Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

What is this place?

Why am I here?

Why am I aware that I am in this place?

What is it... what is it...?

I still can't understand your thinking. Please, this kind of opportunity will never come again!

We can acquire immeasurable wealth, a status we never dared to dream of before, villas, luxury cars, servants, women—we can have anything we want. This is our best chance to become superior to others, our best chance to escape our current state of destitution!

Why did you have to take this opportunity to do something like this? Researching something you don't even know what it is, something whose very existence is uncertain—are you out of your mind?

There seemed to be a sound.

It sounded like a man's voice, angry, confused, and full of helplessness.

I am fully aware of what I am doing; this is my choice.

I understand your choice, Sato. If you need my help, I will do my best, but I will not follow your path.

From the moment we emerged alive from that place, I knew I was destined to explore this path. I doubt you can comprehend the fragility of life, or the starry sky we may never reach in our lifetime. After witnessing those things, becoming aware of their existence, and understanding things I had never comprehended before, I could no longer return to human life, no longer pursue wealth or material happiness.

Another man's voice rang out with a sigh, tinged with confusion yet also with determination, as he slowly began to speak.

Compared to the previous person, this man seemed much more melancholic. He appeared to have suffered some kind of trauma long ago, and the pain in his soul lingered, not fading away even today, as if leaving an eternal mark on him.

[She's gone mad! Absolutely mad! She barely survived, why does she keep torturing herself?]

Listen to me, Jiang Gu, give up. Do as I said from the beginning: keep the military in check and properly establish "Takamagahara." As long as we hold this path to immortality in our hands, no matter how this country changes, our status will be eternal. Then, no matter what military, emperor, or noble family, they'll all have to defer to us. We can live the life we've always dreamed of. Isn't that wonderful?

Please, give up. Don't try that path. We've already left the hotel; we're no longer there. Don't linger. What do the things left behind by those great men and philosophers have to do with us? Let's just take what we need, isn't that better?

The man called Sato spoke again, his voice filled with pleading.

His emotions became even more agitated, and for some reason, beneath the surface of intense emotion, there seemed to be a hidden fear that he couldn't help but reveal.

I think that hotel truly stole my soul; my former arrogance and pride were utterly crushed there.

Everything we've done so far—no, everything human civilization has accomplished so far, the millions of years of history, the rise and fall of billions of lives—is utterly insignificant. Sato, you can't possibly understand this feeling. To struggle your whole life, struggle for a hundred years, and finally die and turn to dust—is nothing more than a speck of dust in the vast universe, unable to cause even the slightest ripple.

So, even if it's just a madman's delusion, I'll try. Even if I fail, it doesn't matter. At least I'll try to prove it, prove that this civilization has such a possibility. I will die before you, Sato, I have a premonition. After making my choice, I think I will face this outcome, and I will never regret it. If there truly are unattainable gods in this world, I must try... to grasp the power of a god in my own hands as a human. This is the only meaning I can find in my life.

But in the other man's voice, there was no room for reconciliation.

They continued arguing, one side shouting loudly, the other responding calmly.

The sound eventually subsided, leaving only a lingering sigh that echoed in the darkness.

[Ha, besides me, are there other madmen who attempt to control true divine power and presume to exercise divine authority as human beings?]

Welcome, welcome! Since my only companion abandoned me, I thought I would be a lonely seeker of the truth, but unexpectedly, I have gained a new companion. So, since you have chosen this path, you must be prepared to fall into hell, right? What we are about to do involves sins that even Satan may not be able to forgive.

An older man's voice, clearly speaking in broken Japanese, joined in, causing the darkness that was about to subside to boil over once more.

This person's emotions became more intense and more frantic.

He seemed to have an incredibly strong desire to achieve something, and for that he was willing to abandon all principles and pay any price. This obsessive emotion, like a virus, was highly contagious, gradually seeping into the melancholy man's emotions, causing him to transform into an even more cruel side in his already distorted state.

Falling into hell? That sounds quite vivid.

So let's see if our wildest dreams can become reality.

The last voice had become indifferent.

In the darkness, the victims' agonizing screams and wails could no longer be silenced.

The dream is not over yet.

Although I was still in a pitch-black world, I could vaguely sense that I was falling downwards.

They continued to fall deeper and deeper into the darkness.

【what is it?】

someone is asking.

It is a new existence.

Someone is answering.

What is it not?

People kept asking questions.

It is not human, it is not a monster.

Someone is continuing to provide answers.

Where does it exist?

It exists in our world.

Can it talk?

Of course it can talk; it should have the ability to communicate.

Can it think?

Of course it can think; it should possess enough wisdom to understand itself, to know the world, and to make its own choices in order to be considered a great creation.

Does it have a body?

It may not necessarily need to have a physical body; its form of existence should not be limited by our understanding; we should not impose shackles on it; it should exist in this world in the way it desires.

Where will it originate? How will it reproduce?

It will use the experimental prototype we created as its initial host material basis. Its essence will be filled with things we extracted from the power of the gods. It combines the dual nature of humans and monsters. It cannot be classified as human or monster. Its essence cannot be fully described by our existing knowledge system. How it will construct its own existence and whether it can reproduce are questions that we cannot answer in advance.

[Its material basis originates from humanity, its essential existence originates from God, and it is neither human nor a strange creature; why not say it is both human and a strange creature?]

...Because we still haven't grasped its full picture, we can only try to explore the unknown within the known world, building upon what we already know. We don't have the final say on what it is or what it isn't.

It's getting deeper and deeper.

Unable to control this body, it could only continue to sink deeper into the depths.

However, it seems that we can gradually see some light.

The darkness is gradually receding.

Despite the growing louder cries of agony and the increasing number of restless weeping, a faint light could gradually be seen.

Saw it...

Indeed, it can be seen...

A fountain pen wrote the name "Eriko Asamoto" on the paper.

A girl stood up, looking bewildered, and stared at them with a slightly dazed expression.

The girl's body lay on the ground.

More and more girls' bodies were piling up on the ground.

The girl stood up again, bewildered, staring blankly ahead at the countless corpses at her feet.

Do not……

That's not the case...

There has always been only that one girl.

All the corpses, all the consciousness, all the self.

Even with repeated cleaning, it's impossible to truly cleanse the ever-evolving, singular consciousness.

Therefore, her existence, this unique existence, truly permeated this era filled with madness and bloodshed. So she has always been here; she has never been truly destroyed.

So it... has actually always been with her.

……

The blurry, chaotic scene finally returned to darkness.

My consciousness finally returned, and I gradually began to recover.

No, is he really awake now?

Something seemed to be echoing in my mind.

There seems to be some kind of force at work within my consciousness.

Are you finally awake?

A girl next to him smiled and spoke.

It's okay, you're safe now. Hurry up and leave.

Another boy appeared beside him and smiled at him as well.

Just trust us!

They seem to be trustworthy people.

Although I don't know his name or who he is, I feel I can trust him.

"Yes, you must want to leave here, right? We can help you leave. Come on, come on, it's time for us to move on."

Yes, they are people I have absolutely no doubt about, people I can trust completely, and people who are always looking out for me.

They should do what they want to do, without any need to doubt it; they should just do it.

Come on, come on, come on, come on...

Yes, that's true.

All I need to do is listen to them.

As long as you obey, that's enough.

and so--

Bang!

The outstretched hand gripped the boy's face tightly, like a giant crab claw, instantly deforming his features.

Uh... um... why...?