In the middle of a cramped 6-tatami room, the sound of heavy rain could be heard. Its rhythmic tapping filled the empty space, a void cloaked in darkness as if it, too, was ready to vanish. Then, something foreign appeared—radiant and loud with wind. I fell off the small chair I had just stood on, and when I turned around to see what it was, I saw...
In the center of the room...
I saw something that shouldn't exist.
Not a dream. Not a hallucination. But real. So real, my heartbeat forgot how to beat.
A holographic door stood tall between the peeling walls and leaking ceiling of my dim apartment. But this... this was no ordinary door. It wasn't made of wood or metal. It wasn't something human hands could build.
The door looked as if it had been painted directly by God's hand—made of light, but not ordinary light. The colors layered and spiraled like a fractured rainbow. Purple, pink, gold, blue... all swirling but never touching. They moved slowly, like fire dancing underwater.
In the center of its surface was a strange emblem—like a snowflake wrapped in black roots. And beneath it, five white stars glowed. Not blinding, but pulsing. Each pulse felt like a second heartbeat in my chest—synchronized with my own.
"What... is this...?" I whispered.
My hands trembled as I tried to prop myself up. My knees felt weak.
I stepped back. The old wooden floor creaked. But the door didn't react. It simply stood there, waiting.
I looked down—and noticed something chilling. My shadow was gone.
The door's handle—gold, thin, glowing softly like moonlight reflecting on water. Yet it cast no reflection. Even the wall behind it was gone. The door wasn't attached to anything. It stood... between this world and another.
Suddenly, without warning, a bright blue hologram appeared in front of me. It floated, like a game system. Or more accurately, like what Hunters always described—an RPG system activating when someone is chosen.
---
[THRESIS AWAKENED]
[Candidate Detected: Sakuraba Itsuki]
[Choice: Enter - or disappear forever]
---
That's what the hologram said. I held my breath. My throat went dry. My knees nearly gave out.
"Sakuraba... Itsuki?" I muttered. That was my name, yet it sounded foreign.
I knew exactly what this was. A personal door, or what Players often call "Thresis" — an anomaly that grants power and makes someone a Player.
My hand slowly rose, pulled by something unseen. I didn't know why, but my body moved on its own. My heartbeat quickened—not from fear... but from a calling. Something was waiting behind that door. Something that had been waiting for me for a long time.
Without realizing it, I took a step forward.
My steps were heavy, like something else moved my body. Every time my foot touched the damp, cold wooden floor, the creak echoed like walking down an ancient, abandoned temple.
One step... two steps... three steps...
The closer I got, the more the air changed. Warm... but not from this world. Like the breath of something formless. The swirling fractured light of the door reflected on the walls, floor, even on my skin. The five stars in the center pulsed, vibrating in rhythm with my heart.
Now I stood right in front of it.
The handle was just inches away. I could feel its strange energy—a mix of fear, hope, and... nostalgia?
"What will happen... if I touch it?" I whispered.
My hand lifted slowly, hesitating. My fingers trembled.
I closed my eyes. Took a deep breath.
Then... I gripped the handle.
Warm. Like skin. As if the door wasn't an object—but alive, breathing, waiting.
I opened it slowly. No creak, no cracking sound, no wind pulling me in. But the world beyond it... pulled me.
My foot stepped forward. One step... and I passed through.
The world changed.
When I opened my eyes, it was no longer my room.
No ceiling light. No rain against the windows. No cold wooden floor. Only... silence. But not ordinary silence—this was a silence that breathed. A silence with its own heartbeat. Not emptiness... but a stillness hiding something ancient. Something... awake.
I stood in a long corridor. Rows of crimson torii gates rose high above, forming a tunnel that split the void. These weren't just wooden gates. They looked like the bones of ancient giants, standing as silent witnesses to an unwritten history. Each one stood in perfect rhythm, stretching toward a fog-swallowed distance.
Underfoot, old stones paved a path. Uneven, moss-covered, cracked by time. I could smell damp earth, rotting wood, and a trace of incense burnt centuries ago. The air was not still—a gentle breeze crept past my neck, carrying whispers I couldn't understand.
On either side, red spider lilies bloomed in perfect rows. Their crimson petals danced like the fingers of spirits, vivid against the dark sky. The flowers seemed alive, as if aware of my presence. They swayed... welcoming or warning.
In the air, faint purple lights floated. Wisps of flame, barely visible unless you focused. They moved slowly, circling, hovering. They weren't hot. Not bright. But when they neared me... my chest felt warm. As if touched by something I once loved... and lost.
I stood frozen. My breath caught. My throat dry. This world was too real... yet impossible.
"...What is this...?" I whispered.
I tried stepping back. But when I turned around—the door was gone. Only the endless corridor of torii remained, stretching both forward and behind. As if time and direction meant nothing here. As if I'd... completely crossed over.
That's when the blue system screen floated before me again.
---
[ZONE UNLOCKED: SELECTION TEST]
Trial Type: Defeat the Owner
Difficulty: ★
Objective: Defeat the owner of Thresis and become a Player
Reward: Thresis Synchronization
---
"Selection test...?" I muttered.
The words echoed in my mind. I'd heard of this—from a Hunter documentary. Each person who received a personal door had to undergo their own trial. A test to prove their worth as a Player. And if they failed... there would be no door back.
I looked ahead. The fog thinned. In the distance, an old shrine emerged like the silhouette of a dream. Its main gate—dark red, worn—stood tall and solemn, staring down at me like a guardian of a forgotten world. Behind it, the shrine building looked deserted. Aged. Neglected. Moss clung to the roof, and parts of it were broken. Yet, despite its ruin, it radiated something... sacred? No. More like... empty. Abandoned. Or sealed.
My steps moved slowly. The closer I got, the colder the air became. The sky had no time. No morning. No night. Light poured from above, but not from the sun—from cracks in the fog, casting the world like a frozen dream.
On the stone stairs of the shrine... she appeared.
A small figure stood still. A girl—young, pale, and translucent. Her body looked like a projection, blurry yet tangible. Long silver hair flowed gently, suspended as if underwater. Her eyes—bright blue, yet unlit. They didn't shine with light—but sorrow. A grief buried long ago.
Her hand reached forward, as if calling me. But no words came from her mouth. Even when it opened... there was no sound. Only broken movement. Hesitation. Hurt.
A new screen appeared.
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[ENTITY: The Dreamer - Trial Manifestation]
Threat Level: Moderate
Status: Sad
HP: ██████████
---
I froze. "Who is she...?" I whispered. "Why does she look... sad?"
She stepped down. Her small feet touched the stone silently. Each movement seemed to alter the world. The ground lit up with faint glowing patterns—circuit-like lines racing outward in blue and purple hues. The spider lilies curled inward, hiding from something far greater.
"DING"
The shrine bell chimed softly. Once. But enough to send shivers down my spine. Another notification popped up.
---
[TRIAL INITIATED]
[Time Limit: None]
[Defeat the Dreamer to synchronize.]
[Failure means: Rejection and Erasure]
---
I stepped back. My heart raced.
"Oi, oi... you've got to be kidding..." my voice trembled. "I have to... defeat her?! That girl?! I can't even fight!"
My hands shook. My body weakened. But the system displayed one last message:
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[SKILL SLOT LOCKED - THRESIS UNSYNCHRONIZED]
[Condition Defeated: 0/1]
---
To be continued..