Why is my Isekai in the Slice of Life anime was become a Horror Story?

Chapter 16: The Echo Between Present and Past

Time is accelerating.

The light from outside the window, mostly blocked with only a small sliver slipping through, is changing rapidly.

The room, which had been rather bright, is gradually darkening.

A damp, unpleasant smell, like rotting wood, spreads throughout the space.

The time on the clock, taken from the hallway, is continuously moving in this moment, advancing steadily toward six o'clock, then past seven, reaching eight, and finally creeping toward nine.

Takakai collapses to the floor.

Deng——

Takakai's head makes a piercing sound as it hits the ground. In that instant, everything around him seems to blur and sway.

He appears to see something.

He sees the young black man, who had seemed perfectly normal when they parted ways, now collapsed on the ground, eyes lifeless, face covered in blood. The man is like a puppet, reaching out to grasp the hour hand on the wall clock, inch by inch turning it forward.

Beside him stands Old Guo, expressionless, holding something in his hands that resembles a human head, silently observing the events unfolding before him.

Click——

Click—— click click——

The clock in the young man's hands begins to crack, with small and large fissures appearing.

His body also starts to fracture, fresh blood gushing from the gaps.

At last, the clock's hand can no longer turn, not even slightly.

And the young man lying on the ground has turned into a pile of rotting, unrecognizable flesh.

"Turning the clock hand triggers a curse? Turning it clockwise seems to cause more severe damage than turning it counterclockwise."

"And even under force, it can only be turned up to around the nine o'clock position; it seems impossible to go beyond that point."

"Alright, this roughly clarifies the limits and effects of this thing. The next step is figuring out how to find 109."

Old Guo mutters to himself.

His voice is very low, so low it feels like he's deliberately trying to prevent someone from overhearing.

But at this moment, Takakai can hear his words clearly.

109?

Why is he looking for 109?

What is so special about that room?

Deng——

The piercing, dizzying sound grows louder and louder.

The scene before him begins to distort, gradually becoming blurry.

Takakai thinks that he will either wake up, die, or face a fate worse than death.

But at this moment, a sharp pain suddenly shoots through his left hand, a pain so intense it feels as if someone is using a dull saw to cut through it—already halfway through—causing the flesh to split apart.

He wants to scream in agony.

But he realizes that apart from his left hand, he can't feel anything else.

It's as though his body has completely vanished.

Only his left hand inexplicably remains, delivering waves of excruciating pain.

Deng——

The piercing sound rings out once again, but this time it gradually subsides.

Then, a voice is heard.

[I am Xu Sheng---]

The voice is distorted, full of static, like a faulty reel on an old projector.

[Everything has finally come to this point…]

[I know, there will always be people who refuse to accept their current situation and try to change it, even resorting to irrational actions to achieve their goals…]

[I did my best. I gathered 18 survivors, explored every room except 304 with them, left supplies and ruleboards, and did everything I could to help those trapped here and unable to escape.]

[At our peak, there were as many as 26 of us, nearly filling every room.]

[But in the end, destruction is always easier than construction. With the actions of just one person or the reactions of a few, all efforts collapse and return to the starting point. No, it doesn't even return to the starting point anymore. From now on, everything here will only worsen, with no chance of improvement.]

[In this, I feel no shame. I've done everything within my power. Perhaps I wasn't ruthless enough, unable to decisively kill, but I've never harmed anyone in my life. Since being trapped here, all I've done is help, trying to save as many as possible. This was my choice. I went to the end, so even in death, I can rest in peace.]

Was this his final testament?

The voice carries an eerie calmness, like two acquaintances casually greeting each other in the warmth of the setting sun.

[But for the sake of those who may come later, I must leave a few things behind.]

[I have glimpsed part of the truth and encountered things that should never be touched. Before my existence disappears, I've altered the layout of every room.]

[Lock the main door, shut the living room door, and wear earplugs. If necessary, use a mask to block the spread of snores. By doing this, you can survive the night, but only if you stay in the room you woke up in initially. If not, you can only rely on luck.]

[The fact that you can hear these words means you've touched the wall clock and have a strong enough will. Perhaps you can accomplish something—not for any grand reason, but simply to save your own life.]

[Go to room 206 and descend through the crack in the floor of that room. That is the only normal way to reach the first floor. Do not take the stairs; they only lead to the third floor.]

[Room 109 holds all the documents. If you find 109, you will understand what has happened in this place.]

[After that, how you proceed will depend solely on you.]

The voice ends as a whisper, as if murmuring directly into his ear.

