The moment the first ripple appeared in the world, perfection cracked.
The ring of the endless cycle shattered, and completeness was transformed into imperfection.
The catalyst was death.
No, it was not merely death, but the total erasure of an existence.
■■■――…!
Not the first murder, but the first erasure. The so-called Eradication.
Looking down at the Great Hollow turning to dust beneath his feet, he slowly closed and opened his eyes.
The world that had stood still—the great ring—bore an indelible wound as it began to turn once more.
As is the nature of a broken wheel, the cracks in its rim caused it to crumble further with every single rotation.
Complete erasure beyond life and death.
In a world that had ground to a halt, a being appeared—or rather, a phenomenon manifested.
It was the moment of the Soul King's birth.
* * *
I noticed the anomaly the second I finished my ten thousandth swing, screamed "Fuck this, I'm done!" and collapsed onto my back.
"...?"
Since I don't need to eat, I just lie down and sleep once my training is over.
Training and sleep. Just those two things. When you repeat such a sickeningly simple lifestyle for nearly a year, you notice changes even if you don't want to.
"Wind...?"
First of all, there was no way I was mistaken.
It's impossible not to notice it when it's cooling down your overheated body and drying your sweat.
In a stagnant, unchanging world, any shift stands out that much more. You're forced to notice.
Because in a world where the wind never blew, a breeze had begun to stir.
'Where is it coming from?'
Finding the source of a wind blowing from a single direction wasn't hard.
I looked around, saw the sand dunes being swept to the right, and turned my head to the left.
"That way, huh."
Like a thirsty man wandering for water, I was naturally drawn to the first change this world had ever shown me.
But... I was also a little scared.
That was the direction I had fled from to avoid the Hollows.
Running blindly toward a place infested with Hollows just because I felt a 'change' was a bit of a stretch.
'Wow, change! Something finally shifted! This shit-tier game finally got a patch!!' Imagine running over there without a thought and bumping into a Hollow.
I'd be headed straight for a casket. Not a nice one made of paulownia wood, either, but a coffin made of a Hollow's gut after being chewed into tiny pieces.
'...Dammit.'
I have no choice. I'm curious, but going there means death. But if I don't go, it's going to bug me forever.
So much so that I probably wouldn't even be able to finish another ten thousand overhead swings.
"Sigh... This is driving me crazy, seriously."
I scratched my head aggressively and looked down at my tree branch.
What should I do? Should I take the risk and go? Or should I just stay here swinging this branch until I'm confident I can take on a Hollow?
As I stared at the branch with a wavering heart, unable to decide—
Snap.
The branch, which had remained perfectly fine through hundreds of thousands of swings, snapped as if it were a lie.
In a stagnant world without change, it was an unbreakable object. Now, it had broken with satisfying finality.
The shift in the world I had been vaguely sensing manifested right before my eyes.
Death, destruction, consumption.
It was the moment the eternity of the endless cycle was shattered.
As if it had suddenly received the weight of all the wear and tear it should have suffered until now, the two pieces of the branch crumbled into dust within my hands.
I stared at the wood that had returned to a handful of sand and scratched my head again.
'I guess I have to go now.'
When the world hands you a justification as blatant as this, you have no choice but to go.
Isn't it a bit much to push me in the back just because I hesitated for a bit? Couldn't they have given me some time to worry, like saying, "Please take your time to think it over and go whenever you're ready"?
"Phew..."
I let out a deep sigh and looked in the direction the wind was blowing.
Fine, let's just go for a bit. I'll just check out what's happening, and if it looks dangerous, I'll grab another branch and haul ass out of there.
With that resolve, I began to walk slowly.
I wondered how much had changed, and how much more would change from now on.
Finally, change was happening. Time was actually flowing.
I was confused by a mix of anticipation and a vague sense of dread, but it didn't feel bad, so I continued to march forward.
After crossing the desert-like terrain for a long time, I stepped onto land that felt more like a grassland, and the surroundings began to grow dark.
The sun was setting.
"Ah."
So, there's a night here.
I couldn't tell back in the desert because it was night there all day long.