The Abyss
I'd been in this other world for an hour, and I was squatting in the middle of a mountain of bones. 'What the hell am I supposed to do...'
I'd bravely climbed down from the pile of bones where I'd first landed, but I had no idea where to go next. In the end, I couldn't move an inch and just stayed right where I was. All I could see around me was pitch-black darkness and countless white bones with no owners.
Human and animal bones lay jumbled together, forming small hills of remains scattered everywhere. A cold wind blew in from beyond the inky void, and every so often the only sound was the clatter of bones tumbling from one of the piles.
I pulled my knees to my chest, huddling against the chill as I shivered. "Mom..."
I'd been sitting there with my head down, letting the wind bite at me, when I slowly lifted my gaze.
"...I can't just stay here like this."
I instinctively knew that if I didn't move, I'd just starve to death in this place. So I forced myself to stand, steeling my resolve.
"Fuck it... I'm not dying here."
I made the vow to myself in a trembling voice and began walking slowly into the darkness. At least my eyes had adjusted somewhat to the gloom, so I could make out my immediate surroundings. I moved one careful step at a time, inching forward.
Clatter!
"...!"
Even the sound of falling bones made me jump. I'd freeze, scanning the area in panic. I kept stopping like that as I advanced, and after what felt like thirty minutes I'd barely gone a few meters. Exhausted, I decided to rest for a moment.
"Haa..."
I found a relatively bone-free patch of ground and sat down, then looked back at the path I'd taken.
"At least I can't see where I started anymore..."
The massive pile of bones where I'd first appeared was no longer visible. Only smaller mounds dotted the area here and there.
"...Alright! It'll work out somehow!"
I stood up again and continued in the direction I'd been heading. After walking for what felt like forever, taking breaks along the way, I finally spotted something that wasn't a bone.
"A door...?"
What I'd found was a massive stone door. Carved into it was the image of the goddess I'd seen when I first arrived in this world. Even surrounded by piles of bones and trash, the enormous stone door looked incredibly sacred.
"Still... I've come this far...!"
Figuring it was better than wandering aimlessly, I approached the door. I slowly reached out and pushed against it with all my strength.
"Nnnnggggghhhhh!!!!!"
I pushed and pushed, but the door didn't budge an inch.
"...What the hell?"
I stepped back a little from the immovable door and stared at it carefully.
"Hmm... Maybe there's some kind of mechanism I need to activate...?"
I racked my brain trying to figure out how to open it. I looked around for any suspicious devices.
"Nothing on the left... So... the right! Nothing there either..."
I even tried praying to it.
"Goddess! Please open the door for me!!!!!"
I tried everything I could think of.
"Open sesame! Alohomora! Open the door!!!!!"
But despite all my desperate efforts, the door remained exactly as it was.
"So... I'm just going to die here...?"
Exhausted, I slumped down in front of the door, staring at it with glazed eyes. Was I really going to die alone in this strange world without even managing to open a single door? Would I just become another pile of bones among all these others?
"No..."
"I said no!!!"
I shot to my feet and marched back to the door.
"Open up!!!!!"
I grabbed the handle and shook it with everything I had.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!"
My whole body was rattling instead, but I didn't stop.
"Open already, damn it!!!!!!!!!"
I screamed like a madman, gripping the handle and shaking with all my might. Suddenly the door let out a metallic creeeak and swung open with ridiculous ease under my frantic pulling.
"Whoa!"
I couldn't handle the sudden momentum and fell flat on my ass.
"Ugh..."
Rubbing my sore backside, I stood up and stared at the door now open toward me.
"Fuck..."
"Fuuuuck!!!!!!"
I threw both hands in the air, tilted my head back toward the ceiling, and roared.
"It was a pull door all along!!!!!!!!"
For a moment I just ran around in front of the door, screaming with pure joy. Then, filled with swelling hope, I cautiously slipped through the opening.
Beyond the door was a corridor painted pure white from floor to ceiling, just like the place I'd first arrived in. The pillars along the walls and the ceiling were carved with the same goddess figure I'd seen on the door. And right in the middle of the corridor stood a skeleton completely covered in white bones.
"Huh? It's standing?"
Clatter-clatter.
The skeleton was staring straight at me, making that rattling sound.
"Uh... hello?"
I raised my hand and waved awkwardly. The skeleton raised its hands too. Only up to the elbows.
"Wait, what are you—"
Clatter!
The skeleton stretched both arms toward me and charged.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!! Are you insane!!!!!!! Stay back!!!!!!"
