Happy holidays, everyone!

Chapter 9: Kyōki, The Town of Madness (Kosei)

The sky was dark; no stars or moon in sight. But the air was filled with unhinged laughter. I went around a corner of the house to see nothing but human houses. There wasn't a single animal house that I could see. Each house varied in size, some as small as when you first start out, others at the maximum size. There was a lot of foliage, making some easy hiding spots. I cautiously walked and shivered at the cold sea wind that blew behind me.

Just like "Seaside," this town felt wrong. I was close to one of the smaller houses and I was tempted for look through the window. I was a bit curious, but my gut told me not to. That it might be one of Solis's traps. As if she hadn't trapped me enough in this world.

Rustle.

I looked to my left and saw the bushes move slightly. Maybe it was rising fear, paranoia, or both, but I started to run.

And that's when things somehow got worse. The laughter grew in volume and intensity, and I could a boy yell out, "Get him, everyone! Get the intruder!" His laughter showed his insanity, and it looked like his words brought the town to life. Doors opened, revealing the owners, and plants rustled as other humans emerged from them. Their clothes were torn, and any exposed skin bore scratches, scars, and bruises. I ran even faster, and my rationality shut off. I was working on the fight-or-flight response. I avoided as many humans as I could, and a part of me numbly realized that they had shovels and axes, and they brandished them as weapons.

But they were starting to catch up to me, since I hadn't had a reason to run back in Seaside. The next thing I remember was someone grabbing my arm and pulling me inside a building. I could hear the door slam shut, and some furniture being moved to barricade it. I was on my hands and knees, inhaling as much oxygen as I could but I did look at the human who grabbed me. It was a girl much younger than me, maybe six or seven years old. She had light green hair done in pigtails, and she wore a preppy school uniform. She was barefoot.

"Okay, that should hold them off for now." She sounded young, proving my assumption. She turned around, and I could see her blue eye. The other was swollen shut, as if she'd been stung by a bee. "What's your name, sir?" She was polite, and waited for me to respond.

"It's-," I coughed as I tried to regain my breath, "It's Kosei Natsuhara. And you?"

"Arisu Genki, and I'm the unfortunate mayor of Kyoki." I looked at her in disbelief. She's in charge of this madness? I began to crawl away, but she held up a hand to make me stop.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, sir. I just need to ask how you're in the dream variation of the real Kyoki. This is one of the forbidden dream towns. You can't access this place under any circumstances."

I explained everything to Arisu, from the letter I received from Torii to how I was in the Dream Suite, trying to get to the dream version of Mira. She was a good listener.

"I've met Solis before in Azuma-Kaosu, when we were invited by the mayor himself. I got a headache just by walking around the place and getting lost, but that place was a lot better than here. Solis was very kind, polite, just like any other mayor I've met. But I could tell that something was a little off in her head. Being here for four years helped me figure that out."

"Wait, you've been here for four years? And how old are you, if you don't mind me asking." Even I knew not to ask a girl's age, but I was curious.

"I'm eight. I was sent here when I turned four." She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, as if the matter didn't bother her.

"What's wrong with the others? Why aren't there any animals here? What's wrong with this town?" As of right now, those three questions were my main ones.

"Kyoki has a reputation for being known as 'The Town of Madness.' Certainly, you've heard of the Isolated Island?"

I nodded. The Isolated Island was known for holding the worst humans. Well, the ones that are than the ones held in Aika Village, anyway.

"Kyoki is one of the the few towns that exist on the island. The others are within a few miles of each other, and the only thing separating all of them are just woods and forests. Maybe the occasional river. As I said before, this place is known as 'The Town of Madness.' It houses humans that have lost their mind for unknown reasons. And here, it seems as though the madness within them grows by each passing days. I've seen a huge increase in tree planting, as well as the bushes. And whenever a train arrives with some new people, the original people act calm, almost sane. But the newcomers don't know the rules here. In this town, you have to fight or defend yourselves. I've seen some people disappear, and we find their corpses a few days later.

"Once I notify the people about it, we either find something or build a casket and put it on the next train that arrives. Whenever it does arrives, at least. And.." Arisu trailed off, hesitating.

"And?" I asked. A part of me didn't want to know, but my curiosity was taking control. Arisu swallowed down her hesitation and said it.

"And once the bodies are on the train, they're sent to a nearby town called Shokutaku."

I felt very sick. I shivered at the very idea of being here in real life, trying to survive each day.

"So then, how…"

"How am I the mayor and why do I look like I retain more sanity than everyone else? Well, in truth, the mayors of these isolation towns retain something similar to the other residents, except it's either not as severe as everyone else or it's very well hidden." Arisu's eye held something close to insanity.

'I… I have to get out of here.' I stood up, looking at the windows which showed no one, but I didn't realize my mistake. Because I suddenly fell to the floor with an intense pain in my head. I could barely see Arisu's feet because I was losing consciousness. I could've sworn that I heard Solis's voice behind me.

"You may have endured their madness, but can you survive a trial that'll make your stomach churn in disgust?"

Notes:

Genki - Sane

Arisu - Alice

Kyōki - Madness

Azuma Kaosu - East Chaos