Fracturing haze of white gray… Adam walked down the hollow way, his steps echoing softly. Ahead, a dark room beckoned, its shadowed doorway dripping with water. Hesitant, he reached for the door and opened it. A rope dangled from the ceiling, swaying gently in the still air.
A voice whispered, fractured and distant, "You have failed." Memories and thoughts shattered in his mind — glimpses of everyone he had loved: Mino, Yoku, Mai, Yuruki, Kiseki, Toho, Minori, Kiso, and even his cat. He had formed attachments to them, fragile bonds he could barely hold onto.
Adam woke with a start, falling to the floor, huffing and coughing. His body felt heavy, his knees pressed into the cold ground. He had been awake for so long. He stared at his palm. "It's been so long…"
He tried to remember their faces, to keep them close to his heart, so that he would not forget... "Hahh, i thought i already overcome that... Something"
Rehan: Don't worry, Adam… I'll always help you… I'll manage everything.
The voice hugged him virtually, but she wasn't there.
Did everything he had encountered ever have a happy ending?
He stood and began to walk, each step echoing in the dripping corridors, towards the restroom, towards the ship's steering plane. Water still dripped from the ceiling, and a shiver ran across his skin; his hair stood on end.
He was afraid. Afraid to lose… to lose everything. Alone, lost in his thoughts.
A hand suddenly packed him from behind. It was Piercebox. "Hey, hey! Bruh, why are you acting like a dead person, Adam?" He smiled brightly, his energy stark against Adam's exhaustion.
Adam looked away, too tired to respond. Piercebox's smile didn't falter. "You're always tired…"
Adam's voice was quiet, strained. "I'm trying to find someone… and save my friends."
"Where are they?" Piercebox asked, serious now, expression blank beneath his mask. "I'll try my best to help… Shall I nuke and turn this world upside down?" He laughed, pacing as he spoke. "We're already doing that, haha."
Adam shook his head. "They're not from here… literally. But at least I can save just one person."
"You know… who's your friend?" Piercebox asked.
Adam leaned against the metal side bar, his shoulders slumping. "I don't know… I don't know… it's been too long."
I just dont want to remember something... That i regret
"Everything's going to be fine, Adam… sometimes it just is. All you need to do is trust the process, and everything will be fine."
Rehan…
He raised his hand to his chest, holding a picture of Manori, staring at them with a blank expression.
Piercebox's tone softened. "So that's your friend…" He stayed quiet for a moment. "Oh… man… he… I mean… she's… cute." He blushed beneath the mask.
Adam smirked. "Oh man…" and tugged him gently.
Piercebox sighed. "Oh man… my coolness has disappeared. I trusted you." He leaned down, tired, letting the weight of the day settle on him.
Adam let out a soft, tired laugh. "Hehh. So you like hot short haired girls?" jokingly
Piercebox crossed his arms, scoffing. "WHAT—no!? Adam, how dare you be so uncultured! If I ever like someone, I don't care if they have long hair, short, braids… bald…"
Adam blinked. "Yeah, I guess so… Why are you here anyway?"
Piercebox pointed dramatically toward the ceiling. "This is literally the captain's room, man! Well, I can't say for sure, because you're my second in command—so it's fine." He hummed quietly to himself, smirking.
Adam frowned. "I never agreed to that."
Piercebox shrugged. "Power is everything, you know."
Adam waved a hand dismissively as he walked out of the room.
"Don't think you're getting away this time!" Piercebox called after him. "We're having a cultured festival, and it's gonna start hours later—to celebrate my achievement of conquering the land one by one! …And destroying it!"
Adam nodded calmly, smiling faintly as he left the room.
Left alone in the restroom, Piercebox stood before the mirror, smiling faintly at his own reflection. "Adam… you really don't know how weak I am," he whispered. His gaze dropped toward the ship's processor as his hand brushed over the pouch hanging at his side.
He looked up again—at the screens surrounding him. Countless cameras displayed the faces of those he had captured: humans and monsters alike, grumbling, scared, and panicked. Even though they had enormous rooms connected to everything they could dream of—jobs, music, food, sleep, communication hubs, technology, education—they still trembled.
Piercebox's voice dropped to a murmur, more to himself than anyone else. "At least I know my destination."
Moments of stillness passed. Everything at the center of the kingdom of this scape had mostly been captured. The monsters and people were too stunned to maneuver—because of fleets of thousands of battleships, or countless flying mechanical machines, or exploding bombers of nukes, or even toxins drifting through the ground every time a victory was claimed. How could the monsters defend against literal behemoths standing atop balloons, motionless like statues with glowing eyes? How could they withstand countless knights being bent in chains? The government itself was devastated, swept aside all at once.
