Chapter 1: It's a New Day!

It was finally time.

In a few minutes, this story of tragedy brought on by his father would finally come to an end.

After enduring so many stressful nights, Henry would start the cleansing fire that would free them all at last.

Thirty years of "living" in a state of undeath, wandering the land of the living; fighting ghosts and tying up loose ends. After thirty long years, Michael Afton could finally rest.

Michael sat down on his office chair patiently waiting for the fires to ignite as he heard all the facility's systems go down. He took one last look around the office, taking one long melancholic breath as the memories of all his battles against the supernatural over the years resurfaced.

He remembered all the close calls he had and all the work he had done to undo his father's horrific experiments and the murders which had taken so many innocent lives..

He remembered the day he found out the truth of everything. The day that he turned into an abomination of flesh and metal, driven forward by one final goal.

To fix everything.

"You played right into our hands. Did you really think that this job just fell out of the sky for you?" An all too familiar voice spoke out, breaking Michael out of his thoughts.

It was Elizabeth. Or rather, it was Elizabeth using Baby's voice. His dear younger sister, and also the one who "killed" him.

"No. This was a gift. For us. You gathered them all together, in one place. Just like he asked you to. All of those little souls, in one place. Just for us. A gift."

Michael could hear her through the system intercom. With a calmness gained over the many years of facing the supernatural, he began looking around the dark office, checking to see if she was somewhere nearby but to no avail.

Despite himself, he started to feel slightly anxious. 'Henry should have started the fire by now.' But so far he had heard nothing from his end.

He began to fear the worst, that something had gone wrong or they somehow managed to get to Henry.

He really hoped that Henry was merely taking his sweet time.

"Now, we can do what we were created to do. And be complete. I will make you proud, Daddy!"

'Henry please… Where are you!?' Michael internally pleaded as he sat at the edge of his seat, ready to make a run for Henry's room where the ignition system could be activated and end this nightmare.

"Watch, listen, and be full."

Beep*

Just as he was about to book it, the intercom suddenly made a loud beep and a different voice emerged from the system. One Michael was relieved to hear.

"Connection terminated. I'm sorry to interrupt you Elizabeth. If you even still remember that name. But I'm afraid you've been misinformed. You are not here to receive a gift. Nor have you been called here by the individual you assume, but you have indeed been called."

As Henry spoke, Michael could feel the temperature in the room beginning to rise and smoke coming from the vents.

"You have all been called here. In a place of sounds and smells, misdirection and misfortune. A labyrinth with no exit, a maze with no prize."

"You don't even realize that you're trapped." And on queue, Michael heard the sound of the pizzeria being closed off with a metallic clang so that none may escape, and the screams of the possessed animatronics erupted from the halls shortly afterwards as they clawed at the walls nearby in a desperate yet futile attempt to escape the coming inferno.

"Your lust for blood has driven you in endless circles. Chasing the cries of children in some unseen chamber. Always seeming so near, yet somehow out of reach. But you will never find them, none of you will. This is where your story ends."

"And to you, my brave volunteer. Who somehow found this job listing not intended for you." Henry directed his attention to Michael. "Although, there was a way out planned for you. I have a feeling that's not what you want. I have a feeling you are right where you want to be."

And he was right. Michael had no intention of leaving, this is where he would finally rest. Him along with everyone else here. There was nothing left for him in the land of the living, he had no life ahead of him after all of this, his "condition" made sure of that.

"I am remaining as well. I am nearby." Henry assured. "This place will not be remembered and the memory of everything that started this can finally begin to fade away. As the agony of every tragedy should."

"And to you monsters trapped in the corridors. Be still, and give up your spirits. They don't belong to you."

"For most of you, I believe there is peace and perhaps, more waiting for you after the smoke clears."

"Although, for one of you." Henry's voice became one of suppressed anger as he addressed the sole murderer among all the victims in the building, the monster that was the cause of this tragedy to begin with and Henry's former friend and business partner, William Afton. His father. "The darkest pits of hell have opened to swallow you whole. So don't keep the devil waiting, old friend."

"My daughter, if you can hear me. I knew you would return as well." Henry spoke to the last person he needed to speak to in the building, Charlie Emily. The kind-hearted girl who ended up being the first victim of William's murderous rampage. The spirit that would take control of the puppet and guide Afton's victims in her state of undeath.

