Walking along the road, Ren began to feel hungry. After all, he hadn't eaten anything since yesterday.
Pulling out his phone, he opened Maps to check the route to his school and, of course, to see if there was a convenience store nearby where he could grab some breakfast and a Bento.
Following the navigation, Ren soon arrived at a nearby convenience store. He bought some food and a bottle of water, then continued on his way to school.
Along the way, Ren kept glancing around like a country bumpkin while eating. As he moved forward, more and more people appeared around him, including students wearing the same school uniform.
It was cherry blossom season.
The scenery along the road was beautiful-petals drifting through the air, painting the surroundings in soft shades of pink. In his previous world, he could only admire such sights through a screen.
After a while, Ren finally arrived at Toyogasaki School.
The School covered a vast area and looked quite modern.
As soon as he stepped inside, Ren immediately attracted attention. For someone his age in Japan, he was exceptionally tall around 185cm/6ft, and combined with his handsome face, it didn't take long for many girls to start glancing his way.
"Now that I think about it… where's the teachers' room?"
As a transfer student, Ren had no idea where he was supposed to go. From what he remembered, he needed to report to the teachers' room first.
Looking ahead, he spotted a girl with long black hair.
"Good morning, classmate! Sorry to bother you. My name's Ren, I'm a transfer student. Could you tell me where the teachers' room is?"
Hearing his voice, the girl turned around. The moment her eyes met his, her body began to tremble.
Seeing this, Ren frowned in confusion.
"Classmate? Are you okay?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Eh… um… g-good morning. The teachers' room is over there," the girl said, pointing in a certain direction with a trembling hand.
"Ah, thanks. May I know your name, classmate?" Ren asked-completely ignoring where she was pointing.
"Um… my name is Miko Yotsuya."
Hearing that, Ren froze.
'F-! Isn't that the girl from the anime Mieruko-chan?!'
A chill ran down his spine.
'Evil spirits…'
As Ren recalled the details from the anime, he remembered that those things were everywhere. Fortunately, they only attacked if they confirmed that you could see them.
'Now that I think about it… can my anomaly melt evil spirits?'
Even though evil spirits couldn't normally be touched, once you could clearly see them, they gained the ability to harm you-which meant there was some form of "contact."
And that "contact" was exactly what Ren was curious about.
In the anime, Miko could even smell the rotting stench coming from those spirits. That meant they weren't entirely intangible.
Besides, he has the abilities of an SCP anomaly.
Something that defied explanation.
If you could fully describe or understand it, could it even be called an anomaly?
Even the Foundation itself couldn't truly explain the "why" or "what" behind SCPs-there were only theories.
Thinking this, Ren smiled.
He couldn't wait to test it.
Meanwhile, Miko trembled in fear as she caught sight of something indescribable.
She could see Ren clearly-but at the same time, she couldn't.
The person standing in front of her was surrounded by a crimson light.
It wasn't just any light.
To Miko, even a single glance at it made her whole body tremble. It carried an overwhelming sense of the unknown-something that couldn't be understood, couldn't be explained.
It was like staring into the abyss.
And the abyss… was staring back at her.
( ꩜ ᯅ ꩜;)
This fear-this suffocating, incomprehensible fear-was far worse than anything she had ever felt from the evil spirits she usually saw.
"I see. It's nice to meet you, Yotsuya-san. I'll be going now."
Without waiting for her reply, Ren turned and walked in the direction she had pointed.
Not long after, he found the teachers' room and knocked on the door.
"Enter," a female voice called from inside.
Hearing this, Ren stepped into the room. What he saw was a typical teachers' room, nothing particularly unusual, except that there was only one teacher present.
"Hello, sensei. Nice to meet you. I'm Ren Aion, the new second-year transfer student."
Hearing this, the teacher looked up at him. His tall stature and good looks clearly surprised her, this was the first time she had seen someone this tall.
"Oh, it's you. I'm your homeroom teacher, my name is Shizuka Hiratsuka. Please have a seat for now. I'll take you to your class later."
Hearing that, Ren was a bit surprised.
After all, Miko Yotsuya and Shizuka Hiratsuka were from completely different franchises.
'So this is a mixed world…?' Ren thought as he walked toward an empty seat.
'I wonder how many other worlds exist here.'
========
Inside the classroom, students were bustling about, chatting noisily. Soon, the bell rang, and everyone began returning to their seats.
Right on cue, the homeroom teacher, Hiratsuka-sensei, entered the room.
"Good morning, everyone. Today, you'll be meeting a new classmate. Ren, please come in."
Hearing this, the students immediately began whispering among themselves as they watched a tall, handsome young man walk into the classroom.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Ren Aion. Nice to meet you," he said, glancing around at his new classmates.
Then, his gaze landed on Miko.
Hearing his introduction, Hiratsuka-sensei raised an eyebrow.
