SSEI | Chapter 1.1

It felt like being swept along by an endlessly flowing river.

His body didn’t move. Whether someone had tied him down, or if he simply had no limbs left to move, he couldn’t tell. Even though he wanted to look around, everything was pitch dark. Was that darkness the night sky without a single star? Or was it the inside of eyelids so blank that no trace of light could penetrate?

[You want to get back the one you love, don’t you?]

A whisper brushed against his ear like the wind. Even though he couldn’t remember who that “loved one” was, the inexplicable longing and regret soaked his heart deeply.

A long time ago, he had lost his lover. The vow to do anything to find them still held firm in his mind.

[It’s down there. If you go that way, you can save them.]

“Down there” – he wasn’t sure what that exactly meant. Did it mean he had to sink? Would he have to break the small boat holding his lifeless body to move forward?

No, there was no need for that. From far away, the sound of a vast amount of water rushing down could be heard.

[Remember this: You must never go back until you find what you’re looking for. You will forget everything, but the impulse deep inside your heart will guide you.]

The boat drifted toward a waterfall. When he opened his eyes, he vaguely realized that an entirely different world would unfold before him. He would even forget what he had desired before.

But.

[You are setting off on a journey to save your precious lover. You can’t let them wander alone.]

Without any possibility of resistance, the only choice was to fall.

The boat, carrying his motionless body like a corpse, was pushed by the slow water until it tipped over the waterfall.

The silver-haired young man opened his eyes to see a wasteland stretching beneath a gray sky.

When he took a deep breath, the thick dust clung to his throat. Unable to bear the harsh cough, his body trembled violently, but still, the young man struggled to sit up, dragging his weak and powerless body with desperation. His instincts told him he had to move, that he was very busy now.

However, the tiny flicker of reason that started working stopped him. Every action should have a reason, but the young man still couldn’t figure out why he had to move.

‘It hurts so much, like my whole body’s been beaten…’

His body wasn’t in a state that would allow him to get up and move around. He swallowed his saliva to wet his dry throat and looked over himself.

The limbs that came into his view were covered in dirt. It seemed like he had dragged his body over the rough ground. His whole body hurt as if it had been bruised everywhere. The white clothes wrapped in cloth and belts, like some kind of restraint suit, were stained with blood. There were even several abrasions.

But the pain wasn’t the only issue. As he pondered how he ended up in such a state, the young man realized that there was nothing in his mind that could be called a memory.

‘What is this?’

He searched his consciousness for a long time, but found no images, no clarity. He couldn’t recall why he was in the middle of this wasteland, where he had been before, or what he had been doing. No matter how hard he tried, all connections to the past seemed to snap off, leaving nothing but a chilling void.

It felt like a dream. Thrown into an unfamiliar environment with no background knowledge at all, only his body as a strange, unknown entity in this bizarre situation. The only two things that lingered in his mind were: First, the inexplicable urge to move, and second…

“You’ve finally woken up. Do you remember your name?”

“Me? My name is Yuan… Wait, hold on?!”

His name.

At the question that came from somewhere, he absentmindedly answered, and only then did he recall the two syllables of his name.

His name was Yuan. What his last name was, or if he even had a last name, he couldn’t remember. He didn’t know who gave him this name, or what kind of person he was before, but…

At the very least, it was a relief that he had learned his name.

Yuan wanted to confirm who exactly was talking to him.

At first, he saw no one. Not in the direction the voice had come from, nor anywhere else. The vast wasteland stretched endlessly with nothing but Yuan himself sitting in the middle of it.

Then… where was that voice coming from?

Feeling lost, Yuan turned his head and scanned the area again.

And then—

“Over here, over here! You keep looking up, but I’m not even standing!”

Still, there was no one in sight.

But this time, he had a clue.

“You keep looking up”—which meant whoever was speaking had to be low to the ground.

Yuan lowered his gaze, focusing on the ground instead.

And soon, he found something.

Something round. Rolling across the dirt.

It wasn’t just that the person was short.

No.

It was that they had no body at all.

“Finally, eye contact! You okay? You rolled around a lot when you fell.”

“…A head? With… a left hand?”

Yuan’s face twisted in sheer bewilderment.

What he had initially mistaken for a ball was, upon closer inspection, an actual human head.

And where a neck should have been—there was a left hand.

A boy’s face, framed by tousled brown hair, looked up at him with an easygoing, mischievous smile. His dirt-covered left hand flexed its fingers, scuttling forward like an octopus tentacle.

A head.

A head is crawling across the ground.

And on top of everything else—

The head wasn’t even speaking with its mouth.

Instead, it was biting down on what looked like a metallic box. The voice Yuan had heard so far was coming from that.

As Yuan debated whether or not he should run, the voice came from the box again.

“You look really freaked out. I know I look kinda ridiculous, but cut me some slack. I got my head sliced off mid-fall and had to make do with… this. Since I don’t have lungs, I use an external communication device instead. Hope you don’t mind the weird setup.”

