Yumix; Unveiled

"This world... rots from within, dressed in false justice and empty promises. Its only loyalty lies with those who hold power."

…

"There’s something funny about inevitability."

"You don’t notice it… not really. Until it’s behind you already."

"Like a sharp sword that you never saw coming, cutting off the route you thought was yours."

…

"I missed it."

"That moment."

"If I had opened my eyes sooner."

"If I hadn’t been so numb..."

"So careless."

…

"That girl..."

"She didn't just walk into my life casually..."

"She rewrote it."

…

"I'm guilty."

"I was negligent."

"If only I had changed my mentality way sooner..."

"Maybe I could have changed the fate I faced."

…

"But in the end..."

"The future is a static line."

"Even if you know it..."

"Even if it’s right there in front of you..."

"You can’t do much about it."

…

"Can you?"

"I wonder…"

It was the year 2030 in Tokyo.

The city was recognized for driving modern development. Or so we thought… Before the crisis hit.

It was usually very vibrant. Except for tonight, it was completely different.

The rain was relentless.

The thunder roared above, making it seem like the sky was splitting open.

It was the day known as the Day of Great Doom. The entire city was destroyed by a devastating hurricane.

Everything happened completely out of the blue. Even the weather forecast hadn't reported anything about it.

Wind howled between buildings. People rushed past under umbrellas, their shoes were slapping the wet pavement.

It was catastrophic… some of the old buildings were already starting to crumble.

But I didn’t have an umbrella, or anything to shield with.

I didn’t even bother.

Soaked to the bone, I kept walking. No destination. No reason. Just forward.

“Where am I supposed to go now? I'm stuck with nowhere else to go.”

“Anyway… Considering the awful situation, I have to keep walking forward. Since stopping is pointless.”

The further I walked, the emptier it became. People ran, screaming to save themselves and their families.

“It's not like they matter to me. Their problems were never my business… At all.”

I kept walking for a few minutes without any destination in mind.

Then, I saw it.

"Is that… a bookstore? Why is it even open now?"

It was a small, poorly lit building, and isolated.

I went there since I couldn't think of anywhere else.

Its door was half-open, and the light was warm inside.

"Hmm… looks pretty empty. It seems like a great spot to escape the outside."

As I stepped in, the bell above jingled weakly.

“Strange… The place is actually open, yet not a single person is here. Could it be that everyone who was here has already fled?”

The air smelled like dust and old paper. Quiet and still.

The place feels untouched. Like time itself stopped here.

I exhaled slowly, then I shook my hair, while water dripped onto the floor. My soaked hoodie clung to my back. It was uncomfortably cold.

I should feel relieved to be inside. But… I don't.

No clerk. No customers. Just only me.

“What's the point of my presence here? No one would even care if I hid or died here.”

“Death? I don't even want to think about that—”

*Grrr…*

My stomach growled softly, but I ignored it.

“Well, that was expected.”

Soon, my perception of myself and my surroundings quickly shifted.

"Look at my current situation. No dreams. No ambition. No passion… nothing interesting at all."

"People chase success, happiness, relationships… I don't see the point in any of it."

"The bitter truth the world hides is those fake smiles and empty promises."

“In a world this broken, why even bother?”

…

Lightning flashed through the window.

The power abruptly cut out.

In that moment, something felt off.

A sound.

Not thunder. Nor the wind.

“…W-What's happening? Who’s there?”

The sound was coming from inside, too close.

"Whispering sounds?"

He turned slowly to the source.

All he saw ahead was the main reception table. On it was…

“A book?”

A thick book, adorned with a gold cover, lay closed there.

"It looks old, I wonder who left it there… Wait, wasn't it open when I came in moments ago? Could it be the wind? But the doors are locked. And also, why does that book seem to… shine a little?!"

He slowly walked toward it.

"I'm curious. Could it be the reason for the strange noise?”

“…No, I don't think so."

He swallowed uneasily.

Slowly, He opened the book and started flipping through the pages.

Most pages were blank, yet some had writing in an unfamiliar language.

"Hmm… It really looks like a regular book after all. If only I could understand what it says."

He remained so until…

"Wait… this part is written in our language? Finally something I can read."

He started reading it with a quiet voice.

"Within each soul, a hidden key. Till life's last breath, Yumix always will be… ????"

The last words were unreadable.

“What is this? Yumix? I've never heard of that name before. Is it an ancient city or something?”

He raised his eyes slightly. Something felt wrong.

"Why am I even reading this in the first place… Whatever."

He slowly blinked before returning his gaze back to the page of the book.

Blank.

The page he just read is now blank.

“H-Huh…? What the…?”

He blinked his eyes over and over again, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

“…Was I imagining it?”

He closed the book immediately. Exhaustion was obvious on his face.

“Well… seems like my mind is already going haywire.”

