The Unfamiliar City
My life hadn't been particularly extraordinary.
I just went with the flow, reached high school, studied enough to get into a decent university, graduated, took some odd jobs, and ended up in a small-to-medium enterprise despite turning down big corporations.
That was my path up to now.
But… where exactly am I now?
I had clearly spent the last Sunday enjoying myself and was lying down exhausted, yet this place wasn't a bed, a house, or a company.
It was a room buzzing with an unpleasant mechanical hum.
“Is this a submarine?”
The interior gleamed with a fresh, spotless metallic sheen.
The space was long and streamlined, trapping me inside like a small submersible.
The door was sealed tight with a hatch; even if I pushed with all my strength, it wouldn't budge.
A faint unease began to rise.
But if I just sat quietly with the fear, nothing would get done.
So I decided to figure out the situation first.
I glanced around. There was a cabinet, mysterious machinery, and a faintly glowing cube-shaped object.
The room was spacious enough for two people. The cube in the center felt crucial.
I tried to nudge the green cube. It looked expensive, but with a glass case, I couldn't risk taking it out.
I moved on and started checking the cabinet. It was full of water and food supplies.
“Emergency rations?”
I couldn't taste them, but I didn't mind. I closed the cabinet anyway.
Next came the machinery. It looked like a modern kiosk with a black screen. I tapped it.
“Beep.”
A short sound followed, and white light filled the screen.
The display was packed with diagrams and text.
I realized they were survival tools—water purifiers, expansion machines, and some mystery combat simulators.
They listed materials I knew, materials I didn't, and plenty of unknowns. The unknowns outnumbered the knowns.
After some time, unease turned to a desperate urge to escape. I headed for the window instead.
I thought any camera or hidden watcher might be playing a prank. I needed help, so I looked for a way out.
A faint light seeped in, which I assumed was sunlight.
As I got closer, it grew clearer.
When I pressed my face to the glass…
“Eh?”
The word slipped out naturally.
My mind saw the fact but refused to believe it.
A boundless darkness—endless abyss—seized my eyes first.
Behind it came a glowing presence. There was a source of light, but it wasn't a star, screen, or bacteria.
I heard a strange engine whine growing louder in my head.
The outside was pitch black, yet the light stood out sharply.
A green barrier divided the darkness from the old city.
It looked exactly like a lost ancient metropolis.
Towers rose impossibly high and wide, overwhelming.
The same barrier surrounded my location, blocking the darkness.
But seeing the dark made me wonder. Where was the sun?
The sun always existed in the sky. No matter what, the heavens couldn't be empty.
That was the question gnawing at me. I lowered my gaze until my chin touched the floor.
Above was a wall of green light. A single glowing point stood out.
It seemed the sky was still intact.
Stars scattered across the heavens—
Crunch.
A disgusting sound entered my ear. Something was being forcibly torn, like gnawed at.
I turned my head toward the noise. My retina captured it instantly.
Something clung to the barrier like a leech.
It was trying to devour the overwhelming shield.
That thing. That thing.
I couldn't describe it. It stretched long flesh like meat strips, seared its face with fire, shaped it, and stuffed predator teeth into its mouth.
It looked like a dragon or a snake as it gnawed the barrier.
Its teeth kept breaking off.
Tuk. Thud. Tuk. Thud.
It didn't care; it kept gnawing endlessly.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The teeth were barely grown before they shattered.
The moment its tooth hit the floor again, the sky collapsed.
BOOM—!!!
A vibration shook my whole body.
The thing had crushed the sky. Or was it the sky?
Thousands, tens of thousands, maybe millions of eyes lined its tentacles.
Modern skyscrapers couldn't compare to how it raised itself on the meat.
The ceiling still glowed.
“Hah… ugh.”
Breathing was hard. What was that? Why was I here? Where was I? Were those eyes staring at me?
Everything felt suspicious. I couldn't hold on.
I'd rather it had been a nightmare.
I stepped back from the window and leaned against the farthest wall, near the faint cube.
I covered my head with my hands and breathed as shallow and faint as I could.
Fear, raw and clear, wrapped around me.
My body was pinned by invisible pressure; I couldn't even move a finger.
This was like the pressure of the deep sea.
A force beyond human resistance.
I closed my eyes, praying it wouldn't wake me.
Then light appeared.
Was it the tentacle? No, it was text.
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