The image of an urban landscape set aflame and overrun by otherworldly beasts was burned into my mind. Before my very eyes, the city I once called my home was relentlessly torn apart by beasts I once believed to exist only in books or fairy tales. The constant cries for help rang out in my ears with no sign of stopping. The roars of monsters was accompanied by a barrage of gunfire and explosions, but the threat didn't diminish in the slightest. If anything, it only continued to get worse.

The event occurring was none other than the end of the world, and in my heart, I had already accepted I would perish along with it.

Ilyin Gray, 19 years old. An ordinary first-year college student with an undecided major. While I definitely spent the better half of my days wasting my life away, it wasn't as though I was tired of life. The few close friends and loving family I had was enough to keep me motivated, even if I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life.

However, it seemed like there was no reason to worry about any of that anymore.

I gazed upon the flying creatures soaring through the crimson skies with envy. If I had to watch the world end, I wish I could at least do it from a place with a decent view of it all.

I turned my head to look up and down the street. Just earlier, it was bustling with traffic, with college students like me enjoying the noisy commute to campus. Now, it was in complete chaos. Monsters larger than cars lashed out at their surroundings, grabbing and devouring people who were unlucky enough to draw their attention.

We're all going to die, aren't we?

I was too far from home to say my final goodbyes to my family. My phone had lost service ever since the chaos began. Faced with a threat that I doubted humanity could overcome, I decided to silently give up and wait for the end. At least that way, I wouldn't die lamenting.

As I began to close my eyes, I caught a glimpse of a child with elegant blond hair, dressed in a frilly white dress. She looked around restlessly, as if searching for something... or someone.

Was she separated from her parents?

Damn it.

Even if I was fated to die, my conscience won't let me leave a child to die without seeing her parents one last time. That's bound to rack up bad karma.

I rushed to her side, making sure not to draw the attention of the beasts that were getting closer and closer.

"Hey kid. Where are your parents?"

The girl looked up at me, and our gazes locked. She had piercing golden eyes that sent a chill through my body. Now that I was close, I could feel an inexplicable, overwhelming presence coming from her. Her doll-like face was expressionless. For a moment, I was afraid that she was a monster disguised as a human.

She pointed to a building across the street, which was on the verge of collapsing. The doorway was almost completely caved in, and the sidewalk outside was littered with debris. I cursed under my breath.

The girl raised an eyebrow at my words, and I returned an apologetic look in response.

I quickly assessed the situation. Currently, although there was considerable destruction within the immediate vicinity, none of it was caused by rampaging monsters, at least on the ground. A lot of it was caused by what I assume wyverns would look like in real life flying overhead, but their attention was being drawn towards an oncoming military onslaught. That being said, there was a crowd of various monsters filing in from both sides of the street. There was no better time to act than now.

I grabbed the girl by the hand, who was surprised by my sudden action. There was no time to wait. I quickly dragged her across the street, navigating under and around car pile-ups and scattered debris. My heart was thumping in my ears for what felt like an eternity as I prayed there were no monsters hiding around.

Finally, we crossed the street to the building where the girl said her parents were. The sign decorating the doors had fallen face-down onto the ground, but now that I was here, I finally recognized the place. I was too distracted before that I didn't realize it at first.

Arrie's Analog. An arcade for analog games that my older sister introduced me to years ago, and the place where my interest in tabletop role-playing games and the like came to life. A feeling of nostalgia welled up in my chest, tightly tugging at my heart. A lot of memories important to me were related to this place.

My sister's face came to mind. My mom's. My dad's. All the friends I hold dear flashed through my mind.

What will become of them?

This is exactly why I didn't want to think about anything anymore.

I felt a tug on my hand, distracting me from my thoughts. The girl was looking at me. I felt a bit of melancholy in her gaze, but her expression was still blank.

...Now's not the time to be focusing on those things.

I sighed. I looked at the half-collapsed doorway. If I crouched, I could get through, and the girl could follow without much trouble. But is that a good idea? I looked past the entrance and through the windows, trying to figure out the state of the interior. While it wouldn't be good to leave a child outside alone during a crisis, it was just as bad to bring her inside a building that was not structurally sound.

A loud, gutteral roar reverberated from down the street.

Well, that solves my dilemma.

I crouched down and turned to the girl.

"Let's go inside. I'll go first to check if it's safe, then I'll call for you to come in. Understand?"

She nodded.

I turned back to the entrance, mentally hyping myself up a bit to stave off the fear of the ceiling suddenly caving in. I carefully shuffled through the doorway, being extra cautious to avoid scratching myself on broken glass. After successfully entering the reception area, I quickly assessed the interior.

Various pillars around the arcade were showing cracks, but they seemed to be intact for the most part. Bits of wood and shattered glass littered the floor. Tables and chairs were knocked over and scattered around the arcade. To my bemusement, there was not a single person in sight. Maybe they were hiding deeper within.

"It's safe, I think. You can come in now."

I bit my lip. I wondered if not sounding confident enough about it would cause her to worry. I wasn't exactly good with kids. However, seeing her blank expression as she walked through the doorway eased my concerns. I felt a bit ashamed, considering that a little child seemed more calm about the situation than me.

I felt her hand grab mine, so I gave her a reassuring glance.

Okay. There are a number of rooms to check for her parents, and perhaps other survivors who banded together to hide. The layout of Arrie's Analog was mostly an open hall with many tables littered throughout, but there were additional rooms for the kitchen, break room, bathrooms, and HR's office. Given what I saw earlier, the monsters will enter buildings to chase people, so there's not a lot of time left.

