William Winsled 

Through darkness, the sound of something cracking open rang out. A boy opened his eyes to an acrid smell.

"Nn...huh..."

The boy raised his trembling face, his consciousness still hazy. His eyes reflected a raging fire that threatened to devour the night sky. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and found it covered in a dark red liquid that could have been blood. Strangely, he felt no pain at all. It was as if it were just a dream, like he was still lying in bed listening to one of his father's fantasy stories. Just as he tried to avert his eyes from the reality before him, he heard a piercing scream.

"Dad!?"

Before he knew it, the boy was running singlemindedly. He climbed over rubble bigger than himself, pushing through despite the rising smoke preventing his view.

Finally, he found his father. He was crying out in desperation, the upper half of his body visible through a gap in what appeared to be the wreckage of a machine.

"Dad—"

The boy tried to run to his side, but stopped immediately. Someone stood in front of his father. The silhouette was strange—a tall, thin figure wearing a hat that resembled a boomerang curving upward. It emitted a dull silver light that defied gravity, floating and writhing as if it were a living being itself.

He knew at a glance that that was no human. The boy's legs froze up at the unfamiliar sight, and he instinctively hid in the nearby rubble. When he peeked out again, the figure looked down at his father and held one arm upward. A liquid stretched from that thin arm and took shape—into a sword.

"What?"

The instant the boy realized what would happen to his father, he lost his composure and rushed toward the figure.

"Aaaaaahhh!"

Before he could stop it, it turned toward him. As if to amplify the strangeness, its visible face was covered in metallic armor. Looking closer, part of it was broken. Suddenly, the boy could see something behind the helmet, lit by the fire. It was a face so similar to his own he thought it was his reflection.

----------

"Waaaugh!?"

William Winsled awoke from his dream. He had somehow fallen asleep while lying down and looking at the sky. In his sleep, he had stretched his right arm up, and the stars filling the sky shone brilliantly at his fingertips. It was likely because of the nonstop rain. There was nothing to obstruct the stars now. Staring at the contour of his fingers lit by the starlight, he sighed and muttered to himself.

"How many times have I done that?"

As he grumbled, he surveyed his surroundings as if to make sure he was in reality.

"I saw a bad guy that day. He wore a hat like a boomerang, and turned a shining silver liquid into a sword."

"Oh..."

It was the voice log from the mobile device lying on the floor—it played back the voice recordings William used to get his thoughts in order. Almost as if it knew, it was playing a recording that matched the dream he was just having. He stopped the playback and checked the time, then let out a small sigh.

"I really slept until the day changed over..."

William could see glitches within the steel frame exposed by the crumbling walls, and knew that this was reality. The place he was in now was a room in an abandoned building. It had remained undemolished for years after it collapsed in an accident. Now, it was considered a dangerous place no one visited, but because it hadn't been demolished, William used it as his secret base. Here, there were no shouting neighbors to interrupt his thoughts, no relatives or caretakers to try and involve themselves. That was why he liked this place.

Before leaving the room, he looked at the sky once more. From where he lay, the lonely exposed steel stood at the corners of his vision. It made a picture frame that decorated the night sky beautifully. William was the only one who could see such a breathtaking sight. Still, he looked at it with furrowed brows.

"...I'm definitely gonna find you," he said, making a fist. Then, he slowly got up, grabbed his flashlight, and left the room. He took the stairs to the secret entrance only he knew, occasionally zig-zagging and hopping as he ran down. His movements were irregular, as if he had to step that way to avoid something.

"Now for our morning segment on the aurora."

William got ready in front of the bathroom mirror, listening to a news program from his mobile device in place of background music. As he combed down his severe bedhead, he listened to the female newscaster's enthusiastic voice.