But then…

The sound of shattering glass interrupted his thoughts instantly. The front wooden doors of the bookstore were blown inward by the storm. A violent gust filled the room with debris, plunging the place into darkness.

He spun around, instinctively shielding his face.

It was hard to see or feel anything.

The situation calmed down after a few seconds.

He stood up again.

There was some paper on his face.

He tried to remove it with his left hand.

But…

The paper was soon soaked in a red color… It was blood.

"Huh?"

He looked at his hand…

It was gone.

For a moment, disbelief gripped him. Until pain hit hard, searing through him like fire.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!”

Blood was spraying out profusely all around.

“WHY WHY WHY, WHAT'S THAT? WHY… IT HURTS! HOW DID ALL OF THAT HAPPEN!"

Everything around him seemed a blur of fear and pain.

He then spotted a piece of blown-away iron frame from the door, embedded into the ground. A part of his hand was on it.

"How in the world…"

He slowly collapsed down due to the intense pain and exhaustion.

However…

Amid all of this, the strange sound from earlier came back. It was a voice. Faint and gentle.

“…Catch it.”

“Wh–What…?”

He barely moved his head. His mind was in disarray.

"What… is all of this…? Am I imagining it or what?"

That book… glowed again. Sitting there on the table.

His vision started to blur. The blood soaked the floor.

"Am I losing my mind…?”

“Is this…"

“The end?”

“Shall I…?”

Still, his body moved, trying to reach towards it with his remaining hand.

His Fingers were trembling, brushing the cover.

But… fate had something else to say.

A sharp impact.

Something slammed into his chest.

"Huh…?"

Steel.

An iron bar, ripped from the doorframe, was thrown by the storm.

It pierced straight through him.

“Ghh—!”

The book slipped from his hand.

He dropped down hard onto the floor.

His face lay flat on the ground. Blood started to flow, reaching all the way to his eyes.

“I feel… so hot… inside. Did it penetrate… my heart?”

His vision turned red, slowly getting darker.

“I feel helpless. I've always been this way… haven't I? Unable to change anything in my life. And now what…? I'm going to die without understanding why.”

“No miracles… No saving grace. Just another nobody… bleeding out in an abandoned store.”

He started seeing flashing lights ahead of him. Yellow and purple.

Memories started flashing through his mind.

"This… isn't mine…"

He didn't know fate was leading him into something he wouldn’t fathom.

His heart began to pound more strongly. Faster, faster, louder.

“…Help me. Anyone—”

The palpitations sound stopped.

…

Darkness.

There was no body. No form. Just awareness.

Was I still alive?

Or was this death?

I could hear my thoughts clearly.

“This world… was never right.”

“My so-called friends… they never showed up when I needed them. Just empty words. Broken promises.”

“That’s when I stopped believing.”

“Friendship… love… all lies.”

“The word lost all meaning for me.”

"I realized in this world, the real problem was the widening gap between the strong and the weak. It kept people apart, unless it's for their own gain.”

“Yet still…”

“Somewhere deep in me…”

“I wanted help… I wanted to fix things.”

I've been expressing everything that's in my heart. That If there's a beating one left in me.

…

However. In that moment…

A girl’s voice came out of nowhere.

Faint, almost a whisper.

It grabbed my attention.

I didn’t know what she said.

But it felt warm.

I managed to catch a few words, "Hiroki… Yumix…"

It was only a few moments until her voice faded away.

I remained in that darkness that seemed like a vision to me.

…

“If I had another chance…”

“…Would it even matter?”

“Could I really… be different?"

Light began to emerge again.

His senses finally returned back.

Through the mist, faint voices could be heard.

The blur of motion. Shouting. Rushing.

Hiroki managed to open his eyes, just barely. His body felt heavy, numb, and sore all over. It was like trying to wake up underwater.

"W-Where… am I?" He was unaware of the situation.

He was lying on something soft.

“A stretcher?”

His thoughts were slow, yet one thing stood out that he could notice… A woman, right there, hurrying on her way through the chaos.

"Hurry! Find a free room to treat him… now!"

Her voice was intense. Felt urgent.

There was also a crowd nearby.

“Too many injuries… we’re running out of space!”

"Seems the amount is more than expected; we don't know if we can save them all."

There were various men's voices.

Everything was a mess of noise.

He couldn’t keep up. But something caught his eye.

Her.

Long flowing orange hair. Kind, focused, amber-colored eyes. A look of kindness… even in the middle of panic. As if she were racing against time.

His lips moved without warning.

“…Really… what a… cute woman…”

The words slipped out quietly before his mind could catch up. His awareness was gone, pulling him once more into the depths of sleep.

The voices, the pain, the light…

All of it faded.

And the world disappeared once more, leaving only darkness behind.

And so… His story began.