Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

---

— — —

CAW!

A voice echoed from afar — slicing through the silence like a knife through glass.

CAW! CAW!

It seemed to tear out of the wind itself; first distant, then growing closer and closer…
A shiver ran down Arty’s spine.
For a moment, every thought tangled together — what had she been doing just now?
She couldn’t remember.
All she could hear was that strange, echoing sound.

CAW!

When a shadow passed over her, she felt a weight on her head.
Something had landed on top of her.

“Esenlikler, Arty…CAW!”

(Translation: “Greetings, Arty... CAW!”)

Arty’s eyes went wide.
Perched on her head was a black, glossy-feathered crow.
Its eyes gleamed with an unnervingly sharp intelligence.

“N-ne…?”

(Translation:“Wh-what the…?”)

“Oh, my apologies. I suppose it’s been a while since you last spoke Turkish, CAW!”

Arty reflexively raised her hand to her hair — but the crow didn’t move.
It was still there.
Its tiny claws pressed lightly into her scalp.

“Ah…Hayır, Yani şey-”

(Translation: “Ah… no, I mean, uh—”)

“CAW! No worries, Arty. We can carry on like this.
I’m sure you’re wondering why you’re here... and how on earth I can talk.”

The crow — or, Sussie — sighed softly.
Its wings trembled a little, scattering a few feathers into the void.
Arty’s breath quickened.

“First things first... this isn’t a dream.
Unfortunately, you’re dead, Arty…”

Sussie’s voice carried an odd mix of solemnity and sarcasm.
She turned her gaze toward the endless dark.

“But don’t worry, Arty — you’ve read so many kpdh fics lately that the Goddesses decided you deserved a second chance. CAW!”

Arty stumbled a step back.
Her pupils dilated.

“What do you mean? How… how did I die?”

Sussie tilted her head, fixing a feather with the tip of her beak.

“You’re seriously asking me that, Arty?
You died in the most cliché way possible — (long work hours...)
I was starting to wonder how many more tropes the universe could fit into one human life. CAW!”

“Cliché? You mean… like, Truck-kun isekai cliché?”

The crow cackled — sharp, echoing laughter.

“Ah yes! Exactly like that.
A good old-fashioned, low-effort isekai death! CAW!”

Arty pressed a hand to her face and sighed deeply.
She couldn’t feel the ground.
There was no earth beneath her feet, no walls around her — just an infinite void.

“And… you said Goddesses, right?
Who exactly are they?”

Sussie fluffed up her feathers, eyes glittering strangely.

“Ah yes, I did say Goddesses.
But you already know them, Arty... CAW!”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

At that moment, a beam of light burst through the darkness.
It was as if the sky itself had split open, and the stars were leaking through.
As the light flickered and spread, strange sounds filled the air — echoing chants, muffled whispers, and then—

“NGGHHHHH— ZOEY—!”

A scream tore through the void.
Arty froze.
Sussie, completely unfazed, spread her wings and covered Arty’s eyes.

“Oops. Guess this isn’t the best time for introductions. CAW!”

“WAIT! SUSSIE, WAIT! THE GODDESSES YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT—”

But the light was fading.
The voices receded, the echoes dissolved into silence.
Sussie slowly lowered her wings, her black feathers melting into the darkness again.
She bowed her tiny head.

“Yes, Arty… just as you’re thinking.
They’re the Goddesses I mentioned.”

Arty’s breath trembled.
She took a step back, then lost her balance and staggered.
Sussie flapped her wings as if to catch her — then thought better of it and settled onto the ground.

“Come on, Arty...
You’ve read so many Polytrix fics, and you’re still surprised? CAW!?”

Arty’s voice rose, incredulous:

“SUSSIE! THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!”

The crow rolled her eyes dramatically.

“I see this conversation’s going nowhere.
So let’s cut to the chase — time to explain why you’re here. CAW!”

Arty straightened up, trying to steady her breath.
The void seemed calmer now; only a few beams of light shimmered in the distance.

“As I said, Arty, you’re dead…”

“And Because you rode so many Polytrix fanfictions on stream that—
somehow, in some cosmic nonsense way,
you helped stabilize Honmoon’s balance.
The Goddesses were... weirdly impressed.
So they decided to grant you a second chance.”

