Shallow waters surround me, thinly dampening the soles of my feet with its cold touch. Lightning crashes on a solid canvas of blue, pale and lifeless.

This world I have been brought to—is, somehow, a world I have been living in for a _very_ long time.

My feet slowly wade the waters, headed towards the endless horizon where the buzz of electricity roars the loudest.

I know not where I am going, ...

_March 6th, Year of the Golden Scales; Day 18:_

_Today marks the eighteenth day I have been lost at sea. Goddamnit all._

_The ocean drags my ship away, then, it refuses to return me to my land, but instead, sends a storm my way, as if to slap me in my face. Do the gods of the water and sky wish to see me die an early death from anger?_

_Once again, my supplies are low. I expect to not make the ...

Sun never visited the graveyard on the outskirts of the village. It was a peculiar phenomenon—most definitely not a common occurrence anywhere else in the world. It was as if there was a repellent presiding over the domain, keeping the ubiquitous, yellow orb in the sky at bay.

Perhaps the repellent was the impenetrable, gray clouds that perpetually loomed over the graveyard, or perhaps, it was th...

...I see someone.

I do not know who he is.

Everyday, my friend sits next to me and tells me stories about him.

There is one story I remember the most.

Once upon a time, he dove into the waters of a faraway, frozen land to save someone.

He brought that person to land, but the waves dragged him back to sea.

It was cold.

It was so cold that his heart stopped beating.

My friend described to me...

_'To the Four Pillars of the Underworld, this is the underworld advisor writing. Please, make your return to your homelands with haste, and as soon as possible. Catastrophe has arrived. A disastrous outbreak—"_

_..._

"Well, shit, looks like that stupid cat ripped out the bottom half..."

"And it turns out to be the most important information too. Who could've guessed?"

"Wait, but if the clue's ...

Large feathers of vibrant, cool gradients swept across the rows of jars bearing perfectly-orbic eyeballs of of various shapes and sizes, preserved in an unknown humectant fluid.

A distorted visage flitted by the cylindrical reflection of the moldy-green glass jar.

The Doctor smiled into the glass, greeting it with a cordial 'hello~' and 'good morning~' while tapping the floating eyeballs in a te...

[Now, contestants, an audience is awaiting your performance ahead—please demonstrate your greatest skills, your wisest minds, your most exclusive talents...for an _unforgettable_ show.]

[Ingrain yourselves in the minds of your audience, so they may continue supporting you in your future endeavors.]

[The system wishes all contestants the best of luck.]

One by one, contestants of all shapes and s...

A slender, alabaster hand grazed the runic carvings of the obsidian counter, and softly, under the black silk veil, thin lips spoke the Tongue of the Dead.

Rusted over with a refulgent, copper hue, the horizon in the smooth, crystalline orb sunk into blackness, as deep and bottomless as the pit of the wheat-like plains, swelled with corpses.

With its tremendous size, the pit of corpses existed a...