To save the world, you must die

After that incident with Ivy, it felt like everything became a blur. Days went by, weeks went by, months went by, yet they were nothing but morose and uneventful. To call what I was experiencing "living" would be disingenuous. It wasn't just me, the world as a whole seemed as if it was shutting down.

Barely anyone roamed the streets either by car or foot, nothing ever seemed to be open aside from the store. And even when I saw someone, they were always a blank slate. I couldn't see any of their facial features, they never spoke a word, if I didn't know better I'd say they were just moving cardboard cutouts. Even folks I knew like Akane, Miércoles and Machi, all started looking like blank-slate cardboard cutouts.

Maybe this is just me. I've been so depressed since that day, that perhaps I'm starting to imagine the world a more depressing and lonely place...

THAT CAN'T BE IT!

I wanted to try and blow off some steam at the arcade, but it's completely closed. And when I tried to go over to another town, the trains don't run, the cabs don't run, there's even road repairs on all major streets leading out of town so I can't even leave on my own!

I bet that Jeter guy is so depressed about his precious Ivy being a monster he just left the world to rot while he curls up in a ball and cries somewhere. That would explain why everyone looks like an unfinished character model; bastard decided to spite us all for rightly calling him out for trying to rewrite things to glorify that monster!

The only oddity is, I still look normal.

Maybe I should try meeting up with Machi and co to see if I can get to the bottom of this shit. Not like there's anything better to do...

...

I walked into Machi's place, and was greeted by a white humanoid cardboard shape.

"Welcome..."

"Uh, Machi? The fuck happened to you? You look more generic than usual."

"What would you like today, ma'am?"

"Oi, you listening? Or are you even Machi? You sound like her, so I'm assuming you are, but are you?"

"..."

"OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?"

At this point, I decided to just start trashing the place in rage. Surely that would lead to Machi unleashing her strength to restrain me. But the figure I assumed to be Machi did nothing.

No scream, no trying to stop me, no calling the police, heck she didn't even appear to move from her original spot!

"So you gonna call the cops?" I asked.

"What would you like today, ma'am?"

"Fuck it! I'll do it myself!"

I tried calling the cops, but all I got was radio silence. So I made my way to the nearest police station, but things went about the same as it did at Machi's. Cardboard cutouts, no reaction to anything I did, I literally trashed the place and they just stood there, no attempt to arrest me, no verbal reprimanding, nothing!

Has the world just given up!?

"JETER! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE AND FIX THIS SHIT! NOTHING'S HAPPENING, NOTHING'S FUNCTIONING, YET ALL THIS WORLD IS DOING IS GETTING CLOSER AND CLOSER TO IT'S DOOMSDAY! I CAN'T EVEN TRY TO ENJOY MYSELF UNTIL THE END! THERE'S NOTHING HERE! NO FUN, NO PEOPLE, no nothing... Why? Why did Ivy being a monster fuck you up worse than me? Why is everything always tied to you!? I don't care if you're the god of this world, you're running it horribly so you should be replaced! But every time someone offers to do so, you kill them off! Sure, fuck the fashion bitch, but I could live with Silas or the bald ape running shit! It'd be better than this morose hellscape!"

Clack!

Hearing the sound of boot heels, I turned to see someone I had been searching for ever since that day... how many months ago? I lost track of time. All that matter is that the goth girl I've been seeking to meet for so long has FINALLY shown herself to me.

"Took you long enough."

The girl shot me a glare. "Don't talk back to me... You should be grateful I'm even deciding to give you the time of day instead of letting this all rot to oblivion."

Well this looks to be a lovely interactive experience.

"I'm Sharla. Sharla Vieres. I'll cut straight to the point; I can save this entire world and everyone in it. Even Ivy."

As if by magic, Jeter appeared before us.

"Well look who showed up. So care to fix this-"

"Sharla, how do I do that!?" Jeter asked, completely ignoring my existence.

Damn Ivy simp, do you really care about that fucking bitch monster more than your own world THAT much!?

"Who said I'd tell you? You're incapable of implementing it," Sharla snarled.

"What do you mean!? I want to bring Ivy back, but every time I try to, the backlash-"

"And in your depression your world turned to shit. You wasted what little time you had to cry yourself to sleep. I've been trying to be productive, even with my demanding schedule, yet your stubbornness is impeding any progress from being made!"

Wow, this girl really is someone I can vibe with.

"Now that I am here before the denizens of your world, allow me to ask them, not you, what they think," Sharla glared as she turned to me. "So... You want the world to get a second chance?"

"No shit I do! Everything was going fine until Jeter appeared and began doomer-pilling everything, besides, you said if we could convince you or the others, you'd spare the world, so give me the chance, and I'll take it."

Sharla's eyes narrowed. "Really? Even after I state the conditions for my deal?"

"What are they."

In the span of a second or two, Sharla whipped out a gun and pointed it at my head. "You die to save the world."

I began to go pale. "H- Hold on. If we all die, then how the fuck will we be saved!?"

"Are you familiar with the term, isekai?"

I began to relax. "I get it. We "die", but get reborn in a new world. Genius. No wonder I felt like you and me can vibe-"

"TCH!"

"...?"

"Yes, the world will be reborn. All characters will get a new lease on life, even Ivy who will technically not be the same Ivy as this one, though she'll retain all the positive qualities of this one. But there's a nonnegotiable price point on this deal. Momo... Grr, Momo Akesegawa, you must completely die. Never to be reincarnated again, never to appear before anyone again, you completely cease to exist and be erased from the minds of all in this new world."

"H- Huh?"