Prologue
Part 1
—[Urban Legends].
The urban legends being spread throughout the world are as numerous as the stars. They are also
a type of [Desire].
—For example, the urban legend that 'no human has really ever stepped foot on the moon'.
—For example, the conspiracy of the Freemasons in the American dollar bills.
—For example, the time-space experiment that took place in Philadelphia. The Chiyoda Line’s
nuclear shelter, Area 51, the Roswell UFO incident, etc.
After seeing this many examples, it can be concluded that there is always some kind of distinct
pattern between them.
That is... they were all born out of the same type of desire: 'It would be interesting if the legend
was real'.
Smoke will not rise without fire as its source. However as it spreads and builds up, that [Desire]
becomes a [Rumor]. This kind of thinking was not strange to the world. Since ancient times,
humans have always preferred the [Inevitable] to an [Accident], after all. The birth of mankind
was likely the accidental product of astronomical probability.
According to the humans, there was something that intentionally wanted to create humans.
Looking from this way of thinking, the world was not chaotic, but orderly. By imagining out a
reason behind the meaning of existence, people use this to help explore the vagaries and ruthless
values of this world.
..........People lived with this desire in their hearts. Therefore, [Urban Legends] can also be said to
be something that was born from earnest [Desire].
—However, very little people know that among the [Urban Legends] numerous enough to
illuminate the skies, there are truths mistaken for legends. In the end, nobody knows if they were
real.
—Don't be mistaken, this does not mean that the aforementioned urban legends are true.
Only the reason behind the existence of these urban legends are somewhat different from rumors.
Now then, how did this [Urban Legend] come about? It started as any ordinary [Rumor]. But it
became a rumor that was so unrealistic that it changed from a [Rumor] to an [Urban Legend].
And that kind of [Rumor] is like this one.
There was a rumor that had spread on the internet about a gamer named 『 』 [1]. According to
more than 280 Online Game Rankings, there was a player with an undefeated record that always
stood proudly at top of the rankings with 『 』 as his name. You may be thinking, "There is no
way something like that could exist." That is right. Anyone would think the same way. That was
also what everyone else believed.
A simple theory was accepted. That is, in order to not expose his identity, a certain game
developer entered the game rankings with the name of 『 』 . However, unknowingly, as the
rumor spread explosively as a wave throughout the community, it took on a different form: in
actuality, there is no such player.
But the strange thing was that 『 』 participated in wars and many players have faced against
him. He was unrivaled...just like a raging storm.
He was said...to have beaten a chess program that even Grandmasters cannot defeat. He was
said...to have an aberrant playing style that was impossible to read.
He was said...to have been so strong that even if you use Tool Assists and Cheat Codes, you
would not be able to defeat him.
He was said...was said...was said...
Anyone that was even the slightest bit interested in that [Rumor] would decide to investigate it
further.
This isn't hard to believe, because the method to investigate was not hard. If a person was placed
first in either a Consumer Game, PC Game, or Social Game, that person would surely have an
account. And if that account exists, his win-loss records can also be investigated.
But how could such a person exist?
Anyone that investigated it further actually fell into a trap. Because 『 』 in reality had his
own account for every game console and SNS. The number of games on the accounts were
[Countless]. He didn't even have one black spot in his win-loss records.
—With that, the mystery thickened. Some even hypothesized that 『 』 was a hacker that erased
his own loss records or that 『 』 was a group of gamers that only high-level players were
invited to, etc.
With this, a new [Urban Legend] was born.
—However, in this case, the person who allowed this 『 』 rumor to be created must also be
responsible.
Because he had an account, he was given the right to speak, but he completely ignored this
privilege. He has never said a single sentence, never interacted with others, and has never
provided any information.
Silent, not even communicating at all.
Since there was no provision of information, everything was a mystery besides the fact that 『
』 was Japanese. No one has seen his real face—— This had also been the main reason why the
urban legend was accelerating.
—So.
—Let us introduce.
—The truth.
He has truly been crowned in the world ranking for his victorious battles in over 280 games. This
record has never been broken since the establishment of his identity, the legendary player.
『 』 —his true identity———!
Part 2
"...Aa.....I'm dying....aa, now I died for real.....hey, my little sister, hurry up, rez[2], rez~!"
"*Zuzu*......It is impossible....to use my feet to controlling the mouse...."
"Whatever hurry up, my little sister—or should I say, my sly little sister—even though I have not
even eaten for three days, you are eating instant noodles? On top of that, you're doing so while in
battle."
"Nii, do you want to eat too...? Something like Calorie Mate[3] or so...." "Ah, that thing that only
those bourgeois eat[4]. Like hell I'll eat something like that. That aside, please hurry up and rez!"
"...*Zuzuzu*... okay."
"Oh! Thank you~...by the way, what time is it now?" "Let's see...still eight o' clock at night."
"What a novel way to describe eight o' clock in the morning, as 'night'. Then, what day is today?"
"....Who knows? Wait...one, two...four cups of instant noodles so... today is the fourth day?"
"Wait, my little sister. I don't mean how much time has passed since we started pulling allnighters
gaming. What I mean is, what is the date?"
"Does that even matter...to Nii who is a NEET?"
"Of course it matters—something like an online event or tournament could have happened!"
—Like that, it was a conversation of a certain boy and girl playing internet games. Inside the
room, their eyes never met each other's as they chatted.
The size of the room was around sixteen tatami mats[5]. Considerably wide. However, inside it
was full of game consoles, four consoles for each person—so a total of eight of them.
On the floor there were many game packages that were already unsealed, and also [Food]—
which were instant noodle packages and water bottles scattered on the floor, making the sense of
the room being 'wide' unable to be felt at all.
The LED display gave off a faint light. The only other source of light was given off by the sun,
which had been up for a while already, mostly blocked by the curtains.
"...Nii, are you...not going to find a job?"
"...Then why don't you also go to school, my little sister?" "..."
"..."
Just like that they ended their conversation and no one spoke of the subject thereafter.
The older brother—Sora. Eighteen years old. No occupation. A virgin. Unpopular. Unable to
communicate well. Game freak. Wearing a T-shirt and jeans that gave the impression of being a
shut-in with unkempt black hair.
The little sister—Shiro. Ten years old. Truant. Didn't have any friends. A bullied child.
