Something's Wrong… This World Is Wrong!
In 2009, at the Sunflower Children's Welfare Home, eight-year-old Tokiya Shingen stood beneath the cover of night, his youthful face fixed on the orphanage before him. A place that had once felt familiar now seemed strangely, unsettlingly foreign.
Every child and adult in the orphanage had vanished.
Under the eerie darkness that blanketed everything, the buildings themselves appeared… distorted somehow.
Tokiya Shingen reflected on his life—simple, yet not so simple. In his previous life, he had been nothing more than an ordinary person on Earth. But at a young age, he had been struck by a terminal illness, and in the end, he died.
When he regained consciousness, he had already become a child in this island nation. He had almost no memory of his parents; as far back as he could remember, he had lived in this orphanage.
Perhaps because of his rebirth, the memories of his past life felt more like an incredibly vivid dream—real, yet separated by a thin veil between illusion and reality. Through the limited information he had access to, he had come to realize something even stranger:
This world was not the same as his previous one.
Although many things were similar, it was, without a doubt, an entirely different world.
Could this be what people called a parallel world?
The most crucial piece of evidence was this—
Tokiya Shingen had discovered that he possessed supernatural abilities.
He called it telekinesis, though the name didn't really matter. Its primary function was to enhance his own body, allowing him, even as a child, to accomplish feats that should have been impossible.
To avoid harming his still-developing body, he refrained from overusing this power. After all, he was still just a child—his body hadn't fully matured.
What if this power, also still immature, ended up damaging him through overuse?
Of course, most of that was just his imagination. No one had ever taught him anything about it.
Life in the orphanage had been peaceful and quiet, with little need to use such abilities. He only used them occasionally. Even so, it was enough to make him the undisputed leader among the children.
His telekinesis usually manifested as a faint blue energy.
Aside from that, he could occasionally move at speeds close to teleportation. Unfortunately, every time he used that ability, something felt slightly… off. Because of that, he didn't dare to rely on it too much.
Whenever he entered that state, everything around him seemed to freeze.
It reminded him of the super-speed abilities he had seen in his previous life, and at first, it had excited him greatly.
But that wasn't all.
The second piece of evidence—
There were "ghosts" in this world.
To be honest, Tokiya Shingen had once considered that he might not be the only one with supernatural abilities—that perhaps others like him existed, hidden from ordinary people, just like in movies and novels.
But he had never imagined that monsters—ghosts—actually existed.
Over the past few years, he had seen such creatures at least five or six times. But unlike the ghosts from his previous world, these were grotesque and misshapen—not anything like the classic horror figures he remembered.
They also seemed weak.
And no one else could see them.
For example, once, a couple had come to the orphanage to adopt a child. Beside them lurked a strange creature resembling an oversized mosquito. Tokiya had only called it that because of its wing-like appendages, needle-like mouthparts, and vaguely similar shape.
He had been shocked when he first saw it.
But what shocked him even more was that none of the other children—or even the adults—noticed it at all.
Could it be that only people with supernatural abilities could see them?
And now…
Tokiya Shingen realized that he might have finally encountered something far more dangerous.
After all, even the environment itself had been altered.
Frustration, fear, anger—countless emotions surged within him.
"Why now, of all times… when I'm still weak? I haven't even had the chance to grow yet!"
"No… I can't give up!"
"I finally got a second chance at life—and even these powers. There's no way I'm dying here!"
Gritting his teeth, Tokiya Shingen forced the energy within him to surge, pushing his body beyond its natural limits.
Speed. Strength. Durability.
At this moment, he could easily defeat several grown men.
In this unknown and hostile environment, the only way forward was to remain fully alert—and give everything he had to survive.
"…Alright, got it. Don't forget the reward we agreed on. This is a confirmed Grade 1—possibly Special Grade—cursed embryo. I'll notify you if anything changes, Satoru."
A beautiful white-haired woman stood not far from the Sunflower Welfare Home.
Dense cursed energy and an ominous aura swirled within her gaze, yet she showed no fear. Instead, her expression resembled someone admiring something precious.
