The evening sun dipped low on the horizon as a 20-year-old university student named Akirito walked along the quiet road leading home. He wasn't particularly sociable, had no girlfriend, and didn't care for one either. Life was simple, mundane—and that's how he liked it.
But that ordinary evening took a strange turn.
As he passed by a small, dimly lit park, a melody reached his ears. It was a beautiful, haunting song sung by a girl's soft, angelic voice. Mesmerized, Akirito slowed his steps. Something about that voice pulled at his soul.
Curious, he stepped into the park.
There, beneath the soft glow of an old lamppost, sat a girl. She looked around eighteen, with mid-length elegant brown hair, a lotus flower crown resting delicately on her head. Her gothic-style dress shimmered in black and white, contrasting with her radiant blue eyes. In her hands, she held a slender silver staff—about two feet long—with a glowing blue diamond embedded at the top.
She was like a painting come to life—beautiful, mysterious, and almost... unreal.
Akirito found himself rooted in place, unable to look away or even breathe too loudly. Who is she? Her voice... it's enchanting, he thought, listening from a distance.
But then—
CRACK.
A sharp sound, like glass shattering, pierced the air.
Startled, Akirito looked around. There was no broken glass nearby. Yet the sound echoed again.
CRACK.
This time, he looked up.
And his heart stopped.
The sky—
The soil—
The entire world around him—
was cracking.
Like fragile glass breaking apart.
"What the hell...?" Akirito whispered, eyes wide in panic. "Is this... a dream?"
Fear seized him as he tried to move, to run—but then he turned to call out to the girl—
—and found her standing right beside him.
"Wh-What...!?" he stumbled backward and fell to the ground, staring up at her in disbelief.
Her expression had changed.
Gone was the calm, beautiful singer from moments ago.
Now she looked down at him with an eerie smile.
And then, in a low, almost seductive voice, she spoke:
"Ah... no need to worry, darling. Finally... I've managed to pull in another one."
Her eyes glinted with something sinister.
Akirito's lips trembled. "What... what are you sa—"
Before he could finish, darkness swallowed his vision.
And everything went black.
When Akirito opened his eyes, he found himself floating in a strange, dreamlike place.
Thousands of shards of glass shimmered in the air, drifting like fish in a silent ocean. Each piece glowed faintly, swirling around him in mesmerizing patterns.
Akirito gasped, panic rising in his chest. "W-What is this…?!"
He slowly stood up, his body trembling. All around him stretched a void of endless darkness, illuminated only by the glowing glass shards.
As he looked closer, his breath caught in his throat.
Inside each floating piece of glass—
—he saw moments of his own life.
His childhood. His lonely school days. The time he cried in his room. Moments of laughter, of silence, of quiet pain.
"W-Where am I…?! What is this place!?" he cried out.
That's when he heard it—a deep, mature woman's voice echoing in the void.
"You're with me now, boy."
Startled, Akirito spun around.
And there she was.
That same girl from the park.
The elegant girl with brown hair, the lotus crown, and the gothic black-and-white dress. Her cold blue eyes locked onto him with a playful smirk.
Akirito's eyes widened in fear and confusion. "Y-You again!? Who are you!? What's going on?!"
The girl walked toward him gracefully and came dangerously close. She reached out and gently grabbed his cheek with her gloved hand.
Her touch was cold.
"I am Diana Ross Fiona," she whispered, her voice laced with mischief. "Also known as... the Reality Scar Witch."
"...A witch!?" Akirito's voice cracked. "What is this place? Why did you bring me here!? What do you want from me!?"
Fiona's smirk deepened.
"Want? Oh, nothing much. I looked into your life… and it seemed so boring."
She chuckled, tilting her head. "So I thought—why not give you a better one? A more interesting one."
Akirito backed away. "But I was living a good life!"
"Really?" Fiona raised an eyebrow. "You don't have any close friends. No one who truly understands you. No love. No excitement."
"I KNOW THAT ALREADY!" Akirito snapped. His voice shook with frustration. "But even so… please, just send me back to my real world!"
Without a word, Fiona raised her staff and struck Akirito in the stomach.
Thud!
He groaned and fell to his knees, coughing in pain.
"Of course not," Fiona said with a calm smile. "You're mine now. My little actor."
"W-What…?" Akirito wheezed.
Fiona stepped forward, twirling her silver staff.
"From now on, your job is simple—entertain me," she said. "Like a character in a movie. A play. A drama just for me."
Akirito clenched his fists. "Y-You're insane…"
Fiona gestured to the floating shards around them.
"See these? These are pieces of countless realities. In each one, you can live a different life—experience love, joy, guilt, sorrow… everything."
"I don't care!" Akirito shouted. "I just want to live peacefully! In my own world, my own reality!"
Fiona's eyes narrowed.
"No, darling. You'll stay right here. And you'll feel all of it."
"Stop calling me darling!" Akirito snapped.
He stood up, his gaze defiant despite the fear in his heart.
"Fine then," he growled. "Let's make a deal. A competition."
"Oh?" Fiona raised a curious eyebrow.
"We'll both create a story," Akirito declared. "If my story turns out better than yours—you'll let me go."
For a moment, there was silence.
Then Fiona burst into laughter.
"Well well… Not a bad idea, boy."
She smiled with delight.
"Let's begin, shall we?"