Dr. STONE IF: The World Where Tsukasa Shishio Got the Petrification Cure - The Morning of Petrification — Awakening 3700 Years Later —

"Taiju! You're seriously gonna become an astronaut?!" Autumn, 2019. A park at night. Pumping his legs on a swing, Senku called out to his childhood friend Ooki Taiju, who stood beside him. Taiju turned toward Senku and grinned. A big guy, tall and broad. Close-cropped black hair, kind brown eyes. He'd been at Senku's side since they were kids — one of the few friends Senku had. "Of course! I wanna see the Earth from space! And besides, if I become an astronaut, I'll get to ride the rocket you build, right?!" Senku ran a hand through his frizzy black-and-white hair and sighed. He let his skinny frame sink into the swing, gazing up at the night sky with deep brown eyes. The small scar on his left cheek floated faintly in the moonlight. "Ride my rocket... Just how much faith do you have in me?" "Because you're a genius, Senku! You can build anything!" "Being a genius doesn't make me a wizard. Building a rocket takes money and time. Though... theoretically, it's possible." Senku pulled a battered notebook from his pocket. The cover was worn thin, the page edges yellowed. Inside was his own private research on the faint electromagnetic anomalies that preceded the petrification phenomenon. "If I can figure out everything written in here, someday I'll reach space too. That's the kind of power science has." Taiju sat down on the swing next to him. The chains creaked. "Hey, Senku. Why do you like science so much, anyway?" Senku went quiet for a moment, then closed the notebook. "Science is the force that pushes humanity forward. People long ago got fire, then made electricity, then reached space. It's all built on layers of science. ...I want to use that power to change the world. I want to see things nobody's ever seen." Taiju nodded hard. "Whoa! That's so cool! Then I'll be the guy standing next to you, protecting you! Leave the heavy lifting to me!" Senku let out a short laugh. "Your head really is empty, huh. But... yeah, I'm counting on you." And then it happened. The sky lit up. At first he thought it was distant lightning. But it wasn't. The light covered the entire sky — a greenish-white glow that swallowed the whole world. "W-what the hell is this...!" Taiju shot to his feet. Senku stood too, staring up. His eyes stung. Something burned deep inside his skull. "Senku! My body... I can't move...!" Taiju's voice grew distant. Senku looked at his own hand. From his fingertips, something like gray stone was spreading. Skin, muscle — hardening. "This is... petrification...!" Senku clenched the notebook. Equations spun through his mind. Electromagnetic waveforms. Chemical formulas. The transformation of matter. The hints for a cure, written in his notes. (This... can be solved with science. I swear I'll solve it.) His vision went dark. The last thing he saw was Taiju's face. He was turning to stone too. Senku smiled. "Wait for me, Taiju... I'll wake you up. I promise." And then his consciousness cut out. ——— He woke up. No — it wasn't quite the feeling of waking. It was more like being dragged forcibly out of a long sleep. Senku shattered the stone shell around his body with his own strength. Crack, crack — hard fragments fell away. "...Huh? What the hell is this?" The sight before him left him speechless. This was the waterfront of what had once been called Yokohama — Yokohama Bay Side. Senku was standing on the rooftop of a collapsed high-rise. Every building around him was draped in vines. Windows shattered, steel frames rusted and bent. An elevated highway that once carried traffic had crumbled midway, overgrown with grass and trees. "How long was I asleep...?" Senku checked his right wrist. A faint mark remained where his watch had been before the petrification. The watch no longer ticked. He searched his pockets. The battered notebook had miraculously survived. The pages were even more degraded now — less than half was still legible. Even so, Senku clutched it to his chest like a treasure. "This is my only weapon." From the rooftop, Senku surveyed his surroundings. He could see the sea. Tokyo Bay. The water was astonishingly clear — he could see fish swimming in it. The smoke of the old industrial zone was gone, and the air was pure. "Civilization has completely collapsed. No cars. No electricity. No magic, no isekai, nothing. This is just Earth, 3,700 years later." Senku analyzed it calmly. He calculated exactly how long he'd been asleep. "Petrification was 2019. At least 3,700 years have passed since. The season... close to autumn. Temperatures are low. If I don't secure food and water before winter, I'm dead." Senku carefully climbed down from the rooftop. Inside the building had once been offices. Desks and chairs had rotted away, documents reduced to dust. Senku pulled an iron pipe from a collapsed wall. "First, a weapon. With this, I can defend myself to some degree." Next, he searched the wreckage of a broken vending machine. From the rusted