Darkness swallowed Rishiro once again.
For a brief moment there was nothing.
No pain.
No sound.
Just the endless void that had now become strangely familiar.
Then—
The voice returned.
Cold.
Mechanical.
Watching.
[Irregular Existence Confirmed]
[System Observation Intensified]
Rishiro's eyes snapped open.
He gasped and sat up.
His apartment.
His desk.
His laptop screen still glowing.
And the rejection email staring back at him like a bad joke.
8:17 PM.
Again.
Rishiro rubbed his face slowly.
"…Of course."
He didn't panic this time.
He simply sighed.
"I guess dying doesn't fix anything."
He grabbed his jacket and stood up.
There was only one thing left to do.
The night air greeted him again as he stepped outside.
Tokyo looked exactly the same.
Cars passing.
Neon lights reflecting off the pavement.
People living their normal lives.
Completely unaware that something in the world was terribly wrong.
Rishiro walked straight toward the street corner.
No hesitation.
No confusion.
He already knew what he would find.
And he was right.
The old woman was standing there again.
Two grocery bags beside her feet.
Exactly the same as before.
As if the entire world had been reset just to recreate this moment.
Rishiro stopped a few steps away from her.
"…You knew."
The old woman smiled gently.
"Oh my."
"You look calmer this time."
Rishiro crossed his arms.
"…What was that thing?"
For a moment the street remained quiet.
The old woman glanced toward the dark alley where the creature had vanished before.
"That?"
She sighed lightly.
"It was only a checker."
Rishiro frowned.
"…A checker?"
"Yes."
"A system inspector."
She spoke as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"They appear when something unusual happens inside the system."
Her eyes slowly returned to him.
"And right now… that unusual thing is you."
Rishiro stared at her.
"…Great."
"So I'm being hunted by system monsters now."
The old woman looked around the quiet street.
"This isn't a good place for long explanations."
She picked up one of her grocery bags.
"Perhaps we should sit somewhere."
Rishiro blinked.
"…Sit?"
"A café would be fine."
Rishiro stared at her for a moment.
Then a slow grin appeared on his face.
"…Hold on."
"You're inviting me to a café?"
"Yes."
Rishiro scratched the back of his head casually.
"Well…"
"If this is supposed to be a date…"
He shrugged.
"I should tell you something first."
The old woman tilted her head slightly.
"Oh?"
Rishiro smirked.
"I'm not really into older women."
He paused for dramatic effect.
"…At least not grandmothers."
For a moment the street was silent.
Then the old woman laughed softly.
"You're quite bold for someone who has died several times tonight."
Rishiro shrugged.
"Humor helps with the dying part."
The old woman turned and started walking.
"Come along, Rishiro Kagami."
Rishiro froze.
"…Wait."
"I never told you my name."
The old woman glanced back at him.
Her smile mysterious.
"I know many things."
Rishiro stared at her for a few seconds.
Then sighed.
"…Yeah."
"I figured."
He followed her.
Because clearly, normal rules didn't apply anymore.
A small café stood a few streets away.
Warm light spilled through the windows.
Inside, everything looked peaceful.
Almost absurdly normal.
The two of them sat across from each other at a small table.
Rishiro leaned back in his chair.
"…Alright."
"Start talking."
The old woman folded her hands calmly.
"You are currently being hunted because you are an anomaly inside the system."
Rishiro raised an eyebrow.
"System."
"Right."
"The cosmic video game running the world."
The old woman ignored his sarcasm.
"The voice you heard after your death."
Rishiro's eyes narrowed.
The mechanical words echoed in his mind.
[Unknown System Detected]
[Irregular Event Confirmed]
The old woman nodded.
"That message wasn't meant for you."
"It was the system noticing a problem."
Her gaze sharpened slightly.
"And that problem… was you."
Rishiro leaned forward.
"…So the checker was trying to remove me."
"Yes."
"To the system, you are an error."
"A glitch."
"An anomaly."
She paused.
"…An irregular player."
Rishiro let out a quiet laugh.
"…Player."
"So the book was right."
"The world really is some kind of game."
The old woman shook her head slightly.
"Game is simply the closest word humans understand."
"But yes."
"The world is currently operating under something known as the Reality Governance System."
Rishiro leaned back.
"And somehow I accidentally logged in early."
"Something like that."
Rishiro stared at her.
"…And you?"
"You stopped the checker."
"You knew about the system."
"You knew I would loop."
His eyes narrowed.
"So tell me something."
"…Who are you?"
The old woman remained silent for a moment.
Then she chuckled softly.
"That…"
"I cannot tell you yet."
Rishiro groaned.
"Of course you can't."
"There are rules."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"But one thing you should understand."
"The system listened to you."
Rishiro blinked.
"…What?"
"That restart."
"That irregular message."
"That loop."
She leaned slightly closer.
"…Those happened because of something you did."
Rishiro's mind flashed back.
The book.
The pages describing the system.
The world ending.
"…No way."
The old woman smiled faintly.
"You knocked on the door of the system."
"And it answered."
The café fell silent.
Rishiro stared at the table.
His mind racing.
"…So what now?"
The old woman slowly picked up her tea.
Then she said calmly—
"The world ends in three days."
Rishiro blinked.
"…Excuse me?"
She sipped the tea like she had just commented on the weather.
"In three days the Doomsday Cycle will begin."
"The system will activate globally."
"Humanity will become players."
"And the world will enter the first influence phase."
Rishiro leaned back in his chair slowly.
"…Well."
He rubbed his forehead.
"That sounds mildly concerning."
The old woman looked at him calmly.
"You will need to survive."
Rishiro chuckled.
"Survive?"
"I can barely survive writing rejection emails."
The old woman smiled faintly.
"But you are different."
"You are an irregular player."
Her eyes sharpened.
"And irregular players…"
"…can change the rules of the game."
Outside the café window—
The neon lights of Tokyo flickered softly.
Completely unaware.
That in three days—
The world would end.
End of Chapter 4