Arty frowned, blinking.

“Wh-what?”

Sussie nodded as if she’d expected this reaction.

“Oh, don’t act dumb, Arty.
Even I watched those livestreams. CAW!”

For a moment, Arty couldn’t breathe.
Her chest rose and fell sharply as her eyes stared blankly into the void.
In her mind, flashes of all her past livestreams rolled like a film reel —
laughter, chaos in chat, fan theories, endless Polytrix debates...

And then, one horrifying thought pierced through her mind:

The Goddesses...
No...
Has Polytrix been watching me all this time?!

Silence.
Then, from somewhere deep inside, an uncontrollable scream tore out:

“OH MY GOD!”

Sussie tilted her head, puffed up her feathers, and gave her trademark, unimpressed stare.
Then she slowly rolled her eyes.

“I think that’s enough shock for today, Arty.
It’s about time I explained your mission in your second life—
or, well, technically, your new second life in this current body. CAW.”

With a little grunt, she raised a wing to adjust the tiny hat she’d “borrowed” from Derpy.
Then, with a dramatic inhale worthy of a theater performance, she looked down at Arty.

“You know how these isekai stories go, Arty.
You die... and then suddenly a goddess shows up!
She gives you some ‘divine mission in a new world,’
you go around talking-no-jutsu-ing your enemies into friendship,
slay a few monsters, drink beer in taverns with your party,
and by the end — boom! You’re a hero.
Classic isekai stuff, CAW!”

Arty stared blankly at Sussie, as if listening to an alien trying to explain human culture.
With every CAW, the darkness around them rippled faintly.

“Ah! But don’t worry, Arty!
Even if your death was painfully stupid and cliché,
the isekai world you’re going to isn’t cliché at all, CAW!”

Arty took a deep breath, finally pulling herself together.

“So then... where exactly are you sending me?”

Sussie tapped her head thoughtfully with one wing.
Then, with an exaggeratedly cheerful tone, she announced:

“Ah, well... I FORGOT.”

Arty’s jaw dropped.
She opened and closed her mouth twice before giving up entirely.
Rolling her eyes, she sighed deeply.
At this point, Sussie was seriously testing her patience.

“You’re that upset I forgot, Arty?” Sussie giggled.
“Well, don’t worry! I know how to cheer you up, CAW!”

Before Arty could even process that sentence, Sussie spread her wings wide.
From the darkness, a small notebook floated out, glittering faintly with purple sparks.
The pages rustled by themselves, filling the air with the scent of old paper.

Sussie poked through the pages with her beak, muttering to herself:

“Hmm... let’s see, let’s see... Ah, there it is!”

Then she turned toward Arty with a proud grin.

“It says here you’ve been assigned the mission of stabilizing Honmoon in your new universe, CAW!”

Arty’s face turned pale.

“H–Honmoon? There are other universes with Honmoons too?!”

Sussie rolled her eyes again, clearly tired of this question.

“Of course every universe has its own Honmoon, Arty.
You humans are so hopelessly dumb. CAW!”

“WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!”

Arty’s scream echoed through the void.
Sussie didn’t even flinch — she just raised one wing as if to cover her ears.

“Anyway, that’s all you need to know, Arty.
You’ll figure out the rest once you get there, CAW.”

Arty’s vision darkened.
She was this close to grabbing the tiny crow and giving her a light squeeze — maybe a quick choke for good measure.
Just as that thought crossed her mind, Sussie cleared her throat delicately.

“Ahem. Anyway...
It’s time for you to go, Arty.
I wish you the best of luck on your journey, CAW!”

“Wait— already?!”

“Yes, sadly. CAW.
Ah, and before I forget…”

Sussie removed her hat with one wing.
From underneath it appeared a tiny, softly glowing key —
delicate, elegant, engraved with a star-shaped sigil at its tip.

“Take this key.
I don’t know why, but the Goddesses insisted I give it to you.”

“Ah... alright... sure.”

Arty reached out her hand.
Sussie spread her wings and gently dropped the key into her palm.
The metal was warm — pulsing faintly, like it had a heartbeat.