"Tomorrow marks the first day the aurora was observed here in Megacity Libra. Preparations are underway for the commemorative ceremony at the observation square, where one can see a clear and up-close view of the aurora. Please give it a look! Many sightseers are already gathering at the square—"

The aurora had been in the news day after day. It was a curious phenomenon visible in Megacity Libra, where William lived. Ordinarily, an aurora was said to only occur under specific conditions caused by the sun and magnetic fields. However, Libra's aurora—the Librarian Wave—didn't meet those conditions. The Librarian Wave floated in the sky day or night, rain or shine, and could be observed at any time. When it was first observed, the mayor declared a state of emergency, and was harshly scorned by the citizens. After a year or two of investigation, it was found that the Librarian Wave did not impact the peoples' daily lives, and it became a valuable source of tourism for the city.

William twisted the faucet to stop the water and gazed out the window as he brushed his teeth. Even from the container house he lived in, the Librarian Wave was clearly visible. Under the aurora's ever-changing colors of light, the clamor of the container complex residents that rivaled downtown might seem to some like bells heralding the end.

It'll be five years tomorrow, huh...

William couldn't be happy about the observation anniversary. It was the day tragedy struck between him and his father. Every year that day approached, his dreams became more frequent. Though memories faded with the passage of time, his complex emotions lingered.

Children cheered from the square at the container complex. The citizens on the news, too, smiled at the Librarian Wave.

We still don't know if it's actually safe or not.

William laughed in self-deprecation and got lost in his daydreams. If it were a story in a movie, the aurora might be an omen of the world's collapse. Or, maybe it was an illusion showing that the spaceship had broken down. As he imagined all these outlandish scenarios, the newscaster's voice cut out and was replaced by a blaring alarm set on the mobile device.

"Shut that thing up!" a booming voice yelled from upstairs, and he heard banging on the container.

Oh! It's that time already!

William stopped the alarm, hurriedly rinsed out his mouth, and finished getting ready. Then, the female newscaster's voice continued, as if she had been waiting.

"And now for our next story. An unexplained incident occurred in the early morning, when a crane scheduled to be transported was found buried in the ground at the city's factory district—"

The voice cut out. Finally ready to head to school, William paused the video and put the device in his pocket.

"Okay, better go before the teacher gets mad."

With practiced steps over the electronics cluttering his floor, he made for the entrance, then stopped.

"I'm off. Mom, Dad."

With a lonely smile at a childhood photo of him with his parents, William hurried to school. In the end, he never fixed his bedhead.

"Now, if the sentence 'this sentence is false' is true..."

The sound of chalk lightly tapping the blackboard echoed through the classroom. The temperature was perfect with the warm afternoon sunlight shining into the room. Listening to the teacher's dry philosophy lecture in that warmth made William sleepy. It was as if he did it on purpose.

"...ha ha!"

"Hey, he's doing it again."

His classmates whispered and pointed as William breathed gently in his sleep, traveling to the world of dreams.

A vast desert sprawled out as far as the eye could see beneath an ultramarine sky, with three moons hanging in the distance. This was not the memory of the tragedy William saw day after day, but a dream of a world different from his reality.

Where am I...?

He was flying through the sky. Watching the clouds pass by his vision at such an intense speed gave him the illusion of being a bird. When he had his fill of traveling through the sky, he began to wonder where he was going. Perhaps that was the trigger that made him suddenly fall toward the desert, as if drawn by something. He had no time to think about that, though, as he had no choice but to be conscious of death.

I'm gonna craaaaaash!?

William was immediately readied himself, but he didn't crash into the desert. Just before he would have landed, he suddenly turned, and flew over the gently sloping dunes.

What just happened...?

Just then, a twinkling light at the edge of his vision caught his attention. It glowed a bluish white as it slowly drew closer. It was a butterfly—its exquisite patterns both beautiful and ephemeral.

Where did you come from?

As if responding to his call, the butterfly glanced his way and began to glow again—the next moment, it changed into human form. Her silver hair was tinged with blue, her eyes with sorrow. The girl who landed on the dunes was crying.

Hey! Come back!

