"You're right," Shinomiya nodded, her voice steadier now. "Snakes usually move in an S-shape because of how they're built. This thing's definitely not moving like a real snake should."
She paused, then asked, "What's 'Snake'?"
I looked at her, surprised. "You've never played it?"
"No," she replied simply.
I couldn't help but think, 'What, did you time travel here from the Stone Age?'
Shinomiya must have caught my look, because she added coldly, "Games are just a cheap way for ordinary people to waste energy. The Shinomiya family doesn't need such distractions."
"Hey now, games are the ninth art form. Don't knock 'em if you haven't tried 'em," I protested, then took a deep breath. "Snake is this old electronic game from last century. Super simple – you control a snake, eat food, and grow bigger."
I glanced at our reptilian problem. "Speaking of which, our friend here is definitely getting larger. If we just hide for half an hour, it'll probably fill the entire room."
Shinomiya's face remained impassive. "Do you have a plan?"
"Actually, yeah," I nodded. "In the game, if the snake touches its own body, it dies. Game over."
"So if we want to win, we need to make the snake's head touch its body somehow."
Shinomiya caught on quick. "The snake seems to be chasing food... So, we use bait to lure it?"
"Exactly," I agreed. "It's our only shot."
As we spoke, the Greedy Snake slithered towards us. It was definitely bigger now, way larger than any real anaconda.
"Run!" I shouted. "Head for that corner!"
I figured those glowing orbs were the snake's food. If we wanted our bait plan to work, we needed an empty area so the snake would focus on us.
As it grew, the snake was getting faster too. We couldn't shake it off as easily anymore.
We sprinted to an empty corner where the nearby orbs had been eaten.
Suddenly, I heard Shinomiya let out a small cry of distress.
Right, she was in pajamas and slippers – not exactly running gear. Her foot slipped, and she started to fall.
I saw the color drain from her face as she glanced back at the massive snake, now nearly as tall as a person. So much for the Ice Queen act.
Acting on instinct, I shoved Shinomiya to the side and jumped back. The snake passed right between us.
But we weren't in the clear. With no glowing orbs nearby, the snake wasn't about to let us go. It made a sharp 90-degree turn and came straight for me.
'Hey, what gives?' I thought. 'Wouldn't a pretty girl be tastier?'
Just as I was about to bolt, I noticed the snake's body had curled into a half-circle. An idea struck me. I took a deep breath and stopped abruptly, tossing the leash in my hand across the snake's body to Kaguya.
"Grab the rope," I called out. "You'll need to pull me over in a second!"
"Okay..."
Kaguya caught on quick. She bit her lip, crouched down, and gripped the leash tightly.
We waited, hearts pounding.
In just a few seconds, the snake circled back around, zeroing in on me.
"Now! Pull me over!" I shouted.
I felt a tug on the leash, but it wasn't quite strong enough.
Thinking fast, I blurted out the motivational phrase I'd seen earlier: "Shinomiya-san, can you be a little more... promising?"
"Didn't you eat breakfast or something?" she snapped back.
The force on the leash suddenly increased dramatically.
Using the snake's momentum, I vaulted over its body, flipping to the other side.
"Thanks," I gasped, catching my breath.
Looks like that motivational stuff really works – it gave Ice Queen Kaguya an instant power boost.
WHAM.
The snake, unable to turn in time, slammed right into its own body. In an instant, it turned to stone.
[Game Completed]
A cold voice echoed in our minds.
My vision blurred, and suddenly I was back on the street outside my house. My Akita dog sat obediently in front of me.
"We're... back?" I muttered, rubbing my eyes. For a moment, I couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't.
Then, text appeared in my field of vision:
[Reward obtained: The Truth of the World]
[10 Game Coins acquired]
[Game Store now open]
"There's a store?" I perked up, curious to check it out. But before I could, my dog started barking.
"Woof! Woof!"
The Akita, which had been sitting quietly until now, suddenly started barking at something ahead of us.
I followed my dog's gaze to see a tired-looking office worker trudging by, briefcase in hand.
But that's not what made my blood run cold.
Wrapped around the man was a twisted black fog that made my skin crawl.
As I stared, horrified, I could make out more details. The fog vaguely resembled a woman's form, but... wrong. Its body was misty, indistinct. Blood oozed from empty eye sockets, and long, vicious claws scraped the ground.
"What... what the hell is that?!" I whispered, feeling sick to my stomach.
The giant snake was scary, sure, but this? This was on a whole other level. I could feel my grip on reality slipping.
As I gawked, text appeared above the twisted monster:
[Low-level ghost]
[State: Chaos, distortion]
[Warning: Do not let it know you can see it]
"It's happening again," I muttered, rubbing my eye. "In that weird game, Shinomiya couldn't see the text... Is this something only I can see?"
One thing was for sure – I'd never seen anything like this "vengeful spirit" before.
"So this is what they meant by 'seeing the truth of the world'?" I realized with growing dread.
Ghosts were real, but invisible to most people. By completing that game, I'd "unlocked" the ability to see them.
Some reward. This felt more like a curse.
Suddenly, the spirit seemed to notice my stare. It detached itself from the office worker and began lurching towards me, its body twisting unnaturally.
"Oh god, oh god," I thought, cold sweat beading on my forehead. Every instinct screamed at me to run.
But no. I couldn't. That warning was clear – if it realized I could see it, something terrible would happen.
"Woof! Woof!"
My "loyal" Akita bolted, tail between its legs. So much for man's best friend.
The female ghost was right in front of me now. I fought to keep my expression neutral, to not react.
"Can you see me?"
Its voice was hollow, distorted – a sound that set every nerve on edge. I held my breath, praying I could fool it.
I clenched every muscle in my face, desperately trying to keep my expression blank. Ignoring the twisted ghost right in front of me, I quickly crouched down to fiddle with my shoelaces.
"Damn, came undone again," I muttered, hoping I sounded casual.
The ghost bent down, tilting its head to peer at me. Those empty, dark sockets bored into me.
"Can you... see?" it rasped.
I kept my eyes fixed straight ahead, fumbling with my laces.
Oh, I could see it alright. Crystal clear, in all its horrifying detail.
But only an idiot would admit that right now.
"Can you see?" it asked again.
I stayed focused on my shoes, willing my hands not to shake.
'Great, I've gone and tied a knot,' I thought. 'If this thing's patient enough, I'll be retying my shoes all day.'
"Can't see... can't see..."
Finally convinced I couldn't perceive it, the ghost drifted away, disappointed.
I waited until it was well out of sight before letting out a shaky breath.
'What the hell was that thing?' I wondered, my heart still racing.
A little later, I was walking my dog past the local convenience store when I spotted three more twisted ghosts inside. Without missing a beat, I turned and walked the other way.
"Change of plans, buddy," I told my dog. "We're going home. Now."