The sky was too violet to be earthly.
The air shimmered like the surface of water, and the ground beneath their feet was dry and rough, even though trees resembling pines grew nearby—only sharper, more menacing.
Six people woke up in the same place. None of them knew how they had gotten there. Each of them remembered only... the light — and the cold.
The first to rise was Mina Tachibana — a nineteen-year-old girl from Japan, dressed in a school uniform. Her face was calm, though her eyes were wide open
— ...Is this a dream? she asked softly, but no one answered.
Right beside her, Ren Okabe sat up — a boy with a cold gaze, wearing a black athletic tracksuit. His hand instinctively touched the ground. It wasn't cold.
— No. Too real
Takashi Morimoto, a twenty-year-old with messy hair and a heavy backpack, looked around, shielding his eyes from the sun that hung motionless in the sky.
— Something's... off.
— This isn't Japan... said Yuki, a petite girl with pale skin and distinctive blue tips in her hair. She held a small cross in her hand that had somehow appeared around her neck.
Haruto, the youngest of them, remained silent. He was sixteen, and his face showed more understanding than fear. His eyes gazed into the distance, as if... he knew more than he should.
The sixth person — Tenji Akimoto — sat off to the side, staring at the screen of his smartphone, which now displayed nothing but a black void. He sighed.
— Great. I can't even call for pizza.
Everyone looked at him with a mix of surprise and relief. The laughter was brief — but needed.