- In a world where sins have physical manifestations, just what can a person expect....
Date - September 20th 2022. Tuesday.
The time was exactly 5:32 in the morning, the sky filled with infant clouds as the day had just begun.
Location wasn't anything unfamiliar — from the banners scribbled in kanji, it was obvious this was Japan.
We start off at an abandoned warehouse, junk piled at the exterior, with the inside being empty...well, not quite...
Yawwwwwn~
Disrupting the unnatural silence, a girl of about average height wakes up from her slumber.
In an abandoned warehouse of all places?
"Ow.... my neck"
She wiped her eyes, dismissing her tiredness. Her back was in pain as she rubbed it — this was clearly no place for a good night's sleep.
She took a deep breath still half asleep and shouted.
"Okay, Inori Jiro! Today is your birthday!"
She yelled excitedly fist-bumping the walls of the warehouse... but something was wrong... Inori's eyes examined her location.
looking left, right, then left again, She checked her attire which was a simple yet elegant white robe with gold lining.
Her hand slowly dropped after realizing.
"Where am I?"
She spoke out loud, confused — this wasn't the room she fell asleep in last night.
"What's going on?"
Rats were rolling in rubbish at a corner, with blood stained walls behind Inori. A scenario enough to frighten any teenager girl.
Her heart rate slowly increased as sweat dropped from her forehead.
The terrible aroma of burnt corpse coming from God knows where made her nauseous.
She stood for some time, almost panicking, Inori reasoned.
This obviously isn't possible.
Her brain attempted collecting logic from the situation.
Come to think of it, I'm feeling rather odd. Yes I feel nauseous.
And so she came to the conclusion.
"What a weird dream...it feels so realistic, is it because today is my birthday?"
She spoke to herself, Inori decided to exit through the door of the warehouse.
Thinking this being a dream, might as well wander about.
Her monologue continued.
"I need to wake up, Father must be waiting for me, he even came home quickly so we could celebrate"
A smile appeared on her face as she walked about, squeezing herself through damaged cars piled against walls.
"By the way, this dream... It is so random!"
She cursed seeing as this was nothing magical like most girls would expect from their fantasies.
It looked like a place for human trafficking.
Inori walked around the abandoned warehouse trying to snap herself from this "Dream"
"Father!"
She yelled out loud trying to see if she could imagine her father in her sleep, however it was only replied by an angry comment, scolding Inori for yelling so early in the morning.
She apologized to the house-hold for screaming recklessly and continued walking.
sigh~
"I'm cold... wait, can I get cold in a dream?"
She whined, rubbing her palms to try and generate some warmth, who could blame her, the time was 5:37 in the morning after all.
After about 10 minutes, now considerably leaving where she woke up , Inori found herself in a small market.
Lined with local stores that were still closed.
The time 5:47.
Amidst all the silence she muttered with a dead serious face.
"I have to wake up"
With that being said, Inori rushed to a small wooden fence and forcefully removed a plank.
"H—hey?! What the fuck are you doing?!"
The owner of the house yelled at Inori seeing as she was damaging his fence.
"I'm so sorry sir, but please I need this for something!"
She ran to a secluded area with the plank in her hand.
She sat elegantly on the floor away from the neighborhood, as she brought the board to her scalp.
This is a waste of time, I have to wake up.
Her mind decided, given the likelihood of this never happening, Inori needed to end this illusion — it was simply a waste of time.
The Prime Minister being her father was extremely busy, finding time to celebrate her 14th birthday was no easy feat. This opportunity could not be wasted.
"Rather than waiting to wake up....I'll... I'll just kill myself in the dream"
Inori was obviously shaking from the statement, but she still slowly stretched the plank away from her head — about to crack her skull.
I can do this.
She tried clearing her mind to no avail, her heart pounded and hands trembled.
Cold sweat ran on her skin, the feeling too vivid not to call this real.
Her body seemed to betray her, refusing to move a muscle related to self-harm.
Of course no one could commit suicide at will so easily, but today was special, she needed to "wake up" and celebrate with her father.
Inori mustered all of her strength. Our protagonist attempted suicide.
Bash!
The sound of bone cracking echoed like a gunshot.
The impact startled nearby crows, sending them scattering into the sky — That was unmistakably painful.
As the feathers of the crows landed, Inori could be seen seated with the blood stained board.
Later letting go of it causing it clatter on the floor.
"Ahhhh!!!! It hurts!!!"
She cried like a new born, her body rolled on the floor as if set on fire, Inori tried her best to stop the bleeding as her forehead had been lacerated.
"Oh my God it hurts!!!"
All to no avail, her screaming that is. It only resulted in worsening the situation, as loud noises caused even more pain to her already damaged skull.
Some time after her wailing, the pain seemed to have subsided.
She sat in the silence, her bloodied hand trembled.
The world around her didn't fade, didn't flicker. It waited.
In the presence of the pain she felt, she finally acknowledged.
"This...isn't a dream"
With a voice barely audible, Inori was certain.
"Perhaps I was kidnapped? But that shouldn't be possible, Father was at home meaning no foreign entity should have been able to enter the Kantei!"
She contemplated her situation as she rubbed her forehead, Inori stood up and decided to return the plank she removed from that poor mans fence.
Inori placed her hand on her chin, her mind searched for every possible solution to this conundrum.
She settled with the most obvious.
"I just need to call father on the telephone, I'll tell him I was kidnapped and he should come rushing to save-"
She suddenly stopped walking.
"Something is wrong"
Indeed, the atmosphere suddenly got odd...
"I smell blood!"
She turned around looking for the source of the scent, she followed her nose to a local temple in the middle of 2 buildings.
A faint sound with minimum decibels echoed through the alley.
"...I hear... chewing?"
Inori peeped, the source of the sound came adjacent where she was walking.
"What on God's green earth is that"
She spoke aloud with an honestly confused expression, just what did she see?
- At exactly 5:55, for the first time in her 14 years of living. Inori witnesses a Sinner.
It was a 15 feet tall snail-like creature, it's body crouched as it nibbled on the corpse beneath it revealing the mans organs torn through his flesh.
Lazily chewing as if not enjoying the meal
It's color palette consisted of completely dark red skin —however it's shell was accompanied with black dots resembling...a lady bug?
It had unrealistically huge eyes, looking animated. Something otherworldly, but the immaculate details on its body made sure to spell reality.
Simply put — THIS WAS NO DREAM.