Anthropophobic.[6] Game freak. One would doubt whether she had a blood relation or not with
her brother because she had white hair in contrast to his. Her hair was so long that it flowed
down over her face and she wore the school sailor uniform that she never even worn outside of
their home since she transferred schools.
This is the true identity of 『 』 (空 白 ) which was the combination of their names, Sora (空 )
and Shiro (白 ).
—This is the truth.
Even if everybody knew this, nobody would want to pursue or accept this truth, and would
continue hugging the illusions of the urban legend.
Part 3
Now, it seems that we have explained how this [Urban Legend] came to be. In short, as stated
before, [Urban Legends] are Humanity's [Desires].
This world is full of unbearable chaos. There is no such thing as 'inevitable'. The world is merely
full of 'accidents'. It is a world that is unreasonable and irrational. This world has no meaning at
all.
It does not matter if a person recognizes this truth or chooses not to accept it. Everyone would
still desire for the world to become more interesting. Born from this earnest [Desire] comes
[Urban Legends].
Then how about I lend a hand to make the world become a bit more interesting. That is to say, I
will provide everyone with a new [Urban Legend].
—For now, let's write with stylistic beauty like this.
—The story begins with this opening.
—[Have you ever heard about this rumor?]
One day, an e-mail came to a 'player' that was said to be this world's best gamer. It was only a
short, mysterious message with an additional URL inside it.
When one clicks on it, a certain game will be started. Once that person has cleared that game,
they will......
Part 4
"....Argh, enough with this already.......gonna sleep."
"Wait! You're the one that's in charge of the team's recovery, and if you log out—" ".....If it's
you, Nii, you will be able to do it."
"Theoretically, it's possible! If I operate my own two characters with both my hands and also two
of yours using both my feet—"
".....Fi...ght!"
"Wait! Please wait a moment, my little sister! If you sleep I will surely die——Uoooooooo, you
see, I've gone and died!"
The stack of instant noodle cups had already become a tower five cups tall. Which also means
that these siblings have already done all-nighters gaming for five days straight.
Even knowing that her brother was in a bitter situation, Shiro still slept anyway, using a game
console as her pillow.
Ring—
Suddenly a tone notifying the siblings that they had mail sounded. "....Nii, an e-mail."
"Just what are you demanding from your brother, who's currently playing using four characters
on four different screens? You want a request from me, but I really don't have any extra
strength!"
He skillfully operated the mouse using both his hands and his feet. He furiously commanded a
party of four by himself and answered in one breath.
"I'm sure it's just another advertisement anyway, just ignore it—" "....What if....it came from a
friend?"
"Whose friend?"
"...Nii's."
"Haha, how weird, somehow I can feel you stabbing me through my chest with such an ironic
statement, my lovely sister."
"I don't...want you to say...it's mine.........."
"Then it's an advertisement after all. Or should I say, if you want to sleep, just sleep! If you're not
going to sleep, please help me a bit here—Noooo, died, I've died!"
Let's repeat it again. Eighteen years old. Without an occupation. A cherry boy. Unpopular.
Unable to communicate well. Game freak. It's not boasting but, it wasn't just that he didn't have a
girlfriend, he didn't even have anyone that could be called a [Friend]. It was also the same with
the younger sister.
"...Uu....what a bother."
Shiro tried to wake her consciousness and muster all her strength to get up. It would have been
no problem if that really was an advertisement. But, something that couldn't be ignored is an
advertisement about a new game.
"....Nii, where is the tablet PC...?"
"At three o'clock from there, in the second mountain of eroge from the left, and placed around
the third and forth box—Uooooo, my feet are getting cramped!"
Ignoring the brother who was in anguish, Shiro easily found it in the exact location that Sora
specified. Perhaps one would question why a hikikomori and a NEET would need a tablet PC.
But that is, of course, a foolish question, because the answer is obvious that it is used for gaming.
However, that was not the main use of the tablet PC. For countless games they also need
countless e-mail addresses, but even excluding the addresses that were not for gaming use, there
were still more than 30 e-mail accounts, all synchronized. This is what true efficiency is.
"....The sound is Ring— so it came from..... the third address of the main account......is it this
one?"
The white-haired girl whose memory was extraordinary compared to an ordinary person, easily
found the message. And then—the person at the back who lead a successful crusade against
people in real-time combat by manipulating four roles at once, let out a roar of triumph, before
she viewed the e-mail.
【 New mail----Subject: To the both of you, 『 』 .】 "...?"
Shiro bent her head slightly.
E-mails that were addressed to 『 』 were not rare.
War Requests, Invitations, Provocative Challenges—those are what they would commonly
receive, but— "...Nii."
"What is it, my cruel little sister who said that she wanted to sleep and abandoned your brother
alone in the game, and in the end didn't sleep and still left your physically tired brother to play?""
"....This."
As if she didn't hear the sarcasm from her brother who didn't look like he was about to listen,
Shiro showed the mail to her brother.
"Hmm—what is this?"
The brother noticed that the mail looked peculiar.
"Saving. Okay, that's done. Checking the item drops, that's done too."
After checking that there was nothing wrong, Sora closed the game screen that had been
continuously running since five days ago and switched the screen to show his inbox to check out
the e-mail that he had just received.
"...How does this guy know that 『 』 is actually a pair of siblings?"
There were actually a lot of people that hypothesized that 『 』 was a group of people, but the
main problem lies not from what was written as the subject, but from the content that said:
【 Have you siblings ever felt that you guys were born into the wrong world?】 "What.....is
this?"
"............."
It was a somewhat, no, it was a considerably strange message. It also included a URL that they
had never seen before. At the end of the URL, there was no [.jp] to represent the country's
domain name. This URL was pointed to a specific page—and it looked like it was linked to a
game.
"...What should we do?"
Shiro who did not seem very interested, went back to her game console pillow and tried to sleep.
Which means that she would just leave the decision up to her brother.
"Hmm, so 'you' plan on making me take a bet on it, huh. Well, even if this thing just turns out to
be a bluff in the end, let's just treat it as another amusement."
He made that decision and clicked on the URL. He was on full alert in case of a virus infection,
while the security software was running full throttle. What appeared there on the screen was just
simple online chess. ".....*Yawn*...good night..."
"Wait, wait, wait! This is a challenge for 『 』 , you know. If the other party has an advanced
chess program, just me alone will not be enough to win!"
Sora tried to stop his sister from sleeping. "...Who plays chess well...these days...." "Umm, I
know how you feel, but...."