William tried to return to her, but his wish wasn't granted.

Don't go yet! I said wait!

The world before his eyes rapidly melted away into the light—

----------

"—I said wait!"

William's agonized cry rang through the classroom above the chalk and the teacher's voice. All at once, the teacher and his classmates stared at him. Still unaware that he interrupted the lesson, he looked around the room from his seat at the window.

"Ahahahahaha!"

When his classmates burst out laughing, he finally understood the situation. The teacher approached his seat, his shoes clacking intently against the floor.

"Good morning, William."

"Um...good morning, teacher..."

"Do you find my lessons good for your sleep?"

The teacher continued to lecture William as he sat meekly, like a cat scruffed by the neck.

"In order to make it easy for all of you to understand, I try to explain concisely and efficiently. If there is room to improve, by all means, tell me."

"No, your lessons are profound and sophisticated, like classical music," William said. He thought he had offered the highest compliment, but it was the wrong time and place for that.

"I see. That's why you fall asleep so easily. Next time I'll have to try playing some rock music at your desk while I teach so you don't fall asleep."

This was a teacher who put his thoughts into practice. William had concluded he was the sort of person who faced his responsibilities seriously, much like his father. Then, he would analyze whatever results occurred carefully. William didn't want to get wrapped up in that, so he apologized up front.

"I'm truly sorry, sir!"

At his heartfelt apology, the teacher just said, "Let's resume the lesson," and returned to the podium.

The end of the school day. As everyone left the classroom, William stared out his window, still thinking about the blue butterfly girl from his dream.

"Who was she, anyway?"

He couldn't forget the look on her face right before he woke up. It seemed like she was in some kind of trouble.

Maybe I'd better get my thoughts in order, he thought. As he left his seat to head to his secret base, someone called to him.

"Yo, sleepyhead!"

Frederick Blackcape. This boy—known by everyone as "Fred"—was one of the few friends William had known since childhood.

"You stay up late again? I know it's noisy at your place, but how are you gonna graduate like this, man?"

"It's just all this philosophy and mythology stuff... It's not my thing."

"Hey, you better not rub off on me. Will, seriously, if you don't build character, you're gonna regret it as an adult."

His appearance was humble, but his words were blunt. Fred belonged to a line of clergymen spanning generations, but it was his friendly personality that made him popular and loved by everyone.

"Thanks. I guess I'll think it over."

The two moved out to the lockers in the hall. As Will put his textbook back in his locker, Fred asked him a question.

"So, what'd you see today?"

His tone was more caring and gentle than before. William shook his head.

"I had a dream about a blue butterfly," he said.

William shared the details of his dream while his memory was still clear.

"A blue butterfly girl, eh...?" Fred had been listening quietly to William's story, when he continued, "You know...they say dreams show what you really desire. Sooo—"

"It's not like that!"

William guessed what he wanted to say next and hurriedly denied it, but Fred paid him no mind, nodding several times in understanding. A proud grin rose to his face, as if to say, 'I get it.'

"Don't worry, Will! No matter what kind of 'interests' you have, I'll always be your friend!" Fred teased, making air quotes with both hands as he approached William.

"I should have just kept it to myself," William sighed.

However, he definitely felt uneasy about the dream at first. He didn't know if Fred understood that when he poked fun at him, but since he was acting as usual, he felt better.

"Thanks, Fred."

"Man, I dunno how to respond when you make that face like you just realized something. So you really are into her?"

"I'm not talking about my tastes. It's just...if she really was there, I want to try and meet her. And..."

William knew there was something in this world beyond human understanding. The strange bad guy, mysterious phenomena. At this point, he could hardly consider a girl turning into a butterfly to be strange.

"And?"

"No, it's nothing."

As he glanced down the hallway, he saw the sky turning a deep red.

"That time already. I'd better get home," he said.

"Sure thing. If you have more of that dream, you better tell me first thing! Promise?"

