A Narrow Escape
He laid a hand on the dolphin statue beside him.
"From a distance, this thing passes for a sculpture of a woman's body. Should anyone bound to me by Karmic Ties exist in this place, it would draw them in by instinct... and yet, in more than a thousand years, not a single human has ever come here."
"A thousand years?"
"That is how few share Karmic Ties with me."
The question rose on its own. What possible connection did I have with this shabby old man—no, this god? Chosen once in a millennium, stuck with a title grand enough to belong to some chosen hero... had I actually done anything in this life?
The old man smiled, the very picture of benevolence.
The old man stared straight into my wavering eyes, drew a long breath, and let it out.
"Why so unsure of yourself? Recall the moment you walked toward this statue. How blind you were! What I need is a beast of a man, one fit to throw his body into lust without a second thought."
"That... doesn't exactly sound like a compliment."
Courted this hard, playing dumb was getting difficult. Fine. I could at least hear the terms.
"All right. Fine. Then what is this power you're giving me? The one that lets even a beast get with a woman."
"At last. The proper attitude for accepting a contract."
The old man closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the light in his pupils had deepened.
"What is commonly called hypnosis—a power of the mind-manipulation class—"
In that instant, I understood. This meeting was neither chance nor mere connection. It was fate.
The contract was settled in a rush. Whether this was the afterlife or some delusion flashing past in the moment before death, what reason did I have to refuse? Even if I couldn't make full use of it, it was still a win. They were offering me hypnosis.
"I, Lee Dongwoo, Party B, do hereby transfer to Party A all authority over my life from the moment of my death—"
The moment the words ended, the yellowed paper in the old man's hand crumbled away like ash. I lowered the right hand I had been holding up as if taking an oath.
"Is the contract finished?"
"Take it."
The old man tossed me a small envelope no bigger than a ping-pong ball. It was a little medicine packet printed with a mask that resembled the Joker, and inside lay an extremely fine white powder. Strange—his hands had definitely been empty. He opened his palm toward me.
"There is no time to explain each thing in turn. I shall attach one to stand in my place."
"Gah!?"
I had definitely heard it. A gender-neutral voice, impossible to place as a woman or a young boy.
The old man, who had been watching me, broke into a hearty laugh.
"Ho ho. Don't be frightened. Say hello."
"Wh-what is that?"
"Remarkable, isn't it? An artificial personality I shaped with my own hands, as close to a living being as such a thing can come."
"An artificial personality?"
Some kind of AI? Or one of those fairy-like things in novels that hang around helping the protagonist?
"Ugh..."
I rubbed at my itching ear. A voice slamming into me out of empty air—the sensation was deeply strange.
It is fascinating, though. What's the principle?
"W-what? I didn't say anything. Don't tell me this thing can read my thoughts too?"
The old man nodded.
"A personality on an entirely different level from the imitations humans make. It is only natural that a few functions capable of surprising you have been built in."
"O-oh. Is that so?"
Having my thoughts read was a little embarrassing. Even I didn't know what I might end up imagining.
First time? Is that even possible...?
The old man, who had been quietly watching, spoke.
"The sensation will feel awkward, but endure it. The use of my power is complicated and its abilities many, so this one's help will be essential. And as it said, it will remain with you only until your first experience, then disappear."
"Uh... yes, I understand. Then... what should I call this one? Did you give it a name?"
"Well... I cannot say whether it will suit your taste, but I called it Chio."
"Chio? That's cute. I like it."
"Do you? I took it from fellatio."
"...Ah."
Chuckling, the old man shifted his gaze toward the distant light.
"Anything else you wish to ask? Speak quickly. I must send you back to the world of the living before that light devours you entirely."
"What?"
Devour my body?
"...!"
I looked down. The mist that had been scattered around the statue had already crept within arm's reach, and the tendril stretching toward me had swallowed my arm like a living snake.
"Th-the powder I was holding..."
"Do not worry about that."
The old man's eyes began to blaze. This time it wasn't an impression. They were truly shining.
"I say this only out of an old man's fussing... the world you will arrive in is not the inside of a VR game. But my power is so extraordinary that, though it is reality, it may feel like a game. Even so—you have only one life."
"You're telling me not to die, right?"