A program that was able to beat even the strongest Grandmasters. Even with that, the little sister
had lost interest in chess after beating this program twenty consecutive times.
"It wouldn't be forgiven if 『 』 lost. Please at least stay awake until we know the extent of the
opponent's ability." "....Uuuu.....it can't be helped."
And then Sora started the game. After seeing her brother do one move, two moves, Shiro began
to nod off due to the sense of sleepiness that had piled up. Five moves, ten moves, and before he
knew it half of the board had already been filled with pieces. Shiro suddenly snapped her eyes
open and stared at the screen.
"...Huh? This guy is...."
While Sora was feeling uncomfortable, Shiro stood up and said something. "...Nii, change
players..."
Without any objections, Sora obediently stood up from the chair and moved. Shiro thought that
her older brother could do no more at this point. In other words, Shiro recognized that the other
party was a worthy opponent. The little sister who had just changed places with her brother
started to plan her moves.
Chess is a [Zero-sum game of limited decisions]. In this game where [Luck] was non-existent
and occasionally point game. In theory, a surefire way to win existed, but in the end that is just
theory. It is based on mastering and being able to see every single possible move-10^120 of
them. A person who could do that surely did not exist.
But there was someone who could assert that [Existence], and that was Shiro. She had mastered
and could comprehend the large—no, enormous— amount of possible moves in chess. If you
keep choosing the best chess moves, then you will have the upper hand and win if you go first. If
you went second the way of escape was a draw. That is how the theory goes. What about against
an opponent who could foresee two hundred million moves in a second? This world's strongest
chess program was proven not to be perfect enough for the little sister when she had won twenty
consecutive victories against it.
"....No way."
And that kind of strong player had just been surprised by what was in front of her. "Calm down.
This, I'm sure the other party is human."
"Why?"
"In a program's case, it would always choose the best move to play. In one way that is a good
thing, but on the other hand it also means that it can only use tactics that it was already
programmed to use. That's why you can win against them easily. But this guy is—"
Sora pointed at the screen.
"The other party lured you in and made you play a bad move, and if you feel that it is natural for
a program to do that, then you would be wrong."
"....Uuu."
The little sister was unable to object to her older brother's words.
—Of course, regarding their abilities playing chess, no, in most games Shiro and Sora were
overwhelmingly strong. Perhaps calling them by the title "genius gamers" would not be an
exaggeration. In Shiro's case, she can only act based on her logic. That's why she can easily
defeat even the most powerful advanced chess programs. However, her ability in sensing other
people's [Motives] is dull. That's why, at times like this, Shiro needed to leave it to Sora. Even
though he had poor communication skills, his perception of feeling other peoples' [Motives] was
unexpectedly outstanding.
"Calm down, if the opponent is not a program, all the more reason that there's no way you will
lose. Don't be taken in by his provocation. I will point out every one of his provocations and
tactics so that you beat him." ".....Understood.....Shiro will do her best..."
This is the reason behind their success in becoming the world's best gamer.
The game had been running for more than six hours. Adrenaline and dopamine were flowing
from their brains, making them forget their fatigue from doing all-night gaming for five days,
helping them concentrate to the utmost limit. Six hours—but it felt as if the game had already
lasted for several days.
Finally, the last decisive moments happened. And then a emotionless voice signaling the end of
the game could be heard from the speakers.
'Checkmate'
That was the siblings' win. ""...""
After a long silence— ""Fuaaaaaaah.""
They each took a long breath. It was almost as if the game had made them forget to breathe.
After taking another long breath, the two started laughing.
"Amazing......it's been a while.....since I've played in a hard fight like this."
"Haha, that was the first time I ever saw you have a hard time dealing with a simple game
though, right?" "...Nii, is the opponent.....really a human?"
"Yes, I'm sure of it. He took a lot of time when deciding to provoke you into a trap to make you
play a bad move, and when it didn't work I could sense a feeling of disturbance from him. I'm
sure he is a human—or maybe a 'monster'."
"...I wonder what kind of person he is."
The little sister that was even able to beat a Grandmaster level chess program sounded interested.
"Maybe a Grandmaster? Programs are exact, but a human is complex after all."
"...I see...next time....I want to play....Shogi against that Dragon King."
"Will the Dragon King even accept your shogi challenge? Why don't we find out!"
After the game, the two of them felt a great sense of happiness and grinned happily while they
were talking.
Ring—
Suddenly, the mail notification tone could be heard.
"Hey, maybe that e-mail just now is from the opponent. Try opening it." ".....Un."
But the content of the e-mail was only one sentence.
【 Well done. With that kind of ability, I am sure you find living to be painful?】
With only that single sentence, it was as if their mental states had dropped to zero degrees.
Silence filled the room, and only the sound of the PC's fans could be heard. Countless wires were
strewn over the floor, along with scattered trash and clothes. It felt as if time was frozen in that
room where curtains blocked out the sunlight, and a sense of deprivation of space filled the air.
Isolated in the narrow sixteen tatami sized room. This was the world the siblings were in—all of
it.
—Unpleasant memories were running through their minds.
The older brother, who naturally excelled at reading people's true motives just by hearing their
words. The white haired, red eyed little sister, who by nature, had high intelligence—but was a
person that no one could understand. The two siblings had shut their hearts after their parents
passed away. No matter how optimistically they tried to recount memories of the past— No,
even now it was still the same.
The little sister silently bowed.
Not long after thinking that, the older brother angrily started to type a reply.
【 None of your business! Who the hell are you anyways?】
A reply came almost right away after he replied to the message. No, whether it could really be
called a reply or not could be doubted because the content of this new e-mail was—
【 What do you guys think about this world? Is it interesting? Is it a place that can make you
guys feel at ease?】 Because of these words, the older brother forgot about his anger and made
eye contact with his younger sister. There was no need to reconfirm, the answer had long been
clear from the start.
"It's a shit game[7]."
...With no clear objectives or rules, a stupid game. Around seven billion players move as they
please.
Ones that have more than others get penalized. The little sister who was now isolated, was
isolated because she was smarter than those of her age— no one could understand her and she
was bullied.
Even ones that have less than others get penalized. The older brother, the always-smiling brother
who always failed, even when scolded by parents or teachers.
Never had the rights to skip.
—Silence only made one a target to be bullied by others.
—Talking too much made one become alienated by others.
—Being able to read peoples' real intentions too much also made one become alienated by
others. No clear objectives, no parameters, even the genre is unknown.