"It's in your nature to protect the innocent. I'm sorry that on that day, the day you were shut out and left to die, no one was there to lift you up into their arms the way you lifted others into yours, and then what became of you. I should have known you wouldn't be content to disappear, not my daughter. I couldn't save you then. So let me save you now. It's time to rest - for you, and for those you have carried into your arms."

The fire had reached him now and began to surround him. Owing to his body lacking internal organs, he didn't suffocate from the smoke as a normal person would. Instead, he was awake and aware as the fire consumed his body. The pain was excruciating, the scorching heat burned away the remnant that had kept him alive all this time. But he did not scream. He did not even have the energy to scream, tiredness and stress gained from the many long decades of working up to this point all caught up to him. Instead he embraced the pain, allowing it to free him from the suffering he had endured.

"This ends for all of us."

"End Communication."

Michael closed his eyes. As his consciousness began to fade, he wondered if anyone was waiting for him on the other side. And so, as the flames consumed his flesh and metal body, Michael Afton, after thirty long years, finally died.


In the vast blackness of an unknown realm, a single figure sat fishing by a blood red lake. It was a towering man, he was clothed in a full black outfit with a complimentary black flat brim hat atop his head. His entire visage was covered by a veil of shadow under the unnatural sky above where he resided.

The Old Man watched as Fazbear's Pizzeria burned to the ground from his red lake, "It would seem this story has finally come to an end…" He spoke aloud.

"The last effort of these broken men was a success, and the wound that festered for too long can finally heal and fade away."

"The souls of the innocent are freed, passing on to the next life."

"The demon lies where he belongs, in the fiery pits of Hell to burn for eternity."

"The sole purpose of the firstborn, fulfilled."

"And yet…" he continued, turning to the unexpected guest that had entered his domain. Their entire visage a complete contrast to the world they stood in.

Standing nearby the Old Man was a girl, she wore a completely white uniform opposite of the pitch black forest behind her, her long sky blue hair stood painfully out of place with the red sky. Finally, a white halo with a blue light floated above her head, shining like a star in the pitch-black night sky.

"…You seek to continue his story in an unexpected turn of events."

The girl winced as she clenched her side, an injury that stained her pure white outfit with red made itself known. Despite the pain however, she opened her mouth to speak.

"I know what I am asking…" She paused. "But he is the only one that can fix everything that I've done wrong…"

"Yes, he is… But with you out of the picture…" The Old Man cast an inquisitive gaze upon the girl. "Do you truly believe that this is your best course of action? Not only will you erase your existence in the timeline of events of your world, you will break the cycle of life and death to bring back a man who has earned his rest. But then again, I should not have to tell you what you already know."

The girl gave a small smile. "I understand… Please do it."

The Old Man sighed, "Very well." And began to reel in his fishing rod.


Michael suddenly felt completely numb. He couldn't feel any pain, nor could he hear the sound of the fire that was burning around him. Only utter silence was left in its stead.

He tried to open his eyes, blinking rapidly as he did, but the world around was blurry. Despite that problem, however, he could still see light invading his vision. It wasn't the fire though, he was sure of that, he would've felt the heat.

Suddenly he felt a strange sensation invade his mind, it wasn't painful but not exactly pleasant. 'A headache? Haven't had one of those in years.' He rubbed his head in an attempt to alleviate the pain but to no avail.

"It's truly amazing isn't it?" An unfamiliar voice suddenly spoke to him, shaking Michael out of his own thoughts.

Michael opened his eyes to find himself not inside the office or even the pizzeria, but rather seated down inside of a train, almost as though all the events prior were but dreams. The morning sun shone through the train windows and seated across him was a young girl he had never seen before.

The girl before him looked no older than that of a teenager, she had long sky-blue hair that sported a violet color on the inside, her bangs covering her left eye with a loose braid tied on the same side. She had a pair of blue eyes that matched her hair color and her skin matched what she wore, a pure white uniform adorned with golden buttons and a wide-star badge on her left chest.

But that wasn't what caught Michael's attention, instead it was what floated above her head. A halo, if he could believe that's what it was. A white halo ring with what looked to be a star just off center decorating it.

