Cyberpunk: Nirvana of Shoko Toyokawa

Page 92

"and many more!"

The blond-haired puppet gave chase.

All the lights went out.

Then, the dim yellow light of the prop chandelier lit up slightly, and the prop moon slowly moved behind the Gothic-style glass window.

There were four people sitting in the illuminated field.

A doll with dark green hair walking back and forth holding a pocket watch.

A doll with dark purple hair holding a mirror and dressing up.

A doll with golden green hair sitting on a chair, and a doll with golden blue hair holding a comb and combing the former's hair.

The lights were directed to the back of the stage.

The golden-haired puppet emerged from behind a thick curtain.

"here it is……?"

She hesitantly and cautiously entered the venue, looking around.

"Oh my, there's a new guy."

The doll with dark purple hair was the first to notice her. She said with a smile.

"There's still a bit of human scent on you." The dark green-haired puppet put away the pocket watch and looked at the uninvited guest.

The dark purple-haired puppet walked over, put his arm around the golden-haired puppet's shoulders, and touched the newcomer's face in an ambiguous way:

"Until yesterday I was still hugging you to sleep, but today you are already in someone else's arms. Humans are really cruel."

"Would you like me to hug you tight?"

"Don't be like this." The golden and blue haired puppet interrupted her.

"But~"

"If we smell like humans, we won't find anyone who will take us in."

"Hate it, that's bad~"

"Who is going to take us in?" the golden-haired puppet wondered.

"Ah, isn't that why you came here?"

"Eh?"

"This place~" the dark purple-haired puppet approached her again, "It's a place where ownerless puppets gather."

"An ownerless puppet...?"

"Oh my, are you the type who has no self-awareness?" The dark green-haired puppet also showed more interest in this new and ignorant guest.

"There is such a thing. Because humans keep talking to themselves, they mistakenly think they are also humans."

"How naive! Whether or not you are a human being is determined the moment you are born!"

"Some people are born human! And some people are born puppets!"

"Dolls exist to entertain and serve humans. Without a master, they are nothing! Being crushed and treated like trash, they can only struggle and struggle - even so, they can never become glamorous and beautiful!"

"You said I was a puppet? But I'm alive now!" The golden-haired puppet couldn't accept it, "Aren't you the same?"

"That's because the moon tonight is very special." The golden-blue-haired puppet raised his head and said:

“Welcome to the Moon in the Attic. Under the light of this moon, short-lived lives reside within us.”

"How could it be...I can't believe it."

"What's your name?"

"I……"

"You don't remember? What about your original master?"

"..."

The golden-blue-haired puppet smiled.

"I thought you said 'family and friends'."

Next to the confused golden-haired puppet, four other puppets were chattering.

"You treat the puppets as your masters, and those puppets have other masters... No wonder you get confused. How pitiful."

"And her?"

"She abandoned you too?"

"..."

"It seems that no one has called your name for a long time."

"It's best not to force yourself to remember. You'll curse the world that put you in this situation."

“…How could it be!”

“No one can guarantee that you won’t do that.”

"I-I have no complaints against the world-"

"But this world has abandoned you! Ah - hahaha!"

"Do you know what death means to a puppet?"

"...You mean, there is no master?"

“Burned by fire.”

"That's a witch."

“Not loved by others.”

"Yes, that is one of them..."

"But the most painful way to die is to be forgotten."

"Am I... already dead? Is this our graveyard?"

"No, I just said it. There is a short life already living in our bodies."

“That is [Resurrection]!”

The golden-blue-haired puppet opened its hands with force.

"Tear apart this body, and revive as a human being—"

"Now is the time to restore rights!"

The golden-green-haired puppet, who had been sitting, stood up from the chair.

"Then, offer blessings to new friends," she said.

The puppets began to move around and dispersed to various locations on the stage.

The cloth covering the large props slid off silently.

What was exposed was a musical instrument.

Two electric guitars, a bass, a drum set, and an electric piano appeared on the venue.

"Now, in preparation for the masquerade, let me give you new names!"

The blue-and-gold-haired puppet standing behind the electric piano raised the pitch.

She pointed at everyone.

"Mortis!"

The golden-green-haired puppet left the chair. On the information screen that the artificial eye could capture, the black strip flashed and disappeared, revealing the name below: Mortis.

The puppet named Mortis carried a guitar:

"I am not afraid of death."

"Timoris."

Similarly, the dark green-haired doll named Timoris put down his pocket watch and carried his bass:

"I, fear no fear."

"Amoris."

The dark purple-haired puppet named Amoris put down the mirror and sat behind the drum set:

"I am not afraid of love."

"Oblivionis."

The doll with golden blue hair called her name. She put down the comb:

“I am not afraid of being forgotten.”

"Doloris!"