Ones that do as the rules say are punished, yet ones that ignore the rules are not punished and
even look down from their positions as the elite. No game could be compared with this kind of
difficult, worst game.
"Damn it!"
Sora grit his teeth and caressed his little sister's head.
The atmosphere of those two who felt like they could stand in the realm of gods after that
exciting game was gone. What was there, was only these two siblings who were isolated from
society. They were only but depressed, frail humans.
The sound Ring— could suddenly be heard.
The older brother controlling the cursor did not care and was about to shut down the computer.
But, his sister held his hands to stop him.
【 What if a world where everything was decided by a simple game existed—】
Sora, who had actually tried to turn off the PC just then, was unable to do anything other than
read that after seeing those words.
【 —A world where the objectives and rules were clear, a world on top of a game board, what
do you think?】
The two exchanged looks, laughing, and both of them nodded their heads. Then the older brother
began typing on the keyboard.
【 If that kind of world actually does exist, then that really does mean that we were born into the
wrong world.】 Is what he replied after he read the content of the letter.
Suddenly—
-Shaaaaa.
The PC's screen gave off a faint noise and then it made a sound like a circuit breaker
overloading. After that sound, nothing else could be heard and it was as if everything had
stopped; only the screen with the e-mail had been left moving.
"Just what is—" "...!"
Noise could be heard within the room. There was a sound that sounded like the house itself was
creaking, and there was also the sound of an electrical discharge. The brother panicked and
quickly looked around the room, and the little sister just stared, dumbfounded. After that, the
noise became increasingly intense and finally became a sound that was not unlike that of the
static noise from an empty TV channel. And then from the speakers—no, from the screen of the
computer, a [Voice] could be heard.
[I also think the same. You two were born into the wrong world.] Suddenly a pair of white hands
appeared from the screen. "Wha—!"
"...Hiii!"
The hands dragged both of them by the wrists towards the screen.
[I will let you siblings be born again-again, in the world where you two should have been born!]
Their vision filled with a blinding white light, and they shut their eyes.
When they had opened their eyes again, the first thing that they noticed was the light and warmth
of the sun. It had been a while since they had last felt it, and also the sensation of the retinas
being burned by the light. The brother who had come to his senses first, after his pupils adjusted,
noticed that they were both high up in the sky.
"Uooooooooooo!"
The scenery had suddenly shifted from a narrow room to a vast expanse of space.
They were—in the air.
Suddenly appearing in the vast sky, Sora, who finally grasped the situation shouted. "What the
hell is thiiiiis!"
No matter how he saw it, no matter how many times he looked, he was sure that the whole island
underneath him—and other islands as well— were floating. There was also a certain creature
that had flown by him in the sky, a dragon. In the distance, he could see a number of immensely
large chess pieces near a range of mountains, which could have made people lose their sense of
distance.
'What's with this fantasy-like kind of entrance?' is what was floating through Sora's mind. The
scenery, no matter how many times he tried to compare it, was not the same scenery from the
[Earth] that he knew. But the main problem right now, he quickly realized, was not that.
Currently, they were both skydiving without a single parachute—a free fall.
"I'm going to die!"
It took 3 seconds for him to be convinced of this.
But, as if to break this sorrowful confirmation, a loud shouting could be heard beside him.
"Welcome to my world!"
The [Boy] falling beside him said while opening his arms and laughing.
"This is the Utopia that you guys dreamed of, the world on top of a game board, [Disboard]—
everything here is decided by a game, even one's life and country borders!"
Sora probably understood about 10 seconds later.
Shiro, who understood the situation as soon as she opened her eyes, embraced her brother while
crying. ".....Who are you—?"
Shiro tried her best to shout while falling at a frighteningly high speed, but ended up only
murmuring her question. But the boy answered while still smiling like usual.
"Me? About me~ I....live there."
He said that while pointing in the direction of the giant chess pieces near the horizon, which Sora
had seen for the first time only a short while ago.
"Hmm, in your world you might call me 'God', right?"
Placing his index finger on his cheek, the self-proclaimed god spoke cutely and full of
friendliness.
—However, nobody knew if what he said was true.
"This isn't the time for that! We're falling towards the ground at a really fast speed—whoaaah!
Shiro!" "...............................!"
Not knowing if it would do any good, Sora held Shiro within his arms and then he turned his
body so that he would be below Shiro. After that, Shiro who was in Sora's arms issued a
soundless scream.
Seeing that, the boy who called himself God spoke to them with a happy tone. "I look forward to
seeing you again. Yes, without a doubt, it won't be long." And like that, their consciousnesses
blacked out.
Part 5
"U....Uun....."
The feeling of soil. The aromatic smell of grass. When Sora had recovered his consciousness, he
realized that he was on the ground.
"Just what the hell was that...."
Was this a dream? Is what Sora thought but he didn't say it out loud. "....Uu....what a weird
dream."
The little sister who woke up a bit later than Sora moaned.
Hey, little sister. Don't raise the "isn't this a dream" flag. Sora thought about saying this, but
deliberately decided against it.
While having such thoughts, Sora stood up and pretended that nothing had happened, but what
was under his feet was undoubtedly land.
The fresh blue sky, which he had also not seen in a while, was above him. "Whoaaaaa!"
Sora realized that he was standing on the edge of a cliff, and hurriedly backed off by two steps.
Then, overlooking the landscape across the cliff.
An incredible landscape was laid out before his eyes.
......No, that expression wasn't right. It was a different word, but what?
There were floating islands and dragons. And across the mountains on the horizon were huge
chess pieces. This means that it was the view they had of the world while falling.
Which means that—it was not a dream... "Hey, my little sister."
".....Un...."
Overlooking the picturesque view of the landscape, he said.
"I've always thought that 'life' was an impossible game—a game that was fit only for
masochists." "......Un....."
And then they said with their voices in harmony.
""So it finally bugged out, huh...enough, what the hell is this super awful shit game!"" After
that— both of them lost consciousness again.
Part 6
—[Have you ever heard about this rumor?]
One day, an e-mail came to a 'person' that was said to be this world's best gamer. It was only a
short, mysterious message with an additional URL inside it.
When one has clicked on it, a certain game will be started.
Once that one has cleared that game, they will disappear from 'this' world. And then that person
will be invited to a parallel universe.
That kind of [Urban Legend] which invited people to another world....will you believe it?