"Yeah, promise."

The two of them lightly bumped fists as a 'see you later,' then turned their fists diagonally and gave a thumbs up.

After exchanging goodbyes with Fred, William hopped on the red scooter parked in the bicycle lot. As he was about to start the engine and put it in gear, something flickered at the corner of his vision. He turned around.

"Huh..."

It was a phantom butterfly, glowing a pale blue and fluttering about. With each flap of its wings, glowing particles scattered around it. It looked just like the butterfly from his dream.

"Hey! You—"

When William stepped off his scooter to reach out to it, the space the butterfly floated in flickered in waves perpendicular to the ground.

"Wha—!?"

It was like a localized heat haze. It shook and spread out from the center, eventually growing large enough for William to pass through.

"The heat haze...no, it's a glitch!?"

The mysterious phenomenon that existed despite being invisible to the eye—a glitch. When one stepped inside, inexplicable phenomena arose that defied the laws of physics. When William first saw one at the abandoned building, he tossed some nearby debris at it. The instant it went inside, it somehow fell on top of his head and seriously injured him. William borrowed a term from the games he often played with Fred and named this phenomenon a "glitch."

"I can't believe I got to see one form!" he cried.

There was one more reason William was excited. This was the biggest glitch he had ever seen. He couldn't contain his excitement at this unimaginable encounter. It was completely flat when viewed from the side, but it appeared to have depth when viewed from the front. What could it possibly be like inside?

As he continued observing it with great interest, the glitch's shaking gradually calmed down. The scene on the other side gradually became visible. William saw three moons hanging in an ultramarine sky, and a desert that stretched on endlessly. And—

"It's...you..."

Silver-blue hair and amethyst eyes that sparkled in the sunlight. With a beauty that looked straight out of fiction, the fantastical girl turned toward him, faint tears in her eyes.

"Is that really you..?" William spoke to the girl on the other side of the glitch. "Can you hear me? Say something if you can!"

No matter how many times he asked, she didn't answer. They both moved left and right, as if inspecting each other. After a while, the girl warily moved close.

"...!?"

William backed away without thinking, but it didn't seem like the girl could actually see him. When he tried waving his hand, she fell flat on her backside in shock.

"S-Sorry!" William immediately apologized, but she couldn't hear him. "Maybe she and I are seeing different things..."

It made sense when he thought about it. Why were the two sides connected by a glitch? Was there a way to make this side visible? It fascinated him. He had his share of doubts, but there was no time to think in this situation. As the glitch slowly closed, the girl suddenly looked in another direction in fear, then ran away somewhere.

"Ah—wait a sec!"

William called fruitlessly, as the glitch vanished in silence. He was out of clues, but he hadn't lost hope. His eyes caught the phantom butterfly flying toward the main street.

"That expression... Something must have happened on her side."

Even though he couldn't hear her voice, her face said everything. She was being cornered, crushed by fear and anxiety.

"William. When you come across someone seeking help, how will you act?"

The words his father spoke to him while training flashed through his mind.

"If someone's in trouble, I'll reach out a hand. That's reason enough!"

William mounted his scooter and stepped firmly on the pedal.

"I'm gonna trust my own instincts, Dad!"

William headed for the main street, following the traces of blue-white light floating in the air, where he caught sight of the butterfly past the intersection on his right-hand side.

"Huh...when did...?"

He was hardly driving slowly, but the blue butterfly was ten or so meters away. At this time of day, many people and cars were still coming and going along the main street. In addition, an old-fashioned cable car ran down a path laid in the center of the five lanes. Rushing through at top speed would be a bit complicated. Still, if he lost sight of her here, he might not get a second chance. William stepped on the accelerator and revved the engine when—

He was shot!? He immediately reached to his chest. However, what he touched was not his chest, but a glitch with the same form as the one he encountered the girl in.

"!?"

