Chapter 01 - Mujun-Sen Station

My name is Kurogami, and I am a 27-year-old working adult. To be honest, I am very much exhausted by work, and Discord is the only thing keeping me up at this point. Especially a server that I found almost 5 months ago. Let me check the exact date... yeah! Tomorrow will be exactly 5 months.

That reminds me that there is a rumor which I heard on this server when I first came... it is said that no person can stay on this server for more than 5 months. I will break that rumor for sure. I mean, why would I leave this server anyway? Something strange about this server is that for the past 5 months, I have not seen a single person who is a staff member. There are no staff members there, but the server is still managed, which is bizarre to think about.

Next day at night...

Ah, shit! I got late from the office. I will not be able to reach the train station on time. I hurried as fast as I could and finally reached the station. I panted for a while to catch my breath. Then, I hurried again to reach the platform, but unusually, the train was standing there. I was happy... I mean, why wouldn't I be happy? I was late, but still, I was able to catch up with the train.

Strangely enough, there was no one at the station, which was very odd because, as far as I remember, this station was filled with a crowd from the very beginning. I wanted to go outside the station to confirm that I was at the right place, but I lost my way and never found the entry/exit gate. So, I came back and looked for the station staff so that I could know what was going on there. The train was still standing there, and its light was coming out of the window and making the window's pattern on the ground. As the light was too dim, and it was almost dark at the station, it was difficult to see.

I found a train staff member, but his speech was not understandable at all. His eyes were gloomy, and he had dark circles under his eyes... avoided that person and went back to the same platform and boarded the train as I had no choice.

As soon as I boarded the train, it started moving. At this point, I was starting to get eerie vibes. I also got a seat easily... strangely enough, again, there were not many people on board. I opened my mobile phone and clicked on Discord and opened my favorite server and started chatting. I also told people what happened. Some made fun, and some suggested I needed to escape. It is a wholesome feeling when you have people with whom you can share your thoughts... After a while, my phone glitched, and the screen froze. I was not able to do anything, so I just switched it off and kept it in my hands.

We arrived at a station, and I peeped out of the window to take a look. It was the same station, Mujun-Sen, and I felt eerie vibes from all the passengers. I hurriedly got off the train, but in my haste, I left my bag behind. When I returned to the station, I noticed that the time was still 10:00, the same as when I first arrived. The clock wasn't moving.

As soon as I got out of the station, my phone lit up and I saw that there was a new category of channels named "Abandoned Sanatorium" on the server. However, with everything that was happening, I didn't have time to check it out. I switched my phone off again and focused on figuring out how to leave the station.

I thought about following the rail tracks to reach my destination, but I wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not. All I knew was that I needed to get out of the station as soon as possible. I ran and ran until I was exhausted, but there was no end in sight. I found myself in a place where there were no people and no signs of civilization. I tried using my map app, but there was no signal.

As I was running, I saw something in the distance that looked like it could provide help. As I got closer, a strange drum sound started ringing in my ears, getting louder and louder as I approached. Finally, I reached the place and realized it was the same railway I had just left. I went mad and screamed in frustration.

At that moment, my phone lit up again with a notification from Dread, the owner of the "Abandoned Sanatorium" channel. It said "Welcome to Abandoned Sanatorium," but I had no interest in checking it out. I turned off my phone, but the drum sound continued to get louder and louder until it felt like my head would burst.

NEWS: A 27-year-old man named Kurogami was found dead outside the Mujun Sen station. His brain was ruptured, and blood was flowing out of his ears, which had dried up by the time the cleaning staff found his body. His wallet was the only thing found with him; his mobile phone and office bag were missing.