Prologue
Part 1
—[Urban Legends].
The urban legends being spread throughout the world are as numerous as the stars. They are also
a type of [Desire].
—For example, the urban legend that 'no human has really ever stepped foot on the moon'.
—For example, the conspiracy of the Freemasons in the American dollar bills.
—For example, the time-space experiment that took place in Philadelphia. The Chiyoda Line’s
nuclear shelter, Area 51, the Roswell UFO incident, etc.
After seeing this many examples, it can be concluded that there is always some kind of distinct
pattern between them.
That is... they were all born out of the same type of desire: 'It would be interesting if the legend
was real'.
Smoke will not rise without fire as its source. However as it spreads and builds up, that [Desire]
becomes a [Rumor]. This kind of thinking was not strange to the world. Since ancient times,
humans have always preferred the [Inevitable] to an [Accident], after all. The birth of mankind
was likely the accidental product of astronomical probability.
According to the humans, there was something that intentionally wanted to create humans.
Looking from this way of thinking, the world was not chaotic, but orderly. By imagining out a
reason behind the meaning of existence, people use this to help explore the vagaries and ruthless
values of this world.
..........People lived with this desire in their hearts. Therefore, [Urban Legends] can also be said to
be something that was born from earnest [Desire].
—However, very little people know that among the [Urban Legends] numerous enough to
illuminate the skies, there are truths mistaken for legends. In the end, nobody knows if they were
real.
—Don't be mistaken, this does not mean that the aforementioned urban legends are true.
Only the reason behind the existence of these urban legends are somewhat different from rumors.
Now then, how did this [Urban Legend] come about? It started as any ordinary [Rumor]. But it
became a rumor that was so unrealistic that it changed from a [Rumor] to an [Urban Legend].
And that kind of [Rumor] is like this one.
There was a rumor that had spread on the internet about a gamer named 『 』 [1]. According to
more than 280 Online Game Rankings, there was a player with an undefeated record that always
stood proudly at top of the rankings with 『 』 as his name. You may be thinking, "There is no
way something like that could exist." That is right. Anyone would think the same way. That was
also what everyone else believed.
A simple theory was accepted. That is, in order to not expose his identity, a certain game
developer entered the game rankings with the name of 『 』 . However, unknowingly, as the
rumor spread explosively as a wave throughout the community, it took on a different form: in
actuality, there is no such player.
But the strange thing was that 『 』 participated in wars and many players have faced against
him. He was unrivaled...just like a raging storm.
He was said...to have beaten a chess program that even Grandmasters cannot defeat. He was
said...to have an aberrant playing style that was impossible to read.
He was said...to have been so strong that even if you use Tool Assists and Cheat Codes, you
would not be able to defeat him.
He was said...was said...was said...
Anyone that was even the slightest bit interested in that [Rumor] would decide to investigate it
further.
This isn't hard to believe, because the method to investigate was not hard. If a person was placed
first in either a Consumer Game, PC Game, or Social Game, that person would surely have an
account. And if that account exists, his win-loss records can also be investigated.
But how could such a person exist?
Anyone that investigated it further actually fell into a trap. Because 『 』 in reality had his
own account for every game console and SNS. The number of games on the accounts were
[Countless]. He didn't even have one black spot in his win-loss records.
—With that, the mystery thickened. Some even hypothesized that 『 』 was a hacker that erased
his own loss records or that 『 』 was a group of gamers that only high-level players were
invited to, etc.
With this, a new [Urban Legend] was born.
—However, in this case, the person who allowed this 『 』 rumor to be created must also be
responsible.
Because he had an account, he was given the right to speak, but he completely ignored this
privilege. He has never said a single sentence, never interacted with others, and has never
provided any information.
Silent, not even communicating at all.
Since there was no provision of information, everything was a mystery besides the fact that 『
』 was Japanese. No one has seen his real face—— This had also been the main reason why the
urban legend was accelerating.
—So.
—Let us introduce.
—The truth.
He has truly been crowned in the world ranking for his victorious battles in over 280 games. This
record has never been broken since the establishment of his identity, the legendary player.
『 』 —his true identity———!
Part 2
"...Aa.....I'm dying....aa, now I died for real.....hey, my little sister, hurry up, rez[2], rez~!"
"*Zuzu*......It is impossible....to use my feet to controlling the mouse...."
"Whatever hurry up, my little sister—or should I say, my sly little sister—even though I have not
even eaten for three days, you are eating instant noodles? On top of that, you're doing so while in
battle."
"Nii, do you want to eat too...? Something like Calorie Mate[3] or so...." "Ah, that thing that only
those bourgeois eat[4]. Like hell I'll eat something like that. That aside, please hurry up and rez!"
"...*Zuzuzu*... okay."
"Oh! Thank you~...by the way, what time is it now?" "Let's see...still eight o' clock at night."
"What a novel way to describe eight o' clock in the morning, as 'night'. Then, what day is today?"
"....Who knows? Wait...one, two...four cups of instant noodles so... today is the fourth day?"
"Wait, my little sister. I don't mean how much time has passed since we started pulling allnighters
gaming. What I mean is, what is the date?"
"Does that even matter...to Nii who is a NEET?"
"Of course it matters—something like an online event or tournament could have happened!"
—Like that, it was a conversation of a certain boy and girl playing internet games. Inside the
room, their eyes never met each other's as they chatted.
The size of the room was around sixteen tatami mats[5]. Considerably wide. However, inside it
was full of game consoles, four consoles for each person—so a total of eight of them.
On the floor there were many game packages that were already unsealed, and also [Food]—
which were instant noodle packages and water bottles scattered on the floor, making the sense of
the room being 'wide' unable to be felt at all.
The LED display gave off a faint light. The only other source of light was given off by the sun,
which had been up for a while already, mostly blocked by the curtains.
"...Nii, are you...not going to find a job?"
"...Then why don't you also go to school, my little sister?" "..."
"..."
Just like that they ended their conversation and no one spoke of the subject thereafter.
The older brother—Sora. Eighteen years old. No occupation. A virgin. Unpopular. Unable to
communicate well. Game freak. Wearing a T-shirt and jeans that gave the impression of being a
shut-in with unkempt black hair.
The little sister—Shiro. Ten years old. Truant. Didn't have any friends. A bullied child.
