Time rewound to the second day.
Nightmares swept across the world.
Not everyone—
only those who had once hurt animals.
In their dreams, they were tortured.
Again.
And again.
They screamed.
Cursed.
Struggled.
But they didn't know why.
Only that… it all felt disturbingly familiar.
Before dawn, the internet exploded.
[Holy shit!!! I had the weirdest dream…]
[Guys, listen—I dreamed that I was…]
[Wait… you too?! I thought I was the only one…]
Posts flooded in.
One after another.
Endless.
Even those who never shared anything before were pulled in.
Conspiracies.
Speculation.
Fear.
Some posts were quickly reported. Deleted. Silenced.
But it was too late.
The wave had already begun.
High above the world—
She watched.
Silently.
Waiting.
Waiting for everything to ferment.
To spread.
To rot.
And then—
She would pass judgment.
The sun rose.
The moon faded.
Another ordinary day began.
Street vendors sold breakfast.
Steam curled into the air.
People walked past each other.
Some rushed. Some didn't.
On the other side of the planet, lights still burned through the night.
Almost no one had slept.
No one realized—
This "ordinary day" would be the end of human certainty.
She moved.
No warning.
No delay.
As if—
The world itself had been refreshed.
On a subway train, a man scrolled through short videos.
Mindlessly.
Then—
The screen went black.
No warning.
It flickered violently, like an overload.
Not just him.
The entire carriage.
The platform.
Every screen. Every device.
All dead.
Silent.
Then—
Words appeared.
Cold.
Sharp.
Black.
Accompanied by a sound—
Like nails scraping glass.
Slowly. Deliberately.
[Fate Exchange: Live Broadcast of the Abusers]
[First Batch Activated]
[Subject File: No.11 "Scalpel"]
[Crime: Filming and profiting from torture]
[Judgment: Human rights revoked]
[Execution: Immediate transfer — Laboratory]
The man tried to shut his phone off.
He couldn't move.
Not even a finger.
His heart pounded wildly.
He could hear it.
But his body—
Frozen.
Everyone else was the same.
The entire carriage.
Locked.
As if something had seized their souls.
Blood slowed.
Voices died in their throats.
They could only watch.
The world—
Paused.
Cars on the streets slowed… then stopped.
Crowds fell into silence.
Billions of eyes—
Fixed.
Unblinking.
Like puppets.
Staring at their screens.
The view shifted.
First-person.
Low to the ground.
Surrounded by towering glass walls—
like skyscrapers.
[ID: A-0001]
[Original Species: Human]
[Current Species: Rodent (Experimental)]
[Form: Specimen F0407]
[Remaining Lifespan: 3 Days]
[Live Broadcast Begins In: 00:00:59]
In the silent subway—
A faint sound.
"...Squeak… squeak…"
Sharp.
Fearful.
[Executor Confirmed]
[What you have inflicted will be borne by you]
[What you ignored will be replayed upon you]
[The pain you deemed insignificant—]
[Will become your entire world]
The screen changed.
A room appeared.
Clean.
Organized.
Almost respectable.
A notebook on the desk.
Charts on the wall.
And—
Rows of small, transparent cages.
The camera moved closer.
Closer.
Until it stopped at one.
Inside—
A fancy rat.
Curled in the corner.
Shaking.
As if it knew.
Then—
The chat exploded.
The world could move again.
[What the hell is this?? What experiment??]
[This is insane… what's happening?!]
[I swear, I thought the world was ending just now!!]
[I'm in Beaver City—ALL the cars stopped. People are screaming everywhere!! God bless!!]
[I was in surgery just now—the scalpel literally froze mid-air!! And every screen turned into THIS!!!]
Messages flooded in.
Different languages.
Yet somehow—
Everyone understood.
Automatically translated.
The fear spread faster.
Then—
A voice.
A man.
Casual.
Light.
Almost cheerful.
Like he was discussing lunch.
Red subtitles appeared:
"Today, let's test their pain threshold."
"Let's see how much these little things can endure."
Blue latex gloves.
A rough grip.
He grabbed the rat.
