I woke up to silence.
Real silence.
No cosmic humming.
No eleven-billion-voice choir.
No Vritra breathing down my neck like a possessive space heater.
Even the Shiba (I named him Mochi, obviously) was still snoring in the exact same spot, paws twitching in whatever dream dogs dream about.
I sat up slowly.
The tail didn't move.
Not a twitch.
Not a quiver.
Not even a sarcastic helicopter spin.
It just… hung there.
Fluffy. Motionless. Dead-looking.
For the first time in two months, the tail was completely still.
I poked it.
Nothing.
I flicked it.
Nothing.
I whispered the magic words that usually send it into a frenzy:
"Who's a good boy?"
Zero reaction.
A cold sweat broke out on my green goblin forehead.
[System Notice – Calm Blue Text For Once]
[Tail of Mass Suggestion has entered Protected Rest Mode]
[Reason: Emotional overload detected after reunion with Original Puppy]
[Duration: Unknown]
[Reality stability: Rising for the first time ever]
I looked around.
The pocket dimension had turned into a perfect replica of my old Tokyo apartment.
Same peeling wallpaper. Same leaky ceiling. Same sad single futon.
Even the instant ramen cups in the trash were exactly where I left them the day I died.
Mochi stretched, yawned, and trotted to the kitchenette where a fresh bowl of kibble had mysteriously appeared.
No worshippers.
No corpse throne.
No cosmic wives trying to out-cuddle each other.
Just me, a dog, and a tail on vacation.
I should have felt relieved.
Instead I felt… panic.
What the hell do I do now?
I tried to leave the apartment.
The door opened onto the exact Shibuya crossing where I died.
But it was empty. No cars. No rain. Just gentle sunlight and the faint smell of melon-pan from a nearby bakery.
I walked outside.
The tail stayed limp.
Nobody knelt.
Nobody screamed "my lord."
A random salaryman walked past, nodded politely, and kept going.
He didn't even glance at the green corgi-goblin with the apocalypse tail.
For the first time since reincarnation, I was invisible.
I sat on the curb where I once bled out.
Mochi sat next to me, head on my knee.
I scratched his ears.
He wagged (normal, healthy, non-reality-breaking wag).
I laughed. It came out wet.
"Mochi… I think the tail finally got embarrassed."
He licked my hand once, as if to say "good, it needed a break.
Hours passed like that.
Normal hours.
Human hours.
I bought melon-pan with coins that appeared in my pocket.
I let Mochi chase pigeons (they let him win).
I even took a nap on a park bench without accidentally starting a religion.
Evening came.
The tail still hadn't moved.
I started getting nervous again.
What if it never comes back?
What if I'm just… normal now?
I whispered to the limp fluff:
"Bhai, if you're listening… thank you.
But also… please don't leave me like this forever.
I kinda got used you as a shield against feeling things."
The tail twitched.
Just once.
Then it curled around my waist like a seatbelt.
Soft. Warm. Quiet.
[System Notice – Whisper Voice]
[Tail has accepted temporary downgrade]
[New Mode: Companion Tail (No Mass Suggestion, No Cataclysms)]
[Duration: Until you're ready]
I exhaled a breath I didn't know I was holding.
Mochi barked happily and rolled over for belly rubs.
I gave them.
No oceans turned to gold.
No gods died.
No one proposed marriage to me.
Just a man (well, goblin) and his dog, on a quiet evening in a Tokyo that never really existed anymore.
Somewhere very far away, I heard Vritra and the Universe arguing in hushed tones:
"He needs this."
"But what if he never wants us again?"
"Then we wait. Forever if needed."
I smiled.
For the first time in forever, I wasn't afraid of tomorrow.
Because tomorrow, the tail might wag again…
or it might not.
And either way, I think I'll be okay.
To be continued…
(whenever the tail feels like it)