Anthropophobic.[6] Game freak. One would doubt whether she had a blood relation or not with
her brother because she had white hair in contrast to his. Her hair was so long that it flowed
down over her face and she wore the school sailor uniform that she never even worn outside of
their home since she transferred schools.
This is the true identity of 『 』 (空 白 ) which was the combination of their names, Sora (空 )
and Shiro (白 ).
—This is the truth.
Even if everybody knew this, nobody would want to pursue or accept this truth, and would
continue hugging the illusions of the urban legend.
Part 3
Now, it seems that we have explained how this [Urban Legend] came to be. In short, as stated
before, [Urban Legends] are Humanity's [Desires].
This world is full of unbearable chaos. There is no such thing as 'inevitable'. The world is merely
full of 'accidents'. It is a world that is unreasonable and irrational. This world has no meaning at
all.
It does not matter if a person recognizes this truth or chooses not to accept it. Everyone would
still desire for the world to become more interesting. Born from this earnest [Desire] comes
[Urban Legends].
Then how about I lend a hand to make the world become a bit more interesting. That is to say, I
will provide everyone with a new [Urban Legend].
—For now, let's write with stylistic beauty like this.
—The story begins with this opening.
—[Have you ever heard about this rumor?]
One day, an e-mail came to a 'player' that was said to be this world's best gamer. It was only a
short, mysterious message with an additional URL inside it.
When one clicks on it, a certain game will be started. Once that person has cleared that game,
they will......
Part 4
"....Argh, enough with this already.......gonna sleep."
"Wait! You're the one that's in charge of the team's recovery, and if you log out—" ".....If it's
you, Nii, you will be able to do it."
"Theoretically, it's possible! If I operate my own two characters with both my hands and also two
of yours using both my feet—"
".....Fi...ght!"
"Wait! Please wait a moment, my little sister! If you sleep I will surely die——Uoooooooo, you
see, I've gone and died!"
The stack of instant noodle cups had already become a tower five cups tall. Which also means
that these siblings have already done all-nighters gaming for five days straight.
Even knowing that her brother was in a bitter situation, Shiro still slept anyway, using a game
console as her pillow.
Ring—
Suddenly a tone notifying the siblings that they had mail sounded. "....Nii, an e-mail."
"Just what are you demanding from your brother, who's currently playing using four characters
on four different screens? You want a request from me, but I really don't have any extra
strength!"
He skillfully operated the mouse using both his hands and his feet. He furiously commanded a
party of four by himself and answered in one breath.
"I'm sure it's just another advertisement anyway, just ignore it—" "....What if....it came from a
friend?"
"Whose friend?"
"...Nii's."
"Haha, how weird, somehow I can feel you stabbing me through my chest with such an ironic
statement, my lovely sister."
"I don't...want you to say...it's mine.........."
"Then it's an advertisement after all. Or should I say, if you want to sleep, just sleep! If you're not
going to sleep, please help me a bit here—Noooo, died, I've died!"
Let's repeat it again. Eighteen years old. Without an occupation. A cherry boy. Unpopular.
Unable to communicate well. Game freak. It's not boasting but, it wasn't just that he didn't have a
girlfriend, he didn't even have anyone that could be called a [Friend]. It was also the same with
the younger sister.
"...Uu....what a bother."
Shiro tried to wake her consciousness and muster all her strength to get up. It would have been
no problem if that really was an advertisement. But, something that couldn't be ignored is an
advertisement about a new game.
"....Nii, where is the tablet PC...?"
"At three o'clock from there, in the second mountain of eroge from the left, and placed around
the third and forth box—Uooooo, my feet are getting cramped!"
Ignoring the brother who was in anguish, Shiro easily found it in the exact location that Sora
specified. Perhaps one would question why a hikikomori and a NEET would need a tablet PC.
But that is, of course, a foolish question, because the answer is obvious that it is used for gaming.
However, that was not the main use of the tablet PC. For countless games they also need
countless e-mail addresses, but even excluding the addresses that were not for gaming use, there
were still more than 30 e-mail accounts, all synchronized. This is what true efficiency is.
"....The sound is Ring— so it came from..... the third address of the main account......is it this
one?"
The white-haired girl whose memory was extraordinary compared to an ordinary person, easily
found the message. And then—the person at the back who lead a successful crusade against
people in real-time combat by manipulating four roles at once, let out a roar of triumph, before
she viewed the e-mail.
【 New mail----Subject: To the both of you, 『 』 .】 "...?"
Shiro bent her head slightly.
E-mails that were addressed to 『 』 were not rare.
War Requests, Invitations, Provocative Challenges—those are what they would commonly
receive, but— "...Nii."
"What is it, my cruel little sister who said that she wanted to sleep and abandoned your brother
alone in the game, and in the end didn't sleep and still left your physically tired brother to play?""
"....This."
As if she didn't hear the sarcasm from her brother who didn't look like he was about to listen,
Shiro showed the mail to her brother.
"Hmm—what is this?"
The brother noticed that the mail looked peculiar.
"Saving. Okay, that's done. Checking the item drops, that's done too."
After checking that there was nothing wrong, Sora closed the game screen that had been
continuously running since five days ago and switched the screen to show his inbox to check out
the e-mail that he had just received.
"...How does this guy know that 『 』 is actually a pair of siblings?"
There were actually a lot of people that hypothesized that 『 』 was a group of people, but the
main problem lies not from what was written as the subject, but from the content that said:
【 Have you siblings ever felt that you guys were born into the wrong world?】 "What.....is
this?"
"............."
It was a somewhat, no, it was a considerably strange message. It also included a URL that they
had never seen before. At the end of the URL, there was no [.jp] to represent the country's
domain name. This URL was pointed to a specific page—and it looked like it was linked to a
game.
"...What should we do?"
Shiro who did not seem very interested, went back to her game console pillow and tried to sleep.
Which means that she would just leave the decision up to her brother.
"Hmm, so 'you' plan on making me take a bet on it, huh. Well, even if this thing just turns out to
be a bluff in the end, let's just treat it as another amusement."
He made that decision and clicked on the URL. He was on full alert in case of a virus infection,
while the security software was running full throttle. What appeared there on the screen was just
simple online chess. ".....*Yawn*...good night..."
"Wait, wait, wait! This is a challenge for 『 』 , you know. If the other party has an advanced
chess program, just me alone will not be enough to win!"
Sora tried to stop his sister from sleeping. "...Who plays chess well...these days...." "Umm, I
know how you feel, but...."