"From darkness, deeper darkness is born.Cleanse all filth and impurity."
As she chanted, a gray-black veil—like rippling water or a curtain—spread outward from a single point in the sky, enveloping the entire orphanage.
Then, with graceful steps, the woman walked into it—and vanished.
"…This is bad."
Tokiya Shingen stared at the strange, small body dissolving on the ground before him.
Five minutes earlier, he had encountered his first "ghost."
It had been a twisted combination of a dog and a child, charging at him while wailing.
After the initial panic, he had tried attacking it using his enhanced body.
The result… was surprisingly effective.
With just a few punches, he had beaten the creature to death.
The scene had essentially turned into a child pummeling a deformed monster.
But now—
The path outside had disappeared.
No matter which direction he went, he couldn't escape the now-distorted orphanage. It was like being trapped in an endless loop—always returning to the same place.
Left with no choice, he moved deeper inside, hoping to either destroy whatever was causing this or find another way out.
After that first encounter, he ran into many more creatures.
Each looked different, but they all shared one disturbing similarity:
They all had features resembling children.
Tokiya couldn't help but wonder—were these things born from resentment tied to children?
Wasn't that how it always worked in movies and stories?
Though still grotesque, these creatures felt slightly closer to the idea of "ghosts" he once knew.
At first, he had been terrified.
But after defeating several of them with ease, his fear gradually faded.
After all—when you have the power to destroy monsters, they don't seem nearly as frightening anymore.
"…Waaah…"
Walking down the staff dormitory hallway, Tokiya suddenly heard the faint sound of a child crying.
Instinctively on guard, his first thought was that it was another monster.
But soon, he realized something was different.
The sound was coming from inside a cabinet.
Carefully approaching, he prepared himself and slowly opened the door.
A sharp scream rang out.
Inside, two small figures clung to each other, trembling.
Not monsters.
Just children—like him.
"Hey! Stop screaming! Do you want to attract those things?"
Hearing his voice, the two children realized he wasn't one of the monsters. The familiar tone calmed them, and they stopped crying.
"Shi… Shingen…?"
Tokiya looked at them—a boy and a girl.
He didn't recognize the boy much, but the girl seemed familiar.
Her name was Kumiko.
She had once been chosen for adoption, but because of a birthmark on her left cheek, she had ultimately been rejected.
It was only natural they recognized him.
After all, in this orphanage filled with children and limited supervision, Tokiya Shingen had long become someone no one dared to provoke.
Thanks to his abilities, he had once beaten an entire group of bullies into submission.
Since then, he had become the strongest presence among the children.
As for why he hadn't been adopted—
That was his own choice.
A child as intelligent and good-looking as him would have easily found a family.
But he simply couldn't bring himself to integrate into another one.
The orphanage director—a kind and gentle woman—had once considered adopting him herself, or having her relatives do so, before sending him to school.
The orphanage could only provide education up to elementary level.
Some children eventually left, supported by the orphanage, and many later returned to give back. Some even came back to work there.
But that was another story.
After calming the two children, Tokiya tried to gather information from them.
Unfortunately, they were just as confused as he was.
Fear had made their words incoherent.
In the end, he learned nothing useful.
They had no idea how they ended up here.
After spotting the wandering monsters from afar, they had simply hidden inside the cabinet.
Just then—
A sudden, urgent noise echoed from nearby.
Tokiya's expression changed.
Quickly, he pushed the two children back into the cabinet.
"Stay here. Don't come out."
If they hadn't been discovered so far, this place was safer than following him.
Protecting them while fighting would be too difficult.
Once they were hidden, Tokiya listened as the sounds drew closer.
Without hesitation, he turned and ran in the opposite direction.
His footsteps echoed loudly through the empty corridor.
Soon, eerie cries followed—
Along with the sound of multiple limbs scraping against the floor.
There were many of them.
And the narrow hallway wasn't a good place to fight.
Tokiya Shingen needed to find an open space—
And fast.