I screamed and threw myself back through the gap in the door, then immediately started pushing with all my strength.
"Close!!!!!!!"
Luckily the door moved with my push, slamming shut completely before the skeleton could reach it.
"......What the hell was that?"
I leaned against the door, gasping for breath. 'Was that really what I just saw?'
Until now I'd been in a daze, not fully believing I'd actually come to another world. But seeing a skeleton walking around on two legs felt like reality had just slapped me across the face. Trembling with fear, I collapsed right where I stood.
"...Maybe I should just go somewhere else—"
But the thought that there might be more walking skeletons in this massive space made my skin crawl.
"Then there's nowhere to go...!"
I clutched my head in despair. For a long time I just sat there, tearing at my hair.
"...Fuck it. Dying here or dying there, it's all the same."
Grinding my teeth, I slowly stood up and looked around until I found a bone of decent length.
"Hoo... Hoo..."
I took deep, steadying breaths, gripped the bone in one hand, and approached the door again. I grabbed the handle and pushed carefully. Thankfully, nothing was pushing from the other side. The door moved only with my strength.
The old door creaked loudly once more as it slowly opened toward me. I stared through the widening gap, focusing intently. No skeleton in sight. I opened it further. Holding the bone high above my head with one hand, I tried to calm my increasingly ragged breathing and took a cautious step forward.
I poked just my face through the gap and scanned the area. 'There it is!'
The walking skeleton had returned to the exact same spot where I'd first seen it. 'Did it reset or something?'
Just like a monster in a game, it stood motionless in that one place. 'Then I'll make the first move!'
If it wasn't moving, this was my chance to strike first. I pulled the door open just wide enough for my body to slip through, careful not to make any noise. The skeleton didn't seem to notice me. It remained facing the opposite direction, perfectly still.
I gripped the bone with both hands and clenched my jaw.
"Hoo... Hoo..."
'I can do this. I can do this. I have to do this. I have to do this.'
I repeated the mantra in my head as I moved forward without making a sound. When I was about halfway there, the skeleton suddenly began to move. It slowly turned its body, and the moment it did, I froze in place. My legs wouldn't budge. Meanwhile, the skeleton kept turning until it was facing me directly.
"Clatter-?"
It raised its arms again, tilting its skull in confusion.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!"
I screamed and ran. The skeleton chased after me with a loud clattering sound. I spun and sprinted toward the door, the skeleton right behind me. 'I can't run away!'
The second I realized I was fleeing, I forced myself to snap out of it. Luckily I was faster. The skeleton couldn't catch up. While running, I glanced back to gauge the distance and began adjusting my speed. The gap between us gradually closed. I gripped the bone in my hand even tighter, breathing hard.
When we were close enough, I suddenly whirled around and slammed on the brakes. The skeleton kept charging at full speed. I ducked under its outstretched arms and rushed straight at it.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!"
I swung the bone like a baseball bat, aiming for its pelvis.
"Die!!!!!!"
I smashed into its hip with everything I had. The combined force of my swing and its charge created a tremendous impact. The thing I'd called a walking skeleton was now very much a crawling skeleton. I kept hammering it over and over, turning it into nothing but scattered bone fragments.
"Huff... Huff..."
After reducing it to pieces, I put my hands on my knees, gasping for air. The bone I'd brought with me had shattered just like the skeleton. Empty-handed, I stared down the far end of the corridor.
"Please... let there be a way out..."
I walked along the pure white corridor. The light grew brighter as I approached the end, and there I found...
"...A room?"
It wasn't particularly huge, just a normal-sized chamber. There was no door; the space simply connected directly to the corridor, making it feel like the hallway had been built specifically to lead here. The ceiling was incredibly high, seemingly reaching all the way to the surface. The round, arched room had several pillars carved with what looked like the goddess's image, though many were so worn and broken it was hard to tell.
In the center of the room stood a platform about the height of a table, and on top of it was...
"A mask?"
It was a mask shaped like the face of an oni—one of those Japanese yokai—with a color like fresh, vivid blood.
"...An oni mask?"
I had no idea why there'd be an oni mask from Japanese folklore in another world, but I slowly reached out toward it anyway.
"...It's just a mask, right?"
It's not, though?
"Eeeeeeeeeeek!!!!!"
I let out a bizarre shriek, hurled the mask away, and fell on my ass again.
"Fuck! The mask is talking!!!!!!"
It was the most shocking moment I'd experienced since arriving in this other world.