Chapter no.23: A Glimpse Of Oblivion

The moment they were finally free from detention, Kohta, Miku, and Kozen made their way to the arcade near the school. The place was exactly what you’d expect—dim lights, the buzzing hum of old machines, and the sounds of 8-bit music clashing with kids’ cheers and groans. Neon signs flickered overhead, and rows of games lined the walls, from old-school classics like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong to newer ones that seemed to draw in the bigger crowds. The smell of stale popcorn hung in the air, and there was always that one kid hogging the claw machine, desperately trying to win some cheap stuffed animal.

As they walked in, Miku immediately turned to Kozen, her eyes glinting with a challenge. “Let’s go, I’ll beat you this time,” she said, smirking as if she’d already won.

Kozen couldn’t help but smirk back. “I’ll let you have the first turn,” he said, casually tossing the bait.

“Big mistake, Kozen, big mistake,” Miku shot back, already scanning the arcade, eyes darting from machine to machine like a hunter sizing up her prey.

Kozen felt a nudge at his side. Kohta, who’d mostly been dragged along for the ride, looked up at him, his expression half-asleep. “Hey, what’s this about?” he mumbled, still groggy from napping in detention.

“Oh, while you were sleeping, Miku and I played some games. She’s salty ‘cause I beat her,” Kozen explained with a grin, recalling how fired up she’d gotten.

Kohta scratched his head, clearly surprised. “I didn’t know you played games,” he said, and Kozen could practically see the gears turning in his head—he probably assumed all Kozen did was train, fight, or something along those lines. He wasn’t entirely wrong.

Kozen sweatdropped, reading him like an open book. “It’s more of a hobby in this life,” he said, purposefully omitting the part about his first life. Back then, gaming had been his entire world—borderline addiction, really. But now, it was just a way to pass the time when he was recovering from a spar with Rika or training. At least it gave him more time with Miku, something his loser first life never could’ve imagined.

“Well, I’m gonna hit the bathroom real quick,” Kohta said, already shuffling away. Meanwhile, Miku had grabbed Kozen’s arm and was dragging him toward a Donkey Kong machine.

An hour flew by, the noise of the arcade fading into the background as they battled it out. Miku was practically bouncing on her heels by the time she finally beat his high score, cheering loud enough for the whole arcade to hear.

“Where’s Kohta?” Kozen wondered aloud, though he didn’t mind. Spending most of his time with Miku was… fun. He could get used to this.

Then, Miku’s phone buzzed, and she glanced down at it with a frown. “Sorry, big guy, looks like I gotta leave you with this loss,” she teased, her smirk playful but genuine.

Kozen grinned back. “Don’t worry, I’m sure I can hand you this one victory.”

Miku scoffed, crossing her arms. “Any time, any place. I’ll take you on.”

Kozen saw an opening and took it without hesitation. “How about tomorrow?”

Her eyes lit up. “You’re so on,” she said, her excitement clear as she stepped back to leave. But just before she turned, she surprised him by throwing her arms around him, pulling him into a hug.

It was brief but warm—her arms wrapping around his back, squeezing just enough to let him know she wasn’t joking. Kozen felt his breath hitch for a second, his mind scrambling to catch up. Her hair brushed against his cheek, and for a moment, the noise of the arcade faded entirely. It was just him, standing there, feeling the warmth of her hug, and realizing that maybe, just maybe, she didn’t see him as just some gaming rival.

“Hey, Kozen, is there any game you recommend—OH YEAH!” Kohta’s voice broke through the moment, and Kozen quickly pulled back, feeling a slight blush creep up his neck. Of course, Kohta had perfect timing. He stared at them with wide eyes, as if he’d just walked in on something scandalous.

“Thanks for the fun,” Miku said, a knowing smile tugging at her lips as she left, Kohta ruining the mood with his ridiculous “bow-chicka-wow-wow” noises in the background.

Kozen sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Kohta, where were you?” he asked, trying to shake off the embarrassment as he watched Miku disappear through the arcade doors.

“Bathroom,” Kohta said, with that goofy grin of his. “Didn’t wanna be the third wheel between you two lovebirds.”

Kozen’s face flushed even more. 

Was I that obvious?

Shaking his head, Kozen shot back, “Kohta, if you—ugh, forget it.”

“What were you gonna say?” Kohta pressed, still grinning like an idiot.

Kozen sighed. “Well, I was going to do the bow-chicka-wow-wow if you ever got a date.”

Kohta, bless him, blinked in innocent confusion. “Thanks, man.”

Kozen paused, thrown off by his sincerity. “Wait… you’re actually serious?”

“Yeah, why’d you stop?” Kohta asked, genuinely curious.

