"Mr. [Amamiya]? You... you didn't sleep?" the [Nurse] asked with concern.
[Amamiya Rin] rubbed his dry, gritty eyes.
"Yeah, I didn't sleep. I have [Nightmare]s the moment I close my eyes. I can't take it."
[Tomie]'s magic was potent enough to affect the [Dream World]. If he were to spend years with [Tomie] inside a [Nightmare], [Amamiya Rin] was certain he would go insane by the time he woke up.
The [Nurse] looked at [Amamiya Rin] with sympathy.
Although she didn't know what a [Long Dream] was, she had heard rumors that [Amamiya Rin] suffered from a strange condition. His sleep quality was terribly poor, and upon waking, he would even forget who he was. Forcing himself to stay awake might actually be better for his body.
[Amamiya Rin] let out a long yawn, reached out to open the drawer of the bedside table, and took out an old wallet from inside.
This was one of the personal items the hospital had returned to him after he regained consciousness.
[Amamiya Rin] opened the wallet. Inside lay ten 10,000-yen bills and some loose change—living expenses brought to Tokyo from his hometown by the previous owner of this body.
[Amamiya Rin] pulled out two 10,000-yen bills and handed them to the [Nurse].
"Miss Yuko, could I trouble you to buy me a Buddhist scripture on the 'White Skeleton Meditation' and five cans of black coffee when you get off work?"
The [Nurse] took the bills but looked troubled. "The Buddhist scripture is fine, but black coffee... I need to ask the doctor if your body can handle black coffee."
[Amamiya Rin] simply nodded silently and didn't say anything more.
After his temperature and blood pressure were measured and the [Nurse] had left, [Amamiya Rin] forced himself to stand up. Leaning on his crutch, he walked slowly around the room, conducting his own rehabilitation training.
Meanwhile, in another room on the same floor, [Mitsuo Yukiko] stretched her body as she walked into the independent restroom within her [Hospital Ward].
Standing before the sink, she looked up at herself in the mirror. [Mitsuo Yukiko] couldn't help but freeze for a moment.
The girl in the mirror still had the contours she was familiar with, but something seemed different.
Her skin had become abnormally fair and smooth, with pores almost invisible. Her complexion, previously dull due to illness, now radiated a healthy, rosy glow.
Her hair seemed blacker and glossier, the texture smooth and soft.
The most obvious changes were in her facial features. Her brows and eyes appeared more exquisite, and even the subtle curvature of the corners of her eyes revealed an indescribable charm. Below her right eye, a faint yet quite striking beauty mark—a tear mole—had appeared.
She subconsciously raised her hand to touch her cheek; the sensation from her fingertips was incredibly delicate.
"Strange..."
[Mitsuo Yukiko] muttered to herself. She couldn't resist leaning her face closer to the mirror to scrutinize it carefully.
It wasn't an illusion. She really did look different from yesterday. Even her height seemed to have increased slightly.
(My skin seems to have become smoother?)
(Yeah, I think so too. When I looked in the mirror just now, I felt my complexion was especially good.)
(It's not just the complexion. The skin is better, the dark circles are gone, and even the hair is much smoother. I've even grown taller! It's like I had top-tier cosmetic care!)
(No! This isn't something cosmetic care can achieve! Is it the power of the [Khala]?)
(Our bodies are influencing each other, complementing one another's strengths and weaknesses. Everyone's body is optimizing!)
(We are becoming better, more perfect. This is the correct direction of evolution.)
...
Voices of smug communication rang out in the [Khala Network]. Listening to the thoughts flooding into his brain, [Amamiya Rin] stopped in his tracks, his brows furrowing tightly.
What was the situation?
Skin got better? Appearance became beautiful? Even grew taller? The [Sacred Khala] has this kind of effect?
Bullshit! Where in the [Junji Ito] worldview is there such a wonderful thing... Right! There was a story about 'beauty and short life,' where a curse makes people prettier and prettier, but they die very quickly. It's contagious, too—an apocalypse-level urban legend.
[Amamiya Rin] had long forgotten the specific plot, remembering only the general setting.
However, a group of hospitalized women becoming beautiful simultaneously shouldn't belong to the situation of that manga.
So... is it really the [Sacred Khala]? Co-evolution?
(Ohohohoho! Sisters, I have so much confidence now. Before, I was ugly and short, with curly hair, and everyone always bullied me. I hated my fate eroded by disease, but from now on, it's completely different. I will become more and more beautiful, more and more happy.)
(Bless you, sister.)
(Bless us too. We will evolve into New Humans!)
([Amamiya Rin], did you hear that?)
(Stop resisting. Come with us and join the glorious evolution!)
[Amamiya Rin] heard them issuing an invitation to him, but his only response was a cold sneer.
"I don't believe in pies falling from the sky, and I certainly don't think there's such a thing as a free lunch in this world."
He vaguely remembered that the essential nature of [Junji Ito]'s universe was dark.
Although 'light' existed, it was merely starlight at present, while darkness shrouded the entire universe.
Even if the narration once said light would eventually defeat darkness, that was a future so distant it was unimaginable. Before that day arrived, every seemingly beautiful facade in this world likely hid an ugly truth underneath.
(What are you thinking?)
Confusion was transmitted to [Amamiya Rin]'s brain.
[Mitsuo Yukiko] and the others could sense [Amamiya Rin]'s thoughts, but they couldn't understand what he was thinking.
(Dualism of good and evil?)
(God and Satan?)
(Zoroastrian mythology?)
(Muttering like a mystic. Are you religious? A cult? Is the cult leader [Junji Ito]?)
Faced with this incomprehensible mode of thinking, [Mitsuo Yukiko] and the others quickly lost interest in delving deeper.
They were more intoxicated by their own brand-new beauty. Moreover, this transformation needed to be seen, appreciated, and fawned over.
The women walked out of their [Hospital Ward]s one after another. Rarely did they gather together; instead, they intentionally or unintentionally scattered, pacing around the corridors and the public rest areas.
They deliberately slowed their pace, straightening their backs to display their now-curvaceous figures.
Whether it was the medical staff passing by in a hurry, other patients, or visitors, everyone's gaze was involuntarily attracted to this group of beauties.
They keenly captured the amazement and infatuation in those eyes. A faint smile, mixing superiority and satisfaction, surfaced on their faces; they enjoyed this feeling of being the focal point.
"Damn it! Those ugly women!"
In the shadows, a pair of eyes glared viciously at those women showing off their charm.
The owner of these eyes was none other than [Kawakami Tomie].
Behind a window on the third floor of the hospital, [Tomie] stared deathly hard at [Mitsuo Yukiko] and the others walking in the garden downstairs.
Her slender fingers pressed forcefully against the window frame, her fingernails turning slightly white from the excessive force.
"That bunch... of fakes!"
[Tomie] practically squeezed the words through the gaps in her teeth, her beautiful face appearing somewhat twisted due to anger.
She had gone out last night precisely to kill [Mitsuo Yukiko] and prevent this scene from happening.
Who knew that she would be killed by [Mitsuo Yukiko] and the others instead? The scene she had anticipated had appeared after all.
____
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