“Esenliklerle kal Arty.”

Translation: “Farewell, Arty.”

This time, Sussie’s voice was in Turkish.
Gentle. Almost... sentimental.
Then she flapped her wings and took off.
For a brief moment she shimmered above, then melted into the shadows.

Just before vanishing completely, her voice echoed one last time:

“Almost forgot, CAW!
Arty... that cliché we talked about earlier was so funny
I thought it’d be hilarious to send you off this way!”

Her voice faded into the distance.
Silence returned.
Arty stood frozen where she was.
Nothing.
Until—

---

...

A faint hum.
Weak at first, then growing louder — the sound of an engine.

...

Arty lifted her head.
The sound echoed across the void, growing stronger.
Her heart nearly stopped.

“No... no way... that sound... it can’t be—”

The engine roared.
Dust clouds — actual dust clouds — began to form.
From the emptiness, a pair of headlights appeared.
Bright. White.
And disturbingly... cheerful.

“HEEELLLOOOO, ARTYYYYY!!!”

Arty’s eyes went wide in terror.

“Oh, hell no— Truck-kun?!”

The truck blinked its headlights.
Yes. It blinked.

“Don’t run, Arty, vroom vroom! It won’t hurt, I promise!
Why do you think isekai authors always hire me?”

“S–SUSSIEEEEEEEEEE!!!”

The engine roared louder.
Vroom-vroom— vroom-vroom—

Arty sprinted as fast as she could.
The ground beneath her feet glowed, every step scattering sparks of color.
But then—

She tripped.

She lost her balance.
Her eyes widened as she fell forward.
The world burst into color — blue, purple, pink —
a swirl of light spinning all around her.

“Oh my god... I’m... losing consciousness...”

The rainbow turned into a vortex.
The engine faded.
And the last thing she heard was Truck-kun’s cheerful voice:

“See you in Season Two, Artyyy~!”

And then everything went white.

—

—

Chapter Text

---

---

---

The sound of wind...
Soft, almost peaceful.
But within that calmness, there was a strange hum — as if the air itself was trembling.

The wind brushed against Arty’s face.
A sliver of light touched her lashes, making her squint.
Her head still echoed with the roar of that damned engine —
but now, it was replaced by the chirping of birds.

“Ugh…Right… I just went headfirst into truck-kun.”

She took a few slow breaths.
The air was cool, carrying a faint hint of mint.
Her palms pressed into the grass.
It felt soft — almost like cotton.
And then... wait a second...

Arty opened her eyes.
She tried to sit up, wincing at the pain in her back.
She was still holding the key — tightly.
It was warm, pulsing gently in her palm like a heartbeat.

She looked around.
Green.
But not normal green — too vivid, like someone cranked the saturation to 200%.

“Okay, who messed with the color settings...?”

Tiny sparkles glimmered on the tips of the grass blades.They drifted away with the breeze, then gathered again like stardust.

“Oh, great, even the ground’s got LEDs. Glowing grass. Classic isekai.”

Arty lay there for a while.
Then — a ringing sound.
It grew sharper, forcing her to cover her ears and grit her teeth.

And through that ringing came a voice.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

“Ah, hey... looks like the mic’s working.”

Arty’s eyes went wide.

“Hey Arty, can you hear us?” said a familiar voice.

The names hit her like lightning.
Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest.
Them.
Polytrix.

She shot up to her knees, forgetting all pain, fingers tangled in her hair.

“OH MY GOD!”

“OH MY GOD, ARTY, MY EARS!”
Mira’s voice boomed, half furious, half shocked.

“SORRY!” Arty shouted back — still loud, but now at least somewhat controlled.

For a moment, silence.
Only her quick breathing and the wind moving through the grass.
The voices in her head had left her dizzy.

“Hey, Arty,” Mira said, her voice warm and teasing,
“I don’t know what Sussie told you, but this whole ‘goddess’ thing? Definitely wrong.”

“Miraaa! Why’d you tell her?! We could’ve had some fun with that!” Zoey whined.

Rumi’s laughter rippled softly.

“Ah, you two...”

Arty sighed deeply, hand on her forehead, eyes closed.

“Too good to be true anyway.”

