It was dark.

That was his first impression as Ryner floated in total darkness. However, it only lasted an instant as various memories showed up before his eyes. They quickly appeared like a movie that was being fast-forwarded and made him feel like his head was being stuffed full of experiences. In fact, that was exactly what was happening since, every time he went to sleep, he was synchronizing with his fragments inside his subconscious.

“Whoa, that’s gross.” [???]

“That so? I’m… Ava.” [???]

“Shut up or I’ll kill you.” [???]

“I’m Ryner.” [???]

“I made a promise with this idiot.” [???]

Having decided on multiple games with Alice before, he tore off pieces of his souls, which was ridiculously painful, and sent them to other dimensions. Each of them had a goal they needed to accomplish and he would win if they succeeded. These soul fragments were a part of him and acted exactly like he would. Although they didn’t have his powers as a monster, they had his memories and experiences from before he ripped them off.

One fragment was a high schooler in a slightly futuristic world where people were born with strange abilities after the appearance of monsters. Because of their relentless advance, humanity created schools where children learned to fight and to control their powers before they joined the army. It was in this dimension that he intervened in his real form which caused the inhabitants to admire him as the Dark knight.

Another one was a female half-elf that was hated and ostracized by elves. Some individuals of the other races also made fun of her because of how half-elves were so strangely hated. Her family kept her around because she might become useful to them, so she had grown up locked inside a room like a caged bird.

A different fragment was given Ryner’s original body when he was still human and was thrown in a modern world plagued by zombies. Gathering equipment and scavenging for resources, he met groups of survivors and fended off various types of undead that mutated into grotesque forms. Countries that weren’t affected by the outbreaks built walls around their cities and soldiers were sent in the danger zones to collect some specimens for study.

Also, one more was a woman who was trying to become the top knight in a kingdom where women weren’t allowed to join the army. As such, she hid her identity and always appeared before others in a suit of armor. The cities looked like the ones in medieval Europe, but the knights used full-body armors that resembled a mix of science and magic.

Furthermore, another random fragment was in a world where malevolent demons existed and attacked humans. His body was covered in pitch black scales that were like shells, he had a long tail and there were tendrils on his back that could act like wings. Only a few demons resembled people and he didn’t outwardly. In that dimension, he didn’t attack humans for no reason and instead befriended a woman that had slaughtered many demons by a strange twist of fate.

“It’s been a while since I saw some zombies.” [???]

“It’s fine. I’m freaking immortal.” [???]

“Don’t call me pretty ever again.” [???]

“I don’t feel like it.” [???]

Right now, Ryner was currently reliving everything that his fragments had just gone through because he was the original, the main soul. Information wasn’t shared among all of them, only to Ryner. It was like multiple terminals that were all linked to one server and were sending their data to it. That was how he kept track of all of their activities and conditions, though it was taxing on the mind and made him tired.

In short, rest was less effective than it normally was whenever he had fragments. Although, what really bothered him about sending fragments to other worlds was that he saw all of their memories. As such, he would experience them as if they were his own, including the bad ones and these truly burdened him. If he was killed by someone close to him, he would feel the pain on his body and the shock on his mind. Given the life he has led so far, trouble and hardship had a strong tendency of following him.

Once the synchronization period was over, the memories stopped flowing in and he found himself standing on a red ground under a dark sky. Upon closer inspection, the ground was actually a vast sea of blood and he could see his own reflection in it. However, as he kept staring at his feet, a shadow appeared in the blood. It grew bigger as it floated up until he could clearly see it.

A faceless corpse.

There was a dead body right by his feet. But, it wasn’t the only one. More and more began to emerge from the depth. They popped up like dead fishes and soon bloated the surface. Yet, it didn’t stop there. The corpses underneath pushed the ones on top, creating a pile and making it grow bigger. Steadily, the piles increased in size until it reached Ryner’s waist. Although they didn’t have a face, one could tell who they were from their figures and clothes.

Rich. Poor. Kings. Slaves. Man. Woman. Elderly. Children.

