"Trash," he muttered, teeth clenched.
The room was lit only by the pale glow of his monitor.
His eyes drifted to his wall. The glass covering on a frame glinted.
{Bachelor of Commerce from Waseda University.}
A note underneath: Good job, Kurisu! We are so proud.
Five years for that stupid degree. He clicked his tongue.
Next to him sat a row of high-end hair products, all neatly organised on the shelf. It was spotless… Unlike the rest of his room.
His long brown hair fell into his eyes as he struck the keys, and he pushed it back with a frustrated swipe.
"Never playing this again"
[1748.4 Hours Played]
Not Recommended
His review box blinked.
"I HATE THIS SHITTY GAME!"
" I don't even enjoy it anymore. One! You get eaten by the
offspring of alien giraffes that fucked pelicans. Then, when you finally get good?"
"Congratulations. Now you're a slave in a pit for 40 days because you wanna farm strength… boring."
A vein popped on his temple, and he smiled, slamming the ENTER key.The review posted instantly.
Posted by: KingKurisu2001...
And he flicked the monitor off. Shrugging off the strange heat coming from it.
He was too tired to care.
"Bedtime", he sighed.
The clock didn't even blink, but it was already 3:04.
Snatching his drink, which was resting on a wedding invitation, his eyes scanned the cover.
[ Big bro, I'm getting hitched! ]
His teeth gritted then… his expression cooled.
How long has it been?
He grabbed a nearby picture frame.
Two younger versions of them grinned back at him—arms slung around each other, wearing matching shirts that read Lo-Fi Games.
It's been a couple of years now, at least.
He set the frame down. His chest grew warm… then painful. "I just need to sleep!" he muffled through the pillow as he fell into bed.
The question surfaced again.
… should I message him?
Kurisu grabbed the phone from the table next to his bed.
Shit.. dead, forget it.
He dropped the phone onto the floor.
"I'll do it tomorrow," he muttered.
Like he had the last hundred times.
Small footsteps bumped on the carpet as his head hit the pillow.
"Breff!"
A sudden weight shifted on the mattress.
Kurisu reached with his left arm behind him to the side, and a wet nose met his hand.
"What should I do, Chappy?" he asked quietly.
The pup licked his hand.
Good boy
He petted the dog until it settled down. The pugese pinned his hand under its body.
He wiggled his hand, trying to pull free.
"Off Chappy!"
He smiled at the moment and closed his eyes.
I accept my fate
Zzzzt!
The screen of his monitor flickered back on, the speaker buzzed, and the words on his review seemed to shift around.
The buzzing noise crackled, transforming into the mournful whistle of the desert wind.
The dog let out a low growl. Kurisu fought his heavy eyelids.
[ New Game. loading… ]
Why is it— His thought was cut off, as sleep kidnapped him.
The mattress felt warm.
Then hot… And strangely gritty.
Like sand.
______________________________________________________________
Kurisu woke up with his face in hot sand and a mouth full of grit.
"Ugh".
He spat immediately, coughing as small pebbles scraped against his tongue.
My tongue feels flayed.
The heat was unbearable, pressing down on him from all sides like he'd been thrown into an oven.… "Too hot".
His nostrils widened. smells like toast?
A groan scraped out of his throat as he opened his eyes and pushed himself up.
Only to tilt sideways.
Huh?
His balance failed instantly — his shoulder hit nothing but air.
His left arm… gone? A smooth, healed stump ended just below the shoulder.
Kurisu stared at it.
Could have sworn I had two.
He blinked.
Then blinked again.
He slowly wiggled the stump, as if doing so would make it grow back.
"…That's convenient," he wheezed.
He studied it for another second, then sighed, like losing an arm was no more than a mild inconvenience.
A dream?
He frowned. Pffft — dreams usually contained hot blondes… not hot deserts.
"what.. what is that?"
Why does the dream have sensations? The thought didn't even cross his mind. He was too distracted by the colossal hunk of metal in the distance, with a sandstorm around it.
Kurisu's brow raised in recognition.
"Is that? 'The Eye'?"
The eye was a location in the game, an ancient satellite or weapon, I forget which one. Why is it showing up in my dream?
He scratched his nose; his whole face itched.
ugh, this sand is a nightmare.
Kurisu reached up to brush back his hair. His palm slid across smooth skin.
Huh?!
His fingers traced up over the crown of his skull, then the sides, then the back.
Nothing.
