Everything Everywhere Abnormal
Clack creak...
I opened the door slightly and peeked inside to see tens of thousands of people floating upright in the sky.
...No. That's not it. They're not floating, they're being suspended by something from above.
Every one of them has a rope around their neck--
BAM
This one's bad news. Next.
I slid open a sliding door and peered inside.
A crane is plucking its own feathers inside a shabby looking Japanese style room.
Looks like it's using its feathers to weave fabric the old fashioned way.
"Aah, I told you not to peek. Now that you've seen me, I can't get in this--"
SLIDE!
You got the wrong person dangit! Next!
I pulled open a double door and a strong gust of wind almost blew me away.
Wa,p!? Wh-what the heck is this place? The wind is blowing so hard...
『...Moo...o....』
Peeking in, I caught sight of a cow getting flown around inside a tornado.
Its eyes are asking me for help, but I can't jump into this chaos and put myself in danger.
I felt sorry for it as I struggled to close the door against the strong wind.
...I haven't seen a single decent place beyond all the doors I opened thus far.
Literally got turned away at the doorstep. Heck, who wants to willingly get in those chaotic scenes.
Despite all the doors I carefully opened, the only loot I got so far was that meat cleaver with random attack power.
What a capricious weapon. It's not even a hammer from that certain beard RPG.
Some doors let me proceed inside but all of them were way too abnormal.
I'm afraid I'd cease to be me if I stayed long in those places.
<<...Kajikawa Hikaru is estimated to be within the category of abnormal both on Earth and Parallecia.>>
Oh shut it! ...Wait, what's a 'Parallecia'?
<<It is the name of the world where Almatina exists, corresponding to 'Otherworld' to Kajikawa Hikaru.>>
Hee, first I heard of that fact. So that world had a name.
Right, think I heard 'Parallecia' mentioned in the noise that got streamed in before that boss shapeshifted to my mother form...
Well whatever, gotta move on to the next door.
I picked a knobless double-leaf door I had to push to open. It's colored pretty pure white.
'Scuse me.
The door seemed well made, it opened real smoothly. What a nice door.
Beyond the door are... An angry-looking long straight black haired beautiful woman wearing glasses grabbing and lifting a blond blue haired pretty boy of around ten year old by his collar.
Despite the rough treatment, the boy is acting lax and laughing at the beauty.
Wh, what's going on here. DV, is it a domestic violence? Or maybe it's that kind of pairing? That's so sinful.
"What do you think you're doing...! Who was it that said we shouldn't interfere more than necessary and just watch over them again!"
"Ah, well you know? I do think that's the correct mindset to have, but he was so interesting, I couldn't help myself, you see? It did make for quite a moving scene in the end too, yup."
"Don't you 'yup' me! The spacetime almost collapsed on itself because you wrenched open and sent that personality data by force! You have to mend it, right this instant!"
"Eeh? What's the harm in leaving it be? Nobody's gonna get swallowed in that seam unless they loiter around somewhere warped."
"That person is loitering in that warped space this very moment! How are you going to take responsibility if that seam connects to this place!"
"Ahahaha, that's not happening, nope not a chance. Even if it did get connected, the chance of picking juuust the right door here is astronomically low, 's gonna be just fine."
"Just do it, now!"
...Their conversation doesn't seem to concern me.
Would be a pain if I got dragged in their squabble, let's just close this door quietly. On to the next one.
<<......>>
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
Next one is a shutter door you pull up.
Bang, the door opened with a thud to reveal a pure white corridor.
It's got this inorganic cold quality to it, clocks are hung on the walls at a fixed interval.
Looking at a clock the nearest to me, the second hand is making a noise but it's not really moving. Meanwhile the second clock ahead is not moving and it shows a different time from the first.
Wonder what do they signify. I'll keep going for a bit.
I stopped in front of the second clock.
Then weirdly enough, the second clock's second hand started moving while making a noise.
The first clock also started making a weird noise.
Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp, its second hand is turning an entire circle every second while sounding like a small group of birds chirping from afar.
...? Does it go faster the more I go in?
<<Warning: Suspend exploring and return immediately.>>
Eh, what's wrong?
<<The flow of time slows down the deeper you go here. Presently, 1 second in this space is equal to 1 minute outside the door.>>
Alright, I'm outta here! I don't wanna turn into Urashima Tarou!
That was close! There'd be no turning back if I rushed ahead!
...Even a place that looks normal can have a hard to pinpoint abnormality huh. Gotta take note. Scary...
There's way too many types of doors, I'm getting tired describing them.
Next up is a wooden door. Maybe I'll try knocking this time?
Knock knock
"It's occupied."
"Ah, pardon."
Next... Who was that? Actually where did that lead to anyway?
...I pulled myself together and moved on to the next door which opened itself.
Fumu, a sensor-type automatic door huh. Feels like this kind of doors house some real dangerous stuff inside.
Wonder where do this door and that hamburger shop's door earlier even get their power from...
The door led to a mechanical corridor you often see in SF work.
The walls and doors are jam packed with circuit-like and lamp-like objects.
...Finally somewhere that looks worth exploring.
Menu, is there a time abnormality here?
<<The flow of time is fixed. Presently unable to detect poison or spacetime distortions.>>
Umu, it's a go.
Wonder what kind of facility is this.
This place is quite huge. I'm still walking through the corridor, I haven't seen a room anywhere.
Menu, is Mapping usable here?
<<It is. Producing New Data separate from the previous world. Displaying on Map Screen.>>
Fumu, I can't check the previous world's map from here, I guess the Map Screen only shows this new Map while I'm here.
For the time being, I don't sense anyone else around. I gotta think up what to do if I do meet someone.
...Despite the horror game-like situation, I'm surprised how excited I'm feeling right now.
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