Zoey’s voice jumped in immediately, smug and mischievous:

“Wait, which part? Seeing us making ou-”

But before she could finish, Mira and Rumi acted fast —
Arty actually heard the mental “pof!” of them muffling Zoey.

“NO NO NO, ARTY, YOU DIDN’T SEE ANYTHING, RIGHT?!” Rumi blurted out in panic.

Damn Sussie…

Arty shook her head quickly, her face red as she tried not to laugh.

“Didn’t see a thing. Sussie covered my eyes with her wings.
...But I did hear Rumi shouting Zoey’s name.”

Zoey’s giggle echoed back, coy and unapologetic:

“Teehee~”

Mira cleared her throat, trying to regain control of the conversation.

“Apologies, Arty. I know this is all new and a bit confusing.”

Arty lifted her head.
There was a warmth in Mira’s tone — comforting, even grounding.
But, of course, Arty couldn’t resist a quip.

“You kidding? I’m living my dream right now, Mira.
Talking to the three woman I’ve obsessed over for months?
Do you even realize how incredible that feels?”

Rumi chuckled softly.

“Oh, we know, Arty. We’ve been watching your streams for ages.”

Zoey chimed in, practically screaming with excitement:

“YEAH! AND THE FANFICS YOU WERE READING SO FUNNY! WE EVEN STARTED READING FICS OURSELVES!
AND THEN—okay okay maybe writing a few—”

Arty froze.
Eyes wide.
Mouth open.
Internal screaming: intensifies.

Mira coughed again, voice firm but kind.

“Anyway. As much as we’d love to keep chatting, maybe it’s time we talk about how this world actually works?”

Rumi spoke softly, her tone almost like a whisper in the breeze.

“She’s right. There will be time to talk later.
For now, we should explain what you’re doing here.”

Zoey, as always, jumped in:

“Yeah yeah, go on, Rumi! Drop the lore!”

Rumi’s tone calmed, taking on a serene rhythm.

“As Sussie briefly mentioned…
You’re here to stabilize Honmoon’s essence.
And perhaps…
turn it into its Golden Form.”

Arty blinked.

“Turn it into gold? Wait—no! I can’t fight demons!”

Rumi laughed lightly.

“Oh right, we forgot the best part! This world isn’t exactly normal, Arty.
You’ll find creatures here — adorable ones —
who can fight alongside you.”

“You mean... like Pokémon?” arty said.

Zoey immediately exploded with glee.

“YES, ARTY! THIS IS BASICALLY A POKÉMON UNIVERSE!
DAMN IT, YOU’RE LIVING MY DREAM!
I ALWAYS WANTED A SQUIRTLE!”

Arty looked around for a long moment, mumbling to herself:

“So… like Pokémon, but the demonic version?
Am I gonna see Pikachu throwing lightning bolts or what?”

Mira burst out laughing so hard she practically fell over.

“Oh my god, Arty, you don’t sound shocked at all!”

“I am shocked!” Arty yelled back.
“I’m so shocked I forgot how to act normal!
What am I even supposed to do? How do I maintain Honmoon?!”

Rumi giggled, gentle as ever.

“Don’t worry, Arty. It’s not as difficult as you think.
In fact…”
She paused, then added quietly,
“...it’s better if you see it for yourself.
I really want to see your reaction.”

“W-what do you mean by—”

Before she could finish, something rustled in the grass.
The ground trembled softly.
Arty took a step back.
A shadow approached — her heartbeat rising.

Then the shadow came into focus.

A small green creature… with a bulb on its back.

“Wait— that’s… a Bulbasaur?!”

Rumi’s voice smiled.

“Looks like our work here is done, Arty.
We’ll talk again soon...”

“Wait! Don’t go yet—”

But before she could finish, the ringing returned — sharp, deafening.
Her vision blurred, and she clutched her ears.

The world spun again.
The sky flared white.
And the Bulbasaur’s eyes began to glow —

Chapter Text

When the ringing in her head finally faded, Arty just… stared at Bulbasaur.
She didn’t speak. Didn’t breathe. Just stared.
Seconds passed.
Then, completely on instinct, she muttered:

“...Oh, shit. They actually uploaded me into Nintendo’s database.”

