she screamed in frustration, and suddenly she threw the device with all her strength onto the ground.

  It shattered into scattered pieces.

  The walls around them began to crack slowly, the sound deafening.

  And then they collapsed completely.

  Strange creatures ran in every direction without stopping.

  A massive dragon fled, roaring, as a pack of ghouls chased it fiercely.

  A wizard ran behind a tiny goblin who had stolen his magic wand, spreading chaos wherever he went.

  And above them, a black cloud suddenly formed in the sky, unleashing violent lightning that struck the ground again and again.

  In the middle of it all, Haruki and Yami stood emotionlessly, watching the chaos unfold like it was a boring TV show.

  Haruki raised his phone to his ear and spoke calmly.

  "Hey, Nor."

  A voice on the other end replied, irritated and cold.

  "How many times have I told you not to call me that? … What is it, you idiot?"

  Haruki answered with complete nonchalance.

  "Yami and I… kinda broke the control device."

  "You what?!"

  Noroi shouted directly into his ear, making Haruki wince a little from the volume, but he responded in the same indifferent tone.

  "Come on, man. It's not the worst thing we've done."

  Noroi sighed deeply, rubbing his temple like his head was starting to throb.

  He wasn't ready to deal with their nonsense today.

  But he didn't even get the chance to think…

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  BOOM!

  The fleeing dragon stomped on the broken controller, crushing it further until only sparks remained. Wild electric currents burst out in all directions.

  Haruki watched the scene, rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and commented in a skeptical tone.

  "I think we... might be in bigger trouble now."

  Yami raised her hand and gave Haruki a light smack on the back as she smiled.

  "Brilliant as always! I never would've noticed without your genius insight."

  The electric currents surging from the shattered control device grew stronger, intensifying until they began to distort time and space around you, warping everything.

  And then suddenly darkness fell.

  A complete blackout.

  The connection between you and Haruki was cut off.

  And so... time rewound,

  Back to a distant past, twenty three years ago.

  In the year 2001, in Japan , specifically, in Kyoto , where Nagisa lived with his mother in a modest home.

  Spring was knocking on the door.

  Flowers began to bloom, the air grew warmer, and the city was painted in bright colors brimming with life.

  Nagisa woke to sunlight pouring through the bedroom window beside his messy bed.

  He blinked lazily, his eyes barely open, rubbing them with both hands to shake off the sleep.

  He stretched his limbs with a long yawn and scratched his bedhead hair.

  Standing up, he glanced at the wall clock... only to realize it was already 9 a.m.

  He was late for an important job interview.

  He rushed out of bed to get dressed, racing against time as he hurried down the stairs.

  Adjusting his navy blue suit, he spaced out for just a second.

  And that second was enough.

  He tripped over one of his dog's toys, his foot slipped on a step, and he tumbled violently down the stairs, crashing onto the hard floor.

  He lay there, staring up at the white ceiling in defeat.

  Taking a breath, he gathered himself and sat up again.

  "What a wonderfully optimistic start to the day"

  he muttered sarcastically, mocking his own misfortune.

  He looked at the wristwatch on his right hand , it was well past nine.

  He got to his feet quickly and rushed to the door.

  Grabbing the iron handle, he twisted it open.

  Sunlight burst through the door, hitting his face and forcing him to shut his eyes for a moment until he adjusted to the brightness.

  When he opened them again.

  The sunlight wasn't harsh.

  It was warm.

  A gentle spring warmth that felt like it could breathe life into a lifeless body.

  He stepped forward a few paces and stood by the freshly paved road.

  Raising his hand, he tried to hail the first yellow taxi he saw ,but the driver ignored him, as if he didn't see anyone standing there, and drove right past.

  Nagisa let out a weary sigh, the kind that only comes from a lifetime of bad luck.

  He wished that just something ,anything , would happen to change the way he saw his life.

  He stood there, muttering words only he could hear, like a madman talking to himself in broad daylight.

  Collecting his thoughts, he broke into a jog through the city streets.

  On his way, he splashed through puddles left behind by last night's rain, soaking his newly bought black dress shoes, the ones he had gotten specifically for this interview.

  It felt like everything was against him at that moment, but nothing, not even himself , was going to stop him from getting that job.

  He kept running until he finally reached the company building.