The rules Of the Archipelago

Pov- Natsuki
The smoke slowly dissipated, revealing the silhouette little by little.
When it finally cleared completely, the figure became fully visible.
It was… made of glass. An opaque white glass from head to toe. Only its face remained pitch black, with two cold gray eyes glowing faintly in the darkness. The flowing white hair was unmistakable.
It was the same face we had seen smiling on the red moon.
“One million people came all this way… just for this?” a man muttered loudly.
Murmurs of frustration spread through the crowd.
“Mr. Takeda… you seem a little too confident,” the glass figure replied, its voice calm but dripping with mockery. “Shall I put you back in your place?”
Before the man could finish his sentence, translucent ropes shot out and bound him tightly like a sausage. He stumbled and fell heavily to the ground.
“Anyone else want to rebel?” she asked, her gray eyes sweeping coldly over us.
A heavy silence fell. Even Mikami, standing right beside me, didn’t say a word.
(This is starting badly… She already knows everyone’s name.)
“Perfect. Then let’s move on to the rules of the game.”
She raised one gloved finger.
“But first, allow me to introduce myself.” A soft, chilling giggle escaped her. “I am Erisvelle Seralune, your Game Mistress.”
She slowly spread her arms. Behind her, thousands of tiny images of Japan appeared — Tokyo’s neon lights, Kyoto’s temples, Hokkaido’s snowy mountains — then shattered like glass. Several people jumped in fright.
“Now… let me explain the Sakkaku System.”
She raised a second finger.
“As the name suggests… it is an illusion.
But not just any illusion.
Right now, I am using this power to faithfully recreate every city, every street, every building of this archipelago.”
So Mikami had been right all along.
I glanced at her. She was staring at me with that annoying “I told you so” look.
A woman with long brown hair stepped forward.
“So… apart from all of us here, no one else can enter this place?” she asked, arms crossed.
“Correct,” Erisvelle replied sweetly. “Except for you 122.6 million toys who populate this country… no one else can enter. You’re quite perceptive, Yoruhime.”
She tilted her head slightly, a smile visible only in the way her gray eyes curved.
“Every nation has its own Sakkaku System. So… let’s see if yours — the Land of the Rising Sun — can truly entertain me.”
Some people tried to back away, only to be gently but firmly pulled back to their original spots. Children clung to their parents in terror, but Erisvelle didn’t seem to care at all.
(She seriously sees our lives as nothing more than entertainment…?!)
The thought made my fists clench so hard my knuckles turned white.
“You really see us as… toys you can break whenever you want?!” Yoruhime shouted.
Erisvelle simply nodded. Disgust appeared on every face.
“Some of us have children!” a woman in the back cried, clutching her little boy tightly.
“If that’s your concern, fear not. I won’t touch the children… unless they try to rebel, of course,” Erisvelle said with a light laugh.
She raised a third finger, lifted her right arm, and tapped her wrist, motioning for us to look at our veins.
I extended my arm. A shock ran through me.
A new vein — glowing a pure, brilliant blue — had appeared under my skin, pulsing faintly.
“I present to you Yūgen — vital energy that will allow you to use various supernatural abilities. But if you empty it… you will die.”
She placed both hands on her hips, waiting for questions.
“But why are you giving us this power now? What are you really planning?” Mikami asked.
Erisvelle smiled and began spinning slowly in the air.
“Oh dear, you’re all so ignorant… You have always had this energy since the beginning of the world.”
She stopped and struck a dramatic pose.
“Your ancestors were better than this… pfft. Except for Yoruhime here, none of you were even aware of it.”
All eyes instantly turned to Yoruhime. She simply ignored them.
(Great… someone just became famous because of this.)
“And as you’ve noticed when trying to escape this place, you always end up back where you started,” she continued, sounding bored. “The Sakkaku World barrier will never let you leave this simulation. Every time you try, you’ll be returned to your starting point — your home.”
A hand slowly rose from the crowd.
“You… you mentioned a skill system that each of us should have.”
Erisvelle’s eyes lit up.
“Yes, but you will receive it later, when the game officially begins…”
She paused, as if an idea had suddenly struck her. A literal glowing lightbulb appeared above her head.
“Oh, I almost forgot a small detail. Even with the game, I want you to continue your daily lives and routines.”
She floated gently into the air, looking relaxed.
“Also… you are all toys to me. You all have the same social status. So yes, there may be criminals among you.”
Protests and cries of outrage erupted throughout the warehouse. No one wanted to live alongside potential criminals.
But as usual, she didn’t care about anyone’s opinion.
“So, see you tomorrow at dawn, when the sun begins to whiten the sky.”
With those words, she vanished once again in a cloud of smoke.
I let out a long sigh and ran a hand through my hair.
“Well… goodbye logic,” I muttered.
I turned to Mikami. She was staring intently at Yoruhime. Everyone was looking at her like she was some kind of parasite.
Yoruhime ignored them all and headed for the exit, only to be blocked by Mr. Takeda and another man.
“No, no, no, young lady. You owe us an explanation before you leave,” Takeda said, trying to intimidate her.
She simply pushed the two grown men aside as if they were nothing more than an annoyance.
(If that had been me, my ego would’ve been shattered…)
People gradually began leaving the warehouse one by one.
Takano finally noticed us and approached with his older sister.
“Well… this is looking bad,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I really thought it was just a bad dream.”
“By the way, this is my big sister, Sumiko.”
She had long blond hair and blue eyes like Takano, plus a cute blue beret. She smiled and waved at us, then looked at me.
“So you’re Natsuki? Takano talks about you a lot.”
I let out an awkward laugh.
“Good things or bad things?”
“Good things, of course,” she replied with a smile.
A strange shiver ran down my spine. Something felt off, and Takano seemed to feel it too — he looked uncomfortable.
He suddenly pointed to the left. I followed his finger and froze.
Mikami’s parents were staring straight at me and Takano with cold, strict eyes. Their gaze locked onto me and I stiffened immediately.
(Shit… why did he point at them if he knew?! It’s just a misunderstanding… they’re not going to think we have something with Mikami, right?)
Mikami held their gaze for a moment, then sighed and left with her parents. I finally felt relieved.
“Well… I guess we should head out too. See you later, Natsuki,” Sumiko said, dragging Takano by the sleeve while he gave me one last teasing look.
I sighed and finally headed home.
After a quick shower and a quiet dinner alone, I turned on the TV, expecting normal news.
Instead, all I saw was a countdown.
9 hours and 56 minutes until the game begins.
I went to my room and went to bed early.
After all… I had school tomorrow.
And the game was starting too.