Now, it was merely a pastime—an opportunity to move on to the Mushroom Continent.
As battleships and machinery gradually moved along the massive highway, the sky permanently darkened into nightfall. I leaned against the bars, gazing down at the ground as a cold breeze passed through me.
"So that's why it's dark on this highway," I murmured.
Toho jumped onto the bars beside me, smiling as she hugged me tightly. I stared blankly at her.
Toho released me, stepping and sitting to the bar. "Oh man, what are you doing here?" She smiled, brushing off her hands. Adam looked uncertain, wondering if it was safe—after all, the ground was hundreds of kilometers below.
"What's your level anyway?" I asked.
Toho shrugged. "I don't count… maybe 43? Why?"
I realized, with a quiet weight, that I didn't count either.
[Your level, Adam, is 100. Max. But it doesn't matter.]
"Well… you seem something else entirely. Anyway, Piercebox asked me to join him about the festival or something," she continued.
Right. I stood, stretching, and walked toward the elevator.
"Toho," I said slowly, "at least I'm glad this version of you seems happy to be with me and explore this world."
Her smile faltered for a moment. "Wait… what version?"
"Well, there are literally millions of twins or copies like me at Minori's circus… I wonder what's happening to my master right now."
If she was a version… then what about the Toho who had died? No—I was overthinking it, scratching my head.
Rehan looked away, silent and unprocessing.
{The Festival}
Piercebox stood atop the stage, clad in a formal suit with his special insignia—the mark of the best a literal bunny star. Toho stood at my side in a matching suit, her hand resting nervously on my shoulder.
Kiso lingered nearby, wearing a cloak over a formal military suit, refusing to remove it out of exhaustion. He casually nibbled cupcakes, sugary bottles and juices strewn on the food stand beside him.
We all wore cloaks and sashes of gold. Piercebox began to dance atop the stage. "Hello! Wassup!?"
"It is I!" he proclaimed. "The person who captured you… and overcame this whole kingdom."
The audience was confused and anxious. Hundreds of golems lined the sides of the room.
I facepalmed, not wanting to enter this absurd celebration, when a voice rang out.
"So, you're the one who destroyed my farm? My house? Everything in our kingdom!" shouted a man, white shirt and coat, furious.
Piercebox smiled. "Now, now… let's not get too emotional. I promised all damages would be covered and redistributed perfectly."
A bottle struck him squarely on the temple, and he coughed. Adam raised his hand, smiling faintly at me.
"Yeah… I know," Piercebox admitted. "Because of me, you suffer temporarily." Juices seeped through his boots.
A girl screamed, "What happened to my dad!? Because of you!? He was devoured...Corrupted!"
Piercebox remained calm. "We don't kill a single soul. We only capture."
The riot escalated. Kiso stayed at the side, nonchalant, as people armed with sticks surged forward. A werewolf threw a table at us. Adam dodged effortlessly.
"Villain!"
"Get us out of here!"
"Because of you, my family suffered!"
Piercebox's composure did not falter, even as food, water, bread, sticks, metals, chairs, and plastics struck him. Golems blocked the crowd, preventing them from climbing the stadium.
Piercebox: [Adam...Toho...Kiso... Only act when necessary]
Adam:...
Toho:...
Kiso:...
"I assure you," Piercebox said with a smirk, "by our destination, all this suffering will end."
Monsters and powered humanoids gathered, frost attacking Piercebox, color voids slashing through his clothing.
"I'm here to listen to all your problems," he declared, fire blazing around his body as he was force to act moving his hand to dodge hands as water, toxins, and gravity pressed him down.
Yet he still stands there... At the same position...
"Hypocrite! You think you're special, don't you?"
Cries and agony filled the hall. "Because of you, my family died in the war!"
"Wait… that's just the aftereffect of other problems as well!?" Piercebox maintained a composed smile.
"My work was destroyed!"
"Take of that mask and let us see who you are!"
Lightning arced, swords materialized, frost bit at his skin, but he remained standing.
Adam stepped forward. "Alright, I think this should be enough." He summoned indivisible matter to cover us like a shield. Toho raised her hands, trapping people with powers in small, pick a boo circus boxes on there hands.
Kiso commanded the golems to push the crowd back, giving us breathing space, tranquilizing the dangerous ones with a rifle—all while continuing to eat and drink calmly.
As piercebox just wipe his mask...
Suddenly timed slows, as Adam felt something... Darkness...