewhere.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Good. You're stabilizing nicely.
'What?'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙The World is arriving soon. Prepare your mind.
As the monster finished speaking, the surrounding air began to ripple.
The shadows on the ground surged upward in reverse, and a low voice echoed from somewhere.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[...Han...]
The sky flipped upside down.
And then The World—quite literally The World—descended.
"Appeared" wasn't the right word for it.
Space was pushed aside, and in the crumbling sky's place, another sky overlapped.
Light and shadow poured in through the gap, intertwining.
Even though it was my first time seeing it, it didn't feel unfamiliar.
Like a memory someone had etched into my mind beforehand unlocked automatically, I instinctively understood a part of The World—its structure and flow.
It was immense.
Far beyond what my eyes could take in, yet all that vastness felt profoundly quiet.
Not churning like the sea, but like a self-contained order in itself.
Forgetting to even breathe, I stared at it.
The World moved something resembling a hand.
Space folded, and the sky bent to follow the shape of that hand.
From its tip, something slowly fell.
It was like a tiny object barely held by a pinky fingernail, but the moment it touched my space, the landscape transformed.
A colossal something stretched to the horizon unfolded before my eyes.
A texture as if light and wind permeated it.
The gentle flowing curves and folds seemed alive, and the breeze gliding over them traced their contours gracefully.
It was flawlessly smooth, clearly white yet shifting to subtle other hues with the light.
Faint patterns flickered along its surface, like light shattering on waves.
I murmured without thinking.
"...What is that?"
The first word that came to mind was "white cloth," followed by "gold leaf."
But it was too vast to make out more.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Oh dear, it seems The World's gift is too big for Saetbit.
The Nameless Entity spoke with what sounded like pity.
🌌 THE WORLD 🌌Mm. You handle it.⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Of course. That's why I'm here. Excuse me for a moment...
The Nameless Entity flicked a tentacle.
In that instant, the gift erupted in a blaze of brilliant light.
The light erased all shadows and outshone the sun, yet strangely, it didn't blind me.
The light was warm.
Not a coldly burning flame, but like sunlight slowly spreading through the morning mist.
As the light faded, the massive form began to contract.
Mountain-range edges folded in, and wave-like hems gathered.
Moments later, something reduced to a size a human could handle remained before me.
The light had vanished completely, but its afterglow lingered in the air.
I approached slowly and examined the form.
"This is..."
It was clothing.
Made from a single piece of fabric, with no signs of patchwork.
A vast cloth folded in half, draped over the shoulders, and cinched at the waist with a golden sash.
Indecipherable patterns were engraved on the sash; though metallic, they undulated like liquid.
Light pooled softly at the fabric's edges.
No wind blew, yet the hems flowed gently downward.
It was refined yet dignified.
Its ornate yet restrained aura felt almost reverent.
The style was something I'd only seen in myths.
I stared at the garment, speechless for a while, until a thought struck me.
'...It looks just like those clothes from Greek and Roman mythology books I read as a kid.'
The moment the thought slipped out, the golden sash quivered ever so slightly.
As if echoing my imagination, the fabric swayed softly.
And atop it, The World's voice resounded once more.
🌌 THE WORLD 🌌So, want to try it on?
This was the first time I'd heard The World's voice while fully conscious.
It was clearly directed at me, Han Saetbit.
The voice wasn't grand or divine.
It was simply soft.
Warm like a person's breath, serene like ripples on water.
A mix of emotions wove through it.
Gentleness, followed by a cautious hesitation.
Tender affection permeated it, and at its base lurked a subtle shyness.
Emotions unimaginable from a godlike being like The World.
Yet they were unmistakably there.
If those emotional waves could be captured in one word, it would be "first love."
I raised my hand.
Before my fingertips even touched, faint ripples spread across the garment's surface.
The light in the golden sash swayed softly, and the fabric's weave moved like a breathing creature.
The moment my fingertips made contact, a delicate sensation transmitted through.
Too smooth for cloth, too warm for metal.
Tiny vibrations flowing along the surface traveled up my arm from my palm.
Within it, a faint light bloomed, pulsing far faster than my heartbeat.
It was tense.
Not me.
The garment.