His face became hot, his mouth gaped, and his bottom lip trembled. Spit flying everywhere while he erupted.
"…Am I fucking bald?"
His head felt like a cue ball, and it made his stomach wriggle and churn.
Disgusting!
He launched a fistful of sand in fury!
Only for the wind to throw it back.
and hit hit him in the face...
"Ah—my eyes!"
He blurted, falling on the ground, wet clumps coming out of his mouth as he coughed.
"My beautiful mane", he said, pouting as his throat cleared.
After partially recovering from the baldness, he looked down in front of him.
"Skeletons?"
He saw parts of humanoid robots scattered in the sand.
Kurisu exhaled and began picking sand out of his eyes.
Let's get my bearings.
He huffed and placed his hand on his chin.
Woke up in a desert, broken skeleton arms, big foggy mech monolith, bald and missing an arm…
He cracked an annoyed smile. He chose this start a few times himself. Of course, he'd recognise it.
''Rock bot—'' A shadow eclipsed him, interrupting his calm.
"What now!"
His brow went from anger to awe as he turned his head.
A towering mess of leathery skin loomed above him, shell on its back, long neck, and a pelican-like beak tapered to a spear point. This was another thing he recognised.
"No way." He swallowed the grit in the back of his throat.
Its yellow eyes fixed on him as it slowly began coiling back its neck.
"…That's a fucking Beak Thing."
Its beak dived from above. He rolled sideways on pure instinct.
THUD!! It punched sand just where his torso was.
Kurisu's heart pounded so hard he tasted copper.
l-lucky!
Sand misted around them as the monster ripped its beak out of the ground.
It screeched like an old iron gate being forced open.
Kurisu flinched in response.
Every muscle fibre is telling me to run.
Kurisu scrambled backwards on his ass and elbow, kicking uselessly.
The monster edged forwards, looking down on him.
I should…
Instincts took over once more, his hands and feet moving on their own, stumbling as they twisted in the sand.
Kurisu glanced back.
The monster wasn't running.
It was walking. And still getting closer.
"Oh come on!"
Panic faded into calculation as sweat collected.
A beak thing can run at around 35MPH…
"I am not that fast!"
Something rose out of the dunes ahead.
A building!
His teeth clenched.
"If I can just get to that building".
The ground darkened in front of him. He sweated like the creature was breathing on his neck; he began to wail.
"G-GET… GET AWA—"
His foot twisted.
Shit!
He threw his left arm out to catch himself—
There was no arm.
For one glorious second, his brain tried to pretend there was. Then gravity disagreed.
WHAM!!
Face first into the sand, "…Right," he wheezed, spitting grit.
His brow furrowed
"Forget about that!" He said while placing his hand in the dust.
The building was less than twenty feet away.
He tried to step up but slipped on a metal tooth in the sand.
Again?!
The creature's beak dived towards him.
Kurisu's stomach dropped - I can't dodge!
Its beak punched deep into his thigh; he didn't even feel the impact.
Then-
A dry scream tore from his throat.... This wasn't a dream.
"S-shit!" he said, choking on pain.
His hand clenched into the sand as he tried twisting away.
Not a dream!
The thought stuttered in his mind as his eyes rolled back.
It yanked its beak free with a wet slurp, head snapping back while clomping down a chunk of Kurisu's flesh, locking its eyes back onto its meal.
Blood dripped from the creatures beak.
It stepped towards him, its shadow enveloping him one last time.
Kurisu's heart felt like exploding and one thought screamed in his mind.
I'm going to die.
His one hand gripped the hot dust, leaving a crimson smear of blood behind him.
"N-No…-" Kurisu's voice cracked as the word came out.
His face clenched.
"I can't!"
Gripping a rock in front of him, images began to surface — his brother, his dog, the career he worked so hard for.
"I can't.. die here!" He screamed, his voice gritting.
He turned back, and defiance spread through his face.
I've got people waiting for me!
He cocked back the rock in his hand.
Then—
Metal Bolts slammed into the creature's side.
"BIRD BASTARD!!"
A shout erupted over the dunes, and a snap of metal was heard. Another volley of crossbow bolts dove into the creature's flank, staggering it.
Someone stood on the ridge of the dune.
The creature's knees buckled in response to the barrage.
More figures appeared and began rushing down a nearby slope, screaming.
Kurisu, upon seeing them, let go of the rock.
"Kill it!!" he shouted, vengeance in a laboured breath.