The bodies continued to surface. Although they didn’t have a face, Ryner knew them. He knew why they were here. After all, he had sent them all to the afterlife. There were those from a long time ago, and those who he recently murdered. As if calling him to them, the sea of blood became a sea of corpses that buried him to the neck.

His breathing was becoming shallow. His breaths were ragged as if he was missing oxygen. They didn’t have eyes, but he could tell they were staring at him. This dead sea would never dry out. Instead, it would keep increasing by his hands. A new corpse would be added every time he killed someone, drowning him further in the abyss.

So what?

Amidst the lifeless bodies, a voice resounded in his head.

At this point, what difference does it make?

It was his own voice.

If we create another mountain of corpses.

And it reminded him of the truth.

“Guys! Breakfast’s ready!” [Suky]

Suky called all of her pets over to the kitchen that was rather devoid of furniture for the sake of having more space. On the floor were bowls of various sizes that either had chunks of meat or vegetables in them. On the table were more round containers that had seeds or nuts. A few seconds later, various animals poured in from the entrance and went straight for their food. Dogs, cats and bunnies went to the bowls on the floor while birds and squirrels went for the ones on the table.

Seeing them digging in voraciously, the reddish brown-haired beastman nodded contently and left the place with two more bowls of meat in hands, one large and one medium. Since she just woke up and it was still morning, the beastman that had the physical characteristics of a tiger didn’t bother dressing up. Ignoring her long, wavy hair that was unkempt, she was wearing black panties and a tank top that looked like a bra.

Since her body was covered in warm fur, she didn’t get cold easily and preferred to dress lightly, which was the case for many other beastmen like her. However, none of them walked around in their underwear. Her lack of shame over her sloppy appearance at home was one of the reasons why her boyfriends would leave her, if she didn’t dump them first.

In the spacious living room, there was a tiger that was sunbathing by the window. She put the large bowl next to it and patted its head. The big feline purred and turned his attention to his meal. Then, Suky placed the last breakfast in front of her guest from yesterday who would be staying for a while. Ryner, who was now a wolf, opened his sleepy-looking eyes and stared at the chunks of meat that were cooked brown and slightly burned.

“Woof woof woof. (I’m guessing you can’t cook.)” [Ryner]

“I’ve got no idea what you just said, but it sounds pretty rude.” [Suky]

She dropped her fist on his head, eliciting a pained yelp that was followed by an angry growl.

“Woof! Woof woof, woof! (That hurt! I demand better treatment, you violent woman!” [Ryner]

“What the hell are you saying now? Rather, just write it out, write it out! Maya and Evelyn said you could do it yesterday!” [Suky]

“Woof woof. Woof, woof woof woof, woof woof woof kiai! (Don’t feel like it. Rather, walking around half-naked in the morning and using your fists right away, this is why you’ll only have pets and no man ouch!)” [Ryner]

He was hit on the head again.

“If you’ve got something to say about my age, then write it out. Being twenty-five years old and still unmarried despite going through a bunch of mating seasons… Go ahead and write it out. I dare you.” [Suky]

Although she didn’t understand him, Suky’s guess was quite close to the mark. Her voice was low like a growl and her fist was threateningly raised in front of her face. Her glare was ferocious enough to rival any wild beast. It seemed being unmarried at her age bothered her since beastmen were eligible for marriage on their first mating season, which happened once they turned fifteen or sixteen. She had planned to snatch a man quick and raise a family, but things didn’t go as she thought.

“Woof woof woof woof…? (Isn’t Maya the same age and still unmarried too…?” [Ryner]

“Huh? What did you say? Did you make fun of me just now?” [Suky]

“Woof woof. (I didn’t insult you.)” [Ryner]

“You did, didn’t you?!” [Suky]

“Woof woof woof, woof! (I said I didn’t, damn brat!)” [Ryner]

“You’re the one Maya chose to follow! Before you turn back into a human, I’ll fix that personality of yours!” [Suky]

“Woof woof woof woof! W-woof! Woof woof! (You’re the one that needs fixing! H-hey! Let me go, you brat!)” [Ryner]

Early in the morning, a beastman was wrestling with a wolf in the living room. She was on top of it with her left arm around its neck in a chokehold. Her legs were on both sides of its body and she prevented it from escaping using her weight. The canine was struggling as it repeatedly tapped the floor with its front paw. While these two were fighting, an old tiger who was eating his meal was peacefully watching over them.