Kozen sighed again, shaking his head. “I realized the only way you’d get a date is if the apocalypse happened.”

Kohta shot Kozen a look, flipping him the bird. “Fuck you.”

They both burst out laughing.

Rika pressed her head against the seat, her arm draped over her eyes as she tried, really tried, to calm her nerves. But after everything that happened with Shoko, calming down felt impossible. Her thoughts were a tangled mess, each one dragging her deeper into the whirlpool of dread.

“You okay?” Takashi asked from the driver’s seat. She flopped her hand toward him, a lazy dismissal.

“Just need a minute,” she muttered, her voice barely steady.

The silence in the car was suffocating, heavy with the weight of unspoken tension, but it was shattered by a sudden clang on the window. Instinct took over. Both Takashi and Rika whipped around, their guns drawn, pointing straight at the sound. The guard from the Tokyo Detention Center stood there, his face void of expression.

Rika slowly rolled the window down, her heart still hammering in her chest. The guard didn’t say a word, just handed her a note and walked away, disappearing into the shadows like he’d never been there.

She unfolded the paper, confusion washing over her as her eyes scanned the address. Biei, Hokkaido? What the hell was Shoko sending them there for? She handed the note to Takashi, his brow furrowed as he read it.

“What is this?” Takashi asked, more to himself than to her.

“Something Shoko wants us to check out,” Rika replied, though even she wasn’t sure. This could be anything. 

“What do we do?” Takashi asked, his tone cautious.

“If Shoko wants to give us the carrot and stick…” Rika trailed off, her mind racing. “Let’s see what happens.”

Takashi frowned, his eyes locking onto hers with concern. He knew her better than anyone, and he could see the recklessness bubbling up inside her. He could see that she wasn’t thinking straight, and Rika hated that he could read her so easily.

“Rika, I know the interview was… traumatizing, but going in blind to this?” He held up the note, his expression firm. “This isn’t the way.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but then caught sight of the guard again, standing a few feet away, just… staring. His face was blank, almost possessed. A chill crawled up her spine, and she realized in that moment how close she’d come to breaking the number one rule the captain had drilled into them: Never go without a plan.

Takashi was right. She couldn’t let her need for answers cloud her judgment. “Yeah,” she said, the words tight in her throat. “You’re right.”

They suited up, this time with heavier firepower. Whatever they were walking into, they weren’t going in blind. The drive to Biei, Hokkaido was long, tense, and silent. Rika’s mind spun with questions, but none of them came with answers. When they finally arrived, the sight that greeted them was… unreal.

Police were everywhere, their vehicles lined up like ants swarming around a spilled drop of honey. News journalists clustered outside the town, cameras rolling, microphones thrust forward as they shouted questions to anyone who might give them an answer. Helicopters buzzed overhead, a constant, ominous hum. It was like a scene from a war zone.

They flashed their badges and slipped past the barricades, no one paying them much mind. Rika’s stomach knotted as they drove deeper into town, and when they finally reached the center… her mind could hardly process what she was seeing.

The ground where the entire town of Biei had once stood was gone. Not destroyed, not flattened—gone. In its place was a massive, gaping crater, as if the earth itself had opened up and swallowed everything whole. 

It wasn’t just a hole. It was a void. An absence. The air around it felt thick, oppressive, like it was swallowing the sound, the light… the hope. There was something wrong about it, something fundamentally off, like this wasn’t just a disaster. It was something darker. The world around her felt like it was closing in, like the ground beneath her feet might give way at any second, dragging her into that impossible abyss.

The sky above them was dim, though it was midday. Shadows seemed to stretch longer than they should, bending toward the crater like it was pulling everything into its hungry maw. A cold sweat broke out across her skin, and she could feel her heart pounding in her ears. The wind howled through the open space, a mournful sound that seemed to echo with the screams of the 10,000 people who had once lived here.

It was as if they had never existed.

It wasn’t just destruction—it was erasure. Like something had wiped the town from existence, leaving only this yawning, empty wound in the earth. Rika couldn’t tear her eyes away from it, her breath shallow and ragged as the weight of it all pressed down on her.

Takashi stood next to her, his face pale, but it was clear neither of them knew what to say. How could you put words to something like this?

On that day, at 3:45 p.m., the world would learn of the event that would dominate international headlines for weeks: the mysterious disappearance of the small town of Biei, Hokkaido, alongside 10,000 people, gone without a trace. It would be known as The Biei Abyss Incident.

But as Rika stood there, staring into that impossibly dark crater, all she could hear were Shoko’s words playing over and over in her head. There was only one conclusion she could draw from this.

I need to prepare Kozen for the apocalypse.