Was this one of God's angels, here to bring him to heaven? Had he done enough to be welcomed into paradise despite his sins?

"You've endured so much but despite all that pain and loss, you did everything you could to free them…" The young girl continued speaking as his senses recovered and vision cleared up, allowing him to get a better look at the figure before him.

"Even when they gave you nothing but hatred in return and took your life away from you. You saved them and gave them peace."

It was then that Michael saw what looked to be blood covering her face. Prompted by the sight, he inspected the girl in closer detail and the more he looked, the more he noticed several stains of blood covering her clothes as well.

Alarmed, he stood up to try and approach her. Or he tried at least, as his legs immediately gave out the moment he did so, causing him to fall painfully onto the floor. It was then that sensations from his body assaulted him all at once, and they weren't pleasant to say the least. His body felt incredibly weak, so much to the point he could barely move. Heck, it was a miracle that he was even breathing. Or was he even breathing in the first place? He couldn't tell, but he wasn't worrying about that for now. Several coughs suddenly erupted from his throat as he desperately struggled to move and get off the floor.

The unknown girl released a small gasp at seeing him suddenly fall and immediately rushed to help him despite her apparent injuries. With her help, Michael managed to get back onto the train seat. Despite him being back in his seat however, she did not return to hers. Instead, she clasped both her hands onto his own while she knelt in front of him. A somber and remorseful smile adorned her face before she continued to speak once more.

"You once told me that it was just atonement for past mistakes, that it was merely your penance." Her eyes met his, there was a certain weariness and remorse in them.

"I thought that if I did the same as you, if I simply endured it all, I could do as much as you. I was wrong." Michael felt the girl's hands become shaky as she spoke, her grip slightly loosening before she somewhat regained her composure.

"But I know better now. Even if you don't believe me, I know that you did everything because you have a kind heart."

"Which is why, I'm sorry to ask for your help… Afton-Sensei" A look of regret covered her face as her eyes looked down in shame.

'How do you know my name?' Michael wanted to ask, but his body was still too weak. What did she mean by sensei? Wasn't that the Japanese word for teacher? At what point was he ever a teacher? And the girl spoke as if they had met before, but he couldn't remember meeting her at all in the past. Granted, he lived for around twenty-ish years and then another thirty after his first death so he could chalk it up to his memory eroding with time – doubtful, considering he had an exceptional memory bordering on photographic – but he was sure he'd remember someone with a unique hair color like this girl, much less the fact that she had a halo. Just as he tried to wrack his brain to see if he could remember ever encountering this girl, the person in question continued.

"You may not remember this, but I know that you would make the same decision in the same situation."

'No… Please… I can't do this anymore…' Michael begged in his mind, finally realizing that this wasn't paradise that he found himself in. His thoughts must've shown on his face, because the remorse on the stranger's expression seemingly intensified tenfold.

"I truly am sorry to pull you away from your long deserved rest, but please…" The girl pleaded, her eyes showing nothing but desperation. "You're the only one I can trust. Please take care of them."

He wanted to say no.

He wanted nothing more than to rest.

Didn't he deserve it? She said it herself.

He had toiled and suffered enough. To redeem his mistakes for being a tormentor and a fratricidal murderer. To undo and fix everything his father had caused. To save and set free those poor souls whose lives were cut short and deserved peace. Heck, he even died in the process and became an outcast from society, and still he struggled on to finish his goal and close the book on this tragic story.

So he really, desperately even, wanted to refuse this girl. He wished to finally be at peace with the rest of the souls.

But for some reason. He couldn't. Was this her doing?

No, it wasn't her. Perhaps she was right. He really was too kind for his own good.

'If only I showed this kindness to him back then.' An unbidden thought rose to his mind, reminding him of his biggest regret. It hurt, but he didn't banish it. He deserved the pain that memory brought. And as a silver lining, it was the very reason he went down the path he did in the first place.

"I will." His voice was weak, almost inaudible even. But it seemed she heard it, her desperate face transforming into one of gratitude.

"Thank you."

Her face then changed into a more calm and serene expression before speaking again. Her voice sounded different as she did so, it felt full of authority.

"We thirst for the seven wailings."

"We bear the koan of Jericho."

Michael could feel his eyes closing again and before he knew it, the world went dark once more.


