SEVERAL DAYS EARLIER
"Who are you, and why should I let you in?" Koto asked through the door of his house. "You don't look like a loan shark, but maybe that's just your ploy?"
"I was transmigrated into this world just like you were," a girl said from the other side. "I only want to speak with you."
Koto stared at her through the peephole for a moment longer. She looked around twenty and was dressed like a traditional priestess with fake cat ears. A total weirdo, in other words—but enthralling to look at.
He had been in this world for a few days already, and so far, it had been treating him well enough—except for the debts made by the previous owner of Koto's body. Just yesterday, he had to dispatch three loan sharks with bats.
This was still certainly better than Koto's life before. Back then, Koto was stuck in prison. Only for a month, but the place already drew him half-insane.
There were no girls there, and certainly none as beautiful as this one. Women of this world were just as bland as prison food, too. Koto wondered what he could do with this pretty, young thing…
'The demon she's with is more powerful than me,' Marble, Koto's demon, warned, sensing his desires.
Koto tensed at this, but still opened the door for the girl and invited her in.
She didn't smile at him, and barely met his eyes, instead marching straight inside. Koto's jaw tensed at her haughty demeanor, but he followed her to his living room.
The house was dingy and sparsely furnished. Koto saw no problems with that, and neither did the girl. She sat on the old, stained couch—ramrod-straight and looking somewhere towards the opposite wall.
"My name is Ara Jun. I'm only here to deliver a message, and to suggest uniting our forces."
"Straight to the business? You wouldn't want even a cup of tea?" Koto asked.
He could slip some sleeping pills into a tea cup… But then, he didn't think he'd need them. Plus, would they work on a person with a Contract?
"No," Ara Jun said bluntly. She lifted her eyes at him. "Tanabe Koto-san, right?"
Koto narrowed his eyes.
"And where would you know my name from, Jun-chan? The same place where you found my address?"
Jun flinched—the first outward show of emotion Koto saw. "Don't call me like that. Ara-kun… No, Ara-san is more appropriate, Tanabe-san."
"Sorry, sorry, Ara-san," Koto gave her a fake smile.
"As I was about to say, yes, I know those things from the same person—the Fourth God."
"Really? Isn't he the one who summoned us here to eat our souls? I remember those warnings like they had happened an hour ago, thanks to the people who were giving them out. You know, if he was appearing in your dreams, you should do the same thing I do and ignore him."
Jun bit her lip and rapidly shook her head. Pink spread over her cheeks, breaking her stony expression.
"N-no. From what I understood of this world, the Fourth God might be… evil, yes. But only because he was created this way! Just like the world itself." Jun took a deep breath and continued calmer, "It all comes down to one person—the author of the stories it's based on. The Fourth God is just as much a prisoner here as we are, and freeing him will free us, too."
"Wait… stories?" Koto frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"You don't recognize anything out here?" Jun's eyebrows rose. "Don't you remember reading at least one story of the 'World of Words' series? The author's name is Kugutsu Shin."
It took a minute, but then Koto really remembered.
"Oh, that! It was ages ago—I barely remember anything about it. Way back in high school, actually," he said.
He only remembered it because of that name—Kugutsu Shin.
Nine years ago, they were classmates.
They weren't friends, and they barely talked at all, but Koto was always aware of the other boy. It was hard not to, when he drew the attention of all the bullies around. Every day Koto would witness from the sidelines another torment the bullies inflicted on him: from silent alienation to putting glue or pins on his seat.
It wouldn't have been so notable if Koto didn't enjoy the show so much. He wondered when Shin's dull eyes would finally spark with true anguish.
In the end, Koto missed it. The incident was news throughout the school, but Koto didn't see Shin ever since it happened. If he ever finished school, it was in another place.
But around then was also when Koto stumbled on a short story which Shin posted on his otherwise dead social network page and read it out of curiosity.
It was terribly boring and devastatingly disappointing. Koto couldn't even recall what it was about.
"In high school?" Jun looked at him curiously. "How many years ago was that?"
"About eight." Koto shrugged. "But how's that relevant?"
"There must be many, many, then. Maybe some of them are even unpublished. I thought I read them all, but did I?" Jun let out a small sigh. "This world is based on those stories. Every person, all the major events—especially those that happened in the past—all is exactly like it was in the stories. And it's a terrible place to be—but there's a way out. I hope you will work together with me to achieve it… I, um, don't have many people to ask. Many of them… died already. Others aren't here yet."
Koto frowned. Return? And go back to prison? No, thanks.
"Tell me more about it," he said. He wanted to know what to avoid.
Jun took in a breath. "As you must've heard, we all are being summoned one by one. Kugutsu Shin will be the last one to appear, and we should be ready for his arrival. Because when this happens, we will have to… as bad as that sounds… kill him."
Koto mulled this over for a moment.
"And did the Fourth God told you all this, too?"