A light of unknown origin suddenly appeared, gathering and pointing toward a single place.Something was about to begin (repeating Episode 1).
And it turned out that the light belonged to a mysterious stranger—the one who had brought Hansol and everyone else into this foreign world. The stranger smiled as he looked around, satisfied, because he had successfully dragged everyone into a world that was not their own, without having to take them one by one. Then, he spoke to everyone present in that world.
CONVERSATION:
Mysterious Stranger:Welcome, oh jūnin. You must be confused about which world you are in right now, aren't you?Allow me to introduce this place—this is the world of しあい (shiai), where all you need to do is compete against one another.(smiling)
NPC:You bastard! Why did you bring us here?! This isn't our world! Return us to where we belong! What you're doing is no different from kidnapping humans for no reason!
NPC 2:Yeah! Give us back our old world!!
Mysterious Stranger:Calm down, calm down. You can return to your original world—as long as you fight each other, or what you might call a competition, without exception.Thank you for listening, and see you again sometime.(Woosh… disappears)
Kazuhiro:HEY!! WAIT!! Where did he go?!
The mysterious stranger vanished suddenly, without using a portal, but through his own power. The people were left wondering how they could escape this world without having to compete.
Akio Sora (秋生):Hey!! That means one way to get out of this world is for everyone to compete for the same thing, right? If that's the case, then it should be safe.(said cheerfully)
Kazuhiro:Wait a second—who are you?? Why did you suddenly come up to me like that?
Akio Sora (秋生):"Haii." Hajimemashite, watashi wa Akio Sora desu. Sora to yonde kudasai. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
Kazuhiro:Hey, why are you speaking Japanese? Isn't this another world?(looking confused)
Akio Sora (秋生):Sorry, I thought you were Japanese because your face looks like a real Japanese person, hehe…Anyway, let's keep it short. My name is Akio Sora, you can call me Sora. Nice to meet you. What's your name?
Kazuhiro:My name is Kazuhiro Takeda. You can call me Hiro, or Keda—Kazuhiro works too if you want.(with a cool expression)
AFTER A LONG CONVERSATION…
A massive screen suddenly appeared, displaying their names with empty point slots beside them (no ranks yet).Someone unknown stood on a stage—a girl with a cute and sweet face—speaking to everyone.
CONVERSATION:
Ayaka (Mysterious Woman):Hello everyone. Look at the sky—see the aurora. Isn't it beautiful how it illuminates this world?
Akio Sora:Stop your nonsense! That's useless! Aren't we all trapped in this damn world?! Aren't you worried about the upcoming matches, where we'll have to fight each other just to return to our own world?!
Ayaka (Mysterious Woman):You're the one overthinking things. I'm not worried at all. You don't know what lies ahead. I'm just an ordinary woman here to explain the rules. You're the ones who'll be playing—such an annoying man.
Akio Sora:What did you say?! Hey!! I'm not an annoying man, damn it!!
Kazuhiro:Enough, you two—stop fighting. Who are you, and why did you suddenly appear?
Ayaka (Mysterious Woman):Me? Relax, handsome. My name is Ayaka. I'm the one who explains the rules of this world and the competition you'll be facing this time.(smiling)
Without wasting time, Ayaka explained the rules of the world しあい (shiai), as well as the rules of the game they would risk their lives on: Nazonazo (なぞなぞ), which means riddles.
Ayaka (Mysterious Woman):
The rules of this world are simple—but horrifying for new players. I'll go straight to the point.
WORLD RULES — しあい
⚠️ THIS IS YOUR REAL LIFE. NOT A COMA. NOT AN ILLUSION.
Everyone is FORCIBLY DRAGGED into the competition world through portals
Your real body comes with you → if you die, you die for real
This world is real, not a dream
🎯 POINT & RANK SYSTEM
Every competition gives you POINTS
Points accumulate into RANKS
Highest rank = SAFE
Low rank = TARGET
❗The terrifying part:
Low-ranked players are killed SILENTLY
The timing is RANDOM
The method is NOT ANNOUNCED
You may disappear while sleeping, chatting, or crying alone
Simple enough, right? Now I'll explain the rules of today's Nazonazo game.
NAZONAZO GAME RULES:
Every player must participate. Refusing to play results in disqualification—which is the same as being killed silently.
Players will randomly draw a piece of paper prepared by the staff.
The game is played in pairs. You cannot choose who guesses; both players take turns asking and answering using the questions on their own papers.
A correct answer grants +1 point, and the player continues by asking a different question to their partner.
A wrong answer results in −1 point.
Time limit: 5 minutes.
Ayaka:That's all for now. Please enjoy the competition. Bye—see you again!!(disappears from the stage)
The crowd immediately panicked after hearing the rules. Everyone nervously searched for partners. Meanwhile, Shiro confidently chose Keda, even though they barely knew each other and weren't friends.