I pulled her along, growing increasingly anxious as the sound of glass chipping underneath our shoes echo throughout the building. Quickly, we made our way to the kitchen, which turned out to be devoid of people. Then, we went into the break room, which was just as empty.

Closer and closer, the sounds of the monsters filled the surroundings.

We looked through the bathrooms, but to no avail. That meant the office was the only place left inside the building.

I swung the door open.

Empty.

My heart was practically ringing in my ears. Where did everyone go? Even if the girl pointed to the wrong building, there should at least be other people taking refugee inside, especially since the street was filled with people going about their daily routines until disaster struck.

It was then that I noticed the discomforting smell of blood lingering in the air. My body went cold. I tried to block out the noise from outside as much as possible, tuning my ears as much as I could.

Then I heard it.

The sounds of large feet pressing against the ceiling tiles, accompanied by low, erratic breathing. I glanced upwards as something trickled onto my face.

Above, several tiles were missing, and small amounts of blood dripped from the gaps.

If it weren't for the girl grasping my hand, I would've screamed in horror. I held it in, trying desperately to ease my unsteady heart. Something was hiding in the ceiling above us, and whatever it is was abducting and killing the refugees here. Without a doubt, we were next.

I firmly gripped the child's hand and ran towards the exit, ignoring the cry of pain she made. I can always apologize later, but if we don't get out of here, we'll die.

I felt my heart stop when I saw a ceiling tile drop from above.

Unable to react in time, it hit my head with a large thud, knocking me to the ground. I barely managed to avoid scratching my face on bits of glass, but I can't say the same about my hands, which were beginning to bleed. My vision became distorted from the pain. It hurt like hell, but I had to suppress my voice. I was afraid to draw that thing's attention.

Then I realized. I couldn't feel the girl's hand anymore.

A surge of adrenaline ran through my body, numbing the pain and recovering my vision. Looking behind me, I saw a large, furry brown tail coiled around the child that extended from above.

This must be how it went after the other people!

Without hesitation, I grabbed onto a nearby chair and threw it at the tail with all my strength, which wasn't a lot. Fortunately, however, it was enough to free the girl, who I just barely managed to catch before she fell to the floor.

An angered howl came from above. My instincts were telling me not to look, to run away, but my morbid curiosity got the better of me. I turned my gaze upwards, meeting the incredibly disgusting maw of a lion-like creature with a head split open three ways like a venus flytrap. Blood dripped from its mouth and covered the sharp teeth within. Fear froze my body.

"...Please close your eyes. I'm sorry."

I watched as its face suddenly extended towards me, as if it had an incredibly elastic neck, and its teeth were aimed for my head.

I wasn't sure whether to drop the girl or not. Pointless thoughts like, "What if she gets hurt? What if she scratches herself on the glass? Would she be mad?" ran through my head.

Haha. I can't think straight at all.

This is the end of me.

...I just wish I could've said my last goodbyes.

Memories of the past flashed through my mind like a highlight reel. Is this what people mean by "seeing your life flash before your eyes?"

I recalled the clean, homey interior of Arrie's Analog. So vividly, in fact, that it felt like I was standing there myself, away from the destruction caused by the monster invasion.

A little too vividly, even.

I blinked once. Twice. Thrice.

...Am I going crazy?

The lights of the game hall were working perfectly instead of sputtering out bits of illumination. The tables and chairs were all neatly placed around the building. There was no debris, no fallen ceiling tiles, no bits of glass scattered everywhere.

It was just like it was in the past.

However, it was completely empty, save for me... and the girl that was with me before.

I turned my head as her hand slipped from mine. What I saw wasn't the same little girl from before, but a tall, grown woman with golden hair that shined like the sun and brilliant, gilded eyes. She wore the same dress as the child, but larger.

Huh? What's this?

I felt my mind suddenly become hazy. Just looking at her made me feel... wrong. Like I'm seeing something I shouldn't.

I turned my gaze to the floor, keeping the woman out of sight. For some reason, my mind felt clearer, though still somewhat faded.

"It's a nice place," came a clear, warm voice. It was the woman's voice.

My breathing quickened. What's going on? What the hell is going on?

"Do you want to protect it?"

What? Protect what?

I tried to speak, but for some reason couldn't. An inexplicable feeling weighed heavily on my mind, heart, and body. I can't quite explain it, but it feels like just hearing her voice is doing this to me.

"If you could protect your friends, family, and your home, would you?"

What kind of question is that? Of course!

Those who know me wouldn't describe me as the most emotional or endearing person around, but in this moment, I felt multiple feelings rising up from within me. Regrets. Things I wish I had said, the love and appreciation I hold for my friends and family, everything. If I could, I would run up to them and give them a big hug, even if they thought I was being weird.

In fact, they'd probably ask me to see a doctor or a priest.

A short silence followed. I don't know how, but I could sense the woman smiling at me. It doesn't really make sense to me either. Something about it felt rather melancholic, though.

"Even if—"

...

...

I nodded.

...I was nodding?

...

Huh?

What did she say?

I couldn't hear.

...No.

It's that I can't remember.

I blinked once.

Arrie's Analog was gone. In its place, a dimly lit corridor was laid out before me.

And before my very eyes—

[Synchronization rate has been set to 0%. Warning: Death is now permanent. The tutorial will now begin.]