The glitch rippled out from where he touched it—soon, the scene on the other side would be visible. As it gradually came into view, William expected to see the blue butterfly girl, but an armed man appeared instead. The man seemed to have noticed as well, and stumbled backward a few steps before pulling a gun from his waist and firing on the spot.

"Gah!?"

William covered his head with both arms, but no matter how long he braced himself, no pain came. The man was still firing, but none of the shots injured him.

"Phew..."

He released the tension from his body and wiped beads of sweat from his forehead.

"Right! I have to go after that girl or—"

William ignored the slowly shrinking glitch and moved to start his scooter again, when—

The man "danced" through the air.

"Huh!?"

William saw the moment something gigantic jutted out from under the ground and heaved the man high into the sky. That "something" then swallowed him whole as he fell and disappeared underground.

"What was that...? A snake...no, a caterpillar...?"

Creatures capable of swallowing a human whole only existed in games and movies, or so he thought. Yet, what happened before his eyes was reality.

"What's going on with the world over there?"

Ding ding.

As a sense of urgency overtook him, a sound from the cable car snapped him back to his senses. William realized he had completely fallen behind and took off at top speed following what was left of the blue butterfly's trail.

William overtook the cable car and traffic ahead of him and finally caught up to the blue butterfly's trail. Megacity Libra was a huge city built atop a long plateau on the coastline. Beneath the plateau, historical buildings and major facilities were clustered together, a far cry from the crowded, destitute area made up of the city's ports, factories, and container houses. Thanks to thorough city planning, all the roads were straight—in other words, conditions were perfect to give chase. Luckily for William, the blue butterfly was slowly losing speed.

"Okay, at this pace I should—huh?"

As William concentrated on avoiding the vehicles ahead of him, he suddenly realized that the road dropped off where it should have continued on. When the car that should have been in front was no longer visible, a scene sprang to his mind.

Shoot! Up ahead...!

He immediately grabbed the brake lever, but it was already too late. A floating feeling enveloped his whole body, and he faintly smelled the sea. The disaster that had befallen him was the steep slope of Fisherman's Street, one of Megacity Libra's prized tourist attractions that ran to the harbor district.

"Waaaaaaaaah!?"

As he experienced a brief moment of weightlessness, William focused all his energy on avoiding the worst-case scenario. His scooter was a model with a lower body than a typical scooter. Even if he landed safely, the impact might damage it to the point of inoperability.

Adjust the angle...this much...!

William leaned his body and the scooter's backward to adjust the landing angle. The rear wheel hit the ground with a thud—but before the front wheel could land, it suddenly warped and popped as if something had twisted it.

"Wha—!?"

With the scooter's front wheel missing, it miraculously kept its balance thanks to its low body, and managed not to fall over. Somehow, William had avoided a major accident, but as he felt a brief moment of relief—

Screeeeeech!

Sparks scattered at his feet, and an anxiety-inducing sound like an approaching buzz saw rang out. Soon, that anxiety appeared in another form. Just ahead of the scooter, a cable car waited at the intersection for the traffic signal to change.

I'm gonna crash!

Frantically, William leaned his body to one side and used the reduced surface area on the ground to turn 90 degrees. Then, he slammed his foot into the slope, reducing his speed.

"Stooop!"

----------

William watched the cars pass in front of him. He had slowed down just in time to avoid a crash. Had his judgement been just a bit slower, both he and his scooter would be in a pitiful state.

"Phew..."

A sigh of relief escaped him, and he dragged his miserable scooter to the sidewalk.

"You saved me, partner."

The bright red scooter was now unrecognizable. He placed a hand on its gnarled body.

"You rest here, okay? I'll handle this right away.

As if responding to his warm voice, the scooter's headlights flashed once.

William followed the faintly glowing trail and finally found the blue butterfly. It fluttered around the wharf at the harbor district, but suddenly vanished, like it had exhausted its energy.

"W-Wait!"

Without a glitch, he couldn't know the situation on the other side.

"Then I just have to make another glitch appear!"

