It wasn't exactly clear what happened that day, but whatever it was, it nearly tore the world apart. Now it's back—the same event that's come around to bite me again.
You probably have no idea what I'm talking about, so I guess it's best if I start from the beginning… the beginning of my insanity.
It was many years ago—though I can't seem to recall exactly when. I can't even tell if it was real. But all I know is that something happened in reality. I don't quite understand it myself.
Yes, I seem to recall now—there was a missing persons case. It must have been around 4:00 in the evening, I suppose, when I received the call.
I was assigned to a case—a case that would go on to define my very future.
I suppose I should start with a little profile of myself. My name is Hayato Reji. Around that time, I still had hair—and, well, I was the hottest thing in town.
Walk down any street and ask around; out of ten people, at least four would know my name. Ah, those were my prime years—my glory days.
I was a tall, slender man with glowing blue eyes and black hair, the kind you'd see on any ordinary Japanese guy. Eyes that could pierce any soul. But now… not only are my eyes blue—so is my life.
yes were was i, so i received a call about a case in a town named ushino, that was the name i think, anyway i went to the station to receive the details of the case and from what i could recall around that time 13 kids have gone missing from a town named ushino, i suspected it was a serial kidnapping, oh god i wished that was all it was.
Yes… where was I? Right—the call. It was about a case in a town named Ushino… at least, I think that was the name.
Anyway, I went down to the station to get the details. From what I could recall, around that time, thirteen kids had gone missing from Ushino. I suspected it was a serial kidnapping. God… I wish that was all it was.
"So you got all that?" the chief said. He was a fat, ugly man—the kind I hated with every fiber of my being. A shrewd boss, stingy and wicked to the core. The kind who'd dock your pay for breathing too loud and still pile on extra shifts just for fun. Wait… didn't I already say that? Ugh, never mind.
"Yes, I got it, Chief," I replied. God, I couldn't wait to get away from that man's foul, stinking breath. Anyway, I got home around 6:00, and there was my dog waiting for me—Bingo. Yeah, yeah, I know… I'm terrible at naming things.
Anyway, I got home and started reviewing the details of the case—and that's when I noticed something strange. Every child's phone had a message titled "Mxmlnd-nhl. Lord Caesar." God… I didn't even know what that meant, but it felt oddly familiar. And why… why Lord Caesar?
I was still reviewing the case, trying to figure out the connection between the code and Lord Caesar. Maybe it's some type of… I muttered to myself. But suddenly, the power went out. Shit, must've blown a fuse, I thought. Well, better go check it out.
As I stepped outside, I realized something: the whole neighborhood was dark.
And for some reason, the internet and cell service were down—I couldn't call anyone. I decided to drive to work, but as I got further, I saw that it wasn't just the neighborhood. The entire town was in a blackout. No lights, no internet… nothing.
When I got into work, I tried asking what had happened, but nobody seemed to know. It was all so confusing. Apparently, the internet was down across the entire nation. "That's strange," I thought.
"Maybe… just maybe it was some kind of terrorist attack," my friend said. "You know, with those letters we've been getting—telling us to stop investigating the case."
"Threats? Why was I not informed of this?" I snapped, anger boiling in my chest. He had just withheld a crucial piece of information—something that could've changed everything if I'd known sooner.
"Yeah, the mail came in yesterday," he said, looking nervous. "We were going to tell you soon, but the power went out before we could even reach you."
"Oh yeah, I forgot… hmm. Threats to Ushino, huh? But why? Who would do this? And… is this connected to the missing people case?" I muttered, my mind racing.
"Well, I'll be heading back home…" one of my coworkers said. I mean, with the power shut down, there wasn't much left to do—might as well just go home.
Anyway, I called it a day, packed up my things, and left. But as I walked out, I started to feel… off. Sick.
Something wasn't right. My stomach churned—it felt like I was being turned inside out. What the fuck is happening? I thought, panic starting to crawl up my spine.
"God, I feel sick… what the hell is happening? Why—why do I feel so sick?" I gasped, clutching my stomach.
"The hell is this? God… what is this feeling?" Everything spun around me. "Something's not right… I'm gonna puke—trash can, where's a trash can—God, where is it!?"
And then—suddenly—it was gone. Just like that, the strange feeling vanished. What was that? I thought to myself. I didn't know… couldn't even begin to explain it. So I just went back home, still trying to make sense of whatever the hell had just happened.
I don't know when I drifted off, but when I woke up, the power was finally back. Thank God. I practically jumped out of bed and went straight for my laptop to continue working on the case. But… what the hell? The files—they were gone.
Every single detail about the case had vanished. "What the hell is happening? This can't be right," I muttered, panic creeping in. I was sure I'd saved it.
