The night began as an unexpected invitation. I'd been reluctantly dragged out by my childhood friend Hirata Toshio, who insisted on exploring Tokyo nightlife with me. I wasn't the type to hit bars or mingle with strangers, but the temptation of a fun evening with my best friend was enough to sway me.

 What he didn't tell me was that we were going to some mixer, he knew I wasn't the type of guy to attend these so I was not thrilled. Hirata and I met three girls in front of a bar, all similar in age and attractive. The three girls seemed close to each other with how much whispering was going around, most likely they go to the same school.

 We settled at a cozy booth with the three girls at the back of the bar. "So I am Hirata Toshio, age 21, and love sports. I frequently play Basketball," Hirata introduced himself, then quickly glanced in my direction. What did he want? Oh... I suppose I should introduce myself as well.

 "Hey, I'm Fujikawa Maosomi, age 19." after a brief pause, Hirata kicked my foot underneath.

 "Oh... I like anime and manga and dabble in video games." none of the girls showed disinterest when I mentioned my hobbies. Maybe there is hope for me.

 "Yoshinaga Kimi, 23 years old, I also love Basketball and play quite a bit. Hirata, do you play on any teams like for school?" just like that Hirata and Yoshinaga slid to the side and talked one-on-one. He could have finished introductions before leaving me in this inexperienced social terrain alone. Both of the girls and I shared a quick laugh at how fast the other two distanced themselves.

 "Well I'm Nakada Aya being 20 years of age, I also like anime and manga but haven't tried that many video games," Aya turned to her friend.

 "Takayama Natsume, 24, uh... I don't have any hobbies, but anime and manga sound interesting." 

 My first impressions went well. Aya had long white hair, sapphire eyes, an alluring body, and was very fashionable. Natsume had short black hair, ruby red eyes, her outfit was a bit plain, but quite a seducing body type. Aya shared a common interest with me, and Natsume seemed interested in learning one, I felt like the luckiest guy in the world.

 As the night wore on, Hirata continued talking with Yoshinaga, and I continued chatting with Aya and Natsume. Our conversation flowed nicely, the booth was cozy, and the dim lighting created an intimate atmosphere. I was enjoying myself with these two and they seemed engaged, but my nerves were still buzzing like an over-caffeinated bee. I'm not socially involved much, I usually only hang out with Hirata. When I talked with Aya and Natsume my heart began to flutter, they each had a unique charm that made me listen to each word they said. I could have easily made up a shitty excuse and left, but the more I talked to them the more they were pulling me in. I always thought love wasn't needed in life, maybe I should reconsider.

 Time slipped away until everyone was ready to leave, we walked the girls to the train station. The night air felt electric, charged with a sense of adventure, but all I could think of was the time I spent with Aya and Natsume, I wondered how they would react if I asked for their contact info. As we reached the platform, I noticed no one else was down there with us which was strange. A light emerged from the tunnel.

 "Train is here, finish your conversations," Yoshinaga turned to Aya and Natsume. I thought about who I wanted to choose, but didn't want to, so why not both? Before I got a word out a loud shriek pierced the air, followed by a thundering crash that sent concrete debris raining down. 

 "What was that? Is everyone okay?" Yoshinaga quickly asked. Before anyone could understand what happened, a grotesque creature with small wings burst forth from the tunnel, its forehead glowing ominously. Behind it, a black cloaked figure—an assassin of sorts—engaged in combat holding two daggers. The creature was holding a sword and swung back, their clash sent shockwaves through the station, and in a heartbeat, chaos erupted.

 The monster started to cast a crimson-red magic laser from the tip of his sword, the cloaked man brought his daggers together which then glowed purple. He got in a defensive stance and parried the laser attack, causing the magic to go flying. 

