Sometimes in life, people do bad things. That doesn't make them monsters. It just makes them human.
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Nile hunched his shoulders against the wind as he walked, hood up, earbuds in, no music playing. Just white noise. A distraction.
I should probably pick up something for dinner. Maybe curry again… or just rice and eggs. Cheap stuff. Dom's been on about eating better, but he's not the one with five mouths to feed.
His stomach growled. He hadn't eaten since lunch. Whatever. He could deal with it.
Did Mia say she had a math test? he wondered, trying to remember the crumpled school note she'd shoved into his hand that morning. Might need to show face at the parent-teacher thing. Doubt Mom or Dad will show. Again.
He sighed, rubbing his temple. The city's noise buzzed in the background—cars, low chatter, the occasional shout—but it all blurred together. The cracked pavement under his feet felt weirdly familiar, but off, like it had shifted just slightly from what he remembered. The air even smelled different. Cleaner… colder.
Up ahead, a narrow alleyway cut between two buildings.
He should've ignored it. He really should've.
But something about it pulled at him. Not in a mystical, fate-of-the-world way—just a weird gut feeling. Like déjà vu mixed with adrenaline.
His feet turned before he decided to.
He stepped in.
The alley was long. Too long. The light thinned out the farther he went, until it felt like twilight despite the hour. The city sounds faded behind him. His footsteps were the only thing left.
Then—light.
It hit him all at once, like someone turned the world back on.
And standing in front of him was a girl.
Tall—maybe an inch or two taller than him. Long, purplish hair curled slightly at the ends. Pale skin, flawless. Her eyes sparkled, and her lips curled in a kind smile.
Too kind.
"Sorry to bother you," she said. "I'm just… a little freaked out. There've been a lot of ghoul attacks in my neighborhood lately."
Nile blinked.
Wait. What?
His eyes dropped to his hands. Paler than he remembered. Skinnier. His hoodie hung differently. He was a lot shorter than he remembered.
What the hell?
His heart pounded harder.
He looked around. The city was different. The buildings looked older, more compact. Japanese lettering covered the signs. He caught one on a street pole up ahead:
東京
Tokyo.
A chill ran through him.
Am I dreaming? he thought. Did I pass out? Get drugged?
Everything around him buzzed with wrongness. The narrow streets. The soft hum of fluorescent lights. The way everyone moved in a foreign fashion.
"I don't know what to do," the girl said, eyes wide with worry. "I live just a few blocks from here, but I've been so paranoid lately. I keep thinking… what if a ghoul's following me or something?"
Her voice was soft, almost melodic. It was comforting. Too comforting.
Then it hit him.
The hair. The face. The way she spoke.
Rize From fucking Tokyo ghoul.
And him…
He glanced at a storefront window.
His reflection wasn't his.
Kaneki.
No. No fucking way.
The girl tilted her head slightly, brushing her hair back behind one ear.
"You're really quiet. Sorry, did I scare you?"
Nile swallowed. His mouth felt dry.
"No, I'm just… thinking. You said ghoul attacks?"
She nodded. "Yeah. It's been all over the news lately. You haven't heard?"
"I must've missed it," he said quietly.
She smiled. "Would you mind walking me home?"
He hesitated. She was beautiful, sure. Almost too perfect. But every cell in his body told him to turn and run.
Before he could say no Rize took his arm and locked it with hers and gigled.
Maybe it's just a dream. Go with the flow. Wake up. Get back to real life. Cook dinner. Go to school. Anything but this.
They walked together. The quiet between them felt heavier with each step.
Then she stopped.
Turned.
And pushed him against the wall.
Her arms wrapped around him in a sudden, tight hug.
He froze.
"What… are you doing?" he asked, laughing awkwardly.
She didn't answer.
She looked up at him.
"I'm just" she smiled
Her eyes had changed.
No longer warm or soft— they glowed, bright red, inhuman.
Ghoul red.
Nile's blood turned cold.
No. Fuck no.
He shoved her.
She didn't move.
Her lips pulled back in a grin that didn't reach her eyes.
"You smell delicious," she whispered.
He tried to twist away, but she was already moving. Her teeth sank into his forearm, and he screamed.
The pain was sharp, raw, searing.
Acting on instinct, he twisted and slammed his elbow into her cheek. It didn't do much, but it gave him a second to slip out of her grip.
