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- - Treacherous Trench
――A full day had passed since that alarm.
In the monitor room attached to the hangar, where a faint scent of ozone hung in the air, Kurogane Renji sat on a hard metal chair, staring fixedly at the large screen before him. The flickering of the Lumen stones embedded in the walls cast unstable shadows across his face.
(*Kirsche is still in the infirmary.*)
The wound on her left side wasn't deep. But considering the strain on her vocal cords, absolute rest for several days was essential. Volunteering for this patrol mission in her place were a young male Singer named Luca, the veteran helmsman Gant, and the younger Isaac.
"It's starting, kid."
A low voice cut through his thoughts.
Standing beside him, Volg shook the dull blond hair he'd tied back carelessly and narrowed his grayish-blue eyes. The old nautical chart tattoo covering his entire left arm shimmered faintly in the light of the Lumen stones. His usual jokes had vanished from his lips.
"...Yes."
Tension glued his throat shut.
The screen displayed the pulse communication feed from the submersible Urca. Depth: 40 meters. Near-shore Sector E-7. About five kilometers further east from where Kirsche had intercepted the Crawler yesterday. Through the dim sea, Gant's Urca—designation "Triton"—advanced. Behind it, the Urca carrying Luca and Isaac followed.
"Reached E-7. No visual on Crawler swarm shadows."
Gant's voice over the monitor was calm, as befitting a veteran. Forty-two years old. He'd piloted Urca for over twenty years, completing countless patrol missions. As long as he was there, everything would be fine. Everyone thought so.
"...Wait. Starboard, depth 55. Moving shadow."
A jolt of tension ran through the room at his voice.
The sound of Volg swallowing hard seemed unnaturally loud.
Renji stared at the screen as if trying to bore through it. In the corner of the display, within the dark sea, countless tiny points of light flickered. A swarm of Crawlers. Their numbers... ten, no, over twenty.
"Too many. We're going around. Isaac, Luca, do you read? Abort the sweep, we're returning to base—"
*Bzzzt.*
Static.
At the same moment, the image shook violently.
"Wha—what?! Starboard sealed bulkhead, pressure anomaly! Something on the outer hull—"
That instant.
The video feed from the Triton's monitor distorted with a sickening crunch. As if an invisible giant hand had grabbed the entire vessel and crushed it.
"Guaaaah!!"
The grating screech of twisting metal. A bursting sound. And then—jet-black tentacles spread across the entire screen.
Like a curtain falling, the feed cut out.
"Gant, what's happening, Gant?! Respond!"
The voice of the younger Isaac, now switched onto the monitor, was trembling.
"Dammit, I'm heading over there! Right now—"
"Don't, Isaac. Look at that."
Along with Luca's shout, the screen switched.
In the sea. Within the dark abyss, a shadow slowly rose. Massive. Its body length had to be fifty meters. A grotesque giant, like a fusion of whale and serpent. Black mucus covering its entire form writhed slickly in the seawater.
A mid-sized *Kegaregami*.
In its mouth—a mouth like a split cliff—the crushed Triton was held fast.
"Gant... get out of there, Gant!!"
Before his shout finished, the mouth closed.
Like human teeth biting through bread.
Metal shattered, flesh pulped, bones snapped.
A sickening, squelching sound, mixing all of it together, echoed through the room via the monitor. Deep crimson blood seeped into the black seawater. From the corner of the *Kegaregami*'s mouth, an arm tumbled out—it was Gant's arm. The nautical chart tattoo was still clearly visible.
"Noooooooo!!!"
On the screen, Isaac screamed like a madman and wrenched the control stick. The Urca banked sharply. But he was in a complete panic. The vessel, having misjudged its course, slammed into a black rock wall towering in the sea.
Impact. Sparks. The feed scrambled.
"Help me... Someone...!!"
That voice was the last.
The feed cut, leaving only static. Luca attempted to escape alone. But that Urca, too, was soon overwhelmed by the massive swarm of Crawlers closing in from all sides—
——
Renji stood frozen before the monitor.
His legs wouldn't move.
A hot mass surged up from the pit of his stomach. Even covering his mouth couldn't stop it.
"Ugh, urp..."
He dropped to his knees on the spot. The contents of his stomach spilled onto the floor. The sour smell and bitter taste filled his mouth. Tears and mucus wouldn't stop, blurring his vision.
(*What... was that just now?*)
(*Did that really just happen?*)
His sense of reality peeled away with an audible crack.
Deep in his head, someone's voice echoed.
*"You never did anything for me."*
Middle school. His best friend, who sat next to him.
Gentle, a little shy, but always smiling. Then one day, some kids in class targeted him, and the insidious bullying began. His textbooks were hidden, his shoes dunked in the toilet, and no one would speak to him anymore.
Renji saw it. He saw it, but did nothing.
Because he was afraid of becoming a target himself.
One day, his best friend stopped coming to school. The day before he transferred, he said just one thing to Renji.
*"You never did anything for me."*
(*It's the same as back then.*)
Renji collapsed. Clutching his head, not caring about the vomit spreading on the floor, he curled up, trembling.
