"I… I like it. Got a problem with that?"
Ayumi glared at Ryan with a stiff expression.
Before he could answer, she spun around and slammed the door on her way out.
Ryan stared at the door.
"…What just happened?"
He scratched his head.
"When did I make her mad this time?"
Then he looked down at the cat she had left behind.
The black cat sat in the middle of his room like it owned the place.
"…And why did she leave a cat here?"
"Meow."
Two shiny black eyes stared up at him.
Ryan crouched and picked the cat up by the scruff of its neck.
He held it in front of his face.
"Man… you're an ugly little thing."
He squinted at it.
"Alright. Your name is Ugly Cat now."
"Meow! Insolent human! How dare you show such disrespect to me!"
Ryan froze.
A strange voice had echoed inside the room.
Cold sweat ran down his back.
He slowly looked around.
No one else was there.
"…Am I hallucinating?"
He rubbed his temples.
"I must be exhausted."
"Put me down this instant, you stupid human!"
Ryan blinked.
This time he heard it clearly.
The voice came from the cat.
He stared at the struggling animal in his hand.
"…Cats can talk now?"
Inside his mind, the system spoke.
"Host, this creature is unusual."
Ryan whispered back in his thoughts.
"Yeah, I noticed."
He turned the cat left and right, inspecting it.
"Monster? Alien?"
"…Looks pretty weak though."
"Insufficient data," the system replied. "However, it does not appear to belong to this world."
The cat sniffed proudly.
"Hmph. Now that you realize I'm not ordinary, release me immediately."
"If you behave, I may forgive your earlier offense."
Ryan tried not to laugh.
The voice sounded proud and serious.
But coming from a tiny cat face…
It was ridiculous.
He tilted his head.
"Are you a boy or a girl?"
"You shameless human! Even with death approaching, you still dare insult me!"
Ryan studied it carefully.
"…Probably a girl."
"RYU!"
A thunderous shout exploded behind him.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
Ryan jumped and turned around.
Ayumi stood in the doorway.
Her eyes burned with fury.
"You're unbelievable!"
"You won't even spare a cat?!"
"I wasn't doing anything!"
Ryan tried to explain.
But it was too late.
A fist the size of a baseball rocketed toward his face.
BAM.
Ryan staggered back.
"My nose!"
Again.
Why was it always his nose?
Ayumi grabbed the cat from his hands.
She held it gently and smoothed its fur.
"Don't worry. I won't let him bully you anymore."
Ryan clutched his nose.
"I wasn't bullying it! I was checking if there was something strange about it."
He pointed at the cat.
"I swear it just talked!"
Ayumi shot him a look.
"You're still making excuses?"
"No, seriously! It talked!"
"Enough."
She crossed her arms.
"Your pay is cut in half this month."
Ryan stared at her in disbelief.
"…Why?!"
Today had officially become the worst day of his life.
"ROOOAR!"
A monstrous face suddenly filled Ryan's vision.
He froze.
One gigantic eye stared at him.
The eyeball alone was almost the size of a truck.
Ryan trembled.
The sky burned red with the setting sun.
All around him stretched a ruined city.
Smoke rose from shattered buildings.
And beneath him…
A gigantic beast lay across the ruins.
The creature stretched hundreds of meters long.
Ryan looked down.
He was standing on its nose.
"001… is that you?"
"Please tell me this is a joke…"
The answer came as a deafening roar.
"ROOOAR!"
The sound blasted him into the air.
Ryan slammed into the ground.
His entire body screamed in pain.
But he barely noticed.
The monster had stood up.
Ryan stared up at the towering creature.
His mouth hung open.
"…That thing is huge."
Compared to this monster…
Everything he fought before looked tiny.
The beast roared again.
It glared down at Ryan like a human glaring at an annoying insect.
Its giant claw lifted into the air.
Then slammed down.
BOOM.
"NO!"
Ryan shot upright in bed.
Moonlight spilled across the blankets through the window.
He looked around.
His bedroom.
His breathing was ragged.
Sweat soaked his shirt.
"…Just a dream."
He wiped his face.
But the fear still lingered.
"Finally awake?"
A voice spoke from the dark corner of the room.
Ryan froze.
"Who's there?"
Something stepped into the moonlight.
A black cat.
The same one from earlier.
"You already forgot me?"
The cat sneered.
"Typical foolish human."
Ryan stared.
"…You."
Then he glanced at the locked door.
"How did you get in here?"
The cat lifted its chin proudly.
"For my kind, nothing in this world is impossible."
"Crossing space is a trivial matter."
Ryan slowly sat up.
"…What exactly are you?"
The system spoke again.
"Host may relax. This lifeform shows no hostile intent."
Ryan still felt uneasy.
But he lowered his guard slightly.
The cat jumped onto the desk.
It sat there like a tiny king looking down at him.
"Allow me to introduce myself."
"I am a light-based lifeform."
"My name is Bolidoan."
Ryan blinked.
"…That's a mouthful."
Bolidoan ignored him.
"I came here specifically for you."
Ryan stared at the smug little cat.
Because of this creature, half his salary was gone.
He had to resist the urge to throw it out the window.
Bolidoan continued.
"Abnormalities in space and time can cause the collapse of the universe."
"My species exists to eliminate such anomalies."
Ryan's heart skipped.
"…Eliminate?"
His expression darkened.
"Do you mean eliminate me?"
Bolidoan flicked its tail.
"You could say that."
"But I'm willing to give you a chance."
Ryan narrowed his eyes.
"A chance?"
"If you help me with one task," the cat said, "I will spare you."
Ryan crossed his arms.
"And why should I believe you?"
This was the first time anyone had explained anything about his situation.
The system always gave the same answer.
Insufficient data.
But this strange cat seemed to know more.
Bolidoan laughed coldly.
"You don't have to believe me."
"But don't you want to understand your situation?"
Ryan's eyes sharpened.
"What situation?"
"You think gaining a strange power means you're safe?"
"How naïve."
The cat's voice turned icy.
"You interfered with his plan."
"He will never let you go."
Ryan felt a chill run through him.
"…Who?"
Bolidoan turned toward the window.
"You'll meet him soon enough."
"When you do… we'll talk again."
The cat leaped onto the windowsill.
Moonlight bathed its black fur.
For a moment, it almost looked sacred.
"By then, you'll accept my offer."
Then it vanished into the night.
Ryan sat there for a long time.
Finally he muttered,
"…I never said I wouldn't help."
"Also, you never explained what the job was."
"What a weird cat."
He leaned back against the wall.
"001."
"Insufficient data. Unable to analyze."
Ryan sighed.
"I wasn't asking for analysis."
"I wanted to know something else."
He rubbed his temples.
"That nightmare earlier…"
"Was it related to what the cat said?"
"Is someone really coming after me?"
Without his ability to transform, he had almost no way to defend himself.
The system answered calmly.
"The host was likely affected by a special brainwave signal."
"It caused no physical harm."
Ryan lay back down.
His eyes stayed open.
Who was the "him" Bolidoan mentioned?
And what did that cat really want?
"001… you seriously don't know anything?"
"Insufficient data."
Ryan sighed.
"I figured."
Outside, the night sky stretched endlessly.
Ryan watched the half-moon through the window.
Sleep never came.