Even trembling, I place my hand on the doorknob and turn it. The humid wind hits my face along with the sight of a Tokyo destroyed, in ruins.
In a moment of shock, I fall back onto the floor, paralyzed, staring at the landscape of my "new" Japan.
— Uncle... uncle, where is my uncle? — I asked myself, my thoughts racing.
Standing up, I looked around my house, which I could no longer call home. I remembered the people on the street and ran back to my room, facing the hole in the wall.
I looked toward where they used to be, but saw no human or form of life. The street was destroyed with cracks and vines hanging from poles.
While looking at that deplorable situation, an explosion was heard from a distance. I felt the wind quickly hit my chest. The explosion could be seen on top of a three-story building, its roof covered in smoke.
— Damn it, damn it, damn it! — I complained, while my hands shook uncontrollably.
I tried to calm myself down. I remembered what the man on TV used to say: "If you are nervous, remember what brings you peace." I imagined one of my favorite things: Comic Books.
Just remembering the first time I read a comic made my heart race with excitement. My current situation was similar to theirs, but I had to remember that this was real life—I couldn't play around here.
One wrong step could send me to a coffin faster than I thought. I walked to the edge of the hole in my room and looked down; I could see my neighbor's open window and the ground.
The ground was an empty space between the wall and the exit gate. Inside that space was the garage where my uncle's car should have been. It was quite a distance; I'd say between two to three meters.
— I won't be able to jump from my room to the ground without breaking some bones — I whispered to myself, thinking of a plan.
Looking around my room, I saw my desk—nothing but school supplies and books—my broken computer, my closet, and finally, my bed with the sheets, pillow, and blanket.
Remembering action movies from my childhood, I grabbed the sheet and made a makeshift rope. I tied it to the bed frame, pulling it with my hands to check if it was secure. I approached the hole.
My forehead was sweating non-stop; my hands felt like water. Holding the "rope" tightly, I hung from the building wall with both feet against the concrete and my hands firm on the sheet.
I started to move down slowly, as the nervousness was worrying me. Looking down, my neighbor's window blocked my path, forcing me to move to the left to go around it.
As I passed by, I could see what was inside the room...
My eyes couldn't believe what I saw. My mouth hung open in the silence of my thoughts. My neighbor, Mr. Tanaka—who always complained about my uncle's noise—was standing in the middle of the room.
But he didn't look right at all. His body seemed to be being "rewritten." Small black digital cubes floated where his left arm should have been, and he stared at the wall with hollow eyes, emitting a static sound.
The blue panel I had seen before reappeared:
[Tutorial: Defeat the threat!][Reward: Upgrade][Target Analysis: Corrupted Human][Warning: The sound of your breathing is attracting the target's attention.]
My heart leaped. The sheet slipped slightly through my sweaty fingers. I needed to get down fast, or the tutorial would end before I even touched the ground.
[Time Remaining: 00:15:00]
Seeing my neighbor coming toward me, I panicked at that black, cubic figure. I let go of the sheet, and for a split second, the thought "Am I going to die now?" crossed my mind.
In a desperate effort, I reached out my hand toward the falling sheet, and the glowing blue panel reappeared:
[Do you wish to Decompose the object to Recreate it?][Yes] [No]
With all the strength I had left, I screamed:
— YESSSSS!!!
At that exact moment, the sheet escaping my fingers disintegrated into a cloud of bluish particles, as if the fabric had been reduced to digital dust.
Time seemed to slow down as that dust orbited my hand, glowing intensely. In a millisecond, the threads began to weave themselves in mid-air, intertwining with mathematical precision.
I wasn't just seeing the object; I felt every fiber being reconstructed according to my need. The fabric materialized in my hands with a renewed texture, emitting a slight pulse of energy.
I gripped it tightly, and the panel appeared again:
[Do you wish to imbue the created object with your Will?][Yes] [No]
Without needing to move my mouth, "Yes" was selected. I felt a strange connection, as if my nerves were extending into the fabric.
The sheet suddenly gained a life of its own, shooting out like an arrow and latching onto my neighbor's window frame with the firmness of a steel cable.
I swung down, falling onto my back on the ground, with no time to think about the pain. The corrupted figure of Mr. Tanaka leaned out the window, looking down at me as the sheet disintegrated.
A chill ran down my spine. Looking at his disfigured, black face, only one word came to mind: "RUN."
I stood up abruptly and lunged to the right just as I heard a thud. I looked back—the figure had punched the ground with his corrupted fist.
Cracks spread through the concrete, and the pressure of the impact was so strong that my eyes stung.
— What are you? Mr. Tanaka?... — my voice trembled as I spoke.
Before I could continue my desperate questions, the figure lunged. I backed up until I hit the wall. In a survival instinct, I lunged to the right.
His punch destroyed the wall that, in my "old" Japan, served to protect me. With the hole open and concrete dust falling to the ground, I ran toward the building exit.
However, something grabbed my right foot. I was lifted upside down and thrown in a 180-degree arc. The ground cracked against my head, and the only sound I recorded was a dry:
"Clack"
[Time Remaining: 00:07:00]
I was thrown through the hole in the wall, rolling onto the asphalt. My vision blurred as the figure approached. My body was stretched out, surrendered to the ground...
Suddenly, the sound of two gunshots echoed. Looking at Mr. Tanaka, I saw his skull open. Where his brain should have been, there was a sphere that the system immediately identified:
[Core detected]
After a few seconds, a final shot was fired, leaving my ears ringing. The corrupted body fell lifeless.
[Tutorial Finalized: Rewards being integrated into the host]
I heard footsteps approaching. A female voice, sweet but unsettling, said:
— Well, well... it seems we found a survivor.