Ai Oto

Evening was slowly descending upon the city. After classes, the college was nearly empty: the voices of students were fading, lecture hall doors were closing, and the lights in the corridors were gradually dimming.

Ai had stayed later than usual. Standing by a second-floor window, she noticed something strange in the courtyard.

A door had appeared between two of the buildings.

A perfectly ordinary dark door—without a number, a sign, or any indication that it should even be there. It certainly hadn't been there this morning.

— It wasn't here before...

Ai hurried downstairs. The closer she got, the quieter the surrounding world became. The city noise vanished, the wind died down, and the light from the streetlamps began to look unreal.

She stopped before the door and cautiously touched the handle.

— No... Not this again.

For a moment, she thought she heard a familiar child's voice from behind the door. Ai jerked her hand away.

— I don't want anything to do with this anymore...

Footsteps sounded behind her.

Ai turned and saw me.

— You're still here?

She glanced quickly at the door, trying to shield it with her body.

— I'm just checking something. There's nothing interesting here. You should probably go home.

At that moment, a faint click echoed from behind the door.

Ai froze.

A shimmering light bled out from under the door. A small, white object appeared on the floor beside her.

An egg.

Ai stared at it for several seconds, unable to believe her eyes.

— No...

She knew all too well what the appearance of an egg meant. Once before, things like this had dragged her into a world where the fears and traumas of others became reality.

— This can't be happening. I thought it was over.

The door slowly creaked open.

Beyond it lay a distorted space, resembling both the familiar college and a stranger's dream: staircases ascended in impossible directions, walls dissolved into darkness, and instead of the night city, the windows looked out onto a colorless sky.

Ai took a step back.

— This isn't just a memory...

Something stirred in the depths of the space. A dark figure appeared on the wall, looking far too much like the creatures Ai had encountered before.

— Wonder Killer...

She whispered the name, almost inaudibly.

Ai looked at me. There was no point in hiding the truth anymore.

— Listen. If you step in there now, getting back out might not be so easy…

She didn't get to finish.

The door swung wide. The air was violently sucked inward. The light died, and the floor beneath her feet seemed to vanish.

A few moments later, Ai opened her eyes.

She was lying on a cold floor. Absolute silence reigned around her.

The college was still there, but it looked completely different. The corridor seemed endless, the lights were dead, and instead of the night city, the windows revealed only a void of gray space.

Ai slowly stood up.

— ...We're inside the egg.

She looked at me. There was no longer any attempt to pretend that everything was under control.

— Fine... It looks like I'll have to explain a few things.

A familiar sound echoed from somewhere far away. Ai froze.

A dark figure appeared at the end of the corridor.

— …You see it too, don't you?

Why does this have to happen right now…