Death in an Arcade and Cafe?
Yami felt colder with each passing moment. At that moment, the fear of death overcame him. He thought about his family and friends and felt helpless, unable to change his situation. His body stopped responding, his heart beat slower, his breath grew shorter, and his vision blurred. Only one image remained in his mind: Mei kissing him. With one final blink, Yami's eyes closed.
Yami opened his eyes again and found himself in an arcade. In front of him was a game machine with a screen displaying "GAME OVER." "You're terrible at this game, Yami," a young woman with white hair, tan skin, red eyes, a playful and sexy voice, and a smile on her face said as she dragged him towards another shooting game machine.
"Wait, what's happening?" Yami tried to ask, but the woman interrupted him. "Be careful, don't get distracted. You were almost killed," she warned. Yami had no choice but to play until the game ended. Confused, he asked again what was happening, but the woman dragged him again, this time to a blackjack table.
"What's going on here, seriously? Who are you, people? Am I dead or something?" he asked, grabbing his cards with confusion. The woman responded, "Calm down, Yami. I'll answer all your questions," and snapped fingers.
At that moment, Yami was in a state of confusion and astonishment. He watched as all the objects around him began to spin and transform, changing the arcade setting into a cozy bar. Sitting at the poker table was a young man with black hair and equally red eyes, who was busy cleaning glasses. Seeking answers, Yami turned his attention to the mysterious woman.
"Now that we're more comfortable tell me your questions, Yami. 'Where are we?' Ah, that's easy. Where we are right here," she said, pointing to her forehead. "What??" "Yes, all of this is happening inside your mind or soul, whichever you prefer to call it. How is this possible? Am I dead? You're not dead; you're in a state... let's say you're in a coma," "Okay?... And who are you?" "Good question, the one I was waiting for. We're part of you; we're a part of your soul. I'm Inferno, and the guy behind the bar is Zangetsu."
"Why didn't I meet you before if you're supposed to be a part of my soul?" "Ah... you weren't supposed to come yet," "What do you mean 'yet'?" "Yami, haven't you experienced things that, for other people, are fantasies? Like your physical strength, do you think your strength matches your lifestyle? You don't even exercise. Have you ever felt like you're doing things normal people can't, like your friend? Do you think you were hallucinating or in a dream for a person to be able to pull ice out of a sword or change their arms into blades?" "I've experienced many strange things throughout my life, but I'm not sure," Yami commented, doubting what he knew.
Zangetsu joined the conversation, "Yami, in this world, there are people with unique abilities, also known as manifestos. You are one of them, but you're more special than anyone else. You won't survive if your identity is revealed to the world of manifestos." "Why would the manifestos come after me?" before Zangetsu could answer, the woman interrupted, "Well, the point is, we're part of your soul, and we're here to help you defeat that woman."
"I see, so that it will be 3 against 1." "No, it will be 1 against 1, but this time you'll use Zangetsu's powers since mine, in your current state, will corrode your body, and you might die," Zangetsu continued, "Right now, I'll give you all the knowledge of my power, but after this battle, you'll forget the abilities and have to start from scratch, only knowing the basics." "Why not give them all at once?" "You're right, but your body and mind aren't ready for that, and I'll only give them to you because it's a high-risk situation. You weren't supposed to know about us until you discovered it, but we were forced to intervene."
Inferno spoke next, "Well, Yami, go and fight. I hope that next time we have more time." "Wait-" he couldn't finish, as he found himself on the ground, bleeding out once again.