Renji Kurogane, a completely normal high school student, was on his way back from a convenience store late one night when he was suddenly enveloped in a blinding light and lost consciousness.
When he awoke, he found himself in a decaying ocean world ruled by 'Hakos Baelz.' The sky was shrouded in murky clouds, and the sea was black and polluted. The world was slowly being devoured by colossal monsters known as 'Kegareshin' (Corrupted Gods).
Renji manages to reach an underwater 'Safe House,' wh
Elpis of the Corrupted Sea -A God's Despair Game- - Into the Song and the Depths of the Water
A warm hand.
Cold. The sensation of wet metal against his back. A freezing wind that bit into his skin — right after those sensations, Kurogane Renji felt the warmth of someone else's body.
(*Someone... is holding my arm...*)
He thought hazily, somewhere deep in his consciousness. The feeling of the cold sea that had been crushing his entire body just moments ago was gone. In its place, the hard sensation of a solid floor and the rhythmic sound of machinery.
His lungs hurt.
"...Ugh, *cough*, *hack*!"
"Don't try to move too much."
At the voice that came from right beside him, Renji tried to force his body upright. But he couldn't muster any strength. His uniform was soaked through, heavy as lead.
"Y-you're..."
Rubbing his bleary eyes, he looked toward the source of the voice.
There was a girl about his age. Long silver hair that seemed to reach her waist. Even in the dimly lit interior of the vessel, her hair gathered the light, shimmering with a faint blue glow. Her large violet eyes, which seemed to shift to gold depending on the light, were so beautiful they threatened to pull him in.
She swept her wet hair back and, expressionless, held out a cloth to Renji.
"Dry yourself with this. You'll catch a cold."
"Huh? Oh, th-thanks..."
Renji took the cloth with trembling hands. It was a coarse fabric, but right now, he was more grateful for it than anything. As he wiped his face and hair, he finally realized he was inside something like a small boat.
The interior was surprisingly spacious, with several square windows lined up. Countless pipes and machines he'd never seen before were packed tightly along the walls. A low, rumbling engine sound vibrated up through the floor.
"Where is this...?"
"The *Ulka*. A special submersible."
The girl answered concisely and sat down in what looked like the pilot's seat. She began operating a panel lined with levers and instruments with practiced hands.
"A submersible... So we're underwater, then."
Renji tried to look out the window. But beyond the thick glass was pitch black. There was no light at all.
"Depth: 40 meters. We'll be arriving at Kaleidoscope soon."
"Kaleidoscope?"
"The headquarters of Hacos Veils. An underwater safe house. That floating structure you were on was the wreckage of an old building destroyed in the Vorlac. No one thought anyone could be in a place like that."
"Vorlac...?"
The moment he heard that word, a restlessness stirred deep in Renji's chest.
(*What is this feeling? It's like the common sense of the world is being turned upside down—*)
"The name of the great calamity that destroyed this world about 120 years ago. The sea turned black and murky, and 98% of the land sank into the ocean. The sky has been covered by those leaden clouds ever since. Only 12,000 humans survived."
Her tone was matter-of-fact. Like reciting history in a school lesson, she listed only the facts, devoid of emotion.
That coldness, paradoxically, made it feel more real.
"That's... a lie, right?"
His voice trembled.
"In a world like this, do you think anyone has the luxury to lie?"
Her violet eyes fixed on Renji.
She wasn't joking. Her eyes were surprisingly direct, and held just a hint of sadness.
"...Sorry, I'm not doubting you. It's just, well, it's too sudden."
Renji scratched his messy black hair. His bedhead, still unfixed, was now a soggy mess from the seawater.
(*Another world, being transported... this isn't some light novel.*)
A part of him was thinking that.
(*But, it's reality.*)
The girl in front of him, this submersible, the black monster that had tried to kill him earlier — it was all real.
"That monster from before..."
"A Crawler. A lower-order being of the Kegare-Kami. You were lucky. It was small, and there was only one. A fully grown Crawler wouldn't have been deterred by my song alone."
"Song...!"
He remembered.
As he was sinking into the black sea, he had definitely heard it. A wordless, yet unbelievably beautiful singing voice. The moment it rang out, the monster started to writhe in pain and fled.
"That was you?"
"The Song of Purification. A power only 'Singers' like me can use. The Kegare-Kami can't be scratched by ordinary weapons. Only the sound waves of this song can decompose them."
Kirsche placed a hand on her own throat.
"There's an organ here for singing. It's made of the same components as Lumen Stone, so it glows faintly when I sing. Only people born with it can become Singers. Right now, there are only twelve living Singers."
Twelve.
That number hammered home the desperate situation of this world to Renji.
"So, how is humanity surviving?"
"In underwater safe houses. We barely manage, using an ore called Lumen Stone for energy. Food is farmed fish and seaweed. The taste... isn't good."
Even as she talked, Kirsche's hands never stopped working the panel. Occasionally, she glanced out the window, seemingly checking the depth and the surrounding contamination levels.
"So this 'Kegare-Kami' is..."
"The sea's contamination — the Black Tide Miasma — solidifies and becomes monsters with a will. They range in size from small Crawlers to the giant Nahal Totems. There are seven large ones in total. Three of them are especially powerful, and are called the Nahal Totems."
(*Nahal Totems—*)
A name he'd never heard. Yet its very sound filled him with immense dread.
"But why have the Kegare-Kami become so strong?"
"...We don't know. But they've become suddenly more active in the last few years. The amount of Lumen Stone we can mine is decreasing, and the safe houses' defenses are barely holding."
"So you're short on resources, too."