"I... I couldn't do anything, again...!"
Wordless sobs echoed in the room.
"—Kid."
A large hand rubbed his back.
He couldn't lift his face. All he could do was tremble. Volg said nothing, just stayed there. Not a trace of his usual flippant remarks.
"Why... why can't I save anyone...!"
Renji collapsed face-down on the floor, hugging himself. He didn't want anyone to see his face, a mess of tears, snot, and vomit.
——
Several hours later.
On the hard bed in his room, Renji lay curled up.
No one else was there. Only the light of the Lumen stones embedded in the wall dimly illuminated his form.
His right fist was stained with blood. He'd slammed his hand against the wall over and over. His nails were split, the skin torn, raw flesh visible beneath. There was pain. But that pain slightly numbed the deeper pain right in the center of his chest.
(*I have no worth. No reason to live.*)
A voice in his heart whispered.
(*Or is it still not enough?*)
(*If I don't hurt more, will this sin never disappear?*)
—*Knock, knock.*
A hesitant knock.
"...Can I come in?"
Renji didn't answer. He didn't have the strength to answer.
The door slowly opened.
It was Kirsche. Her waist-length silver hair wasn't tied up as usual. It flowed straight down her back. White bandages were wrapped around her left side. Her large violet eyes caught sight of Renji collapsed on the bed and wavered with pain.
She said nothing.
She just sat gently on the edge of the bed and wrapped both her hands around Renji's bloodied, trembling hand.
Her fingertips were cold. But soon, a gentle warmth seeped through.
"...I saw it all. Gant-san, dying. I couldn't do anything."
It was a voice wrung out of him.
Kirsche said nothing.
"It was the same in middle school. My best friend was being bullied... but I was scared to help, so I pretended not to see. He said it, at the end. That I never did anything for him."
Tears splattered onto the sheets.
"I did the same thing here. Just watching. Far from protecting anyone, I couldn't do anything, and someone died right in front of me again. Someone like me... has no reason to live...!"
His words dissolved into sobs.
Kirsche listened silently. As if searching for something.
"...Your hands are cold."
He said it without lifting his face.
Her fingertips were cold. But that coldness, strangely, felt like it cooled his burning, aching heart just a little.
"—I was,"
Kirsche spoke for the first time.
"Saved by you."
"...Huh?"
Renji lifted his face. Beyond his tear-blurred vision, Kirsche was smiling faintly.
"In the training ground, you taught me. That there's a melody between the earth and the sea. That a song isn't just about making it resonate; it won't reach anyone unless you put your heart into it. At that time, you changed how I approach my singing. I felt like I could move forward, just a little."
Her voice trembled.
She never spoke much. That was precisely why each and every word pierced deep into his chest.
"...But I can't fight. I can't do anything. I'm just a useless person who only watches."
"That's not true. The fact that you talked to me just now. That you shared your pain with me. I think that's what's important. Don't carry it all by yourself. There are people who care about you."
She said nothing more.
She just tightened her grip on his hand, ever so slightly.
That warmth lit a faint ember in Renji's long-frozen heart.
(*Even in this world, there's someone.*)
(*Someone who will hold the hand of a guy like me.*)
He didn't know how much time passed. Until his tears dried and his breathing eased just a little, Kirsche didn't let go of his hand.
"...Thank you."
The voice he finally managed was hoarse.
Kirsche nodded without a word. Then, she gently released his hand and stood up.
"See you tomorrow."
Saying just that, she left the room.
The door closed.
In the silence that returned to the room, Renji looked at his own hand. The blood had clotted, the pain already gone. But only Kirsche's warmth remained, still distinct.
——
The corridor was cold and deathly quiet.
A ceiling dripping with seawater.
In that darkness, a single figure stood.
The man wore a technician's jumpsuit. His name was Dan. A mid-level technician responsible for managing communication logs. At a glance, he was a perfectly ordinary middle-aged man.
But.
Clutched in his right hand was a small communicator. Not an official Kaleidoscope model. It was a modified device he'd personally assembled in secret, scavenging internal parts.
He stared intently at the door to Renji's room, the one Kirsche had just left. His expression was twisted with anguish.
The communicator in his palm. He typed in a detailed surveillance log: how long Kirsche had stayed in Renji's room, what Renji's condition seemed to be.
*'Elpis candidate deepening contact with Kirsche. Continuing surveillance.'*
The signal was converted into code and vanished into the darkness of the sea.
Dan pocketed the communicator, then pulled an old pendant from his chest. Inside was a photo of a little girl, about eight years old. She was smiling.
"...Forgive me, Mia. This is the only way to save you."
He murmured it in a trembling voice.
Head hung low, he quietly left the spot.
In the corridor of the safe house, only the cold droplets of seawater continued to fall, *drip, drip*.
The traitor was right there. His watchful gaze added a new chill of scrutiny to the depths of Renji's despair.
Nowhere in Kaleidoscope was safe anymore.
Even the faint warmth that had enveloped him seemed destined only to be shattered someday.
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