The door remained closed.
Takeshi hadn't moved from his spot. He stared at the wooden door with no concrete plan, his mind processing what he'd just heard and finding no way to make sense of it.
The god had said shocking things with immense calm.
For a few moments, the only sounds were those from the hallway—voices and footsteps of students, the normal noise of a school morning, all completely oblivious to what had just happened inside the classroom.
Takeshi sat down at the nearest desk.
'Entertainment?'
He repeated in his head.
'Did he say I'm the entertainment for a lot of people?'
There was no way it made sense.
The god smiled with malice.
"Ah, good."
He said upon seeing Takeshi's reaction.
"I thought you were going to bolt."
"Give me an explanation!"
Takeshi demanded.
The deity walked unhurriedly and sat on the teacher's desk, crossing his arms comfortably.
"Everything you do is being broadcast live."
He said calmly.
"Everything you say, everything you do, everything you feel. There are people from other dimensions watching you right now."
Takeshi stared at him fixedly.
"What?"
"You know, in one dimension this stream is being watched by thousands, in another everything that's happening is being written into a webnovel, and so on, and so forth…"
The deity said.
"And you're the content."
Takeshi opened his mouth to respond, and then he saw them.
They appeared in his field of vision without warning, like floating text in the air that only he could see. Dozens of messages scrolling from bottom to top, one on top of the other, all at the same time.
[HAHAHAHA his face]
[He got it]
[This can't be real]
[Poor guy]
[LMAO]
[Someone tell him it is real]
Takeshi stood up abruptly and took a step back. He looked around, searching for where they were coming from. The messages were there, visible, moving on their own.
"What is that?"
He asked in bewilderment.
"The chat."
The god replied.
"The audience that only you and I can see."
Takeshi looked at the messages for another moment and then looked at the deity.
"This isn't real."
He stated with disbelief.
"Your eyes aren't lying to you."
The deity said.
"Whether you accept it or not changes nothing."
"No…"
Takeshi said, his voice firmer.
"No… I didn't ask for this! I didn't give anyone permission to watch me! I'm not anyone's content!"
The god didn't respond and just looked at him.
"Are you listening to me!?"
Takeshi said, raising his tone.
"I said I don't want this! Send me back! Anywhere, to how things were before, I don't care, but I'm not doing this!"
"There's no going back."
The deity said.
"Then find a way."
"There isn't one."
Takeshi clenched his fists. He felt the heat of rage rising from his chest to his throat.
"Why me?"
He said with contained anger.
"Of all the people who exist, why me?"
"I already told you. You were perfect for what I needed."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one I have for that question."
Takeshi breathed through his nose. He looked at the chat, which kept moving with new messages pouring in nonstop.
[He got mad]
[10/10 reaction]
[I'd be mad too]
[What's he gonna do?]
He read them for a moment and looked away.
"Why that name?"
He asked, his voice no longer at the same volume but still tense.
"Takeshi Fujimoto. Why that name specifically?"
"Because of the setting."
The god said.
Takeshi looked at him.
"What kind of setting?"
The deity smiled. It wasn't a wide smile, but it was there.
"You'll find out soon."
Takeshi was about to respond when the god shifted his posture on the desk and continued speaking before he could.
"There's something else you need to know."
He said without changing his tone, which remained serene.
"You can see your stats. Yours and those of anyone near you."
Takeshi looked at him without saying anything.
The deity extended a hand, and a panel appeared in Takeshi's field of vision. It was similar to the chat, but more organized, with clear categories and numbers next to each one.
[TAKESHI FUJIMOTO]
[Health: 100%]
[Sanity: 100%]
[Points: 0]
Takeshi looked at the panel for a few seconds. The information was there, visible and fixed, until the deity continued speaking and the panel stayed on one side of his field of vision.
"Sanity drops by ten percent every time you die."
The deity said.
"And you accumulate points over time. For every day you survive, you get one point. For every special event you manage to overcome, you get three. And if you survive a full week without dying even once, there's a bonus of five additional points. Isn't that wonderful?"
"And what are the points for?"
Takeshi asked.
"To buy stuff, duh."
The deity made a gesture, and another panel appeared in Takeshi's field of vision next to the first one, with the title [SHOP] at the top and three items listed below.
[Sanity Capsule — Restores 10% sanity. Single use. Cost: 1 point]
[Quick Teleport — Takes you instantly to a nearby point. Single use. Cost: 1 point]
[Healing Drink — Restores health. Single use. Cost: 1 point]
Takeshi read the three items.
"Are there only three things?"
"For now."
The deity said.
"The shop will get updates later. More items will appear over time."
Takeshi looked at the panels for another moment. His sanity percentage was at one hundred. His points were at zero. He had nothing to buy anything with, and the only way to get points was to survive.
'Survive?'
"There's something you need to know right now."
The deity continued, not leaving room for more questions.
"By staying here talking to me, you stood someone up."
Takeshi frowned.
"What?"
"A girl. You were supposed to be at the place where she was waiting for you, and you didn't show."
The deity got down from the desk and stood up.
"She didn't take it well."
"I don't know what girl you're talking about."
Takeshi said, confused.
"I just woke up here and I didn't make any date with anyone."
"She doesn't know that."
The god said.
Takeshi looked at him without fully understanding, and then he heard something.
Footsteps.
In the hallway, on the other side of the door. Footsteps approaching at a steady rhythm, and they weren't the normal steps of a student walking between classes. They were direct, with a destination.
Takeshi looked at the door and then at the deity, but he had disappeared, and the last thing left of him was a malevolent smile.
The footsteps in the hallway stopped right in front of the door.
'Why do I have a feeling something bad is about to happen?'