JANUARY—THE month of sporadic snowfall. I finished my university entrance exams and was on the road home. I did the best I could, but my best didn’t even scratch the surface of what was needed to score decently. I’ve never had a knack for studying. Depressed, I glanced upward and sharply inhaled—Kou was right in front of my eyes.
“The great Hear My Heart is coming for you to experience up-close and personal after its massive remake!”
A pompously smirking Kou gazed at me from a pose that awkwardly kinked his neck. Apparently, they weren’t releasing a sequel, but a remake of the game. Fixated on the promotion poster in the game store window, I walked toward it—until I was suddenly floating. Right where I had stepped was an open manhole. Swallowed whole by the gaping hole of darkness, the hair on my arms and the back of my neck stood up as I fell.
Ah, I’m going to die. Those were my last thoughts. Without a second to think of anything else, my consciousness cut off.