 I barely had time to process what happened when a magical blast from the creature's sword detonated above us, collapsing the ceiling. My world became a haze of dust and terror. After a while of the clashing swords noises ended and the smoke cleared, adrenaline kicked in, numbing the pain as I pushed the chunk of cement off my leg and attempted to get up. My leg was completely caved in, blood running down my knee to my foot, my heart pounding in my chest with spirals running through my head. After finally standing up, what I saw next shattered me. Hirata lay beneath the rubble, having shielded Yoshinaga from the collapse. They were covered in debris and ceiling remains, the bodies didn't look human anymore, they were lifeless in front of me, I felt a wave of disbelief wash over me. My instincts kicked in—I searched for signs of Aya and Natsume, hoping against hope that this tragedy would end here and no one else was affected.

 The truth was brutal, I stumbled upon the two girls with only half of their bodies still intact, this was the work of something unnatural. I took a step closer only to realize I was standing in a puddle of blood, everything hit me all at once. I crumbled to my knees and started throwing up viciously on my shoes, tears I had never allowed myself to shed streamed down my face. I gather the rest of my strength to stand up, wobbling around hopelessly crying my eyes out. 

 I then tripped over something, it was the cloaked man who was fighting the monster, he had a large hole through his chest, I couldn't escape from the despair that was unraveling in front of me. There was a bright blinding light near his body, it was a satchel that was wrapped around his hip. The glow pulled me in closer and closer until I was within arm's reach, I brought my arm towards the light to grab it, but suddenly the monster leaped out towards me biting my arm, in complete shock I tried shaking it off but the teeth dug deeper until my arm was ripped off. I fall to the ground after kicking it off, after holding my gushing arm I can see the monster crawling back to me, I now realize that the monster has detached legs and one arm. I frantically look around for anything to defend myself, my arm touches a sharp blade, it was one of the daggers the cloaked man was using. The monster jumped in my direction, I snatched up the dagger and drove it into the creature's forehead, shattering the gem embedded there. It fell silent, its form collapsing into stillness.

 My vision blurred as pain seeped back into my consciousness, I panicked to try and stop my arm from bleeding profusely. Until my attention was suddenly taken, the satchel from the cloaked man lay nearby, glowing abundantly in my direction almost as if it was asking me personally. I crawled towards it, desperate for something—anything—that could change this reality. As I sank to the ground just before reaching the satchel, I noticed I was beside Aya and Natsume's remains, despair enveloped me once again killing all motivation. 

 As I lay there bleeding out, my emotions began spilling out as well. I had wanted to experience love and connections with people, but tricked myself that I was content with my lonely life, I had hesitated and now it was too late. The glow was brighter and it looked like it was moving closer to me, with one last push I reached out my hand. I clenched my fists and the light was gone, I brought my hand closer to see what was there. Nothing, there was absolutely nothing in my hand.

 Tears flowed freely as I closed my eyes, giving up was the only thing I wanted to do. Memories of the night replaying in my mind—how I had fought against the fear of opening up, how much I had enjoyed their company, (Aya...., Natsume...) wondering if I had been more engaged and honest with how I was feeling, I could have led us down a different path, how desperately I wanted to change the course of fate. Then, a voice echoed in the darkness, breaking through my despair. 

 "I have seen you successfully met the requirements for authority. I officially see Fujikawa Maosomi as my master." A woman's voice proclaims. She spoke in a soft monotone voice, though it felt real and not one from my imagination.

 My thoughts went turbulent as a large circle of light formed around where my body remained. I couldn't move or anything, I only had my consciousness, am I dead?

 "Transporting you to the appropriate world...… Error: Transportation failed. Reason: Deceased." another voice follows, this time sounding completely automatonlike. The original voice paused, contemplative. 

 "Hmm, perhaps things didn't go as planned. I would rather not do it this way, but it seems it's the only option." The light intensified, wrapping around the large circle.

 "I know you can hear me but cannot respond. Try to take all of this in. I am reincarnating you into the world you belong in. You will wake up soon enough."

 With those final confusing words, everything faded, leaving me in a void filled with the echoes of my choices and the lives intertwined with mine, lost too soon. I wanted to live, to experience more in life, I did not want to die, but this is it.

 Or so I thought...