The small creature froze.
Like falling into ice.
Its body stiff.
Only its limbs trembled rapidly.
A silent scream from the soul.
It stared at the camera.
Or rather—
At the man behind it.
Begging.
Pleading.
For mercy.
The man picked up a needle.
Thin.
Cold.
Sharp.
His movements—
Practiced.
Too practiced.
Under billions of watching eyes—
The needle descended.
Slowly.
Closer.
Closer.
No censorship.
No avoidance.
Just cold, metallic light—
Reflected under the surgical lamp.
Blinding.
The camera zoomed in.
Closer than it should.
Every pore visible.
Every tremor—
Magnified.
The needle touched fur.
Pressed.
The skin beneath—
Quivered.
The chat—
Went silent.
00:00:00
Black screen.
Then—
Light.
Same room.
Same position.
But—
Something was wrong.
The man's eyes snapped open.
His heart slammed against his ribs.
He tried to move—
Couldn't.
His limbs—
Locked.
Cold metal rings bound him in place.
His back pressed against freezing steel.
His vision—
Shrank.
The lab—
Endless.
Gigantic.
Terrifying.
The ceiling felt miles away.
Tweezers looked like silver dragons.
The smell—
Sharp disinfectant—
Tore through his senses.
A hundred times stronger.
He looked down.
And saw—
Not hands.
Not human.
Fur.
Small claws.
A trembling, patterned body.
He opened his mouth.
Tried to scream.
Tried to say his name.
What came out—
Was—
"—SQUEAK!!!"
On the screen—
Billions saw only a mouse.
Thrashing wildly.
Clawing at the air.
"Lively."
Then—
A voice.
From the sky.
Deep.
Vast.
Like thunder.
"I forgot…"
"You do not understand the language of beasts."
A pause.
Then—
"I will let you hear its plea."
In the next second—
Every squeak twisted.
Reshaped.
Translated—
Directly into their minds.
"STOP!! I'M HUMAN!! I'M SATO!! HELP ME!!! AHHHH—!!!"
The scream exploded across the world.
Inside every mind.
The chat went insane.
[I CAN UNDERSTAND IT!!!]
[ME TOO—WHAT IS THIS?!]
[Did you hear that voice just now?!]
[I thought I was hallucinating!!]
[Is this… punishment?!]
On screen—
The "mouse" tried to speak again.
But—
"...Squeak!!"
Footsteps.
Camera cut.
A man stood before a mirror.
"Sato."
He touched his face.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like it didn't belong to him.
A plain face.
Ordinary.
Forgettable.
Once—
That face had been a nightmare.
The last thing countless animals saw.
Now—
His eyes were different.
Wild.
Alert.
Alive.
A sound.
Tiny.
He flinched violently.
Shoulders raised.
Head twisted at an unnatural angle.
Staring into the dark corner.
Like prey.
Then—
He froze.
Realized something.
He exhaled.
Slowly.
But his right hand—
Curled unconsciously.
Scratching at nothing.
Like remembering fur.
He looked back at the mirror.
Touched himself again.
Face. Skin. Body.
Again. Again.
Like trying on something precious.
Something he never had.
Tears fell.
But not fear.
Joy.
Pure, overwhelming relief.
"I… survived…"
His voice was hoarse.
Broken.
He leaned closer.
Closer.
Until his nose almost touched the mirror.
He inhaled.
Deeply.
"Ha… haha… I'm free…"
Laughing. Crying.
Like a madman.
"I'm free… no pain… no pain anymore…"
His voice trembled.
Raw.
"This body… it doesn't hurt…"
"No broken bones… no burned flesh…"
"So this… is what being human feels like…?"
He sobbed.
"Thank you… Beast God…"
"Thank you…"
His lips moved awkwardly.
Like learning to speak.
"So this is… a life without that needle in my spine…"
Then—
He turned.
Toward the lab table.
Toward the trembling rat.
His eyes—
Cold.
Deep.
Empty.
The viewers—
Fell silent.
Because now they understood.
This "exchange of fate"—
Was not just bodies.
It was—
Hell.