The morning air was still. A thin layer of gray clouds hung over Tokyo, blanketing the city in a dull, sleepy haze. Beneath it, the city stirred like clockwork—trains rumbled along the tracks, vending machines hummed on every corner, and people bustled past one another with practiced indifference.
Takumi Masayama gripped the handlebars of his delivery bike as he sped down a side street. His work jacket, damp from sweat and humidity, clung to his back. A white paper bag balanced carefully in his thermal carrier box. He was already two minutes behind schedule, and the customer had given a one-star review the last time he was late.
"I really need to quit this job," he muttered under his breath, though he already knew he wouldn't.
At twenty-four, Takumi was one of countless overworked young men trying to scrape by. No grand ambitions, no grand future. He rented a cramped apartment on the fourth floor of a fading building in Adachi ward. His kitchen barely fit a fridge and a stove. His only hobby was taking naps when time allowed. But he kept going—because quitting meant facing a future far more frightening than the present.
As he stopped at a red light, he looked to his right and caught sight of a young couple holding hands, laughing together as they walked past a convenience store.
A tired smile tugged at his lips.
The light turned green. He pushed forward.
Then the world shattered.
From the corner of his eye, he saw a massive blur—a freight lorry, its horn screaming too late. The truck swerved, tires screeching, but the metal mass plowed forward like an unstoppable beast.
The impact was deafening. His body flew.
Then came the silence.
---
A sharp breath escaped Takumi's lungs.
He blinked. Once. Twice.
He was lying on a futon, inside what looked like his own apartment. The cracked ceiling stared down at him. The familiar water stain in the corner of the room was still there… but it had grown larger, and the ceiling plaster was chipping.
"What…?"
He sat up.
Something felt off. The light filtering through the curtains wasn't the gentle glow of Tokyo's usual neon-polluted dawn. It was orange, like a sunset stuck in time.
He pulled the curtain back.
His breath caught in his throat.
The Tokyo skyline had crumbled.
Skyscrapers were split down the middle. Vines curled around buildings like hungry serpents. Cars were overturned in the streets below. Smoke curled up from the distant remnants of what used to be Shinjuku. And flying high above the ruins, circling lazily like vultures, were things—winged silhouettes, far too large to be birds.
Takumi stumbled back, his heart racing. This couldn't be real. Had he been in a coma? Was this a dream?
He looked down.
Something metallic wrapped around his right wrist. A strange bracelet, unlike anything he'd ever seen. It looked like blackened steel, yet gave off a faint blue pulse along the inner seams. The surface had small grooves and etched lines, almost circuit-like in design.
"What the hell is this…?"
He tugged at it. Nothing. It didn't even shift.
Then, suddenly—
A soft chime. A blue holographic screen shimmered into the air, floating just above the bracelet.
> Bracelet Activation Complete.
User: Takumi Masayama.
Skill Acquired: Fire Ball.
Takumi stared at the text, mouth slightly open.
"Fire Ball…? Skill…?"
Another message appeared:
> Mana source confirmed. Skill usable.
Note: Bracelet absorbs ambient mana from surroundings to power skill usage.
"What are you talking about—mana? Skill? Fire Ball? What the hell is going on?!"
No answer came, but the screen gently blinked out of existence.
He stood up, moving to the cracked mirror beside the door. His reflection was the same. Same dark hair, same tired brown eyes, same faded hoodie. And yet…
"I died… didn't I?" he whispered to himself. "I got hit. I should be…"
But here he was. And this—this wasn't the Tokyo he knew. It was like his city had been twisted into some nightmarish fantasy wasteland.
He opened the apartment door.
The hallway was dark. Parts of the walls had caved in, revealing rusted pipes and creeping roots. A musty, metallic stench lingered in the air.
He walked slowly down the stairs, his footsteps echoing through the silence. On the first floor, the entrance door had been smashed open long ago. Ivy grew from the sidewalk and slithered inside like nature claiming its victory.
Outside, he stood motionless.
This was Tokyo—but not.
It was Tokyo after something terrible.
Suddenly, in the distance—
A monstrous roar shook the air.
He looked up just in time to see a shape emerge above the rooftops—a massive, scaly beast with a wingspan like an airplane, letting out a screech that seemed to tear through the sky itself.
Takumi fell to his knees, gasping. His ears rang. His legs shook.
This wasn't a dream. This was something else.
> Bracelet Note:
Hostile presence detected. Defend or evacuate.
Fire Ball Skill – Ready for use.
He swallowed.
"What… what have I been dropped into…?"
The beast vanished beyond the horizon, but the echo of its roar remained.
Takumi stared down at the bracelet again, trembling.
He was no longer in the world he knew.