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Chapter 10: A Chance
Nagi lay on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. His thoughts tangled together, overlapping like damaged frames of old film.
(What does all of this mean?.. Who is HE? And why is he playing with our lives like dolls?)
Nagi let out a heavy breath and whispered the question that frightened him the most:
— Who am I, anyway?..
He slowly forced himself to get up, but as soon as he looked around the room, a chill ran through him. Completely unfamiliar people stood before him. A different man in the chair. A different woman by the stove… And Hina. She looked older — about thirteen — and she was looking at him differently.
— Good morning, son, — said the woman he had never seen in his life, as if nothing were strange.
(Who are they?! Why does Hina look so… grown up?! What did he do to this timeline?!)
— Morning, — Nagi replied hoarsely, avoiding their eyes.
He sat at the table. The shadow from his bangs hid his face, masking the storm inside. He wasn’t just in despair — he was crushed.
| There it is! He looks as if the weight of all his past lives has pressed him into the ground. That emptiness in his eyes, that fracture… He is PERFECT! I want to see what he’s capable of. But first — a little more observation. |
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Nagi pulled on his jacket. His stomach painfully tightened with hunger, yet food from the hands of these “strangers” only made him nauseous.
— I’m going out, — he muttered, slamming the door behind him.
The village was gone. Now he was surrounded by the city, but it felt like cheap plastic scenery. He entered the first café he saw and collapsed into a seat, clutching his head in his hands.
(I don’t know how to keep living. If that blood, that fire, and that CREATURE are real… is there even a point in opening my eyes? What in this world is real?)
A waitress approached the table. Nagi looked up — and flinched. For a split second, instead of a girl, he saw a faceless gray shadow in a T-pose, stripped of textures and detail.
(She’s not real either… Just an empty mannequin in his game.)
— Strong coffee. With sugar, — he muttered.
The waitress didn’t react to his exhausted appearance and silently walked away.
(The coffee will be fake too. An imitation of taste in an imitation of life.)
Suddenly, a guy with bright yellow-green hair and a wide grin dropped into the seat across from him without permission.
— Mind if I land here? — he asked, not waiting for an answer.
Nagi barely nodded, hoping to be left alone. But the stranger clearly had no intention of staying quiet.
— Man, you look like you’ve buried all of humanity. I can’t just ignore that.
— Get lost, — Nagi cut him off. — You’re nothing to me.
— Ouch! At the very least, we’re both respectable citizens of this wonderful city! — the guy radiated exaggerated optimism.
— Everyone here’s a “citizen.” Go find someone else to bother, — Nagi turned away.
At that moment, the coffee arrived. He took a sip and immediately coughed — it was scalding and bitter, like his life. Yet strangely, the sharp taste cleared his mind for a second.
— Oh, you like it strong? You’ve got some edge! So what’s your name?
— Nagi… Yumeni.
— I’m Fujivama Yuto! Nice to meet you, Nagi!
| Object No. 31 has attached itself to Object No. 43. How persistent… Perhaps I should delete him? He’s starting to annoy me. |
Nagi finished the coffee in one gulp and abruptly stood up. Yuto instantly jumped to his feet and followed him outside.
— Come on, Nagi, give me a chance! Let’s be friends!
(This friendly bastard is pissing me off… Just die. Just disappear from this world!)
Nagi shoved him roughly.
— Leave me alone! Do you hear me?!
He pulled up his hood, trying to shut out the world. Yuto froze, and for the first time his eternal smile faded.
— Please don’t play the lone wolf, — Yuto said more seriously. — This city’s already cold enough. Come with me. I know how to cheer you up.
(What should I do? Is he part of the script… or just another error?)
