Upon clicking the icon, Zephyr found himself looking at a platform similar to Steam, but the games inside all felt strangely familiar.
Jujutsu Kaisen, Naruto, One Piece... and so on — there were easily hundreds of games listed.
"Wait... aren't these all anime? When did they get turned into games?"
Zephyr even spotted a game called Cudgel Hero. When he clicked on it, the gameplay was surprisingly simple — a shooter-style adventure game.
"That's wild."
Next, he opened the One Piece game. The description explained that players would assume the role of Luffy, with the option to follow the original storyline or do whatever they pleased.
You could choose to become the Pirate King, join the Marines, side with the Revolutionary Army, or even become the Bandit King if that was your thing!
"This level of freedom is insane!"
> Congratulations! You've completed the main quest during the beginner period. You can now unlock one game for free from the store. <
"Free game unlock? Wait... so these games actually cost money?"
Curious, he checked the store — sure enough, the games required a special currency called points to purchase.
"What should I unlock?" Zephyr hesitated. There were hundreds of games here, and choosing just one felt impossible.
He randomly clicked through a few games before noticing some fine print at the bottom of the screen:
> In this game, you can freely create a character or transfer a character from another game to continue playing. <
"What does that mean…?" Zephyr muttered. "Does that mean I can send Lumine into another world?"
Intrigued, he scrolled through the list until one title caught his eye:
Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisen, huh... That world's power levels are pretty intense. Wouldn't Lumine be a bit too weak for that?"
Zephyr pondered for a moment. "Then again... with her current strength, dealing with second-rate curses should be manageable — as long as she's careful."
Besides, that world had Black Flash, one of the strongest skills in existence! If Lumine could learn that, it would be a massive win.
"If she can master that skill... I'll hit the jackpot!"
Getting excited, Zephyr impulsively selected Download.
The progress bar shot to 100% almost instantly, and Zephyr entered the game.
The first thing he saw was a familiar — and extremely smug — face staring back at him.
"Good morning~"
Gojo Satoru greeted him with a grin that just begged to be punched.
"If you've downloaded this game," Gojo smirked, "I bet you're wondering... 'Is this CGI?' Well... sorry to disappoint you, but no — I can actually see you~"
Zephyr froze.
"...No way," he muttered. Testing it out, he raised his middle finger.
Gojo Satoru paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"You... you're really something. Next, we're going to play a terrifying, despair-inducing game. Do you dare to join? If not, I suggest you quietly close this and back out now, coward."
"..."
"Oh? You didn't quit? Well, that's unexpected."
Zephyr asked, "Can you really see me?"
"I bet you're wondering, 'Can he actually see me?' Well... sorry to disappoint you, but no — I was totally messing with you!"
Zephyr raised his middle finger again.
To his surprise, Gojo Satoru raised his own middle finger in response.
"Hey, hey, that's enough. Don't go hurting my pure and innocent heart like that." Gojo smirked. "I bet you're itching to complain right now. Hold that thought — let's get to the important stuff."
Gojo's expression turned serious.
"You may know me, or you may not. Doesn't matter. My name is Gojo Satoru, and I'm the strongest in my world. That's all you really need to remember."
"..."
"I know, I know — you're probably thinking, 'Wow, what an arrogant guy.' But seriously, everyone agrees — I'm the strongest."
In the next instant, Gojo's face became grim.
"But even as the strongest... there were things I couldn't protect."
"Humanity... has been wiped out!"
Zephyr's brows furrowed. Humanity... wiped out?
"Thinking back," Gojo continued, "maybe it was because I underestimated the threat. Because of my negligence... humanity was doomed."
"So... I made a wish to an unknown existence — I begged for the chance to save humanity."
"And then... K responded."
"The unknown existence agreed to help me rewind the world... back to the day before everything began — the day before Yuji Itadori swallowed Sukuna's finger."
"But in exchange... I lost all my memories. And there's another unknown price — K didn't tell me what it was. Safe to say... it's probably nothing good."
"That's the situation. So... I'm asking you to save this world. Please."
Zephyr was speechless. "Are you kidding me? Save the world? Do I even have that kind of power?"
He only wanted to help Lumine get stronger. He hadn't planned for all this — nor did he feel capable of handling it.
"Out of nowhere, you're asking me to save the world? Isn't that a bit much?"
Gojo flashed a mischievous smile.
"Oh, by the way... I made one more request to that unknown existence: Players can't exit the game until they've completed the main quest."
"…What!???"
"So yeah... this version of me you're seeing right now? It's just a recording. The real me... well, I disappeared when the world reset."
"Well then, good luck — whether you're a boy or a girl, fate's chosen one. The mission to save the world is in your hands now. Bye-bye~"
Snap! The screen went black.
Zephyr sat in silence for a moment, then clicked the "Exit Game" button.
> Ding! You cannot exit the current game until the main quest is completed. <
"..."
Zephyr lost it.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!! GOJO SATORU, SCREW YOUUUUUU!!"
He was breaking down.
I can't leave the game until I finish the main quest? This is insane!
This wasn't just some casual game — this was a straight-up death game! If his in-game character died, he'd die too! Isn't this basically a death sentence?!
He had struggled just to fight a measly Hilichurl before — and now they expected him to take on Curses? Yeah, right!
And on top of that, Gojo didn't even bother to explain how humanity got wiped out. What kind of nonsense is this? How am I supposed to play like this?
On second thought, maybe Gojo wasn't allowed to reveal it — possibly a restriction from the platform itself.
But that didn't matter to Zephyr. He didn't care — he was still pissed.
After venting for a while, he finally calmed down.
> Please create your character. <
- Create New Character
- Transfer Existing Character
"Transfer! Transfer! Of course, I'm transferring!"
Sure, Lumine was still a bit weak, but she was already level 15. With some effort, she could level up even more.
Starting a new character from scratch? Yeah, no thanks.
And just like that, sleeping Lumine was suddenly yanked into this new world with a whoosh.
"W-What? What's going on?!" Lumine blinked in confusion, completely baffled.
Paimon rubbed her eyes groggily. "Huh? Is there a monster? Wait... weren't we just in Mondstadt?"
After a moment, they both snapped back to their senses.
"This is... what's happening?"
Zephyr sighed. "Okay, listen. This is urgent. This isn't Teyvat anymore — this is an entirely different world."
Both Lumine and Paimon gasped. "A new world?!"
"In this world, you can't leave until you finish the main quest and unlock the way back home."
"Wha—?! Why?!"
"Why so suddenly?!"
"I didn't even get to say goodbye to Amber!"
Zephyr had no words. "Why so sudden?"... Yeah, because he just had to mess around and click things on impulse. No… scratch that — this was all Gojo Satoru's fault!
//END