The boy was Shusuke as a child.
And the gentle woman was Shusuke's mother.
Ever since entering this world, Shusuke had kept his eyes fixed on his mother. He walked toward her, step by step, wanting to see her face clearly.
But just as he was about to make out her features, a chorus of piercing screams suddenly rang out behind him.
Then the women by the cloud chairs saw what was happening at the Cloud Dock. Every smile turned to terror, and they immediately rose and raced toward it.
Shusuke's mother hurried to her feet as well and ran toward the Cloud Dock with them.
As she brushed past Shusuke, he instinctively reached out to catch her, even though he still couldn't see her face clearly. But as a mere observer in this world, he couldn't grasp anything.
The one responsible for the panic at the Cloud Dock was none other than Little Shusuke, who was only five years old.
After eating the malt candy his mother had given him, Little Shusuke played with his friends for a while before spotting a black box floating toward them through the Cloud Sea.
He and his friends opened the box together. Inside lay a strange-looking black fruit.
Although the fruit didn't look particularly appetizing, it gave off a very distinctive fragrance.
Then one of the children suggested dividing it up so they could each have a piece.
Curious, Little Shusuke eagerly joined in.
They divided the fruit into five pieces, one for each of them. They exchanged glances, then all stuffed their pieces into their mouths.
Little Shusuke was the first to take a bite. The moment he swallowed, the foul taste nearly made him throw up.
The other children reacted much the same way, but they spat theirs out almost