Trying to make sense of it, I logged into the station's worker portal to pull the case info from there—but that's when it got even weirder.
There was no record of me ever being assigned to the case. Nothing. Maybe they just forgot to link it to my Portal, I told myself, desperately trying to justify the growing confusion that had taken over my life.
I decided to head to work and ask about the case in person. On my way there, my coworker—and, okay, my crush—Ai Yamamoto called me. She was perfect: great personality, kind, sharp, and yeah… she had a body that could stop traffic. Right, focus.
So Ai told me something strange—she said all her files on the case were gone too. That's when things started feeling way too weird to ignore. I told her mine had vanished as well, and we agreed to talk to the chief together. God, that old, foul-smelling man was going to chew us out for "losing" the files. And honestly, I really didn't want Ai anywhere near that disgusting man.
"Are you guys retarded or what? What fucking case? You guys were never assigned to any case," the chief said through his foul-smelling mouth. God—I wished he would just die.
"What do you mean?" Ai said. God, I hate how scared she looks. If it weren't illegal, and if he didn't pay my income, I would punch his stupid face right now.
"I mean, there is no Ushino town missing case. In fact, there is no town," the chief said.
What—what does he mean by "there is no town"? Was he trying to rage-bait us or what? Because it's working. I'm so pissed off right now. Patience, Hayato. Patience.
He dismissed us, calling us crazy. Thank God I was finally out of that man's presence. Anyway, ignoring him, I went to ask another coworker about the file—but he said the same thing. I asked a few more people around the station, and somehow, they all claimed no such town had ever existed, and no missing persons case had ever been filed.
I thought the whole station had gone insane. Thankfully, a few members did remember the case—but that only made it weirder. Why did some remember and others didn't? What the hell was happening?
The worst part was, those who remembered said they'd felt a strange churn in their stomach—the same one I'd felt that night. What was this, some sick joke? But if it was, then the entire world must've been in on it. Because a few days later, people all over started complaining about the same gut-wrenching sensation. Even worse, some claimed that the town of Ushino had vanished from maps entirely. But at the same time, just as many insisted it had never existed at all.
Even a reporter who'd been covering the case—deeply involved—suddenly claimed there had never been such a story. Has the world gone mad? I thought.
But then I checked for myself. Maps, Google, archives—nothing. No trace of Ushino anywhere. Except one thing. A book. The title read: "Li k'a'ru kik'ulman sa' li ruchich'och' rik'in li tenamit Ushino."
Whatever that meant, I didn't care. What I did care about was this—what the hell happened to Ushino?
Eventually, it turned into global chaos. While many people had completely forgotten the town, others still remembered it—vividly. Some even claimed their children had gone there. Sure, most of those were probably clout-chasers trying to ride the wave, but not all of them were lying. And that's what set off the real panic.
Soon, the name #BiggestMandelaEffect started trending. Everyone agreed it must've been some massive collective false memory. Just another "Mandela died in jail" type of thing. But I knew better. This wasn't that. This wasn't some misremembered event—this was real. Real people had filed missing person reports all over the world, claiming their kids had gone to Ushino.
The panic got so bad that the UN stepped in. Every country was told to ban any mention of Ushino. Psychologists were even paid off to push the idea that it was all fake—that we were all hallucinating the same nonsense. They shut down every investigation, every record, every whisper of the case that "never existed."
But I knew all that because I didn't stop investigating. And yeah… it cost me my job. That disgusting, foul-breathed chief must've been thrilled to finally kick me out. Why did I keep digging? I don't even know anymore. Maybe because deep down, I knew it was real.
Now, I'm unemployed, broke, and neck-deep in something I can't even explain. God… what the hell am I supposed to do now?
I kept investigating for a while, chasing shadows, but eventually… I got tired. I gave up.
About a year later, I managed to get a job as a detective at another station. Funny enough, Ai was working there too—she'd left the old station not long after I was fired. Life slowly settled back into something resembling normal. I stopped thinking about Ushino, stopped questioning what had happened.
Then—bam—twenty years later, Ai and I got married. We never talked about the case again. Honestly, we'd both buried it so deep it felt like a bad dream we'd finally outgrown.
But that peace didn't last. One day, we were both called into the station. There was a child—found naked, covered in bruises. Ai, being a psychologist, was asked to assist with the interrogation. We rushed over immediately.
And then it happened. The moment we saw the kid, everything came flooding back. The memories, the fear, the confusion. Because we recognized him—he was the fourth child who'd gone missing in that so-called "nonexistent" town of Ushino.
I just stood there, cold sweat dripping down my neck, and whispered to myself, "It's back. The case that nearly tore the world apart… it's back."