1 Welcome To Black Box

I opened my eyes. And darkness greeted me.

The smell of rust lingered in the air, while shrapnels of various sizes nestled against my body. What I laid on was composed of various textures— most of them being hard and uncomfortable. My rigid form couldn't handle the pain, so I struggled to my feet.

Or at least, I attempted to. The struggles were in vain, which was understandable. A dull ache danced along my nerves, my limbs unable to respond to my calls. Should I just decay here? Wherever this was.

My eyes were becoming a bit more accustomed to my surroundings. Though there was nothing more than a slight light to illuminate the environment, it was appreciated nonetheless. Slowly, I trained my neck to slightly move around, looking for a change in perspective.

This was a bad idea.

A rustle interrupted the still silence of the area. A dogged persistence was ruined at that moment. And, contrary to the inhospitable environment, there was indeed someone here. And they noticed me.

"What are you doing here?" The faint outline of a face entered my line of sight. The expanse of the abyss above was partly filled by a stranger. I felt less lonely, it was good to die in the company of others.

"…" Was all I had to say. I didn't have to justify myself. What use was it?

"You don't want to talk? …you seem like an Angel. There's your unit number, right there! One…five…four? The writings of your kind are always so hard to decipher…"

The voice seemed feminine, and her outline was reminiscent of such. She seemed content to talk to herself. I wasn't going to interrupt her. And yet she insisted on asking for my input.

"You're new here, right? Either that, or newly awakened. I haven't had the chance to see very many "natural" Angels. What brings you to the Junkyard? These materials don't seem to do it for you."

Upon saying that, she easily dragged and picked up my still breathing corpse. It's bothering that I wouldn't get to die in peace, but the comfort of another's contact was acceptable.

Gradually, the darkness faded, and the scent of rust was left behind. As we stepped into the light, my hands twitched slightly. The girl paused at this, and then proceeded to let me down.

"Oh, you're a tree. The sunlight is nice, isn't it? You should enjoy it while you can, it won't last for long."

The girl promptly took her leave of me, and I observed only her back. She was…well, a girl. Her attire was odd to me though. Does everyone walk around in armor these days?

My form was nestled against a nice mound, and I breathed in the scent of nature. A wild and fresh scent that seemed exclusive to places like this. I observed nice rolling hills, and wondered what it would be like to climb them.

The sunlight filled my body, and I gingerly tested my limits. One finger moved, and then two. Two turned into four, and four blossomed into ten. My right hand, tightly wrapped in bandages, felt a bit numb under the pressure. It was a sensation I was used to.

Soon after, I struggled to my feet. Although the movements still hurt, the sensation of leaking was coming to a close. The light explored every nook and cranny of my body, slowly healing all the internal wounds I suffered from.

…Right, what was I doing again? I was aiming to die peacefully, but it didn't seem like it would work out now. Should I be grateful? What am I supposed to do now? I gently felt for my leftmost cheek, my hands tracing the bold black numbers imprinted on my skin.

One-five-four. That is my serial number. It's fairly high up in the rankings, I suppose. But I am tainted. An Angel with the trait of Abandon.

My name is Ainol Amg. That is what I am. That is what I will always be. I retreated a bit from the light, pulling the loose hood over half of my vision. The world was divided in cloth-like mahogany and cotton-like grass.

It was soon interrupted, however. Words materialized in front of my eyes, slowly as if they were being painted. I closed my eyes, but the invasive black text persisted. Left with nothing to do but witness it, I gave in and read along.

<Black Box (loading)>

New participant detected. Categorization will now commence.

…

Category: Angel

Participant appears to be "sealed". Cannot be properly categorized. Label has been changed to: Human (Tentative).

…

Challenge Rating has been set to One. Concept has been loaded. The starting round of the Black Box will now commence.

…

Role has been set to "Liar". The appropriate knowledge will be made known to the participant.

<End.>

The world blended into itself, as the words faded away like rain. The expansive green land before my eyes, and the sunlight on my skin, all turned into a distinct blackness.

A feeling of weightlessness beset me. There was a pressure flowing upwards that blew my hood up, all the while whistling in my ears. It turned out I was falling. But I wasn't falling alone.

8 screams echoed around me, each with their own distinct characteristics. Some were amused, some were afraid, some were aggressive. I was the only one that was silent. The pressure was pushing my mouth, holding it shut.

A minute passed, and then two. A couple seconds after, and we were no longer falling. A firm ground greeted us with impunity. We were not harmed, physically that is. The blue light that filled our eyes showed me that some of the people were shivering.

The room was not cold.

"Does anyone know where we are?" A middle aged looking man stood up and firmly asserted himself. The grizzly stubble on his face marked him as wise to me. The nonchalant attitude he possessed marked him as dangerous. I became intrigued.

"…No…" A trembling voice answered the query. It was a young man, seemingly old enough to immerse himself in studies. He had a pair of red glasses to compliment his black hair. And the clothes he wore did enough to hide his shaking.

A woman stood up aggressively. The clothes she wore seemed to be…expressive to say the very least. The colors didn't match, and the fabrics ranged from the textures of rough and sharp. She didn't utter a word, and only marched away resolutely. The sound of a door slamming was heard.

With her departure, eight bodies filled the room. The man resumed talking shortly, not letting the silence settle.

"Alright. Since no one wants to talk, I'll do it. My role is the Guardian, you can trust me. I'll explain all I can about this game."

The old man sighed and scratched his messy hair before continuing. Smoothing his brown trench coat, he cleared his throat and resumed.

"This is the Body Snatching game. Or at least, that's what I was told. Apparently, some of us can steal each other's bodies. I'm here to prevent that."

"…tsk. Crazy bastard. What the fuck are you talking about?"

A terse young man with yellow hair spoke up. The man was gritting his teeth with a crumpled expression, and his fists were clenched tightly.

"I was explaining…did you get a role?" The man answered.

"I did. It's called "not listening to stupid shit from strangers." I don't think any of you people should either. Fucking weirdo. I'm off."

A giggle sounded. It was a husky, long drawn out giggle that burst into outright laughter. The black haired being with a long and heavy muffler found this all amusing, and I had to agree with it.

Because the middle aged man in the trench coat said the exact same thing that was reflected in my eyes. A panel with his exact same words laid in front of my eyes as I was skimming over it. There was one little lie though.

"We all can steal bodies…there are no guardians. Haha…what an obvious liar." The husky voice made it's thoughts known.

The expressions of everyone in the room crumpled as well. It was suddenly tense in here, as everyone's eyes were trained on each other. I got up and started getting ready to leave, and the middle aged man yelled after me.

"Where are you going?! Do you know something we don't?! Did you do this?!"

He was trying to make me the villain. I didn't really care though. I didn't know enough of the rules, so I wanted to see how things played out. A long door lay in front of me, so I pushed it open and entered a new room.

The room was actually a long corridor with windows to the room I was in prior. It seems I found my answer. The body snatching game would soon start. I wondered if this was my new purpose, to become a "Participant".