[Slide—]
Y/N pushed open the sliding door to the yard and slipped on his shoes.
Already envisioning his future life, he walked into the yard and stopped before a small shed. He tugged at the door, found it unlocked, and pushed it open.
The next instant, a faint chill wafted out from within, making him shiver.
"Why is it so cold? The weather out here is actually rather warm."
Puzzled, Y/N pulled out his phone, turned on the flashlight, and shone it inside. It was nothing more than a typical storage shed—brooms, shovels, and dirt.
"So that chill just now... was probably nothing more than an illusion."
"Seeds? Planning to start a vegetable patch in the yard?" he muttered.
Still grumbling, Y/N stepped into the shed. There, on the very back of the shelf, he spotted a small black box. A note was stuck to the top.
"Placed so deliberately in a spot like this... could it be some kind of hidden item?"
Since transmigrating, after hours of searching he hadn't discovered a single supernatural anomaly. After a moment's hesitation, he still reached out to take the box down.
It seemed to be made of iron; the touch of it carried a faint chill.
And although it sat in a shed thick with dust, this little box was clean—it even gleamed faintly, looking as if it were brand new.
Y/N lowered his head to read the note stuck on the box. On it was a single line:
[Do not let anyone know where you came from.]
"What does that mean?"
Before he could puzzle over the message, there came a soft click. The lid of the box opened on its own.
At that very moment, his vision was swallowed in darkness. Almost instantly, Y/N lost consciousness.
And then, in that haze, he heard a voice.
It was impossible to tell whether it belonged to a man or a woman. The voice alone was enough to send chills down his spine.
It said:
[Welcome to the "Sacrifice Game."]
[The level of the game you are about to enter is: Dusk.]
[May you, in true terror, bear witness to the end of all things.]
...
Y/N had a dream.
He dreamed he had become the harem emperor of this anime world, effortlessly winning over beautiful girls—living a life of pure indulgence.
No one could oppose him. Because he possessed a supreme System that granted him ultimate power and wealth simply by checking in each day.
And all he needed to do each day was enjoy himself...
Ah...
Days like that were truly perfect...
And then his dream ended.
That overly decadent dream dissolved like mist, leaving no trace behind.
What replaced it was a faint, chilling atmosphere, the sensation of being wrapped in cold air as if inside an old shelter.
"What's going on?"
Before even opening his eyes, Y/N had already caught a smell—like something had gone moldy.
No, it was more like the faint rot of damp wood and dust. The kind of odor that only came from a house long abandoned.
"So... where am I?"
Y/N opened his eyes.
A ceiling he didn't recognize.
White walls covered in cracks, with electrical wires exposed, connecting to a hanging lamp above. The bulb was coated in a film of dust so thick he couldn't even see the glass.
On one side of the room, two windows had been boarded up with planks and covered with white cloth. Only a dim light seeped through. Judging by the brightness, it still seemed to be daytime.
His gaze drifted on. Peeling paint, a small round table with a broken leg. On top of the table sat a dead potted plant.
Beside the table, there was a door frame but no door. Through it he could see a cramped little kitchen filled with dirty bowls.
At the far end, stood an old wooden door split by a crack. On the cabinet beside the headboard lay a single sheet of A4 printer paper. Unlike the rest of the room's contents, this page bore almost no dust—it looked as if it had been placed there only recently.
"This place... looks like a small rental unit that had been abandoned for quite some time."
"Why had I suddenly appeared here?"
"A kidnapping?"
No—that didn't fit. In his memory, at the very last moment before the blackout, there hadn't been the slightest sign of an attack.
And now, right beside him, there was clearly another person.
Y/N could hear her breathing and catch the faint fragrance of women's shampoo.
A woman was lying at his side, in this shabby house, on the very same bed as him.
Her breathing rhythm had already changed the moment he turned his head.
"She is most likely pretending to be asleep."
"A honey trap?"
But wait—would anyone really kidnap someone from their own home, then set up a trap in a ruin? That didn't seem right.
Either way, he needed to get up first and assess the situation.
[Buzz—]
But before Y/N could make a move, a shrill noise—like nails scraping across a blackboard—suddenly rang inside his head.
In that instant, Y/N found his body completely immobilized, frozen stiff as though he had been turned to stone.
[Buzz—]
The sound was unbearable, lasting a good ten seconds before it finally began to fade.
Then came a voice—its gender impossible to discern, its tone so distorted that just hearing it sent a chill crawling through his bones.
[Welcome to the Sacrifice Game]
"The words sounded strangely familiar, as if I had only just heard them moments ago."
[Player Y/N, this is your first participation in the game. Game level: Dusk]
[Your condition for clearing the game: Escape from Shirakawa Apartments]
[The time limit for this game: seven days]
[Now issuing the game's hint messages. Be sure to make good use of them]
[Hint 1: The writings left behind by those before hide the path to survival]
[Hint 2: The door reopened will lead to hope]
[Hint 3: A precious item in the dust will bring happiness]
[Hint 4: The secret lies within the place you must never go]
[End of hints. We wish you success in passing this game and drawing closer to the throne.]
From start to finish, the voice had spoken all this in less than a minute.
As soon as it finished, the eerie voice vanished. At the same time, the rigid stiffness locking Y/N's body also disappeared.
"Damn it—!"
The moment he recovered, Y/N tumbled off the bed, snatching the A4 sheet from the nightstand in midair and stuffing it against his chest before crashing onto the floor. He rolled once, then scrambled up in a mess.
Now he was completely certain: he had been dragged into some kind of supernatural event. And worse—one of those terrifying dark events that could end in death.
"No, wait a second, Director—something's off here."
"Wasn't I supposed to have crossed over into a slice-of-life anime world?"
"This development—this is all wrong! How the hell did it suddenly turn into a death game?!"
"Can I get a refund? Can I quit this role?"
Though he was grumbling endlessly in his heart, Y/N's body moved quickly. He shot to his feet, keeping his distance—far enough not to press too close to the door—while locking his gaze on the bed he had originally been lying on.
And there, he saw her.
A girl with long, jet-black hair cascading down her back. She sat up on the bed, her expression cold, her eyes tinged with an icy sharpness as they scrutinized him.
Scarlet pupils.
A figure on the slim side.
A black long-sleeved dress with white cuffs.
That appearance—and that look, as if she were staring at garbage—instantly awakened Y/N's memory.
"Wait, wait—wasn't this... this was like Kaguya Shinomiya, in her 'Ice Princess' days, before she had been changed by the student council."
"What the hell had my supposed 2D isekai story turned into?!"
At that moment, Y/N's mind was in a complete jumble.