"Shiratori Station. The train is nearing Shiratori Station. Please make sure you have all your belongings before leaving the train."

Michael awoke to the sound of the PA system with a start. Grumbling slightly and rubbing his head, he checked his surroundings. The girl that was once in front of him was gone, an empty seat in her place with no sign of where she went.

Remembering the weakness that had taken a hold of his body previously, he braced himself and slowly attempted to get off his seat. He grunted in pain as he did so, it seemed that the wave of weakness that had hit his body was still present, although it wasn't as bad as before. Gripping onto one of the railings on the ceiling, he was able to at least hold himself up with his arms. He could feel some of his strength steadily returning to his legs, albeit it sure was taking its sweet time to do so.

"Hey! Are you okay?!" Another voice called out to him, this time it sounded like a male. He felt a small hand help him stay on his feet, the kind soul helping him acting as support.

"Dude, are you okay? You look like you haven't eaten in weeks!" The voice cried out in concern. That was a significantly tamer expression in regards to his condition, Michael thought. He would've expected screaming, disgust, and fear. Barring Henry, it had been a long time since someone had shown him genuine kindness and concern.

"Thank you…" Feeling well enough to properly speak, he turned to the person who had offered welcome assistance. "But I'm quite al- !"

His words died in his throat as he saw who – or more precisely what – had ended up coming into view. In front of him was perhaps the most ridiculous thing he could have possibly seen in his life, and he had seen the existence of ghosts and possession before. He had fought against those very beings in fact, and had even become one himself, so he thought he had seen it all. What he saw in front of him now however, threw a wrench into that line of thinking.

It was a dog. Now, that wouldn't normally raise any alarms mind you. Except for the fact that this one was half his height, standing on two legs, and was wearing a suit and tie.

He must've looked like a fish right now with how his jaw was gaping in bewilderment at who was currently helping him. Both of these would not be noticed by the dog-man however.

"Nonsense! Let's get you out of this car, you look like you're about to keel over and I don't think it will be a good idea for you to stay in here."

The dog-man-thing, escorted him out of the train and onto the train station where they had stopped. Shiratori station, if he heard the announcer correctly, was the name of this place. As they made their way out, Michael could see other humanoid animal things exit the other train carts, all wearing human clothes as well.

Definitely not hallucinating. Although a small part of him slightly wished he was.

"Hey! Officer! Can you take a look at this guy? He just suddenly collapsed on the train earlier and he doesn't exactly look too good." The dog-man called for help.

Michael looked up to see someone just as strange as the dog-man helping him. Approaching the both of them was a machine with very humanoid proportions. And he wasn't talking humanoid proportions like the animatronics – which while humanoid, one look at them could immediately tell you that they were a machine. This one though was almost completely one-to-one to an actual human in size, physique, and all with the exception for the head. Its head was in an oval shape with what looked to be made of glass with two blue optics serving as its face.

It wore what looked to be a security guard uniform, a signal that this was the officer that his helper called. The way it moved as well was very life-like, not a single movement of its joints looked robotic.

"What seems to be the– OH MY!" The robotic officer exclaimed upon seeing him. His voice showed emotion that no machine he knew, save for those possessed, could replicate.

The officer rushed over to help, moving to Michael's right side to carry his other arm. Together, both the officer and the dog-man moved him over to a nearby seat at the station.

"Sir? Are you alright? Can you hear me?" The officer asked while kneeling in front of him. From what he could tell the officer was examining him, trying to find if there was any kind of injury on him.

"Yes… I can hear you." Michael responded, his voice much clearer than before now. His body was starting to feel significantly better now and the mild dizziness he had was fading away.

"Okay, that's good! I'll call you an ambulance, they should be able to get you whatever help you need." The officer said, turning to the dog-man. "I'll go grab some water from my office, can you keep an eye on him for me?"

The dog-man nodded, giving the officer the go ahead to make his way to his office. "Jeez, dude. How the hell were you even able to get on the train?"

"I… Do not know." That was the truth, this entire situation was very strange. Last he checked, he was in the burning pizzeria with Henry and all the possessed animatronics, not a train heading to wherever this place was. The fact that his memories on how he even got here seem to be foggy at best was already very worrying.