Takakai finally opens his eyes.

The hands of the wall clock now point to 8:50.

The sky outside the window is completely enveloped in darkness. The living room is pitch-black, lit only by the faint glow of a lighter in Kaguya's hand.

In that dim light, Takakai sees Shijo Maki crouched on the floor, clutching her head. From the surrounding darkness, shadowy arms stretch toward her, as if trying to pull her away.

In Takakai's mind, chaotic sounds still haven't fully subsided.

His body, still somewhat stiff, gradually regains mobility.

Faced with two choices—stand idle or take action—Takakai hesitates for less than a second. Because of their proximity, he reaches out toward Shijo Maki.

But his hand stretches toward the backpack on her back, containing two wall clocks.

Seemingly in a dazed, semi-conscious state, Shijo Maki doesn't react, allowing Takakai to remove the backpack from her.

Without hesitation, Takakai turns and throws the backpack toward Kaguya, who isn't far away.

Not choosing to save her first is undoubtedly regrettable, but if Shijo Maki's current condition is caused by the power of the Horror Story Rules, there's a high chance she can no longer be saved. Compared to that, the clock capable of rewinding time is the most critical lifeline; this item must be preserved!

The next moment, Takakai felt a sharp, icy sensation.

Those vague, indistinct arms had grabbed him as well.

"Quick——"

Before he could say the three words "turn the clock," Takakai, along with Shijo Maki, was pulled into a dark space on the ground.

Just before his vision was completely engulfed in darkness, it seemed like he heard the faint giggle of a child.

"Thud!"

Then, with a heavy sound, Takakai was thrown straight to the ground, and immediately after, Shijo Maki's small body slammed into his stomach.

It felt as though all his internal organs were being forced out through his mouth, and Takakai could only mutter that this experience was truly… unforgettable for life.

"Damn… what the hell is this situation…"

Supporting Shijo Maki as she sat up, Takakai had no time to think about the soft, fragrant feeling of the girl in his arms.

He looked around, seeing the dim light from a cute table lamp placed on a small table, along with the cozy-decorated room.

This was not room 208 from earlier.

Although the size and structure of the room were similar, it was clearly a different room.

Takakai stood up and glanced around. This seemed to be a woman's room. Despite the walls, floor, and ceiling showing signs of deterioration and the dirt typical of the Shirakawa apartment complex, the room's owner had tried to decorate it with cute stickers, furnish it, and even made the bed a combination of pink and sky blue, giving it a fairytale-like style. It seemed she had done her best to create a cozy atmosphere.

Unlike the previous rooms, the living room window in this room was covered with semi-transparent curtains, allowing some light to filter through. However, since it was nighttime, no light was coming in anymore.

"Ughh… my head hurts so much, it feels like being forced to shop for three days and nights straight with Nagisa and Tsubasa, from my brain to my heart, from my head to my toes, I'm so exhausted I feel like I might explode… But where is this?"

Amidst the painful groaning, Shijo Maki also slowly sat up, looking around in confusion.

"I don't know where this is, but it's definitely not a good place. Right now, we can only rely on Shinomiya-san who's outside."

Takakai let out a dry laugh, a sense of unease rising in his chest. He carefully surveyed the surroundings once more, and when he didn't notice anything unusual, he finally relaxed a bit.

Old Guo, no matter what he planned to do, after forcing the black guy to turn the clock, he had no one left to work for him. On Kaguya's side, after all, there were four people there. Anyone among them could turn the clock backward to return time to its original state. With preserved memories, they could handle things better. Takakai believed that even Sun Dajun and Maeda Miwa—those two seemingly stupid ones—would be able to recognize the current situation.

Takakai believed Shinomiya Kaguya was a rational person.

If it were her, she would definitely act immediately with the clock.

So, he stood still, waiting.

Shijo Maki, after asking about the situation and understanding Takakai's intent, nodded slightly. Both of them silently waited, waiting for the moment when everything would reverse.

1, 2, 3…

Takakai silently counted the time, each second passing with tension.

598, 599, 600…

But by the time he counted to 10 minutes, or 600 seconds, nothing had happened.

Nani, kore wa bakana?

He wanted to say that.

Time reversal didn't happen.

Even when he counted to 20 minutes, it still didn't happen.

No strange sounds, no abnormal phenomena.

The small dark room, lit only by the desk lamp, retained its quiet atmosphere.

Everything remained unchanged, nothing happened, as if this space wanted to drown Takakai and Shijo Maki in its suffocating silence.

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