Prologue

T/N: So, things to remember:

“A/N:” are author’s notes, and

“T/N:” are the translator’s notes that may or may not include useful information. Sometimes I make comments because I just cannot help it.

The perspective is usually the main character’s unless you see this “~___’s Perspective~” and tells you who’s perspective it is.

If you see “italicized texts”, it means that it is in the third-person perspective. However, it is usually only for short sections. So enjoy.

~3rd Person Perspective~

The first people to notice something strange were the workers belonging to the Engineering Department who were inspecting the rails of the Tokyo Metro North-South Line.

There was a junction there that should not have been there. Without any apparent reason, the rail line split in two, and the rails led into the darkness of a large hole through the concrete wall. Even with all the light bulbs available to them, they could not reach the far end of the hole.

The rails curved almost at a right angle. There was no way a train could turn at such an angle, and above all, they themselves knew better than anyone that there was no junction at such a place.

Even though they thought they were dreaming, pinching each other’s cheeks was painful. The touch felt too real to be a hallucination, and too intricate to be a prank.

“I wonder what’s back there. Should we go in?” (Worker)

As they were discussing such things, a fresh, warm, and very rancid breeze blew through them, making them shudder. They were so frightened that they immediately retreated, which only slightly prolonged their fate.

By that morning, thirty similar reports had come in from various Metro stations.

Mysterious holes and the appearance of railroad tracks–a phenomenon so hard to believe that it seemed supernatural, but it was unquestionably real.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism immediately announced the suspension of operations on all Tokyo Metro lines. The reason they gave was “serious defects had been found in the tunnels and rails of the various lines.” without mentioning the strange phenomenon.

More than six million metro users a day were left wondering, angry, bewildered, and saddened.

Most of the city’s commuters rushed to other modes of transportation. The transportation network, especially in the central part of the city, was in chaos, and accidents occurred one after another in various parts of the city.

An investigation was conducted later that day, but the officials who went into the mysterious void did not return.　

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency and the Ministry of Defense were dispatched to search for the missing persons, but the search team would also not return.

Three days later, the number of holes in the ground exceeded a hundred, which horrified everyone concerned.

The information was leaked to the mass media, and more than 10 million Tokyo residents were terrified.

What is happening under their feet at this moment?

—The Metro is overflowing.

Said the actor who became a guest on a wide-ranging daytime TV show.

Then, a week after the first anomaly.

The whole of Japan was anxious, fearful, and wondering.

The end of Tokyo, Japan’s largest and one of the world’s greatest cities, had started.

“Fungi such as molds and mushrooms are decomposers in the food chain. They have the role of cleaners, decomposing plant matter, fallen leaves, and rotting wood, the producers, back into inorganic matter and circulating it through the ecosystem.  They cant decompose animal matter but that job is exclusively for bacteria, they may have a similar name, but fungi and bacteria are completely different organisms.” (Voice 1) [T/N:菌類/Kinrui/Fungus & 細菌類/Saikinrui/Bakteria]

“What’s the difference, squeak?” (Voice 2) [T/N: It said (りす) Risu or squirrel. I think squeak might be better here.]

“Fungi are eukaryotes, while bacteria are prokaryotes. Fungi are made up of a network of cells called mycelium, which multiplies by spores. Bacteria are unicellular organisms that increase by division. Mushrooms are delicious, but bacteria are inedible and won’t fill your stomach.” (Voice 1)

“Noa sure knows a lot, squeak.” (Voice 2)

“I know this from hearing it first-hand. One hundred years ago, a super fungus overflowed from the metro, flooding the underground and engulfing all of Tokyo. The city, its people, and civilization were eradicated, and a paradise of mycelium was established. After that, it took several decades to rebuild the Shin-Tokyo where we are now.” (Voice 1 => Noa)

“A hundred years huh…” (Voice 3)

“My great-grandfather used to tell me a story before he went to bed, about a country called Japan in ancient times, during the Heisei Era… Shuu-san lived there, didn’t you?” (Noa)

“Yeah… I don’t really feel it, though. But I’ve been asleep for a hundred years.” (Voice 3 => Shuu)