Trapped
_____where am I?
This place, the air, the landscape, the atmosphere, everything about this particular place was unfamiliar to the boy.
After getting up from the grass from which he woke up laying,
He took a long hard look at his surroundings, and proceeded to pinch himself. After feeling the pain of stretching the skin on his cheekbone, almost beyond their limit,
The situation he was in began to sink in, the boy didn't say a word after that, he began to wander… and wander… and wander.
Upon hearing the impact of a large white frothy cascade of water falling into a plunged pool, he soon got closer to the waterfall, and soon realized what fell from that waterfall wasn't water, it was more like a green flowing liquid, and it let off a persistent glow.
Around the waterfall were beautiful greenery, trees, grass, moss, slippery rocks and strange creatures unknown to the boy, it was almost enchanting.
The fantastical construct in display before him, reassured him of his previous realization, he had somehow been transported to another world.
The sound of light thuds, resounding on the earth and grass coming from the forest alarmed him, but for some reason he was curious to see what made those sounds,
He continued on the path were the sounds came from, and to his surprise, he met 7 individuals all looking like fellow Japanese, it seems he wasn't the only one.
「End of prologue」
"A mirror?"
"Yes a mirror"
Two girls whispering an urban legend as they walk past a park.
"It's said when people reach a certain level of depression in their lives, a mirror appears in a destination close to them, completely hypnotizing them, they would be pulled into the mirror, and then they'll be thrown into the mirror realm and have to face certain dangerous challenges, almost like a nightmare".
"Eh? That's crazy, is that what they are telling the kids these days"?
"I know right"
...
A young man, with dark hair and dark eyes, which looked empty and devoid of emotion, sat on a bench nestled to the shaded area of a quiet park,
He sat there holding in his hands his favorite novel, he was dressed in a school uniform, but made no attempt to leave the bench.
It was just early in the morning before going to school, another day after leaving home, Ryo Kobayashi a student of haruki senior high, but just like every other day, he would delay going for as long as he could.
Sitting down and staring at people walking by the park.
"Another sight I'm forced to see, I'm getting tired of doing these mundane things"
He bent his head back wards and looking up at the sky, before getting back up, that was his way of understanding he had no choice in the matter, he would inevitably end up going.
On his way to school he takes a few glances at the people come towards his direction from the sidewalk.
It was something he had grown accustomed to, he couldn't see the faces of other humans, to him humans all have heads like inflated rubber bags of a red balloons, no facial features, the only difference between one or two humans would be their outfits for him.
"I bet they are staring, I'm sure they are…, it doesn't matter anyway, I'm the main character of my world, it shouldn't matter to me how to adjust to others"
This was what he had convinced himself to believe, he had no faith in people and barely ever spoke to them, in school it was about the same.
Having finally gotten to school, he approaches his classroom, opening the sliding door and entering the room of faceless individuals, the teacher a grumpy old man or balloon person as he would put it gave him an earful about being late.
"Does he have to be so loud, it's not like I can take a talking balloon seriously"
He sat in his sit and the edge of the class closest to the window, as class would go one he would stare outside, his classmates alienated him, but it didn't bother him.
"The NPC characters shouldn't affect how I live my life".
After school on his way to his locker, three individuals pass him with one of them bumping into him, a guy and two other girls walking with him, they both seemed to be completely infatuated, he's gaze fixated on Ryo.
He had offended the youth, but Ryo wasn't concerned about that, the youth pushed him Down and continued walking away.
"Nobody needs a depressed mob like you"
Is what the youth muttered as he walked with the two ladies accompanying him.
Ryo didn't even bother to look at the youth, he stood up and just continued leaving for home.
Back at his house, the atmosphere was stiff, it looked like a family devoid of character, he could see his parents face and his younger sister Aimi a middle schooler, although he never really communicated with them much,
Their meals were cold, not the temperature but the respective responses and reactions of each of them was definitely cold.
"So how was your day, Ryo dear"
The mom breaking the ice, a beautiful lady with long dark hair and crimson red eyes, she had grown concerned for the family's distant state.
"As usual, completely uneventful and nothing out of the ordinary"
His little sister glared at him, as if she wanted to point out something, she put down her fork.
"It's like that because you gave up on finding friends, you don't get to act gloomy all the time if you choose to be a loner"
"Now try to get along, I'm sure your brother is trying his best"
Ryo stared at them silently, before standing up and going to his room, but he was interrupted by their father who was silent throughout the exchange.
"Where do you think your going, we haven't had that chat about your future yet, I want you to be social enough so you can actually be a man of value when you get older, you were supposed to be like your old man, I don't understand why your mom gave birth to some socially awkward brat, next thing you'll tell me you don't want to go to school anymore, are you secretly planning to become a shut in, not in this household, if you can't become an outspoken member of the society you'll end up more worthless than you already made yourself out to be… "
He quietly he scurried upward the staircase and entered his room, before locking the door. He didn't seem bothered by what happened, it was already something he became used to.
Furthermore, he hated his family, his obnoxious stuck up sister, his mother who only found mistakes in his efforts, then pretending like she was okay with what he had become, his arrogant father who beats his mother and forces his ideals on others.
He already concluded that humans are scum, which could be why he was unable to see other people's faces, he looked around his room filled with posters of different characters and merch from novels, before walking towards his bed, he liked his bed, it was very welcoming, it was where he would dream away into his own fictional world and also were he would process his thoughts.
"I feel like I'm trapped in this endless cycle… I wake up, I go to school I come back to this horrible place, I get chewed out, I repeat it… and repeat… and repeat… and repeat these actions over and over again. There's no substance to my being, I have no hopes for the future, maybe I should just quietly die, but I haven't finished moonlit night yet".
A little notification sound came from his phone, he had gotten a message from his boss to go for work, now was not the time for sleep, the sun had only just set.
"That's right I have my part-time job too"
He puts on his jacket, to ward off the cold weather once it would get later.
"I'm heading out"
"Be safe, And don't come back too late"
His mom replies as she sends him off
....
At work, it wasn't really different. He would work at the cash register of a convenient store.
A man came to the register complaining, but Ryo had, for some reason, zoned him out, he felt a little lightheaded, he looked at the man before him, and just relentlessly gave bows as a form of consolation or apologies.
After working his shift, he heads back.
The pale crescent moon shone like a silvery claw in the night sky, he looked up at the stars that stretched as far as the eye could see, the city lights were a bit distant from where he was so it was still dark, the silence of the night was broken by the dogs in the area,
Still a bit dizzy, But on his way he meets a few alley thugs, he walked right past them, and then they pull back his black jacket, beating him to a pulp, taking his money and cellphone, but Ryo was devoid of expression, even more than usual, he was not himself at this point.
He picked him self up and began to walk, and walk, eventually even missing the path that to lead to his home, but he kept walking, until he stumbled across a dark object in the middle of the road, an object that had no place being outside, much less at this time of night.
It was a dark mirror with an ancient framework, but it illuminated a dim light that seemed to call Ryo towards it. He walks forward and with each step and his consciousness begins to fade....
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