"The Corundum Council manages them, but the rations keep getting smaller. If you're caught fraudulently receiving them, you're exiled. Exile means death here."
Renji was at a loss for words.
(*What kind of world is this?*)
Death was just an extension of everyday life. In a world like that, this girl and the other people were living.
"Oh, right, I haven't gotten your name yet..."
"Kirsche. Kirsche Marinard. A Singer of Hacos Veils."
"I'm Kurogane Renji. And, well, thank you for saving me."
"I only did what was natural. More importantly, where did you come from? No one should be living in that structure, and I've never seen anyone wearing clothes like yours."
"Uh... from another world, probably."
Kirsche's hands stopped for a moment.
"The Outside World?"
"Yeah, probably. I was walking down a street at night in a country called Japan, and suddenly I was surrounded by light, and the next thing I knew, I was here."
"The Outer Lands... they really existed."
Kirsche's voice carried emotion for the first time. Surprise, and a hint of interest. She stared intently at Renji's face.
"I'd only heard about it in old stories. That somewhere in this sea, there's a place connected to another world. But to think it was real."
"I can't believe it either. But I want to go back. To my original world, no matter what."
He took his broken smartphone out of his pocket. It was wet, but he still couldn't let it go. Inside it was a photo of the starry sky he'd seen with his mom.
(*I will definitely go back.*)
"...I don't know how you got here. But we might be able to find a way for you to return. The Hacos Veils command center should know something."
"Really!?"
"Sorry for getting your hopes up. It's just a possibility. Don't think there's an easy hope like that in this world."
Kirsche looked down slightly. Her silver hair fell over her face.
"I, too... a long time ago, couldn't protect someone important to me. This is that kind of place."
A deep wound seeped into her voice.
Renji couldn't say anything.
(*This person has lost something.*)
He couldn't think of any words of comfort. Besides, he'd only just arrived; there was no way he could understand her pain.
Silence filled the vessel.
Only the mechanical sounds echoed rhythmically.
"—We're coming up on it."
Kirsche raised her face and pointed out the window.
Renji pressed himself against the window to look outside.
"That's..."
At the bottom of the dark sea, a giant dome was emerging.
A five-tiered structure that looked to be 200 meters in diameter. The whole thing was illuminated by the pale, bluish-white light of Lumen Stone, glowing faintly like a city at midnight. Countless tiny particles of light were scattered across the dome's surface, making it look like a kaleidoscope — probably the origin of its name.
"It's beautiful..."
The words slipped out involuntarily.
"This is our home. We're arriving."
The *Ulka* slowly approached a hangar on the side of Kaleidoscope. A large metal door opened, and bright light spilled out from inside.
A jolt, with a *clunk*.
They had landed.
When the hatch opened, it revealed a vast hangar. Several *Ulka* were lined up in orderly rows. Mechanics and helmsmen came and went, and carts carrying Lumen Stone rattled noisily. The air was dusty, smelling of oil and seawater.
Kirsche disembarked first, and Renji followed.
"Kirsche, you're back. Who's that?"
A man in work clothes called out to her.
"A Transferee. From the Outside World."
"What!?"
At the man's loud voice, eyes from all over the hangar gathered on them.
"From the Outer Lands?"
"In those ragged clothes?"
"He doesn't look like a Singer either..."
Whispered voices, hushed but clearly audible. Gazes of curiosity and open wariness stabbed into Renji.
Unable to bear it, Renji half-hid behind Kirsche.
(*This is uncomfortable.*)
"Don't mind them. They're just surprised because you're unusual."
Kirsche started walking, casually shielding Renji.
They passed through the hangar and proceeded down a corridor leading to the residential area. The walls were metal, with Lumen Stone lights embedded here and there. This was probably a substitute for the sun here.
The residents they passed all did a double-take at Renji. A child pointed, and its mother hurriedly pushed its hand down. An old man furrowed his brow, and young people whispered amongst themselves.
"I came to this safe house when I was twelve. I was in a different place before that, but it was destroyed in a Crawler attack."
Suddenly, Kirsche began to speak.
"At that time, my older sister... to protect me, she called out and drew the Crawlers to her. She was taken away, and I never saw her again."
"Kirsche..."
"So, I understand a little of how you feel. Being unable to do anything, only able to watch — that's the most painful thing."
Her violet eyes looked up at Renji.
"When I first came here, everyone looked at me with curious eyes, too. But that's fine. Here, being different can sometimes become a weapon."
"A weapon?"
"You're an ordinary person, right? You can't sing, and you don't know how to fight. But you came from a world we don't know. Things we take for granted, you don't understand. That 'lack of understanding' can sometimes give rise to new ways of thinking. At least, that's what I believe."
At that, Kirsche's mouth relaxed just a little.
It was too small a change to call a smile, but even so, her demeanor suddenly softened.
Renji felt a gentle warmth spreading deep in his chest.
(*She's really thinking about me.*)
"Thank you, Kirsche."
That was when it happened.
—*WOOOOOOOOOP!!!*
A piercing alarm blared throughout the entire corridor.
"Wh-what is that!?"
Kirsche's expression instantly switched to combat mode.
"Outer wall alarm. A swarm of small Crawlers. It happens often — but there are a lot of them."
The corridor lights began flashing red.
Residents started running, screaming. Adults pulled children by the hand, and the elderly headed for the evacuation route with unsteady steps.
"I'm heading to my battle station. You—"
She stopped mid-sentence and called out to a female engineer nearby.
"Please guide him to the shelter."
"Roger! This way!"
"Kirsche!"
"It's fine. I'll finish this quickly."
Saying just that, Kirsche turned, her silver hair fluttering, and ran off toward the hangar.
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