He sat up, holding himself from collapsing with his hand.
It screeched at the black silhouettes running down the dune. The sunlight was blinding, they had no faces, no colours, just jagged armour outlines and scrap weapons,
A man drove a katana into the creature's leg, and the skin broke.
"Gon.. pass out", Kurisu wheezed, sand and blood puffing out of his mouth, his hand struggling to hold him up.
His world began to spin.
Another ran under it and thrust a spear into its stomach.
A third on its flank, yelling something lost in the wind.
All with the same result-it was like trying to cut a rock with a strand of floss.
The monster screeched, reared up and crashed its feet into the ground, and the sand scattered.
The impact staggered the men; some fell to their knees.
Kurisu huffed,
Maybe I'll sit this one out, He thought while lying down.
The front line fell back, and more men tumbled down the dune.
"DRIVE IT OFF!"
The men surrounded it like an army of ants attacking a spider, throwing whatever they could at it.
The Beak Thing snapped its beak around a man's arm, lifting him up and pinching it off like a vice.
"Help m-".
A curdled scream tore through the air as he dropped to the floor from a great height. His legs crumpled with a snap.
"Fire!" a man with a scarred face screamed.
CHINK!
Another volley of bolts hit it! This time, a bolt penetrated an eyeball, its eye exploding into a gory wet spray.
The noise sounded like a boot stepping into wet mud. And the creature screeched in response.
Some men laughed and cheered until It reared up and crashed its feet down, knocking some men over before retreating up over the dune…
Its screeching echoed as it faded into the rising heat.
Is it over?
Kurisu thought, his vision too dark to be able to tell.
All the men cheered, apart from Kurisu, that is. His vision rattled as he looked at the sky.
Something enormous hung there. It was too large, too close for his brain to process.
"Ugh" Kurisu grunted, and shaded his eyes with his hand.
One silhouette stepped closer, blocking part of the sun. Uneven Armour and cloth wrapped around his head.
"You alive?" The voice was rough.
"Yeah…" Kurisu puffed, "No?"
He couldn't tell; his brain felt fuzzy.
"Thanks…" he murmured.
Another silhouette crouched by his leg. "Hold still." Rough hands gripped his thigh, inspecting him like merchandise.
"Easy!" Kurisu hissed.
"Shut up!" He spat as he began wrapping a coarse bandage tightly around the leg; it stopped the bleeding, but the texture grazed against his fresh wound.
Kurisu winced.
Are they using sandpaper?!
"Can't have you bleeding out, The man said, smirking.
Kurisu stared at the man; his face seemed stoic and kind.
I'm gonna be ok. He thought as his eyes watered.
In Kurisu's delirium. Seeing the sun behind them, thought they looked like heroes out of a novel.
"Thank yo—"
The word died in his throat.
"…otherwise you won't sell." The man snickered, his previously stoic expression twisted into a perverted grin.
"…What?" His stomach dropped as the sun changed angle.
Details bled in revealing the men to be wearing dim blue Armour, cloth head wraps… And shackles on their hips.
Waving a finger left and right, the man kissed his teeth.
"That wouldn't do..."
He turned to another man holding shackles, "Collar him!"
Kurisu understood. As a scorching metal snapped around his neck.
These guys are!
He gulped as shadows turned into faces.
"Slavers," He hissed as the shadows sharpened into faces.
The metal cracked!
A slaver with a scar on his cheek and yellow eyes yanked his chain, strangling Kurisu to his feet.
"Move it, bonedog!" He said, smiling.
Kurisu winced and staggered while stepping forward. He struggled up the hill; his leg was numb and felt like TV static.
He kissed his teeth-this is real, isn't it?
The pain, the heat, the smell of charcoal. His face twisted in awe and terror as he looked up at the sky. Overhead, a massive planet loomed, and beside it, a moon.
"I SAID MOVE IT!"
The same scar-faced man yanked his chain, pulling him forward, and he hooked it onto another slave.
Kurisu's eyes widened.
He saw Someone large and grey, with… horns?
A shek? What's a sh- Never mind that!
He shook his head, forcing himself to focus when a stat window appeared.
"…This is Kenshi"
His eyes drifted to one stat.
Stealth.
A devilish smile cracked across his face as a plan half-formed.
"What a shitty DLC…"
[ New save, Rock Bottom ]
[Toughness 0->2] [Athletics 0->4] [Dodging 0->1]
[Hair -99] [Dignity -100] [Arm N/A]