"You catch on perfectly. In truth, nothing about it should be difficult. Remember that your life is both my amusement and my fervent wish."
"Of course. If it's a hypnosis humiliation game, I've got this."
I'd have to see the hypnosis this god was granting me before I knew what it really was, but I'd played so many games of that sort that I already had a feel for it. And this Chio, or whatever it was, was supposed to help me. Wait. Did I actually have more talent than I thought?
The old man drew close and quietly laid a hand on my chest. Something hot burrowed into me there.
Thump. Thump.
The same soaring high I'd felt in high school, the first time I watched hypnosis porn. Honestly, I was already so thrilled I thought I might lose my mind.
The old man looked down at my palm, already swallowed by the mist.
"Do not be too tense. That powder I gave you—properly speaking, it is a costly power that defies causality, one you could not use in your present state. Its effects are exceptional in equal measure, so use it in a way that matters."
"Yes, sir... I'll do my very best."
"Hm. The time has come to part. Until the day you die, I shall cheer on your debauched life."
"...Right. Thanks for the cheer that doesn't feel much like a cheer—"
In an instant, white washed over my vision. The last thing my eyes held was the benevolent smile lingering at the old man's lips.
"——!"
"————!"
If I ever went skydiving, would it feel like this? A dizzying weightlessness. An unfamiliar itch crawled through every corner of my body, and whether I closed my eyes or opened them, the whole world was pitch black. I was terrified. I screamed, but the scream came back muffled, as if I had plunged underwater. Somewhere, a monster that swallowed voices had its maw gaping wide.
"Hah—!"
In that moment, my entire life flashed before my eyes. A man who had lived obsessed with hypnosis—a slightly special specimen of lifelong virgin, awkward nobody, and certified loser.
"..."
Fuck. This is bullshit.
No... it was bullshit.
In that instant, I decided.
If there's a woman I want to fuck, I fuck her!
Even if the hypnosis power is garbage, I'll wring some use out of it and humiliate them anyway!
That's my self-satisfaction, my self-improvement, and my one and only goal!!
"...!"
The moment I felt my body move, I bolted upright. I was gasping, and little by little my vision pulled into focus.
A hospital?
An IV stuck in my arm, a hard bed under me—there was no mistaking it. This was a hospital. Just then, the nurse who had been adjusting the IV of the elderly woman across from me turned her head this way.
"...Eh?"
Why was she staring like that?
A moment later, the nurse's eyes flew wide.
"D-Doctor Kim!"
I sat cross-legged on the hospital bed and rubbed at my temples.
"Are you in any pain?"
"Hard to say. Aside from my head feeling a little foggy, nothing really."
"Hmm..."
The doctor skimmed the chart and tilted his head.
"Your brain activity was practically at the level of brain death... cases like this are extremely rare. It's almost as natural as someone who had been asleep simply waking up."
"..."
Brain-dead. Well, I had slammed my head into solid asphalt.
And the moment I grabbed the smartphone on the bedside table, I knew. My memories were neither a dream nor a hallucination.
Yeah. I can hear you so fucking well my head hurts.
I answered the voice at my ear in my head. It had been talking to me nonstop from the moment I opened my eyes, and within a few minutes I'd picked up how to converse with it. Talking inside my own head wasn't as hard as I'd expected.
I'll call you Chio. I'm counting on you.
Yeah, yeah. But you really disappear after that?
I was quietly talking with Chio when the doctor glanced at my expression and muttered to himself.
"You woke only two hours after being registered as a long-term inpatient... I can only call it a miracle. And before we could even contact your guardian..."
"Whew."
Thank god. If word had reached my parents, the cleanup alone would have been a mess, and living on my own would have come with restrictions. I'd even gotten a hypnosis power. Going back to my parents' house was the last thing I wanted.
I yawned and met the doctor's eyes.
"So... about when can I be discharged?"
"A coma isn't exactly a common condition... wouldn't it be best to observe your progress for at least a month?"
"The thing is, I don't have the money to pay the hospital bill. Honestly, I was already worrying about what to do with the admission fee."
"Ah, as for the admission fee..."
The nurse who had been putting away the oxygen respirator cut into the conversation.
"A gentleman who asked to remain anonymous already paid a month's admission fees before he left. You don't need to worry."