The primordial world was akin to a silent lake.
Without a single breath of wind, without ripple or current, it was a world like water that did not flow—something that could hardly be called a lake, but merely stagnant water.
Life and death were two sides of the same coin. To be alive was to be dead, and to be dead meant, in turn, that one was alive.
As there was no distinction between Spirit and Flesh, those who lived did not fear death.
Just as north, south, east, and west have no meaning in an empty void, fearing death was a meaningless endeavor in a world where death and life were identical.
Who among them would fear a mere part of existence?
Thus, the world was a loop of endless circulation leading down a single path. Since life and death held no weight, it was a shackle of Solitude—where things existed side-by-side yet never intertwined.
This solitude spiraled like a helix, gnawing endlessly at the living until it eventually carved a Void—a hole—into the chests of the dead.
Those who became filled with an emptiness that could never be satiated, even if they were to live again, were called Hollows.
And so, in this stagnant world, the first ripple known as "contact" began to stir.
"…."
If I were to record the events unfolding before my eyes as a historical chronicle, I imagine it would feel something like that.
That was the thought I had as I watched a man pounce on a perfectly normal pedestrian and begin tearing them apart.
At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.
A man walking along at a sluggish pace suddenly had a hole burst open in the center of his chest. He looked around frantically for a moment before pouncing on a passerby and devouring them.
For a split second, I thought a zombie apocalypse had broken out. If I hadn't seen the hole being carved into his chest, I probably would have stuck with that theory.
In fact, even now, as this pseudo-zombie apocalypse is happening right in front of me, I can't tell if I'm dreaming or awake.
In the world I remember, shocking events like a hole spontaneously appearing in someone's chest—or that person then eating another human—simply didn't happen.
Of course, the story might be different on some street where people high on drugs wander around like zombies, but at the very least, the world in my memory wasn't like this.
…The world in my memory?
"Heh."
Only then did it click. No, it wasn't just a realization; for the first time, I truly *perceived* this world.
The fact that this is a world inside a manga.
"…."
Entering the world of a manga was hard to believe, but then again, seeing a man develop a hole in his chest and eat someone was equally unbelievable.
If I had to compare, it was a matter of different dimensions. I don't mean that in terms of the scale of the shock, but that they were literally problems of a different 'dimension.'
The fact that I entered a manga world is a matter of 2D vs 3D, while a man turning into a zombie is the reality I'm facing right this second….
'Assuming a 2D world has become reality, can this world still be considered 3D?'
Now, that's a question worth pondering.
But well… no matter how much I think about it, I'm not going to find an answer, so I might as well just let it go.
ROOOOOOAAARRR—!!
It's been ages since I've watched the anime, but even years later, I could never forget that cry—that scream layered with a metallic echo. I turned my head toward the sound. The man with the hole in his chest was screaming, shedding pitch-black tears.
Normally, when someone eats a person, their face should be splattered with blood. Yet, instead of turning bright red, his face was being overtaken by a spreading whiteness.
It wasn't the look of someone turning pale with fear. It looked more like a splash of white paint.
To anyone watching, it was clear: a human was transforming into a Hollow.
"…."
Let's not get involved.
It's not my business anyway, and getting involved only seems like it'll lead to bad things.
Besides, if I stay here, I might get eaten and die, so I should get as far away as possible.
If I just keep going, I'll run into something.
Stealthily backing away, I turned my back on the first Hollow born into this world and ran.