William began to run toward the wharf, when the space between him and the butterfly swirled and flickered.

"!?"

A glitch! However, when he saw it, William felt something was wrong, and automatically threw himself to the ground. That momentary decision was the difference between life and death. The street light behind him made a grating metal sound and warped on its own. It twisted effortlessly, as if the metal had turned to clay.

William hid inside a building and examined the glitch. Just like the first glitch he encountered, which would launch things that entered it to other places, this one likely defied the laws of physics in some way, too. As if to dispel his unfounded fears, the glitch began to change. For a moment, the undulating surface of the glitch revealed the scenery of a blue sky and vast desert. The glitch continued expanding until a large truck could pass through—and a strong wind blew towards him.

"..."

A burning heat on his skin. The sound of sand carried by the wind. The smell of arid ground mixed in with the sea breeze. William could feel with his five senses the life of the world on the other side.

"No way..."

If he reached out here and now, he could probably touch that world.

"Haha...hahaha..."

William wasn't frightened in the least by the strange phenomenon occurring before him—he simply laughed out of enjoyment. His feet drew him naturally to the unknown world. As he stood on the borderline between his world and the other, he heard voices from somewhere.

"Where do you think you're hiding, huh?"

"N-No!"

Guided by the voices, William crossed over sand dunes taller than himself to find two figures standing off against each other. One was the blue butterfly girl, and the other was a threatening man wielding a gun with an attached knife. The man wore a hemp cloth hood, and his back was turned, so William couldn't make out his face. Behind the girl was a large structure that shone with a faint luster in the sunlight. She had nowhere to hide with the man and the towering walls blocking her path.

"W-What do you want with me?" the girl pleaded. "There's no reason for anyone to chase—"

"You and your reasons. Hardly makes a difference to me!"

He pointed the muzzle at her. He made no sign that he would pull the trigger, but he cackled, toying with her as if to corner her mentally.

"I have to draw his attention to save her," William said.

His opponent held a gun. Without a proper weapon of his own, there wasn't much he could do. He moved closer while staying hidden, thinking of ways to break through the situation.

"If I just had...something to get his attention..."

Quickly, carefully, William took out the contents of the school bag on his back. A few things looked usable: a flashlight for searching his secret base, a hammer, a knife, and wire. He also found a self-defense keychain with pepper spray and an extendable rod attached. The assortment would make him look like a delinquent in the eyes of some, but he was far too nervous to face off against someone with a gun. The only other thing that might be helpful was the mobile device in his pocket.

"If I set the volume to max I might be able to grab his attention for a bit, but...no, wait. The sound—"

William suddenly remembered his encounter with the armed man through the glitch. The moment the startled man started firing indiscriminately, a huge caterpillar-like creature appeared from the ground and swallowed him up. If it came because it heard the sound of the gun...

"No... Please..." the girl cried in agony.

He couldn't delay any longer. William hurriedly got ready and sprang into action.

----------

The man with the hood over his eyes approached the frightened girl. He tapped the device attached to his arm several times, and the space in front of him began to waver slightly. It emitted a cold, mechanical voice.

"Deploying portal."

"Wha...?"

The sudden distortion puzzled her, because she was already familiar with this strange space and its deceptively deep surface. Her circumstances didn't matter to the man.

"Let's get going!" he said, sincere delight in his words.

"Eek! S-Stay back. If...if you come any closer, I'll—"

"Bite your tongue and kill yourself? Hah! You'd never. I'm quite acquainted with peoples' lives and deaths. I can instantly recognize the eyes of someone who hasn't given up on life," he said, staring at her closely. "It's called hope. Pesky little thing, really. Doesn't matter how desperate the situation is, it'll turn anyone's thoughts around."

First, a leg. He aimed the gun down at her leg, put a finger on the trigger, and ever so slowly began to pull it. As if to endure the impending pain, she squeezed her eyes—

Bang!