“Ahhh, to be young.” [Tiger]

Meanwhile, inside the kitchen, some of the animals were finishing breakfast and left to go do whatever they wanted to do. Among them was a group of grey and white puppies that had just vigorously ate everything in their bowls. Resembling Siberian huskies, they were brothers and sisters who lost their parents and that Suky took in.

“Let’s go play!” [Puppy]

““Yeah!”” [Puppies]

One of them said and the rest voiced their agreement as they started running toward the opened sliding door that lead to the backyard. However, their red-furred sister was still hurriedly eating.

“Ah! Wait! I’m not done eating!” [Red puppy]

The puppy said as she turned her head toward her siblings who were already leaving.

“Too late~!” [Puppy]

“Who cares~!” [Puppy]

“It’s your fault~!” [Puppy]

“You’re always slow~!” [Puppy]

One after another, they ignored her request and happily left her behind like usual. The little one, who was soon by herself, sadly looked down with her ears flat on her head and her tail between her legs. In the end, ignoring the worried voices of the animals around her, she finished her meal and went off by herself. This was the usual routine that she went through every day and she always tried to get her siblings to play with her.

However, today, she just didn’t feel like it and chose to not follow them. Taking the colorful red ball that the big black dog lent to her, she trotted to the living room in low spirits. Since the ball was too big to carry in her mouth, she rolled it by pushing it with her nose. Then, she saw the woman that took her in crossed over to the kitchen. For some reason, her right hand was over her forehead and her left eye was closed.

“Ooww… Damn it, since when does a wolf’s paw hurt so much? Oh, hi Mi.” [Suky]

She walked at a brisk pace while muttering so painfully. Wondering what was wrong with her master, the puppy tilted her head and then peeked inside the living room. It was well-known that a certain old tiger always passed his time here, sunbathing by the windows. When she took a look, she saw him at his usual place as well as their newest addition.

Strangely enough, he was lying powerlessly on his side like a lazy old dog and the tiger was watching him while chuckling. Curious, she rolled her red ball towards the big feline as she cautiously stared at the wolf. To her, if the tiger was intimidating on their first meeting, then the wolf was really, really intimidating.

“Well, if it isn’t Mi. You’re not with your siblings?” [Tiger]

“No, grandpa Da. I’m, playing by myself today.” [Mi]

At that moment, the scary neighbor slightly raised his head to look at them while still lying on his side.

“You’re called Grandpa Da? Seriously?” [Ryner]

“Hoho, that’s the name our missy gave me. ‘Grandpa’ is something that the others attached to me because I’m the oldest.” [Da]

“She’s got a bad naming sense… And she’s violent.” [Ryner]

“Hohoho.” [Da]

As he said such rude things about Suky, Ryner lowered his head and went back to napping. Mi, surprised, kept staring at him. The aura he was giving off was vastly different to the initial impression she had of him. That was how she felt after hearing just a few words from him.

“(He’s not… Really scary…?)” [Mi]

Perhaps it was out of curiosity or loneliness, but the red and white puppy rolled her ball towards him with her head. It gently collided with his stomach, causing him to raise his head and to open his right eye to look at it. Seeing it again, she noticed that it was strangely white which made it seem like he had a blind eye.

“U-um…” [Mi]

The little one raised her voice as she approached him under the amused gaze of the old tiger.

“I’m…! M-M-Mi!” [Mi]

Although she loudly told him her name, her voice was shaking and her ears were drooping. It truly made one wondered why she even tried to talk to him.

“W-what’s your name?!” [Mi]

“… Ryner.” [Ryner]

After a short moment of silence, Ryner told her the name he called himself with. Then, Mi gathered her courage and did her best to look him in the eyes as she voiced her question.

“Do you, want to play with me?!” [Mi]

And that was how Ryner met this small puppy.

*Author note*

Somehow managed to meet my weekly quota despite some troubles (work) and distractions (games) slowing my writing pace.