1
Ryohei Arisu sat on the floor of his small bedroom, eyes fixed on the screen in front of him, hands gripping the controller as if his life depended on it. A notification popped up on his phone—a reminder of the job interview he was supposed to attend an hour ago. He ignored it. His father, however, did not.
The door burst open.
"Arisu!" his father bellowed. "You missed another interview?"
Arisu flinched but didn't turn around. His younger brother, grinning smugly from behind their father, muttered, "Pathetic."
His father’s next words hit harder than any insult. "I'm done supporting you. Get out."
Arisu barely had time to process before he was out on the street, a duffel bag of hastily packed clothes slung over his shoulder. He pulled out his phone, thumb hovering over the contacts. There were only two people he could turn to.
Within an hour, he met up with Chota Segawa and Daikichi Karube near the bustling intersection of Shibuya. Chota, always carefree, patted his shoulder. "You can crash at my place, man. My mom won’t even notice."
Karube smirked. "Or you could just stop being a loser."
Arisu chuckled half-heartedly. "Easier said than done."
At that moment, fireworks exploded in the sky above, their vibrant colors reflecting off the glass buildings. Arisu turned to look, captivated—
CRASH!
A blaring horn, a screech of tires, then silence.
The three boys turned to see a pile-up at the intersection, horns blaring, people yelling. Realizing they had accidentally caused the distraction, they bolted, pushing through crowds and ducking into a train station restroom to avoid authorities.
Then—darkness.
The hum of the city vanished. The fluorescent lights overhead flickered and died. When they stepped out of the stall, the station was empty. Completely empty. No people. No sound. Their phones—dead.
They wandered through the silent city, the neon billboards still glowing but with no one to see them. As night fell, a sudden light illuminated a skyscraper.
"GAME START. GM BUILDING."
Arisu's stomach twisted. A game?
With no other option, they followed the signal to the building, where they met two others—Shibuki Saori, a confident woman, and a nervous high school girl. They were handed phones that activated with a cold, mechanical voice.
"GAME: DEAD OR ALIVE. DIFFICULTY: THREE OF CLUBS."
The doors sealed behind them.