Rain poured softly outside the narrow apartment window.
The room's light flickered weakly, as if it shared its owner's exhaustion.
Inside, a young man sat on the floor, leaning against the cold wall.
Yuuto Kido.
His eyes were empty—hollow, like all meaning in life had been worn away by time.
The air felt heavy.
Silent—but not peaceful.
More like… an emptiness slowly swallowing everything.
That silence broke when voices from the next room drifted through the thin wall.
Soft, teasing, and painful to hear.
> "Honey, I really loved that gift you gave me~"
A woman's voice—sweet, cheerful, yet cutting.
> "Hahaha, is that so? I'm glad you like it,"
a man replied, sounding satisfied.
"Anyway, what about the weird guy next door?"
Yuuto froze.
He didn't have to think to know who they meant.
> "Weird guy? Oh, you mean the gloomy one?"
"Yeah. The one who never leaves his room. I'm pretty sure he'll kill himself eventually. It'd be troublesome if that happens right next to us."
"Haha~ forget about him. Losers like that don't deserve attention. I'll talk to him later. With a woman as pretty as me, I could motivate him a little, right?"
"Hahaha! True. A kid like that is easy to control."
Their laughter bounced back and forth.
To the world, it might have sounded normal—
—but to Yuuto, it was like a whip against his pride.
He lowered his head, shoulders trembling.
And then he laughed—a strained, broken laugh that cracked at the edges.
"Pfft… hahaha…"
"What does it matter?" he muttered. "In the end, I'm the only one who can't—"
The sentence lingered unfinished.
Then—
Silence.
Not just from the next room.
The entire apartment, the entire world—seemed to stop breathing.
The sound of rain vanished.
The ticking clock froze.
Even his own breathing sounded too loud.
Yuuto looked around.
"...What is—"
THUD!
A loud sound echoed beside him, as if something had dropped right there in his room.
Yuuto jolted, heart pounding.
His gaze swept across the room—bookshelves, the messy bed, the cluttered table—
—and then his eyes stopped.
On the floor lay a flip phone.
Old model. Worn.
Yet somehow… clean, as if brand new.
"What…? A flip phone? How did this get here? Did the previous tenant leave it?" Yuuto murmured uncertainly.
Curiosity overcame fear.
He picked it up, staring at the dark screen—its reflection showing his tired, empty eyes.
"…Feels like it's mocking me," he whispered bitterly.
He pressed a random button—
—and a faint electric shock ran through his hand.
"Ah—!"
Instinctively, he threw the phone hard against the wall.
His breathing grew rough, heartbeat racing.
"W-What was that? Did it just shock me?"
But before he could think more—
The rain returned.
Time flowed again.
The neighbors' laughter came back—soft, distant, cutting.
But this time, he didn't care.
His attention was locked on the phone lying on the floor.
It wasn't damaged.
Not even scratched.
"Strange… I threw it pretty hard…" he whispered, kneeling to pick it up again.
The moment his finger touched it—
Ding.
The screen lit up, displaying a chat interface like a messaging app.
A new message appeared.
> "Oh? A new member. Hello there~"
Yuuto frowned. "A message? From who?"
More messages appeared.
Names he had never seen.
---
[Hatsune Miku]:
Welcome to the group~! Wow, it's been a while since we had a new member. Who are you?
[Lady Avalon]:
Interesting. The system has summoned another human… Hm. The universe never loses its whimsical nature.
[Irene Belserion]:
A new member? I hope it's not another child. I dislike repeating basic explanations.
[Yamato]:
Heeey! Hello! I'm Yamato! So happy to meet someone new!
If you get lost, just ask me, okay?
[Kuroneko]:
Oh, a new member. Hi.
This might sound unbelievable, but we all come from different worlds.
---
Yuuto stared at the screen for a long time.
"…What the hell," he muttered. "Are these people insane?"
He hesitated—
But curiosity won.
He typed:
[Yuuto Kido]:
Hello, excuse me. Whose phone is this?
It suddenly appeared in my room. Maybe it belongs to one of you?
---
A short silence—then replies came.
[Kuroneko]:
So your name is Yuuto Kido.
Interesting… I'll figure out whether you're from an anime or a manga later.
[Hatsune Miku]:
Hey hey~ don't scare him right away!
Kido-kun, relax. This isn't a scam.
Well… at least not a normal one. 😅
[Lady Avalon]:
A "phone in the wrong room," you say.
There is nothing wrong, Kido-kun.
If the device chose you, it means you are connected.
Our worlds differ—but this network crosses reality.
[Irene Belserion]:
In short, don't panic.
That phone is a medium between worlds.
If you don't believe us, throw it as hard as you want—
I guarantee it will return to you.
[Yamato]:
Yep yep! I tried throwing mine too at first—it still came back to me! Cool, right!?
[Hatsune Miku]:
I thought it was just some new AR concert software…
But no, it's real.
[Kuroneko]:
So, Kido.
The device is called a Gate Device.
It links our minds across realities.
But not everyone is chosen.
Only those the system deems "necessary."
---
Yuuto stared at the screen, his pupils trembling.
A moment ago, the phone was just an object on his floor—
Now, it was typing his name without him touching anything.
"…How does it know my name?"
His hand shook. He tried pressing a button—his fingers felt stiff.
The rain grew heavier outside.
Curiosity and fear tangled together—
And in the end, he chose to test their claim.
"Fine… let's see how far this insanity goes."
He slammed the phone onto the floor.
CRACK!
The impact echoed through the room.
But when the dust settled—
The phone was intact.
"No way…" he whispered, breath thin.
He stepped onto the balcony.
The cold night air brushed his face.
City lights reflected in his lifeless eyes.
Without thinking—
He threw the phone into the dark, rainy sky.
Its faint light vanished into the night.
"That's enough… I just want—"
He stopped.
His eyes froze.
On his bed, the phone had returned.
Exactly the same.
Calm. Still.
Waiting.
"Hah… how…?"
His voice barely held together. "Is this real…?"
---
The phone vibrated.
A new message appeared.
---
[Yamato]:
Hahaha! So? Pretty cool, right!?
Told you it would come back!
Now try opening the Login Reward menu!
Every member gets a daily gift from the system!
---
Yuuto stared at the screen.
"…Login reward? What is this, an online game?"
But his finger moved anyway.
He pressed the small icon in the corner.
Ding.
Blue text shimmered on the screen.
---
[System]: Welcome, member Yuuto Kido.
First Login Reward: Body — Arthur Pendragon (Prototype)
All combat experience and battle instincts have been integrated.
"…Huh?!"