"Seriously? Christ… No one stopped to ask why a guy who looks like he's on death's door was being let on the train? Ah, no offense by the way." The dog-man apologized.

Michael chuckled. "None taken. Honestly, I'm more surprised that you didn't just run away when you saw me. I know how I look."

"I mean, yeah sure you look like a walking corpse, but I think that just says you need help more."

"..."

A few seconds later the officer returned, a glass of water in hand. "Okay here, drink. I called an ambulance, they should be here soon."

"Thank you, sir." Michael gratefully took the cup of water. It may not actually do anything for him considering his state but it was a kind gesture all the same.

As he looked down to drink the water, he briefly caught a glimpse of his reflection and his eyes widened. Standing up abruptly from shock, he startled the two people beside him, nearly dropping the glass of water in the process, but luckily managed to keep a grip on it.

"Whoa, hey! What's wrong?!" The officer asked in surprise.

"I-I uh… Is there a restroom I can use?" Michael asked his expression one of utter bafflement.

"Uh yeah there's one just outside the exit gate." The officer pointed to where the gate was located.

Without delay, Michael immediately made his way towards the restroom, a lot of sweat starting to pour down from his head as he made the trek, ignoring whatever the two people that helped him were saying.

He barged into the restroom, taking a frantic look around until he spotted a mirror. Quickly walking over, he took off his hat and saw himself in the mirror. What he saw was something he never thought he'd see again, and made what was already happening even crazier ten times over.

The reflection in the mirror was still him, but no longer was his skin purple with wounds and bandages covering his entire face. Instead, staring back at him was his face back when he was still alive, almost restored to how he remembered it so many years ago, before he was sent into the scooping room. Although, it seemed his eyes remained purple instead of reverting back to his original blue ones.

As Michael stared at himself, multiple emotions ran through him all at once. Disbelief, confusion, awe, and even joy all came and went as he took in the sight before him.

'How?' He thought disbelievingly. This shouldn't be possible and yet the visage of him said otherwise. Whatever changed him back to normal wasn't perfect though. He looked heavily malnourished, eyes were completely sunken in, and his skin looked sickly and pale with his face thin and bony.

Michael could see now why both the robotic officer and dog-man were so concerned. He looked – in the most apt description – like 'shit'. Luckily, he only looked worse than he actually physically felt, for the most part anyways. Emotionally however, he was losing his damn mind at this revelation. Nothing here made sense.

"Sen… sei…"

Michael swiveled his head around as he heard someone whisper behind him. Only to find nothing there.

"Who's there!?" He shouted only to receive a barely intelligible whisper in response.

"Pl–... Sa… em…"

The voice sounded familiar. It was her, that angel girl who he first saw, it had to be.

"Who are you? Where did you bring me?" He asked but whatever questions he gave were seemingly ignored as the voice said something else much to his frustration.

"Find… Rin…" She was telling him to find someone? By the name of Rin if he heard it correctly but why–?

"Aaaargh!" Michael screamed as flashes of people he had never met, memories he never had flooded his mind.

A black-haired girl wearing glasses asking for his help in saving a city.

A small group of girls doing everything they can to save their school.

Another trying to save their club from disbandment.

A short white-haired girl that needed a break more than anyone else.

A conflict between two rivaling factions.

A group of students on the verge of being expelled.

A pink-haired girl being denounced as a witch.

A fox who ventured secrets better left forgotten.

A forsaken girl who begged to save those she loved.

A group of elite soldiers, now lost of their purpose.

And finally,

A lone wolf who had lost everything, standing over a broken tablet.

So many visions, so many people he did not know. All of it invaded his mind, causing another wave of pain to hit his head. He grimaced and clutched his head, trying to alleviate his suffering but to no avail. The pain continued until the last vision showed itself to him after which it quickly subsided, prompting a sigh of relief from the now sitting on the ground Afton.

As he steadied his breathing and calmed down, he opened his eyes. He had collapsed at some point during that "episode" and his body was now on the restroom floor just under the sink. He looked around to see no one was with him, the whispers he heard were also gone. Michael moved his hand away from his head and something he failed to notice fell out onto his lap.

He looked down to see a sealed letter and grabbed to further inspect it. There was an insignia on the seal, but it wasn't one he was familiar with. The insignia looked to be a tower surrounded by several smaller buildings.