He dropped low, ducked under her arm, and rolled across the concrete.
He came up crouching, ready to run—
But behind him, something cracked.
A wet, stretching sound.
He turned.
From her back, several whip-like appendages unfurled, writhing with muscle and gleaming in the dark. 'R.. Rinkaku kagune' thought Nile.
She licked the blood off her fingers. "Don't run. That ruins the game for me dear."
He ran anyway.
One of the kagune tendrils lashed toward him. He spun, just barely dodging. It tore through his hoodie and left a shallow gash across his ribs.
Pain exploded through his side.
But adrenaline carried him forward.
He sprinted through the narrow paths, weaving between rusted pipes and dumpsters. But when he turned the next corner—
Rize was already there.
She slammed into him like a freight train, hurling him into the wall. His back hit the brick with a sickening crunch, and he crumpled to the ground, breathless.
Why the fuck is this happening? he thought, clutching his side. What the hell kind of dream is this?
"Why are you doing this?!" he shouted. "I didn't do anything to you!"
Rize laughed.
"Oh, you poor thing. You think this is about fairness?"
'I know what it's about you fucking pig' thought Nile as She grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall. His vision blurred.
"Your screams," she said, voice low. "They make it so much better. Go on. Scream some more."
He tried to knee her, but she pinned his leg.
He gasped, eyes darting upward.
There.
The steel beams.
They hung above them on the half-finished structure, rusted and swaying.
It's now or never.
He gritted his teeth and drove his forehead into her Nose.
It worked.
She dropped him.
He hit the ground, rolled, and scrambled away—
Just as beams came crashing down.
A deafening crash.
Dust and concrete exploded outward.
Rize's eyes widened—but she didn't move fast enough.
The beams struck.
Silence followed.
Nile stared at the twisted wreck of steel and dust.
Rize was pinned beneath the beams, her body motionless, blood pooling beneath her. One of her legs was bent the wrong way. Her hand twitched once, then stopped.
He didn't feel triumphant.
He looked down at his own hands—shaking, bloodied. A long gash stretched down his forearm, dripping red.
"What the fuck… Why is this happening?" he whispered.
He stumbled backward and slumped against the wall, then slapped himself. Once. Twice. Then again and again.
"Wake up. Wake up… Please."
His voice cracked.
"I need to get back. I need to go to Mia's meeting, I need to get there food, I need to—God, please let me go home… I need to see my family."
Tears welled in his eyes. He clutched his hair, nearly yanking it out as he curled into himself, rocking in place, the pain and confusion swallowing everything else.
Then, a hum.
A soft, electric buzzing—high-pitched, like an old CRT monitor from his childhood. He froze.
The air shimmered.
When he looked up, a blue screen hovered in the air before him—bright, translucent, and impossibly real.
At the top, bold white text glowed:
TOKYO GHOUL: SYMBIOTE FUSION SYSTEM
Nile blinked. Rubbed his eyes. Pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose. It didn't go away.
"…Of course," he muttered, chuckling weakly. "At this point, why not?"
The screen shifted, revealing a status panel:
Fusion Points: 0 / 100 Fusion percent: 0
A final tab opened—Mission Options. Three prompts appeared beneath it, each glowing faintly:
Kill Rize
Secure your safety. Minimal risk. Earn 2 Fusion Points.
Save Rize
Show mercy. Change fate. Earn 100 Fusion Points.
Be Hospitalized and Receive Rize's Organs
Accept the original timeline. Become half-ghoul. Earn 50 Fusion Points.
Nile stared, heart hammering in his chest. The pain in his arm flared again, grounding him in the moment. His vision blurred at the edges, and cold sweat coated his back.
This is insane.
Organs transplanted into me…? That's what happened to Kaneki. But he barely survived it. One in a thousand, wasn't it? One in five thousand? That might not even work a second time…
He clenched his jaw.
And kill her? Two points? That's worthless. I don't even know if I'll get another shot at this system. This… golden finger… if it is one.
His mind raced. This is probably it. My cheat. My way to survive. Maybe even get home. But what the hell kind of system makes you feed yourself to a ghoul to gain power?
He looked back at Rize.
Even crushed beneath steel, she looked dangerous. Hungry. Alien.
I don't want to save her. I shouldn't. But… 100 points.
He shivered.
What the hell do I do…?
The blue screen pulsed softly, waiting for his choice.
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