It hadn't dawned on me; I never tried thinking about it. The life I once took for granted simply coming to an end—it was frustrating, and yet... beautiful.
If the world were to end, how would it end? In the end, the only conclusion I could think of was a war—a battle between good and evil, a battle of morality, a battle of testament, a battle of love, a battle of hate,
A battle of symbolism, a battle of adoration, a battle of acceptance. A battle between two sides of a coin.
Supernatural and human.
"What will be your order?"
A rather energetic man gently nudged my shoulder. Without a moment's hesitation, I turned to face him.
He stood behind the counter, coffee in hand. A warm smile wrinkled on his pale, old face. It was comforting... and yet mysterious.
I looked over my shoulder and took in my surroundings—a café, but not an empty one.
Filled mainly with adults and kids who were doing their own thing. Waiters and waitresses served each and every one accordingly.
But why did the old man come to me specifically? Was he also hoping to get coffee?
"You have a strange aura around you, kid... What's your name?" the old man asked. His voice was rather comforting compared to his mysterious demeanor.
"It's Yuu…"
"Yuu? That's a beautiful name if I do say so myself," the old man smiled. "I am the owner of this establishment, if you don't mind me revealing."
Upon hearing such information, I immediately straightened up with respect and bowed.
"I'm very sorry for not realizing that!"
"Haha, it's fine... I'm more interested in you. Why is a kid like you here?"
I was rather confused by the old man's sudden sign of interest, but there wasn't any reason why I couldn't tell him at least something.
"I came from the big city to live with my sister…" I responded, my tone calm as ever.
"Is that so? Well, it's pretty rare to see a city boy coming here," the old man cracked a smile, dropping what seemed to be the menu of the café.
Confused, I took it from the table and opened it up.
My first instinct was to glance at the name of the restaurant.
"Moon Tales?…" I muttered, slowly turning to face the old man. "What an odd name for a restaurant."
"Is that so? Anyways, just read the menu and see what fits your taste," the old man casually directed past my question, which only made it more suspicious to me.
Without questioning any further, I opened the menu—
To my surprise, it was empty. Nothing written on it.
"Um, old man… is it only me or is this menu empty—"
The old man abruptly cut me off with a question of his own.
"Yuu, do you believe in supernaturals?"
"Supernaturals?…" I fell silent, pondering on what response I could give. "Yes, I believe in them."
"Wonderful. What made you believe in them?"
"Because I've seen one. I've seen multiple of them. Monsters from another world casually roaming through our Earth, causing nothing but evil and mayhem."
"Then do you believe all supernaturals are evil? Do you believe humans are the good guys?"
"Well... I'm not sure if someone like me could answer that. I was just basing everything on my own experiences."
"Is that so? Have you ever heard of the Holy Theory before?"
"N-no…" I blinked, a suspenseful atmosphere growing.
"No... I think it's better you didn't. Do you wish to know why the menu has nothing written on it?"
The man fell silent and walked right up to me, placed his hand on my shoulder, and leaned in closer for a whisper.
"Because… only humans can see the menu," the old man smiled and stepped away from me.
"Don't tell me you're… This entire café—"
"Welcome to Omoutoye. The town of Adam…"
The man walked away, almost vanishing out of existence.
Such an interaction never made much sense to me, but this wasn't anything new in the world of the supernatural.
Without any thread of existence, I left the café and went toward my original goal—my new school.
I had just recently moved from the big city to this remote town to spend my three years in high school, with the accommodations of living with my big sister.
In the end, I saw this trip as an unprecedented value to my life. Sometimes, I often wonder what the purpose of me coming here was. To continue living in regret?
Did I find the interaction I had with the old man at the café strange?
Of course I did, but in my eyes, such things were perceived as normal.
The case of supernaturals is special—abstract entities that came from the Earth, or so people believe.
But in the end, some people can see them, and some can't.
I wasn't sure of the logic behind it, but the most common misconception was that anyone who could see or sense supernaturals was regarded as a supernatural themselves.
Would such logic apply to my case as well?
Nope.
Because I ain't human. I'm a supernatural, just as well.
I had no idea where I attained these powers from, but on a random day—a day I couldn't even remember—I became a psychic.
My mind completely distorted, I walked through the empty town, its streets bare, hollow, and silent… as if abandoned—but it most definitely wasn't.
Its buildings were ragged and worn out, ready to collapse at the slightest touch.
I foresaw this town having two sides: the abandoned and the mysterious.
I found it oddly strange. As I made my way to the new school, the area with the most people was the most haunting to me.
It felt almost as if everyone was looking at you… but at the same time, they weren't human to begin with.
But this abandoned side of town felt empty—and pleasant.
My eyes darted toward signboards and banners littered everywhere in the area.
Most read what I'd expect:
Free courses that preached nothing but scams.
Some were advertisements for most definitely failed products.
"…Is that a dildo ad?" I raised an eyebrow, a blush slowly creeping on my face.
"This town has no filter, does it?" I muttered, continuing my way to the new school.
My eyes would lock with more of the banners and signposts in the area, and I would occasionally observe them.
Despite a lot of business or entrepreneurship ads, the most common were mainly directed toward conspiracy theories.
"Was the moon landing fake?"
"The existence of supernaturals is real and I have proof, just click this link of—"
I was nearly invested until I read the link.
In the end, people never took the situation with supernaturals seriously.
To them, it's a money grab, because that's the kind of world we lived in.