Perhaps after dealing with everything that he had before, some things don't surprise him as much anymore or maybe it was everything else he was currently dealing with… But for what it's worth he decided not to question how it even ended up in his hand and chalked it up to whatever weird thing was going on here and opened the letter to see its contents.

"Dear Afton-Sensei,

First, allow me to apologize for the way I brought you here. I know that a lot of what you're seeing doesn't make any sense to you… But for now allow me to welcome you to Kivotos~!"

Kivotos? He's never heard of a place called that. Already it looked like things weren't going to bode well for him.

"Now! Allow me to address what you probably already noticed.

I did what I could to help restore you back to how you were before your ummm… Unfortunate accident… But it wasn't perfect…

For the most part we were able to put back all of your missing organs… But as you can see, it was a bit more difficult to restore you healthwise, which is why I made use of whatever remaining remnant you had to help revive you."

Michael wasn't sure how to feel about that. Not only was this unknown person knowledgeable about concepts like remnant, they were also somehow able to revert his body back into its normal state.

"Again, I'm very sorry for doing this… I know it wasn't right of me to bring you back, but I needed your help Sensei. Which brings us to why you are here in the first place.

I gave you this letter because as of now, Kivotos is in a state of anarchy. The moment you get out of this station, you'll most likely see what I mean. And you're the only one I know who can fix things!"

'Playing the role of clean up guy again huh?' Although this sounded significantly worse than what he usually had to do though… This doesn't sound like something you would call some random security guard for, experience with ghost children notwithstanding.

"There should be another letter inside the envelope addressed to Rin Nanagami. I know you might not like anyone knowing about your past so I made sure to separate the letters so you can throw this one away.

You can find her in the GSC Main Building just a few blocks across the station. It has the same insignia as the letter in front of it and the Sanctum Tower is right beside it, it's the tallest building in Kivotos so you can't miss it!

Once you're there tell them her friend sent you and they should let you through no problem! And if they do still end up giving you trouble, just show them the seal on the letter and they'll know you're being genuine. I know it may be hard but you can trust Rin. None of what's happening is her fault and she does so much alone so please give her the help she needs.

As for me, you probably won't see me for a while and as for what I need to do, I need to do it alone. So please just help them all while I'm gone.

Signed,

GSC President."

After finishing reading everything, Michael didn't feel any less confused at what was going on, in fact, he may even have more questions now. This GSC President as they called themselves didn't really give much about who they were, other than the fact that they might be part of the government for this place. But they did give some info as to why he was here.

They did at least give him a name and a location. Someone by the name of Rin Nanagami and a place called the Sanctum Tower. Which is fairly closeby according to the letter. They were also fairly aware of his past which only made him more confused as to why he got picked for this task. If they knew who he was, it should've been a reason NOT to pick him.

A part of him didn't want to go but, well, where else could he go? He doesn't know a damn thing of what's going on nor where he is so does he really have a choice in the matter?

Taking a deep breath and scratching his head, Michael gave one last look at the mirror, steeled himself, and made his choice.


Michael barged out of the restroom, startling the person waiting for him outside in the process. It was the robot officer from before, it seems the other dog-man had left.

Looking at the officer he spoke up, "Sorry about that but would you happen to know a place called the Sanctum Tower?"

The officer recovered quickly and responded, "The Sanctum Tower? Yeah, I know that place, who doesn't? It's where the General Student Council building is located, right? Why do you ask?"

'General Student Council? Is that what the GSC stood for? Why that type of name?' Michael questioned his thoughts.

"I just remembered that I have something I needed to deliver to them. Do you know which way it is from the station?" He asked the officer.

"Y-yeah it's a few blocks to the right once you go through the exit. Wait, we still need to get you to the hospital!" He suddenly exclaimed, seeing the former anomaly currently making his way towards the exit.

"Sorry but I can't stay! Again, thank you!" He shouted back already at the exit stairs.

Making his way up the stairs, he could already see the sunlight shining through the exit as he ascended.

Finally getting out of the station, Michael finally saw the city he was transported to. The place that person called Kivotos.

And it was quite the sight, the first thing he noticed was how… Bright everything was. It was like there was a sense of purity in the air around this place. The city itself looked like one of those cities on tourist brochures for Japan. He could see several stores and skyscrapers surrounding him.