A program that was able to beat even the strongest Grandmasters. Even with that, the little sister
had lost interest in chess after beating this program twenty consecutive times.
"It wouldn't be forgiven if 『 』 lost. Please at least stay awake until we know the extent of the
opponent's ability." "....Uuuu.....it can't be helped."
And then Sora started the game. After seeing her brother do one move, two moves, Shiro began
to nod off due to the sense of sleepiness that had piled up. Five moves, ten moves, and before he
knew it half of the board had already been filled with pieces. Shiro suddenly snapped her eyes
open and stared at the screen.
"...Huh? This guy is...."
While Sora was feeling uncomfortable, Shiro stood up and said something. "...Nii, change
players..."
Without any objections, Sora obediently stood up from the chair and moved. Shiro thought that
her older brother could do no more at this point. In other words, Shiro recognized that the other
party was a worthy opponent. The little sister who had just changed places with her brother
started to plan her moves.
Chess is a [Zero-sum game of limited decisions]. In this game where [Luck] was non-existent
and occasionally point game. In theory, a surefire way to win existed, but in the end that is just
theory. It is based on mastering and being able to see every single possible move-10^120 of
them. A person who could do that surely did not exist.
But there was someone who could assert that [Existence], and that was Shiro. She had mastered
and could comprehend the large—no, enormous— amount of possible moves in chess. If you
keep choosing the best chess moves, then you will have the upper hand and win if you go first. If
you went second the way of escape was a draw. That is how the theory goes. What about against
an opponent who could foresee two hundred million moves in a second? This world's strongest
chess program was proven not to be perfect enough for the little sister when she had won twenty
consecutive victories against it.
"....No way."
And that kind of strong player had just been surprised by what was in front of her. "Calm down.
This, I'm sure the other party is human."
"Why?"
"In a program's case, it would always choose the best move to play. In one way that is a good
thing, but on the other hand it also means that it can only use tactics that it was already
programmed to use. That's why you can win against them easily. But this guy is—"
Sora pointed at the screen.
"The other party lured you in and made you play a bad move, and if you feel that it is natural for
a program to do that, then you would be wrong."
"....Uuu."
The little sister was unable to object to her older brother's words.
—Of course, regarding their abilities playing chess, no, in most games Shiro and Sora were
overwhelmingly strong. Perhaps calling them by the title "genius gamers" would not be an
exaggeration. In Shiro's case, she can only act based on her logic. That's why she can easily
defeat even the most powerful advanced chess programs. However, her ability in sensing other
people's [Motives] is dull. That's why, at times like this, Shiro needed to leave it to Sora. Even
though he had poor communication skills, his perception of feeling other peoples' [Motives] was
unexpectedly outstanding.
"Calm down, if the opponent is not a program, all the more reason that there's no way you will
lose. Don't be taken in by his provocation. I will point out every one of his provocations and
tactics so that you beat him." ".....Understood.....Shiro will do her best..."
This is the reason behind their success in becoming the world's best gamer.
The game had been running for more than six hours. Adrenaline and dopamine were flowing
from their brains, making them forget their fatigue from doing all-night gaming for five days,
helping them concentrate to the utmost limit. Six hours—but it felt as if the game had already
lasted for several days.
Finally, the last decisive moments happened. And then a emotionless voice signaling the end of
the game could be heard from the speakers.
'Checkmate'
That was the siblings' win. ""...""
After a long silence— ""Fuaaaaaaah.""
They each took a long breath. It was almost as if the game had made them forget to breathe.
After taking another long breath, the two started laughing.
"Amazing......it's been a while.....since I've played in a hard fight like this."
"Haha, that was the first time I ever saw you have a hard time dealing with a simple game
though, right?" "...Nii, is the opponent.....really a human?"
"Yes, I'm sure of it. He took a lot of time when deciding to provoke you into a trap to make you
play a bad move, and when it didn't work I could sense a feeling of disturbance from him. I'm
sure he is a human—or maybe a 'monster'."
"...I wonder what kind of person he is."
The little sister that was even able to beat a Grandmaster level chess program sounded interested.
"Maybe a Grandmaster? Programs are exact, but a human is complex after all."
"...I see...next time....I want to play....Shogi against that Dragon King."
"Will the Dragon King even accept your shogi challenge? Why don't we find out!"
After the game, the two of them felt a great sense of happiness and grinned happily while they
were talking.
Ring—
Suddenly, the mail notification tone could be heard.
"Hey, maybe that e-mail just now is from the opponent. Try opening it." ".....Un."
But the content of the e-mail was only one sentence.
【 Well done. With that kind of ability, I am sure you find living to be painful?】
With only that single sentence, it was as if their mental states had dropped to zero degrees.
Silence filled the room, and only the sound of the PC's fans could be heard. Countless wires were
strewn over the floor, along with scattered trash and clothes. It felt as if time was frozen in that
room where curtains blocked out the sunlight, and a sense of deprivation of space filled the air.
Isolated in the narrow sixteen tatami sized room. This was the world the siblings were in—all of
it.
—Unpleasant memories were running through their minds.
The older brother, who naturally excelled at reading people's true motives just by hearing their
words. The white haired, red eyed little sister, who by nature, had high intelligence—but was a
person that no one could understand. The two siblings had shut their hearts after their parents
passed away. No matter how optimistically they tried to recount memories of the past— No,
even now it was still the same.
The little sister silently bowed.
Not long after thinking that, the older brother angrily started to type a reply.
【 None of your business! Who the hell are you anyways?】
A reply came almost right away after he replied to the message. No, whether it could really be
called a reply or not could be doubted because the content of this new e-mail was—
【 What do you guys think about this world? Is it interesting? Is it a place that can make you
guys feel at ease?】 Because of these words, the older brother forgot about his anger and made
eye contact with his younger sister. There was no need to reconfirm, the answer had long been
clear from the start.
"It's a shit game[7]."
...With no clear objectives or rules, a stupid game. Around seven billion players move as they
please.
Ones that have more than others get penalized. The little sister who was now isolated, was
isolated because she was smarter than those of her age— no one could understand her and she
was bullied.
Even ones that have less than others get penalized. The older brother, the always-smiling brother
who always failed, even when scolded by parents or teachers.
Never had the rights to skip.
—Silence only made one a target to be bullied by others.
—Talking too much made one become alienated by others.
—Being able to read peoples' real intentions too much also made one become alienated by
others. No clear objectives, no parameters, even the genre is unknown.
