EPISODE TWO - 2

Death #1: Allergy Insect

Screams.

Hundreds of them.

A sea of rotting, undead bodies—flesh blackened, eyes hollow, their mouths open in wretched, soundless moans. Their bodies twitched unnaturally as they surged forward, an unstoppable tide of decay.

Kaede ran.

His breath burned. His legs ached. His body screamed for rest, but he couldn't stop. He wouldn't stop.

Behind him, a sound.

Laughter.

Low. Deep. Twisting through the air like a disease.

Shiniyuku.

The Dying Death God's voice echoed across the endless void, vibrating through Kaede's bones, each syllable curling with amusement, with mockery.

"Run, little worm. Run until your feeble body fails you."

Kaede didn't look back. He couldn't. If he did, he knew he would see it—him. Seated upon his throne of skulls, his empty, soulless gaze watching, enjoying the spectacle.

His feet slammed against the ground.

The corpses were close.

Too close.

Rotting hands reached for him—clawing, grasping, hungry.

A cold hand grabbed his shoulder—

He woke up.

Hospital Ward

Kaede Tetsuo sucked in a breath.

His eyes snapped open, his lungs aching for air. He sat up so fast the room spun, his hands gripping the white hospital sheets beneath him.

A hospital?

His pulse hammered. His mind whirled. The scent of antiseptic filled his nose. His heart still raced, the weight of that nightmare—was it a nightmare?—lingering in his chest.

Then, the door creaked open.

A nurse stepped in, a tray in her hands.

She saw him.

Her eyes widened.

Her hands shook so violently that the tray nearly clattered to the ground. "Y-You're awake?"

Kaede swallowed. His throat was dry. He tried to speak, but only a rasp came out.

The nurse bolted out the door.

Kaede blinked.

His body felt heavy, sluggish.

And then, without meaning to, he collapsed back onto the bed.

Darkness swallowed him whole once more.

Three Days Later – Under the Pear Tree

The sky was blue.

The wind was soft.

Kaede sat beneath a lone pear tree, his fingers absently tracing the rough wood of the bench beneath him. The sunlight felt warm against his skin, and the air smelled fresh—real.

It had been two years.

Two years since the Kanagawa Incident.

The events played over and over in his head. The night everything changed. The night he—

No. Don't think about that.

The nurse had told him everything.

That night, a massive energy surge had erupted from Door Six—so powerful it caused a shift across all 100 Doors. Chaos had followed. Tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires—an apocalyptic storm unleashed upon the land. Kanagawa Castle was destroyed.

Many hunters had died.

But he…

He had been found miles away, unconscious in a bush.

They had no idea how he got there.

He had been in a coma ever since.

And the world had changed in his absence.

Kanagawa Castle had been rebuilt—bigger, stronger, more powerful than before.

200 Gates now existed. No longer called "Doors," the terminology had shifted. The system had evolved.

Gates could now open anywhere—unstable tears in reality that appeared unpredictably.

Mana was now the most valuable currency in the world.

Gate Hunting was the new global phenomenon.

The Kanagawa Family had risen to become Japan's most powerful force.

Kaede clenched the letter in his hands.

A letter from his grandmother.

His fingers tightened around the paper.

His head spun. Two years. Two years, and everything is different. How the hell am I supposed to keep up?

The nurse approached.

"You've been cleared for discharge," she said with a kind smile. "You can leave whenever you're ready."

Kaede exhaled.

"Thanks."

He stretched his arms.

Then he grinned, shaking his head at the absurdity of it all.

"Well… I guess it's good to be alive—"

And then a bee flew into his mouth.

Problem.

His body seized.

His throat closed.

Panic shot through his veins. He tried to breathe, but nothing came. His airways shut down.

He was deathly allergic to bees.

The nurse screamed his name.

Kaede clutched his throat. He dropped to his knees, gasping, choking.

His vision blurred.

His heart slowed.

Then—

Everything froze.

A Window Appeared.

A glowing, transparent screen materialized before him.

A Player Status Menu.

Kaede could barely see it through the suffocating haze, but the words burned in his mind:

DEATH UNLOCKED: Allergy Insect

Type: Dying Death #1

Time of Death: NOW

New Unlock: [???]

His thoughts barely formed. His head was spinning.

What… the hell?

The screen pulsed.

[ACCEPT DEATH UNLOCKED?]

Kaede couldn't think. He was dying.

He had no choice.

"…Accept."

System Registered.

Time unfroze.

Kaede fell to the ground.

The bee—spat out of his mouth.

It buzzed away harmlessly.

His breath came rushing back. His throat opened.

He gasped.

Collapsed.

The nurse frantically checked him. "Kaede! Are you okay?! What happened?!"

Kaede sat up, stunned.

He should be dead.

Bee stings were lethal to him.

So why was he still alive?

And what the hell was that status screen?

He tried to ask the nurse, but the moment the words left his mouth, he realized how insane he sounded.

"…Nothing," he muttered, running a hand through his hair.

The nurse gave him a long look before sighing.

Then—

"Kaede!"

A familiar voice.

His heart stopped.

He turned.

His grandmother stood there.

And beside her—Kiko.

Tears filled his grandmother's eyes.

Kaede forgot everything.

Forgot the bee. Forgot the screen.

He ran forward and hugged her.