Before the man could fire, an explosive sound resounded from the dunes to his right, along with a number of men's shouting voices. It didn't stop with one impact, and seemed to evolve into a full-on gunfight.

"They're still alive!? Damn it!"

He hid his face with his arms and ran to the structure, examining the dunes. There was no sign that attacks would come his way, but the gunfire still continued. He could hear a number of shouts mixed in with the gunshots. He tapped at his device again, closed the expanding portal, and headed into the dunes.

"..."

Left alone, the girl could only stare in silence as he climbed over the dunes.

"You there!"

"Huh?"

She turned around, surprised that someone was talking to her. There stood a boy about her own age—William.

Perhaps because of William's sudden appearance in the empty desert, the girl simply stared at him, forgetting even to breathe. Then, as if she suddenly remembered to, she drew in a short gasp and panic rose to her face. William saw that she might scream at any moment, so he whispered so only she could hear.

"Wait—don't. He'll hear if you scream."

His calm, measured words seemed to get his thoughts across. Slowly, she regained her composure, and turned her brilliant, gemlike eyes to him.

"Who...who are you?"

"I'm William. William Winsled," he replied, tapping his thumb to his chest to indicate that the word "William" was his name. Then, he extended his palm to her, as if to say it was her turn.

"I-I am...Eirene Curious."

"Eirene? That's a nice name," he said, smiling at her and extending a hand. "I'll explain while we run. We've gotta get out of here before he finds us."

"Okay..."

The moment he touched her hand, a chill spread up his arm and he felt a strange dizziness. The next moment, it faded, like a receding wave.

"William...?"

"Oh. Sorry."

He pulled her hand and headed for the other side of the sand dune with the glitch.

As they ran for the dune with silent footsteps, Eirene suddenly asked a question.

"So, um—how did you find this place? I was—"

Jalalalala!

Before William could answer, a loud sound rang out from behind the two of them. It shook the surroundings and "cried" once more, as if to make its existence known. The cry's origin was the same caterpillar that had swallowed up the armed man in front of William hidden in the sand dunes far away—a sandworm.

"Yes, it's here!"

"You mean...that was your doing?" Eirene asked.

"Yeah. That gunfight was just a movie I left playing at high volume."

"Moo-vee?"

Earlier, William had tied a carbon fiber wire to his mobile device and thrown it far away. He turned the volume to the maximum, got close to the structure, and waited for the right timing for the gunfight. By now, the man would have his hands full dealing with the sandworm.

"He should be facing that monster right about now," William said.

His plan was progressing smoothly. All that was left was to return to Megacity Libra via the glitch past the dune. He was sure Eirene would respond positively, but she only wore impatience on her face.

"William, we need to hurry!"

"Yeah, of course—"

As he was about to ask why she was in such a rush, something tore between them.

"—!?"

William heard a sound slice through the wind, and he gingerly touched a hand to the gnawing heat in his cheek. From the wet texture and the faint scent of iron, he was struck by a certain fact: He had been shot. The moment he realized, he could no longer move his legs properly, as if he were a wooden doll.

"No way... He already beat that thing...?"

A sudden fear of death overtook him, eating away at his body and mind.

"Wh...What?"

Unable to move his legs as he wanted, William lost his balance and toppled over on the dunes.

"William!" Eirene cried.

As he heard her call his name from far away, he struggled against the inner voice boiling within him.

It's impossible to escape from someone like that!

He'd seen similar scenes countless times in movies and games. Still, all that knowledge was useless when misfortune befell his own body.

I clung to my baseless confidence without knowing a thing about my opponent, and rushed into a reckless plan. I took him too lightly—no, I looked down on him.

Experiencing so many unreal events with no rest was thrilling for his curious mind. Then, his desires became his selfish feelings of wanting to save Eirene, overinflating his self-esteem.

This is reality. There are no infinite lives or respawn points like a video game. If you die, it's over... It's over...