Ones that do as the rules say are punished, yet ones that ignore the rules are not punished and
even look down from their positions as the elite. No game could be compared with this kind of
difficult, worst game.
"Damn it!"
Sora grit his teeth and caressed his little sister's head.
The atmosphere of those two who felt like they could stand in the realm of gods after that
exciting game was gone. What was there, was only these two siblings who were isolated from
society. They were only but depressed, frail humans.
The sound Ring— could suddenly be heard.
The older brother controlling the cursor did not care and was about to shut down the computer.
But, his sister held his hands to stop him.
【 What if a world where everything was decided by a simple game existed—】
Sora, who had actually tried to turn off the PC just then, was unable to do anything other than
read that after seeing those words.
【 —A world where the objectives and rules were clear, a world on top of a game board, what
do you think?】
The two exchanged looks, laughing, and both of them nodded their heads. Then the older brother
began typing on the keyboard.
【 If that kind of world actually does exist, then that really does mean that we were born into the
wrong world.】 Is what he replied after he read the content of the letter.
Suddenly—
-Shaaaaa.
The PC's screen gave off a faint noise and then it made a sound like a circuit breaker
overloading. After that sound, nothing else could be heard and it was as if everything had
stopped; only the screen with the e-mail had been left moving.
"Just what is—" "...!"
Noise could be heard within the room. There was a sound that sounded like the house itself was
creaking, and there was also the sound of an electrical discharge. The brother panicked and
quickly looked around the room, and the little sister just stared, dumbfounded. After that, the
noise became increasingly intense and finally became a sound that was not unlike that of the
static noise from an empty TV channel. And then from the speakers—no, from the screen of the
computer, a [Voice] could be heard.
[I also think the same. You two were born into the wrong world.] Suddenly a pair of white hands
appeared from the screen. "Wha—!"
"...Hiii!"
The hands dragged both of them by the wrists towards the screen.
[I will let you siblings be born again-again, in the world where you two should have been born!]
Their vision filled with a blinding white light, and they shut their eyes.
When they had opened their eyes again, the first thing that they noticed was the light and warmth
of the sun. It had been a while since they had last felt it, and also the sensation of the retinas
being burned by the light. The brother who had come to his senses first, after his pupils adjusted,
noticed that they were both high up in the sky.
"Uooooooooooo!"
The scenery had suddenly shifted from a narrow room to a vast expanse of space.
They were—in the air.
Suddenly appearing in the vast sky, Sora, who finally grasped the situation shouted. "What the
hell is thiiiiis!"
No matter how he saw it, no matter how many times he looked, he was sure that the whole island
underneath him—and other islands as well— were floating. There was also a certain creature
that had flown by him in the sky, a dragon. In the distance, he could see a number of immensely
large chess pieces near a range of mountains, which could have made people lose their sense of
distance.
'What's with this fantasy-like kind of entrance?' is what was floating through Sora's mind. The
scenery, no matter how many times he tried to compare it, was not the same scenery from the
[Earth] that he knew. But the main problem right now, he quickly realized, was not that.
Currently, they were both skydiving without a single parachute—a free fall.
"I'm going to die!"
It took 3 seconds for him to be convinced of this.
But, as if to break this sorrowful confirmation, a loud shouting could be heard beside him.
"Welcome to my world!"
The [Boy] falling beside him said while opening his arms and laughing.
"This is the Utopia that you guys dreamed of, the world on top of a game board, [Disboard]—
everything here is decided by a game, even one's life and country borders!"
Sora probably understood about 10 seconds later.
Shiro, who understood the situation as soon as she opened her eyes, embraced her brother while
crying. ".....Who are you—?"
Shiro tried her best to shout while falling at a frighteningly high speed, but ended up only
murmuring her question. But the boy answered while still smiling like usual.
"Me? About me~ I....live there."
He said that while pointing in the direction of the giant chess pieces near the horizon, which Sora
had seen for the first time only a short while ago.
"Hmm, in your world you might call me 'God', right?"
Placing his index finger on his cheek, the self-proclaimed god spoke cutely and full of
friendliness.
—However, nobody knew if what he said was true.
"This isn't the time for that! We're falling towards the ground at a really fast speed—whoaaah!
Shiro!" "...............................!"
Not knowing if it would do any good, Sora held Shiro within his arms and then he turned his
body so that he would be below Shiro. After that, Shiro who was in Sora's arms issued a
soundless scream.
Seeing that, the boy who called himself God spoke to them with a happy tone. "I look forward to
seeing you again. Yes, without a doubt, it won't be long." And like that, their consciousnesses
blacked out.
Part 5
"U....Uun....."
The feeling of soil. The aromatic smell of grass. When Sora had recovered his consciousness, he
realized that he was on the ground.
"Just what the hell was that...."
Was this a dream? Is what Sora thought but he didn't say it out loud. "....Uu....what a weird
dream."
The little sister who woke up a bit later than Sora moaned.
Hey, little sister. Don't raise the "isn't this a dream" flag. Sora thought about saying this, but
deliberately decided against it.
While having such thoughts, Sora stood up and pretended that nothing had happened, but what
was under his feet was undoubtedly land.
The fresh blue sky, which he had also not seen in a while, was above him. "Whoaaaaa!"
Sora realized that he was standing on the edge of a cliff, and hurriedly backed off by two steps.
Then, overlooking the landscape across the cliff.
An incredible landscape was laid out before his eyes.
......No, that expression wasn't right. It was a different word, but what?
There were floating islands and dragons. And across the mountains on the horizon were huge
chess pieces. This means that it was the view they had of the world while falling.
Which means that—it was not a dream... "Hey, my little sister."
".....Un...."
Overlooking the picturesque view of the landscape, he said.
"I've always thought that 'life' was an impossible game—a game that was fit only for
masochists." "......Un....."
And then they said with their voices in harmony.
""So it finally bugged out, huh...enough, what the hell is this super awful shit game!"" After
that— both of them lost consciousness again.
Part 6
—[Have you ever heard about this rumor?]
One day, an e-mail came to a 'person' that was said to be this world's best gamer. It was only a
short, mysterious message with an additional URL inside it.
When one has clicked on it, a certain game will be started.
Once that one has cleared that game, they will disappear from 'this' world. And then that person
will be invited to a parallel universe.
That kind of [Urban Legend] which invited people to another world....will you believe it?
