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Chapter 1 – Awakening
Suddenly, as I awakened, the inside of the room was dark.
What, is it still night outside?
It’s not like I had a nightmare or something. Well anyway, if it’s still night then I should go to sleep again, there is school tomorrow after all. As I thought that, I felt a discomfort in my body.
Somehow, my body is awfully painful.
No, the bed I’m sleeping on is too hard due to which I am feeling pain everywhere.
There’s no way I would sleep here. What’s wrong with me? Did I sleep in a weird posture and fell off my bed or something? Something like that has not happened to me since the time I was born……..
Anyway, as I thought of going back to my bed, my body—-didn’t move.
I realized that I was so completely paralyzed that not even a finger could be moved. Is this the so called sleep paralysis? This is my first experience, but I would have been glad if this happened while I was at least lying on my bed because even though I can’t move my body, the sensation of the hard floor is perfectly transmitted. As I was at a loss as to what should I do now, my eyes finally adjusted to the darkness and the surroundings became clearer.
………Where the hell is this?
There, I finally noticed, that I was not sleeping in my room. Still in a paralyzed state, my neck didn’t move but my eyes could so I surveyed my surroundings.
It was a completely empty room. I’m probably lying in the middle of the room and other than me nothing existed inside this room of around 6 tatami mats.
In my view, not a single door existed either. A fearful thought flew into my mind, that maybe I’m trapped in a room with not a single opening.
What is this? Seriously, where the hell is this? Why am I in this kind of situation?
A bad dream; is what I wanted to think but my consciousness is way too clear and even though I can’t move, the sensation of my body clearly exists. I am unable to doubt that this is not real.
That, that’s right I think I am starting to remember some things—I wasn’t sleeping in my room, I was at school. Right, I was at the clubroom after school. I am a member of the literature club which doesn’t fit someone like me who has a big body and sharp eyes. Inside the scarcely crowded club room I was excitedly thinking of writing my favourite type of chuuni filled light novel, no that’s not right, at that time I was alone with Shirasaki-san in an awkward atmosphere.
During that, out of nowhere I had a headache………and fainted, I think.
Somehow, the memories of the time when I got the headache and fell of my seat faintly came back to me. With an overreaction like that, I caused Shirasaki-san unneeded worry. Also, has my family been properly informed about this?
Leaving that aside, I fainted in the clubroom so is this a hospital? No, a hospital would never lay a patient on such a hard pedestal; even field hospitals don’t treat you that way. Maybe they thought I died and was sent to the morgue? Even corpses are laid down on proper mats, or rather, my thoughts are leaping too far. There is no way something like that would happen.
No, but that ‘not possible’ situation is exactly what I am in right now. Just what kind of story is behind the reason that I was laid down in such a place? Could it be that I was kidnapped? Obviously, I have a normal family you can find anywhere. My father is a civil servant and mother is a housewife. Something like I am the son of a rich noble family, or prince of some country or some other extraordinary birth circumstances doesn’t exist. The only thing extraordinary is probably the appearances of my parents.
But, something like a mix-up—-my further incoherent thoughts were suddenly interrupted.
Uooh, too bright!!
Suddenly, the room was filled with light.
Due the instant change from dark to light, my eyes temporarily stopped working. But, after a few seconds I got used to the light, but the changes in the room were not just limited to that.
I sensed the presence of other humans.
Not something vague, but clear sounds of boots resounding on the hard floor. The fact that someone came cleared the fact that I was not locked in an airtight room. But that relief was also instantly blown away.
The person who came into my view, his appearance was too extraordinary.
Clad in something like a white mantle and his head was also covered with a hood. It would have been fine if it was just that.
He’s wearing a white mask. Just looking at it, my wariness level instantly jumped to MAX. Not a gasmask, but the type worn in operas, simple yet the whole surface was covered with abnormal designs.
What the hell? These guys are definitely dangerous!
The people in my view were 3, all of them were wearing similar outfits.
Are these guys running some kind of weird religion or something? However, I still lay paralyzed and I could do nothing but look around restlessly unable to move even a finger, and unable to make even some moaning sounds.
I could feel cold sweat running down my cheek. I don’t really understand but I’m definitely in a very desperate situation right now.
「مهلا، أن استيقظ」
Suddenly, one the masked men said something.
「لا تقلق ، أنا على أي حال مواصلة العمل」
To that, another one answered.
Even though I was already in despair, I was further pushed into even more despair. That’s because I don’t understand a single word of what these masked men are talking about.
At the very least, it is not English or Chinese or any other foreign language that I might be familiar with.
Although, I, who barely got average marks in English might not have been able to understand it too. At least it’s not English, that’s for sure. Completely ignoring me who was totally in panic and chaos, the masked men continued their conversation.
That conversation suddenly, or so I thought, when one the masked men brought out a white ring. It looked like a fluorescent lamp in the shape of ring, but that’s not it. But then again, what was that special ring without any ornaments was not something I knew. A tool I have never seen before. As I wondered what they would do with it, suddenly from inside the ring, thin needles came out.
Total of 7 needles came out. With a *kashun* sound I certainly saw them coming out. I thought they were pretty but at the same time I also had a bad premonition.
Similar to how it came out, they went back in an instant and the ring returned to normal. And then the masked man who held the ring brought it towards my head—
O, Oi, Oi, wait, wait a second, don’t bring something dangerous like that, where needles fly out, towards my head!!!
Unable to neither move my body, nor produce any voice, other than restlessly moving my eyes and sweating from the whole body, I could not give out any other reaction.
The masked man, without any hesitation, with practiced hands, stuck the ring to my head.
Stop it, seriously stop it!
If the needles came out now, what is going to happen to my head?
With that length, they definitely reach my brain, and there are 7 of them!
I’ll die, I’ll surely die.
The fear of death instantly overcame me, but, I had no way to put up any resistance. Even crying and shouting while shivering in an unsightly manner was not allowed to me.
In what was barely a few seconds, the ring was set on my head.
Stop, please stop—
Unable to speak out, mercilessly, from my head, came a *kashun* sound.
And at the end, I lost my consciousness.
Many thanks for this awesome chapter and the awesome novel!