His vision blurred and his hands shook.

"Please get a hold of yourself!"

Eirene placed her hand on William's unmoving hand.

"E-Eirene..."

Her hands trembled faintly from running through the hot desert.

"Ah..." William muttered.

"My mom always shook when she was scared, too. That's when I would put my hand on hers like this, and she could face her fears. So, let's do it too. We're both scared, so let's support each other," she said, smiling through her tired voice.

Her strained face was very awkward, but very beautiful. William gripped her hand back. The shaking had already subsided.

"...Sorry," he said.

"Huh?"

Eirene was discouraged, thinking her words hadn't reached him.

"Oh, no, no! I'm apologizing because I'm ashamed of myself, so—!"

He hurriedly clarified, but for some reason, Eirene gave him an odd smile. Heat filled his cheeks, this time entirely unrelated to his sliced skin.

"Uh, no time for excuses. Let's keep going, Eirene!"

William and Eirene made for the glitch. Before long, they could see a gaping black hole in the scenery that split the sky and desert in two. The cityscape of Megacity Libra was faintly reflected inside the hole.

"There?" Eirene asked.

"Yeah, if we go through—"

"How naïve!"

At that moment, William was struck by a strong impact that sent him flying.

"...Gah!"

He skidded over the desert sand several times, moving far away from Eirene in the blink of an eye. As up and down changed places a dizzying number of times, William managed to control his posture and land safely, panting.

"For a little twig, you sure take a beating huh?" the man taunted. "Thought you'd try and bite at me? Well, whatever."

He drew closer to William, who took ragged breaths on one knee.

"Little shit with your stupid traps! How dare you look down on me! I'll give you this in return!"

With those words, the sinister blade attached to the tip of his gun made a booming sound.

"Shall we?"

William glared back, refusing to bend to his threat. Recalling the pain he experienced because of his naïveté, he focused on analyzing the man.

He's probably the type who's honest with himself.

The man's behavior gave him a sense of déjà vu​. William had seen plenty of people like him in the destitute part of town. He prioritized his own desires over efficiency or achieving his primary goal.

He would rather strike fear into me before killing me—rather than rely on the absolute power of a gun. If I attack there, I can find a way to strike back!

William hid a hand in his pocket, where the man wouldn't see.

"I can't stand that look in your eyes," he sneered. "You still think you can try something!?"

"That's right! No matter how many times I fail, I'll keep fighting 'til I succeed!"

"Irritating little—"

"Enough of that! I'm gonna take you down and protect Eirene!" William shouted, clenching his lips.

The man responded with silence. Then, as if realizing something, he suddenly grabbed his stomach and roared with laughter.

"Pf—haha! Gyahahahaha! To think I'd run into you here of all places! It must be fate!"

"What are you talking—"

Just then, an especially strong wind blew. The man's hood fell back.

"—abou...huh?"

The man's face was so similar to his own, he thought he was looking at his reflection.

"Don't make that awful face at me," he said. "Is this brat really my 'isotope'?"

William encountered a great turning point on this day. He met another self in a world of hot sand—and the girl he was chasing. Two destinies that should never cross became one story, changing the shape of the world itself.

William refers to the figure from his dream/memory as 怪人 (kaijin), literally meaning "mysterious person" but often used to refer to tokusatsu villains, as well as monsters or otherworldly beings in other media (like the Phantom of the Opera!). I struggled with this one, but settled on "bad guy" to fit a child's perception of a real-world villain.

I've gone back and forth a bit on the term 同異体 (douitai), translated here as "isotope" - you may have seen it translated as "parallel" in an earlier version. The kanji are a play on 同位体 (douitai), the correct way to write "isotope," except the middle character is replaced with 異, meaning "different" (as in "isekai"). In physics, an isotope refers to variants of the same chemical element with different nuclei, giving them different properties. The pun is lost in translation, but I felt preserving the scientific meaning was meaningful to the relationship between these characters.