In his desperate attempt to run away from whatever jinn or evil entities kidnapped him, Adam was now fully coated in sand.
Not partially.
FULLY!!!
Like a freshly breaded schnitzel ready for frying.
If anyone saw him, they wouldn't see "a frightened teen."
No.
They will see a walking, talking piece of katsu that has achieved self-awareness.
But Adam didn't care.
Fuck appearances. Fuck dignity.
Survival came first. Survival, Humanity and faith.
Because once life is on the line, a human should sacrifice everything—
Except their faith and humanity.
To sacrifice your humanity is to become an empty shell, a monster, an NPC.
But to sacrifice your faith? That was a transaction with eternal consequences. This life, he believed, was a fleeting dream, and death was the inevitable wake-up call. The destination was either paradise or hellfire, and he was determined to be a smart investor.
so be smart. Be a spiritual businessman: invest in good deeds now, or go bankrupt for eternity.
And so, the sand-creature known as Adam sprinted onto the cleanest and perfect road he had ever seen in his life, a concrete path so shiny he feels it is illegal to walk on it.
One step was all it took to figure out The horrifying truth: he was not in Morocco anymore.
The road was lined with blooming sakura trees, petals drifting lazily in the air as if he was in anime scene.
another thing that confirmed his guess, the design style of this area doesn't feel Moroccan at all.
If he weren't in mortal panic, he would've taken a picture.
As he sprinted under the shower of sakura petals, something snapped inside him.
Not the sane part.
That had already left the chat earlier.
No, this was the otaku part, the one that survived dozens of childhood humiliations by imagining himself as a shonen main character.
His vision blurred.
the world slowed down.
in his mind, The OST that had been haunting his mind these days was being played, which is solo leveling "DARK ARIA".
then a dramatic narrator voice began, the one in Hunter x Hunter Chimera Ants Arc:
"In a world where chaos blooms like cherry blossoms… one boy runs."
Adam saw himself from a cinematic third-person angle:
A 'golden' teenager in a tank top and shorts,
sprinting heroically through a tunnel of falling petals.
Wind whooshed.
Petals danced.
His hair sparkled in a golden lens flare (it was just sand, but in the delusion it looked majestic).
In the fantasy cutscene, Adam shouted:
"NO MATTER HOW HARD LIFE GETS—
I! WILL! SURVIVE!!!"
Reality Adam shouted:
"AAAHHHHHHHH!!! I DON'T WANNA DIE!!! MAMA!!! HELP!!!"
The two voices overlapped in one glorious, disastrous harmony.
The narrator continued:
"This is the tale… of an idiot destined for greatness."
Adam, still delusional, heard the background music swelling...
The chorus whispered in his heart:
"Death is gonna come for me…"
Adam's Heart almost froze, his feet became cold.
"…Nonononono! I DOn't Want To die yet!!! I'm still virgin!!"
Too late.
The music SWELLED, and swelled with it the sense of danger.
The next line hit:
"Be the change I couldn't be…"
Adam internally screamed:
"WHAT CHANGE!? I DIDN'T EVEN CHANGE MY UNDERWEAR for a week!!!"
He started sprinting, full slow-motion dramatic mode.
Cherry blossoms fell around him like he was in the world's saddest shonen opening.
But the actual sound was just his ragged wheezing and the slap-slap-slap of his sand-covered feet on the pavement, leaving behind him footsteps of sands.
OST (blasting in his skull):
"Can you find a life that's like faaaairytaaales…Far from this tragedyyyyy…"
Adam:
"NO I CAN'T!!! THAT'S WHY I'M RUNNING!!!"
...
in a certain bustling avenue in Musutafu city.
it was lined with narrow storefronts, billboards advertising heroes, and famous brands. Bicycles leaned against fences, vending machines glowed at every corner, and the hum of chatter and distant train bells filled the air. Cars and pedestrians moved in orderly chaos.
The sidewalks were crowded with office workers in crisp suits, school students in uniform, and the occasional elderly citizen crossing slowly with a cane. Everything seemed normal…
until Adam Appeared.
everyone watched in confusion as a sand‑covered teenager charged down the street like a a piece of katsu that had leaped off the table to avoid being eaten and was now running for its life.
Everyone looked at him with worry, curiosity, suspicion, excitement...
a full buffet of emotions,
and every gaze hit him like a laser sight.
"Bro, look at that kid… he's almost naked and covered in sand."
"probably his quirk is related to sand?"
"Is he escaping from something?"
"Or worse, he is the something?"
"This looks fun. My gut says something stupid is about to happen. I'm recording."
school students, boys and girls, who fear the world won't be chaotic enough, were all expecting something "fun" to happen.
"poor kid, he probably has some mental illness." sighed a middle aged aunt.
Adam felt the shift in his surroundings and woke up from his delusions, he slowed down, he was panting nonstop, each breath a harsh rasp in the crisp morning air.
feeling the various gazes on him, he tried to "blend in," walking casually on the roadside like nothing was wrong.
Key word: tried.
Because no matter how casual he walked, he was still attracting attention.
This is the worst nightmare for someone with social anxiety, and what a conscidence, he had it too!
His heart was beating like Darude Sandstorm.
Adam swallowed.
'Okay… okay… calm down… just look normal… act normal… first figure out where the hell I am.'
He looked left.
He looked right.
Street signs. Storefronts. Logos.
'This language… this is Japanese. Obviously. I've watched enough anime to tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese, and Korean.'
And then...people.
White-collar workers.
High school students.
Middle-aged aunties.
Everyone giving him the "don't come near me" side-eye.
But something was off, something feel odd, but he can't pinpoint the source of this feeling.
'THESE PEOPLE…'
He squinted.
'Why do NONE of them look Japanese?!'
Because the hair colors—
Pink.
Blue.
Green.
Orange.
purple.
And also because—
A man with a freaking SHARK HEAD crossed the street.
A woman with paper white skin and soft white fur like that of a sheep walked past
A guy with a LONG NECK like a mutated giraffe bought coffee casually.
A schoolgirl with TENTACLE HAIR laughed with her friends.
Adam stopped breathing.
His pupils shrank to pinpoints.
"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS THIS?!"