"Uwaaaah!"
Yū's voice echoed as he slid down into the darkness.
"How long have I been sliding?! One minute? Ten minutes?!"
He tried to slow down—but it was useless.
Then—slam! roll! thud!
"Ugh! Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!" Yū groaned, clutching his side. "What the heck was that?!"
He blinked, realizing he was now lying in a dark, silent room.
He fumbled for his phone. "Please don't be dead… please don't be dead…"
But before he could turn on the flashlight, the ceiling lights flickered—
BZZZT!—Blinding white light burst from the ceiling. Yū squinted, eyes watering.
"Wh–what the—?!"
The darkness vanished, replaced by a sterile white chamber stretching wide like a testing facility. The walls gleamed, and the air smelled faintly of disinfectant.
A voice echoed from above.
"So, Kisaragi Yū."
Yū looked up—his heart skipped.
Behind a large glass window, high on the wall, stood Aria. Around her were people in white coats, operating at glowing consoles.
"As I told you before," she said coolly, "you'll tell the truth—or you'll die."
"I already told you! I don't even know what you're talking about!" Yū shouted back, panicking.
Aria's expression didn't change. She picked up a document from the table beside her.
"Yū Kisaragi. Eighteen.
Parents—unknown.
Relatives—none.
Guardian—Satoru Kisaragi, forty-two. Occupation: barista.
Origin—unknown."
Her tone hardened. "Your house and guardian exist, but both of you have no record before 18 years ago. No school, no relatives, nothing. Even if it's the time of Deathman's Parade, your guardian should at least have a background or at least he should have a birth certificate. Not only does he not have a background or school attended and not even have a birth certificate. And you expect me to believe you're just… normal student."
Yū's eyes widened. "H-How do you even know all that?!"
Aria ignored his question. "If you and your guardian really survived the Deathman's Parade, then at least one of you should have a record, or a relative. But you don't. Your not even blood related."
"That's—"
Yū froze. I… know that already.
He swallowed hard. "My uncle said he found me in the ruins of a collapsing building during the Deathman's Parade. He took me in and raised me since then. I don't know anything else. I just help him run the bar downstairs, that's it!"
Aria stared at him for a long moment.
"…Is that so?"
"Y-Yeah!"
"Well," she said finally, "we'll see about that."
She turned to one of the operators. "Open the gate."
"Yes, my lady."
VROOOOM!
A large steel door opened behind Yū. He turned slowly… eyes wide. "W-what the—!?"
The Beast
It was massive—like a bear fused with shadow and steel its red eyes glowing in the white room's light. Muscles rippled beneath mottled fur; faint red lines pulsed under its skin.
---
A Brief History of the World
No one knows when humans were first known to have abilities but the first historian says that humans have evolved and created the first affinity and after sometimes it seems that even animals have evolved and have the affinities ability too.
But monsters—creatures born from the twisted fusion of animal instinct and magical affinity—have existed alongside them since the dawn of time.
Some were peaceful.
Most were not.
And one of them now stood before Yū Kisaragi.
---
"W–wait! You can't be serious!" Yū yelled, stepping back. "You expect me to do with that thing?! Fight it?!"
Aria's cold voice echoed from above.
"Well, that will depends on you."
The monster roared, the ground trembling beneath Yū's feet.
It charged. Ready to punch him
Yū jumped aside just in time. BOOM!
The creature's claw smashed into the floor, leaving a deep crater where he'd been standing.
"One hit from that and I'm dead!" Yū screamed. "You're crazy!"
---
A voice echoed from one of the screen in the control room.
"Subject #85613: A trigger mutant. "Hmm?!"
Subject #85613 comes closer to the sound.
---
Yū ran, tripping over his own feet as the monster swung again.
"W-wait! I'm just a normal guy!" Yū yelled, diving aside.
The monster's paw smashed into the ground—BOOM!—cracks across the white floor.
Yū thought. "why, is this happening to me?!"
He tried to run, but the creature was faster. Each step thundered through the chamber, wind blew at him as claws sliced the air.
"Stop—! This is a misunderstanding!"
Aria watched from above, arms crossed but fists clenched.
"Open the secondary gate," she ordered. "Release Unit Thirty-Five."
The second gate opened suddenly—and lightning crackled through the air. It hissed open. Electricity crackled—this one had horns wreathed in blue lightning.
"Wha—two of them?!" Yū's voice broke.
He dodged another strike, barely—static singed his hair. His lungs burned, legs shaking.
"I-I can't keep this up…! My stamina" he thought
Aria watched closely, expression unreadable.
But inside, her hands trembled. He's dodging them. No power, no weapon—just instinct…
The first monster swiped—WHAM!—sending him flying into the wall. The impact rattled the chamber, cracks spidered behind him.
He collapsed, blood dripping from his forehead, his right arm limp.
His ribs screamed every time he breathed.
Aria's composure cracked. "You'll die if you don't use your power!" she shouted.
"Ugh… I can't move…"
He lay there, gasping, blood dripping from his lip.
"Power?" he thought faintly. Then it hit him. That day… the alley… when I saw that light…
"But I don't even know how I did it!"
He tried to move. Nothing. His body refused.
From the observation deck, Aria's hands trembled. Was he really telling the truth?
He shut his eyes. I'm done for…
The monster's shadow loomed over him.
It raised its arm.
A few moments
On a Chamber monitor, A new voice drifted through a speaker.
a man leaned casually against the wall, looking directly at the camera above him.
A sly grin spread across his face.
Subject #85613"Looks like something fun's happening on the other side, my lady."
Aria turned to a nearby screen—one of the cameras flickered. A dark-haired man lounged in the neighboring chamber, eyes gleaming with amusement.
"Don't move," Aria warned.
The first monster raised its claw above Yū. The air vibrated.
"Open it!" Aria yelled.
"My lady?"
"Open Gate Zero, now!"
Aria reach the microphone that connects to
Subject #85613
"Save him please"
He smiled. "I can't promise but I will try."
Metal screamed as a wall behind Yū slid open—
—and from the shadows, a man stepped through.
He moved lazily, almost bored, until he saw Yū lying on his feet and a monster raising it's arm.
"Dangerous," he murmured, lifting one hand.
He extended a forefinger—just a soft touch toward the beast.
The air shimmered—then it's like an enormous invisible hand materialized for an instant, mimicking a flicking motion.
Then—Flick.
A thunderous boom followed. The monster was hurled across the chamber, slamming into the far wall with bone-shattering force. Debris rained down.
The man lowered his hand, smirking. "That was close."
Yū blinked up at him in shock. "Wh-who are you…?"
He smiled faintly. "Me? Just the guy next door."
---End of Chapter 4---