Silent and empty, everything around them was pitch-black. Suspended in midair, the glowing electronic screen was the only source of light.
"Just a little more."
As if the connection had lagged, the electronic screen suddenly began flickering with pixelated static. As the screen stretched, the phantom image of "Uchiha Gen" emerged from the darkness.
The phantom slowly walked toward the source of the erupting negative emotions. Nothing blocked its path, but the "crosses" that had originally been planted here had completely vanished. In their place stood a shadow wreathed in black mist, motionless as a wooden stake.
Just as the system looked puzzled and raised a hand to touch the dark figure before it—
The shadow suddenly spoke. "Hey, system, I've wanted to complain about this for a long time. Don't you have a face? Why do you have to turn into me?"
System: "...You're here, then who's outside?"
The shadow spread his hands. "You still haven't answered my question. Forget it, you know my mental state is a mess. So I split myself into several parts to handle things outside, leaving one behind to guard the house. That's not a big deal, right?"
Seeing the system fall silent: "..."
With a smug, showy tone, the shadow circled the system once. "The 'creations' outside still haven't returned, and I'm still holding things down here. Things haven't reached the point where they can push me to my limit yet."
System: "You're 'Rationality'?"
Though it was phrased as a question, the system had already reached its conclusion as it spoke. No wonder—
The shadow neither confirmed nor denied it. "Although all these negative emotions have caused me some trouble, still..."
As he spoke, the shadow tapped his own head with a finger. "I remembered a lot of things."
"You kept the skin