Looking up to see the sky, he saw another thing that surprised him. Several large haloes covered the sky above, looming over the city. Michael could only look in awe at the sight of it. He even blinked a few times to check if he was seeing things.

Tearing his gaze from above and back down on the street, he noticed all the bystanders and it was the same strange sight he'd seen before. Robots, dog-men, cat-men, and even what looked to be bird-men?! All of these could be seen walking around.

Michael turned his head in every direction with wide eyes like a fish out of water. The weirdest part was that he couldn't find a single actual human among all these people. It was either a robot or some kind of animal humanoid. Was he the only human he– Wait!

There on the intersection Michael could see what looked to be a girl, it was a normal looking girl with light brown hair tied into twin tails passing by just across the street heading towards his direction on the crossing. She looked to be a high schooler since she seemed to be wearing a school uniform of sorts, a backpack that had some kind of chicken design on it, a gun, another bag— AH WAIT A FUCKING SECOND THERE MIKEY! GO BACK REAL QUICK!

Doing a double take, Michael's eyes bugged out of his sockets when he didn't mistake what he saw. There was in fact, a gun holstered to the side of the high schooler who looked no older than 15. And concerningly, no one seemed to care among the crowd as he saw several other pedestrians walking past her without even so much as a glance at the fact she was armed with what looked to be a full blown assault rifle.

'A-am I missing something here or am I— WHOA! WHAT THE FUCK?!' Michael looked past the girl to see a larger group of high schoolers armed with guns as well, and again NOBODY cared about it as they walked around smiles and all!

"Ok, that's new." Michael muttered, completely baffled. He could almost feel his newly recovered brain shutting down in shock.

Without him realizing, the first girl he saw was already walking right by him. Rubbing his eyes he turned to her. Wanting to confirm what he was seeing he grabbed the young girl's attention. "Oh! Hey! Uhm, excuse me!"

"Hmm—!" The highschooler turned around to see him. Only to adopt a frightened look upon meeting his eyes.

'Oh! Bloody— Right my face!' Michael panicked as he moved his collar to hide his features remembering that while he may no longer be a walking purple corpse, he still looked like something out of a horror show with his malnourished appearance. Not only that but he was a whole foot taller than the poor girl, which only made him more intimidating.

"I'm sorry about that, please don't be scared! I-I Just needed to ask you something!" He said as he shook both his hands in the air, trying to calm her fears.

"O-oh uhm… What is it?" The girl luckily looked less scared than before but he could tell that she was still on guard.

"I just needed to ask…" Michael paused, hesitantly moving his hand to point at the pink and white colored rifle slung over the girl's shoulder. "Is that… Real?"

The high schooler looked confused by his question but luckily still answered. "Uh… Y-yes?"

"S-so it shoots like… Real bullets?" Sweat dropped from his head.

"Y-yeah, why wouldn't it?" The girl innocently asked as if the fact that carrying a real, functional firearm was as normal as breathing. Deciding to take a closer look at the girl, two things caught his eye. One, in addition to her gun, two grenades were attached to her chicken-themed backpack, which further backed up her answer that this was "normal" in Kivotos. Secondly and perhaps more shockingly, she had a halo on top of her head, just like the GSC President did which he somehow didn't notice prior.

The halo however was completely different from the President's. This girl's halo was yellow and had an inner and outer ring, with tiny wings present on the latter. While he was frankly quite surprised and had a lot of questions, he could tell the poor girl was starting to get more and more anxious and so decided to end their conversation there.

"O-oh alright then… Thanks." He thanked her, his worries and questions not being dissuaded by his answer at all.

"Y-you're welcome?" She replied confused, before briskly walking away from him – taking some peeks back at him while she did so – and leaving the former security guard to silently take in what he was just told.

As her silhouette disappeared from view, he looked at the letter in his hand. His eyes narrowed and a pensive expression adorned his face as he stared at it. Everything here didn't make sense, humanoid animals, robot officers, and now high schoolers with halos and guns. So many questions with no answers.

Well, if he was going to get any answers, he may as well follow the path that was set for him. With that goal in mind, Michael started his journey to the place where this GSC and Rin Nanagami resided, onwards to the GSC Building.