People simply forgot about the existence of supernaturals, even though they exist—almost as if people had adapted and forgotten at the same time.
The world mainly thrives on mystery.
And many people believe they see because they've experienced such a feeling before—
And it wasn't necessarily centered around supernaturals.
Supernaturals are abstract concepts.In my opinion, they simply exist based on how humans interpret or act toward them.
For example—
I walked up to a ragged pole and punched it as hard as I could—and I regretted it.
A jolt of pain ran through my hand, forcing me to collapse!
"That was stupid!"
Despite how idiotic that action was, it proved a clear point. It was to be expected for a pole to be hard, but you'd expect something so old to break easily with enough force, right?
That's what a supernatural is.
They are seen as what our minds perceive—either a terrifying monster or a cute little child.
Could this logic mean supernaturals have their own form?
Or is my theory even right?
I have no idea.
But I still regard them as abstract concepts because of how much of an anomaly they're referred to as.
Then does that mean the way humans see me is different based on the person? Most likely.
Just as how humans view other humans differently, the same would count for supernaturals as well. I wasn't born or created as a supernatural.
I simply possess a power that seems unnatural—making me refer to it as supernatural.
I had no idea where this power came from, or how I was even aware it was psychic power to begin with.
It was as if I always knew.
As if I'd always had it for the longest time.
hadn't gone far in my walk before I was greeted by a swarm of people just minding their own business. It was surreal—this town that felt like it was rotting from the inside looked completely renewed in the same space. It felt immense and dark, like I was walking down an empty hallway, shadows pressing in with unseen eyes tracking my every movement.
The school was definitely up ahead. Groups of students in matching uniforms passed me by. According to my sister, it was the only school in this entire remote town. That alone wasn't strange—but you'd expect more, wouldn't you?
As I continued down the seamless, innocent-looking road, I felt it again. That pressure. A weight that always came with anomalies—beings from the other side. Supernaturals. In my eyes, they were dark silhouettes hidden in plain sight, watching, waiting. Were they evil? I had no idea. But too many people had died in gruesome and unexplainable ways to believe otherwise.
Then it happened.
I froze—just like everyone else around me.
A man, mutilated. His hands and legs gone, his body pinned to the top of a building like a morbid scarecrow. A steel pole pierced through his chest, blood dripping fresh and steady from his corpse.
Dead.
But then his eyes opened.
And he spoke.
"I... will kill you all..."
I looked around—no one reacted. Instead, they casually took pictures. As if this was normal.
But I could feel it. The man's animosity. His hatred. His pain. It was real, and it was dark. This wasn't just murder. This was a supernatural attack.
"I... will kill you all! I WILL KILL YOU ALL!"
His voice echoed in my head like a cursed mantra. I covered my ears, trembling.
His bloodied eyes stared directly at me.
"...So this is normal," I muttered. My face straightened. I turned and walked away. No second thoughts.
I wasn't the type to get involved. Call it selfish, but in this world, looking out for yourself was the only rational thing. Me, fighting to save the world? Please. That's delusional.
Eventually, I made it to the school gates.
To my surprise, it was... average. Just your typical school. For a place like this, I'd expected something more imposing. Still, I walked through the gates with the crowd of students.
That's when I felt it.
Pain—sharp and sudden—rippled through my body. I turned, staring at the gate behind me.
And then I realized it.
"I can't sense the supernaturals anymore…"
Was something blocking my powers?
I tested it. Something simple. Telekinesis.
My eyes found a loudmouthed kid with brown hair and a rough, Yankee-type look. He held an ice cream cone. I tried lifting it—my control was sloppy.
Instead of returning it to his hand, it flew into the air and splattered on the ground.
"Tch. I didn't want that…" I muttered.
"You dropped your ice cream, idiot," a voice said.
I turned.
Red hair. Piercing eyes. Gorgeous.
"What?—Ahhh, my ice cream?!" the boy wailed.
I bowed awkwardly from a distance and walked on.
Two things were clear:
1. My powers still worked—but not well. The suppression wasn't total, just… unstable.
2. No supernaturals. Not even one lurking nearby.
It was like the school itself was a barrier. Maybe the staff knew about supernaturals?
I was so deep in thought that I didn't notice someone bump into me—softly.
A girl.
I turned.
White hair. Long. Flowing around her like silk. Her body... too developed for a student. Her eyes—gray, locked on mine. I couldn't look away.
She was... beautiful.
"What are you doing?" she asked, voice soft, curious.
"W-Well?! Just getting used to the new school, y'know?!" I panicked, cheeks definitely red.
"Is that so?" she tilted her head, seemingly oblivious.
"Y-Yeah…"
Silence. I couldn't stop staring. Her chest—her face—her everything was dangerously distracting. My mind spun with all the things I shouldn't be thinking about.
"Are you really alright?" she asked again, her tone concerned.
She stepped closer, fingers gently adjusting my uniform—buttoning up my shirt.
"You look better this way. Um… may I know your name?"
So short… so adorable.
"O-oh… It's Yuu."
"Yuu?" she repeated. "What does Yuu mean?"
"It has a few meanings, but I like the one that means 'bravery'," I said, regaining my usual cool tone.
"That's a cute name."
Cute?! No, it's supposed to be strong!
She smiled, patting my arm gently. "Hope you enjoy your high school life."
And just like that, she disappeared into the crowd.
Maybe this town wasn't so bad.