“So… you got decapitated, but didn’t die…?” Yuan’s voice was weak. “Also, this whole area is flat—where exactly did you fall from? Wait, no, never mind that for now—who are you? And where is this place?”

“Hmm? Oh, right. I guess everything’s new to you. I’m Lork. And you? You’re my teammate, my partner.”

“……?”

“For now, could you pick me up? My vision’s too low, and moving with just this hand is kinda a pain.”

Yuan still had no idea what was going on, but at the very least, this person—this head—didn’t seem hostile.

Cautiously, he stepped closer and lifted Lork with both hands.

Lork asked him to hold him upright so he could see better, and Yuan, feeling dazed, did as he was told. It was bizarre, yes, but the weight was surprisingly light—kind of like holding a small puppy.

Still, his mind was a whirlwind of confusion.

Team? Partner?

It was all nonsense. Just like his blank past, none of this had any context.

“Uh… so… can you explain things a bit more?”

“I would love to, but we don’t have time for that. I know you don’t remember anything, but you do have some instincts and basic directives, right? We need to move.”

“Move? Where to? And why?”

“Your instincts should tell you where to go. Just keep walking, and you’ll find a supply box with food and weapons. That’s our first objective.”

“So… you’re telling me to just walk and see where I end up? Wait, but… what exactly is our team? I get that we’re supposed to be partners, but… what are we supposed to do? Can’t you at least tell me that?”

Despite his hesitant, fumbling questions, Yuan’s feet had already started moving on their own.

Instinct and directionality, huh?

Whatever that meant, it seemed to be tugging at something deep inside him, urging him forward.

As he began walking, Lork chuckled in amusement.

“You’re pretty calm for a first-timer, huh? No memories, just woke up in this weird situation, and yet, instead of freaking out over my ridiculous body, the first thing you ask about is our mission. You seem kinda clueless and spacey, but I think I like you.”

“Uh… so that was a compliment… right?”

“Just take it as a compliment. Oh, and let me answer your question from earlier first. We teamed up to win.”

“Win? Win what?”

“What else? This is a survival game to escape this place! The last team standing gets to return to the real world!”

The boy declared triumphantly. His voice crackled through the old speaker, and beyond that static, a distant, bloodcurdling scream echoed through the air.

“……!”

Aaaagh!

Yuan’s head snapped up at the shrill, final cry. Even without seeing it, he knew someone had just died. The sheer agony and despair in that scream left no room for doubt. The moment it reached their ears, Lork urged him forward.

“That’s the first death. Run, Yuan!”

“F-First death?”

Did that mean there would be more?

Before he could even process the situation, something deep inside him took over. That same primal instinct that had been clawing at him for a while now—urging him to run.

He took off in a frantic sprint. His body was still in bad shape, every movement sent fresh pain lancing through his wounds, and his breath came in harsh, ragged gasps. But his legs didn’t slow. His instinct to flee burned far stronger than any pain.

It wasn’t hard to piece together the situation.

This wasn’t the world he knew. There were others who had “fallen” here, just like him. And if what Lork said was true… the last survivor would be the one to return home.

“No way… S-Someone just killed a person to escape?!”

“Quick on the uptake, huh? That’s right! It’s a game where you have to kill everyone else and survive until dawn. Then we win! But don’t worry, we’re on the same team this time, so we don’t have to kill each other!”

Lork sounded almost cheerful about it. That only made Yuan more terrified.

Because that meant… the person who just committed the first murder wasn’t the only dangerous one in this wasteland.

Where was the killer?

Yuan was running in the opposite direction of the scream, but what if there were others lurking that way too? Panic surged through him, and he couldn’t stop himself from whipping his head around, scanning his surroundings like a paranoid wreck.

And thankfully, that paranoia paid off.

Amidst the seemingly empty wasteland, something caught his eye—a strange metal box, half-buried in the dirt. It looked wrecked, like it had fallen from a great height. At first glance, it seemed like nothing more than discarded trash, but…

“Lork, is that box…?”

“Yup! That’s the one! You found it quicker than I expected!”

Yuan wasted no time sprinting toward the supply box. From afar, it had looked completely crushed, but up close, its contents were surprisingly intact.

Inside the large steel crate—big enough to fit a person—were neatly wrapped rations. Hard bread, jerky, and other preserved food were bundled in cloth. There were also two backpacks inside, perfect for carrying supplies.

“If my body was still intact, we could’ve carried twice as much. Sorry for putting all the burden on a first-timer like you.”

“It’s fine. But… do you think I could carry both bags? If I strap them properly, I might be able to manage.”

“Don’t be greedy. You look weak as hell. If you slow down because of the weight, you won’t be able to react to an ambush. Plus, you’d just make yourself a bigger target for anyone looking to steal supplies.”