The first thing Rin Kyougi noticed was the screaming.
"LET ME OUT!"
"MOMMY, WHERE ARE YOU?!"
His eyelashes fluttered open, his body tense. One moment, he had been asleep in his Tokyo apartment. The next—cold stone beneath his palms, an endless void stretching in every direction. No walls. No sky. Just a sea of strangers in identical panic.
A muscle in Rin's jaw twitched. Interesting.
Around him, people clawed at invisible barriers, their voices raw with terror. A child curled into a ball, whimpering. A muscular man pounded his fists against nothing, snarling. Rin observed them all with detached curiosity, his fingers brushing the unseen wall trapping him.
"Separate cells? A test, then."
A woman nearby caught his eye—tears streaking her cheeks. Rin's lips softened into a gentle smile. "Hey," he called, voice warm as sunlight. "It's going to be okay."
The woman hiccuped. "Y-you think so?"
"Of course." He tilted his head, the picture of calm. *"Lies soothe faster than truth."
Then the Voice came.
Not through his ears, but searing directly into his skull—smooth as a scalpel sliding between ribs:
"Welcome to the Scene. Think the word 'window,' and you will understand."
Rin's smile never wavered, even as his mind raced. Nearby, a teenage boy gasped. "D-did you hear that?!"
"Hear what?" Rin blinked, feigning confusion. "Let him think he's crazy first. More useful that way."
The boy paled. "N-never mind..."
Rin focused inward: Window
Gold light erupted. A status screen materialized:
---
NAME: Rin Kyougi
AGE: 23
STR: 1 (Common) — "A kitten's swipe."
END: 3 (Uncommon) — "You'll survive… barely."
INT: 4 (Hero) — "The knife in the dark."
STA: 2 (Common) — "Two flights of stairs. Maybe."
MAGIC: 0 (Common) — *"Empty hands."
TRAITS:
[Shadow Planner]
"The brightest lights cast the darkest shadows—and you are both. To the world, you are a beacon of trust, the steady hand that calms the storm. But beneath that smile, your mind is a labyrinth of half-truths and silent gambits. You speak in kindness while mapping every weakness, every flicker of fear. When others charge ahead, you linger in the periphery—patient, precise, until the moment your puppets dance without ever sensing the strings."
[]
[]
---
Rin's pulse stayed steady. Hero-level intelligence. Good. The rest were pathetic, but he'd worked with less before.
A 30-minute countdown burned into his vision.
Chaos erupted. People screamed, begging for answers. Rin exhaled, shoulders slumping in a perfect mimicry of distress. "This is scary," he murmured to no one, loud enough to be overheard. "Fear breeds followers."
Dingss
MISSION: Make a Puppet.
DEADLINE: 30 minutes.
REWARD: A Puppet.
FAILURE:-1 for every stats
Rin's fingers twitched. "Literal or metaphorical? No matter. Both require… materials."
His gaze slid to the crying woman. Then the teenage boy.
A sigh. "Guess I'll have to be the hero," he muttered, loud enough to sound reluctant.