Warm yellow rays permeated the silent room, combining with the faraway chant of birds, the morning officially began with a familiar sound:
" Beep Beep Beep "
The same repeating sound reverberated in our protagonist's ears, forcing him to shut it down begrudgingly. "Finally, peace at last..." he thought while closing his eyes once again. Just five minutes more, it wouldn't hurt anybody, right?
—Kuro!!! —a piercing scream from afar shattered his dream.
—Coming. —he responded with a long sigh.
Not having other options, Kuro changed into his everyday clothes and descended onto the first floor.
—Good morning, mom. —he said while gently rubbing his eyes.
—Good morning. I made you breakfast! —she said with a big smile adorning her young face.
—And let me guess... you want me to do something. —said Kuro hesitantly.
—Ding ding! I left the grocery list on the table, and don't forget to clean my room when you get back —she calmly ordered while packing her bag —. Oh, also, take out the trash, will you? Your cousin is coming to visit, so I better get here and see everything tidy. —and without waiting, Kuro's mom left the house.
—It's been five minutes, and I don't even remember half of my tasks.
Not long after finishing his breakfast, he had a look through the grocery list, but,
—Wait. Oh no. She didn't give me the money.
Just like a maniac, he started looking through every single place he could think of, but to no avail.
—So I have to pay? Ughh, one day, she'll see.
It didn't take long for him to get ready, so he left the house and walked towards the store. Of course, once he stepped outside, he found himself covering his eyes from the blinding sunlight, "Maybe a hat would've been nice..." he thought.
Without any detours, Kuro went through everything the list asked for and bought some extra things for himself. However, while he was looking for milk, he had a stroll through the fantasy books aisle.
—They're all the same—death, then reincarnation, and finally a harem. I wish life were that simple.
After finishing his talk with himself (what a crazy guy, I know), and with his pockets empty, it was time to head back.
—Huh? —he found an oddly crumpled paper inside one of the bags. —Probably some promotion or something.
After making the walk home, he organized the groceries, and while trying to remember what to do next, that odd paper kept calling to him. "Fine, I'll give it a look..." he thought, once again speaking with himself like a lunatic. Inside of it, he found some words:
" Do you want to live in a fantasy world? "
—Talk about convenient, huh.
On the other face: an address and a date. "In ten minutes? Uhhh, sure, I don't remember what else to do."
Time went by quickly, and Kuro found himself across the street from where the paper said. An old, decrepit house made of wood stood out from the others.
"Please don't be the one I need to go to..."
However, despite his cries, in the end, he knew the paper pointed to that sketchy place.
Regardless, outside of it, Kuro saw three familiar faces debating whether to enter or not.
—I think we should follow the paper. I'll protect you if something happens! —the only male of the trio said, standing proudly and posing to an imaginary camera. His spiky red hair contrasted with his deep blue eyes, making his appearance somewhat confusing, but his personality was as shallow as it appeared.
—Kyaaa! What was that!? —screamed a much shorter girl while holding the male's arm. The black-haired girl looked frightened, with crystalline amber eyes on the brink of crying. The glasses on her face finished her look, although she looked cute and pathetic while being scared of seemingly nothing.
—Calm down, Kumiko! It was just the wind. —responded the last girl. This one was unique, rocking a long jade-colored hair and eyes, and while she wasn't tall, her erect posture made her look the most mature out of the three.
Approaching the trio, Kuro simply interrupted,
—So, you also have a paper like this one?
Turning towards him, the male looked confused for a second, but his face lighted up once something clicked on his memory.
—Hey, I know you! You are that Karo from our class, right? —he asked, optimistic about his conclusion.
—Uh, it's Ku-
—Yeah, of course. Anyway, we should totally see what's inside. Come on. —the guy rudely interrupted, walking towards the entrance.
—Kenta! W-wait! —the frightened Kumiko ran after him, hugging his arm while walking behind him.
—Don't mind them; it's always like this —the distant girl made a slight reverence towards him —. I'm Yui Sakurai, a pleasure to make your acquaintance Kuro.
Taken aback by her politeness and also because she knew his name, Kuro stayed silent while Yui entered the old house. "Well then, not everything's bad."
However, the foul smell of the house countered his optimism while the screeching of distant rats echoed through the abandoned building. Cockroaches, cobwebs, the thundering sound of the floor planks, the screeching squeaks of multiple rats, everything screamed, "Get out before something kills you!".
—Hey guys, take a look at this! —called Kenta from upstairs.
—Kyaa! Kenta! Don't startle me like that... —although Kumiko started screaming, her voice became lower and lower when she realized she was being left alone.
The group, now united in the room, soon saw what Kenta called them for. A giant, white circle was drawn in the middle of the room, with three smaller circles inside it. Also, it had many complex patterns adorning the design.
—What is this? —asked Yui with considerable confusion, expecting an explanation from Kenta.
Due to his silence, the group split to analyze the drawing. Kenta, Kumiko, and Yui were on top of the smaller circles, while Kuro stood in the center of the bigger one.
Some seconds went by, and each of the papers carried by the group started emanating an intense yellowish light, Kuro's being the exception, glowing with a reddish light.
Blinded by this light, Kuro closed his eyes. But when he opened them, nothing was there to be seen, heard, smelled, or touched. Only neverending darkness enveloped his body, and his companions were nowhere to be seen.
—Wh- what...?