"That's it?"
Ren blinked.
He thought his introduction was simple and easy to understand… but since sensei asked, he figured he should elaborate.
"Ah, well… I don't know if everyone will understand what I'm about to say. This is something I realized after coming to this school today. As for what it means… you just need to understand the meaning. Although, I'm not even sure if what I'm saying has any meaning in the first place. But anyway-this is what I mean."
He paused briefly.
"Alright, that concludes my introduction."
The entire classroom fell silent.
Including the teacher.
'Is this the legendary "talking nonsense with a straight face"…?' the students thought.
Meanwhile-
PLAK
"Hiss-Sensei, that was cruel," Ren said, rubbing the spot where Hiratsuka-sensei had smacked his head. (╥﹏╥)
Hiratsuka-sensei couldn't help but facepalm.
At first, she thought Ren was the cool, quiet type.
But after hearing that introduction… how did he turn out to be such a weirdo?
'This must be Aha's fault…! Wait-who's Aha?' she thought to herself.
"Just go sit over there," she said, pointing toward a seat in the last row.
"Alright."
As Ren walked to his seat, he couldn't help but feel that there was a strange gap between anime and reality.
Looking at his classmates, he felt like he recognized them… and yet, at the same time, he didn't.
It was a bit unsettling.
Because of that, Ren decided he would take his time learning everyone's names.
However, the one who caught his attention the most was a slender girl with bob-length dark blue hair. Long bangs covered the right side of her face, and her visible eye was a deep shade of blue.
'Is she who I think she is?'
Soon, the class returned to normal. Meanwhile, Ren leaned back in his seat, half-dozing as he observed the people around him.
No joke-he was already a college graduate in his previous life. High school-level material was nothing to him. He practically already knew the curriculum, and for him, it was easy.
===============
The bell rang, signaling the start of lunch break.
Ren took out the food he had bought from the convenience store. But before he could even stand up, several of his new classmates gathered around him.
Left with no choice, Ren started chatting with them.
The result was surprisingly good, he managed to learn almost everyone's name.
However, a few stood out:
Kitagawa Marin, Yukinoshita Yukino, Sawamura Eriri, Kirishima Touka… and last but not least-
When he asked the girl sitting beside him for her name, she looked genuinely surprised.
Her name was Kato Megumi.
'Well, no wonder she's surprised… even her own classmates barely notice her,' Ren thought.
As for the male protagonists?
Yeah… not important.
After excusing himself, Ren left the classroom and headed toward the library with his lunch.
Why the library?
Well, where else could he find peace and quiet?
Besides, after hearing the name Kirishima Touka, Ren couldn't help but grow curious about the geography of this world.
If this really followed Tokyo Ghoul logic, then there should be numbered districts. If those districts existed, it would mean ghouls were publicly known.
If not…
Then their existence was being hidden.
Oh-and while he was at it, he might as well check the state of the otaku industry in this world. After all, he planned to start "borrowing" novel ideas to make money.
Arriving at the library, Ren found a seat and began browsing on his phone while eating.
After about half an hour, he couldn't help but rub his temples.
This world was seriously a complete hodgepodge.
First, the existence of ghouls was hidden.
Second, after some searching, he discovered places like Kuoh Town and Fuyuki City.
third, knowing about fuyuki city in this world, there is no point knowing which timeline he was in, after all, butterfly effect was everywhere in this world
lastly, Ren didn't bother to know anything else, knowing more will only give him more headache.
After finishing his lunch, Ren prepared to leave. Glancing at the time, there were still about thirty minutes before class resumed.
Ren decided to run a small experiment.
Walking along the path, he soon found a quiet spot surrounded by trees and bushes. After making sure no one was around, he noticed a small snail on the ground.
Perfect.
This would be his first time using his anomalous abilities.
With a single thought, Ren selected the space around the snail.
The yellow sunlight suddenly shifted-turning into a deep crimson glow that blanketed the area he had designated.
The moment the crimson light touched the snail-
It melted.
Its flesh softened and collapsed like butter on a hot pan.
Ren took a deep breath. The sight was unsettling, far more grotesque than he had expected, but he steeled himself and continued the experiment.
As the snail's liquefied body pooled into a fleshy mass, Ren activated the anomaly derived from SCP-002.
The mass began to squirm.
Three seconds later, it reshaped itself into a nail.
A fleshy nail.
Ren then reverted the sunlight back to normal, changing the crimson glow into ordinary yellow light.
Staring at the flesh nail, he felt a slight chill despite knowing it was his own doing.
Without hesitation, Ren issued a command:
"Destroy yourself."
As if responding to his will, the nail began to break down. Its surface cracked, the flesh melting rapidly as though exposed to intense heat.
Within seconds, it disintegrated into dust.
'Let's go back to the classroom' thought Ren, as he start walking leaving this place.