parts, he dug out several small vials of chemical samples. Most of the contents had evaporated, but a little remained. "I can use this later. Science can start from a single drop of chemicals." Senku made salt from seawater. He pooled seawater in a shallow rocky area and let the sun's heat evaporate the water. White crystals remained. Now he could preserve food. He lashed a tree branch to a stone with vines, making a stone axe. "All right. That's the bare minimum of tools." Senku walked through the ruins. He entered what had once been a convenience store — shelves all toppled, goods weathered away to nothing. But behind the register, he found the remains of a lighter. "Oh! Lighter parts! I can use these for flint!" Senku rejoiced at the small discovery. Just this much raised his odds of survival. "A scientist can survive alone. ...That's what I thought, but reality isn't so kind." Then he heard a growl in the distance. Senku turned. A pack of feral dogs was watching him. Three of them. All skinny, eyes gleaming. Dogs that, over 3,700 years, had lost their wariness of humans and turned vicious. "This is bad...!" Senku raised his stone axe. But these weren't opponents he could beat. In combat, a scientist was the weakest of all. "Damn it! I've got no choice but to run!" Senku ran. The dogs gave chase. Footsteps closed in. His breath ran short. His heart ached. "Run, run, run! My brain's fine, but my body can't keep up!" Senku dove into a gap between collapsed buildings. The dogs couldn't follow. Growling, they prowled around for a while, then finally gave up and left. Senku slumped against the wall. "Hah... hah... damn, how pathetic..." The power of science was truly amazing. But alone, he couldn't even beat wild dogs. Senku felt his own helplessness keenly. "Taiju... if only you were here..." Senku slowly stood up. ——— By the time the sun began to sink, Senku was at the shore. The sea breeze blew, carrying the smell of salt. On the beach lay countless petrified human statues. Over 3,700 years, washed by waves and worn by wind, many had lost their original form. Missing limbs, crumbling faces — many were just lumps of stone. "So this is the fate of petrified humanity..." Among them, Senku spotted a statue he recognized. A big frame. Short black hair. Frozen with that gentle smile. "...Taiju!" Senku ran over. No mistake. It was Ooki Taiju. Turned to stone in the exact pose he'd held just before petrification. Senku dropped to his knees before Taiju's stone statue. "Thank god... you made it..." Tears spilled over. But immediately, Senku analyzed his own emotions. "No... you didn't make it. You're stone. If I don't save you, you'll stay like this forever." Senku stared at the statue's face. (I want to save you. But more than that...) Senku laughed at himself. "I'm trying to use you as a test subject. Not purely because I want to save you. You're a convenient sample to test the cure on. ...I'm the worst, aren't I." Senku opened the ruined notebook. "But this is science. Ruthless, cold-blooded — and still, a force that moves forward. ...Taiju, I'm going to use you. Waking you up will be the first step toward saving humanity." Following the recipe in his notes, Senku began compounding the cure. Salt made from seawater. Chemicals gathered from the ruins. A catalyst made from crushed iron pipe. He mixed them in a broken bottle. "Sulfuric acid and nitric acid... no, a simpler reaction should work. The notebook says so." Assembling the equations in his head, Senku carefully mixed the chemicals. "Failure isn't an option. There's almost no material left." ——— Night fell. Senku climbed to high ground and looked out over the area. The starry sky was astonishingly beautiful. Over 3,700 years, every artificial light had gone out. This was the first time in his life he'd seen a sky like this. "Incredible... it's like I'm floating in space." Then, something unbelievable caught his eye. Far off, in the sky toward Shinjuku, a small firelight flickered. "...Fire. There's fire over there. Are there living humans...?" Senku's heart pounded. (There might be allies. I might find help.) But at the same time, cold caution took root. "No, wait. I don't know who it is. In this world, the humans who survived aren't necessarily friendly. More likely, they're dangerous." Senku stared hard at the firelight. "But I have no choice but to go. I have to find out what's there. ...I need information to wake Taiju, too." Senku packed water and food. "The rebuilding of the Kingdom of Science starts here. From one lone, weakest scientist. ...But someday, I swear I'll save humanity." Senku took a step toward the firelight. The night wind fluttered his white shirt. (Wait for me, Taiju. And...) Senku clenched his fist. (Someday, I'll take this world back. With the power of science.)

日本語

What is Novelia? →

Episode 1

Name: Dr. STONE IF: The World Where Tsukasa Shishio Got the Petrification Cure
Author: Novelia

What is Novelia?

Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.

Learn more about Novelia →New sign-ups get 5,000pt