CONVERSATION:
Shiro:Hey, Keda!! Let's pair up. I'll tell you my answers and you can answer yours—sounds good, right??
Kazuhiro:I don't want to play with you. I'm playing with Raditya instead. I barely know you—remember, we're not friends, just acquaintances.
Shiro:Wait, who's Raditya, Keda? I don't know him. Is he your friend?(cheerfully)
Kazuhiro:Yeah, he's my friend. I need to find him—he has a habit of wandering around like a worm on hot asphalt whenever he's unfamiliar with something new. Never mind, I'll go find him now.
Kazuhiro left Shiro behind. The game was about to begin. Shiro stood there confused, still searching for a partner, while Kazuhiro had already found Raditya among the crowd.
ATTENTION!!
All participants who already have partners must gather in the designated room with your respective partners. Do not forget to take one randomly shuffled paper prepared by the staff.
When everyone entered the Nazonazo game room, panic spread. Each player had to hold onto one paper while waiting for their turn.
The previously noisy atmosphere slowly turned tense. The sound of breathing became clearer than footsteps.
Kazuhiro stood beside Raditya, tightly gripping the paper he had drawn at random. He hadn't opened it yet. His heart beat irregularly—not because of the questions, but because the rules echoed in his head: a wrong answer meant losing points, and low points meant becoming a target.
In another corner, several NPCs panicked—some sat on the floor hugging their knees, others reread their papers repeatedly as if hoping the words would change.
"Takeda…" Raditya whispered, stepping closer. "This isn't a dream, right? Because if it were, your imagination would be way too extreme."
Kazuhiro let out a slow breath. "If this were a dream, I'd have woken up when the first portal appeared."
He finally opened his paper.
The question was simple—but absurd, completely mismatched with the lives at stake.
Raditya opened his own paper, eyes widening before he let out a nervous laugh. "This… you've gotta be kidding."
A voice echoed throughout the room—not Ayaka's, but the cold, emotionless system voice.
"NAZONAZO GAME START. TIME: 10 MINUTES. BEGIN."
Several pairs immediately faced each other. Some forced smiles, others looked on the verge of tears. Kazuhiro nodded at Raditya to start.
"My turn first," Raditya said, clearing his throat. "Alright… what kind of bread makes you laugh?"
Kazuhiro froze for two seconds. "Bread… that makes you laugh?" He sighed. "Roti ketawa?"
"CORRECT ANSWER. POINT +1."
The number beside their names changed. Raditya laughed in relief. "Wow… dad jokes."
"Don't underestimate it," Kazuhiro said quickly. "In this world, stupid things decide life and death."
Their turns continued.
"Which website has a face and comes from England?"
"Facebook."
"CORRECT ANSWER. POINT +1."
Screams echoed elsewhere. An NPC dropped their paper and shouted, "I got it wrong!"
−1 POINT
People immediately stepped away from him.
"Which cat is fat, gray like cigarette ash, patterned, and chubby?"
"Kucing mujair."
"CORRECT ANSWER. POINT +1."
Raditya covered his mouth, laughing softly. "Whoever created this world is insane."
Chaos grew. Arguments, crying, shouting. Time kept moving.
Meanwhile, Akio Sora trembled in front of his partner, Rio Ajeng. Sweat ran down his temple as he read her question.
2 + 3 = 5.5 meets a square → remains 5.5 + 2 = 7.7 meets a matrix (4 5 6 / 8 3 2).What is the result?
"It's not matrix multiplication…" Akio muttered. "An outside number meeting a matrix…"He swallowed hard. "The result stays the outside number. Seven."
+1 POINT — AKIO SORA
Rio nearly cried in relief.
Elsewhere, Kazuhiro answered too quickly.
"Six."
−1 POINT — KAZUHIRO TAKEDA
Raditya whispered urgently, "It's sides. Square has four, triangle has three. Four plus three. Seven."
Kazuhiro clenched his jaw. "I overthought it…"
The final question appeared.
If you meet your partner and your partner goes somewhere else, what does Yuri do?A. Positive thinkingB. We're not anything anyway
Rio answered calmly. "B. Because Yuri has no partner."
+1 POINT
The timer hit zero.
The Nazonazo game ended.
No applause. No cheers. Only pale faces and heavy breaths.
Kazuhiro stared at the screen. "If this is just the opening…" he whispered, "I don't want to know what comes next."
The aurora above shimmered brighter, as if the world of しあい itself was smiling.
Ayaka:Congratulations to the potential winners. Those without points—and those who keep answering wrong—will receive special rewards.
Akio finally realized the truth.
This was real life.No comas.No dreams.
EPISODE 2 — THE END
The ending
AUTHOR'S NOTE (ENGLISH)
Sssstt… be careful.All the answers to this story will be found one day.Not now, not immediately, but in time.
And when that moment comes,I hope you findthe answers you've been waiting for.