(Unfortunately... kind of true.)

Bulbasaur tilted its head, giving that classic “I’m cute, but I could absolutely wreck you in ten turns” look.

“No. Don’t look at me like that,” Arty said, wagging a finger. “Relax, buddy. I’m not that 10-year-old psycho who yells ‘I’ll be the Champion!’ at breakfast and fights gods by lunch. I’m, like, level three tops.”

Bulbasaur blinked and murmured, “Bulbaaa…” But something about the tone said, “You look exactly like that kind of person.”

Arty sighed deeply and looked around.
A few meters ahead, lying in the grass, was a backpack.
Sunlight hit it perfectly — as if it were whispering: “Take me. It’s your destiny.”

“Ah, of course... the isekai starter pack,” she said.

As she walked toward it, Bulbasaur followed with an expression halfway between curiosity and judgement.

The first thing she noticed when she picked up the backpack was the Honmoon logo on it — (that familiar Huntr/x symbol.)
A small smirk crossed her face as she unzipped it...

Then her eyes went wide.

Inside were a bunch of weird orange Pokéballs, each with little leaf on top of them.

She picked one up, rolled it between her fingers.

“Orange? What is this, a limited edition? Or the knockoff Chinese version?
Actually... kinda looks like a tangerine.”

(ORANGE NATION ARISE!)

She chuckled softly, then glanced back at Bulbasaur. “Okay... logically speaking... how does this even work?”

She took a deep breath, stepped back, and muttered out loud: “Alright, Arty, if your audience were watching right now, what would they expect you to do?”

She squinted at Bulbasaur.

“Oh wait—hold up.”

(And yes. The lightbulb in Arty’s head finally turned on.)

“Okay okay, I get it. This is the iconic scene. First Pokémon catch, right? Alright, let’s do this!”

She raised her arm dramatically and shouted:

“GOOO, ISEKAI LUCK!!”

The Pokéball soared—
and immediately missed Bulbasaur.
It bounced off a random rock that somehow existed in the middle of nowhere—
and ricocheted perfectly back into Arty’s forehead.

“DAMN YOU, NINTENDO PHYSICS!!!”

She clutched her head and dropped to her knees.

Bulbasaur looked at her as if evaluating the human IQ for the very first time...
Then quietly snickered. “Bulba…”

Arty stared blankly at the laughing Bulbasaur.
As the laughter grew louder, she finally snapped—grabbing another Pokéball from the bag.

(For some reason, pokeballs respawned whenever she used one — not that she’d noticed yet.)

“Alright, round two!”

This time she aimed carefully—
The ball cut through the air in a perfect arc.
Sunlight glinted off its orange surface, almost heroically.
It was majestic. Cinematic. Destiny itself.

Then—Bulbasaur jumped. Effortlessly.

A second of silence.
Then—

WHACK!

Arty looked down, pupils dilating.

“...Oh crap.”

Bulbasaur’s vines had wrapped tightly around her leg.

“HEY! Wait! You didn’t do this in the anime!”

Bulbasaur’s face shifted from cute to smug in half a second.
It looked straight at her as if to say, “Not your day, human.”

“Bulba—SAUR!”

The vines tightened.
Arty’s foot lifted, her balance wobbled—
and then—

THUD.

She hit the ground, hard.

Silence.
Just the sound of wind.

Then her inner voice whispered:

“That was the kind of fall you only see in low-budget comedies… and now I am one.”

She slowly lifted her head, bits of grass hanging from her hair.

“Weren’t Bulbasaurs supposed to be friendly? Why’d you lie to me, Ash?”

She froze.

“Wait. Why am I mad at Ash? He’s not even here. Oh god, I’m losing it.”

(Maybe one day you'll meet him… )

Bulbasaur made a cheerful “Saur!” sound — which somehow still managed to sound victorious.

Arty groaned, rubbing her hip as she stood up.

“Okay, leg’s intact, pride’s shattered, but we’re good.”

She looked up just in time to see Bulbasaur turn around, glance back with that annoying little smirk, then take off running with Scooby-Doo-level speed.

Silence.

A small click echoed in Arty’s brain.

“HEY! Get back here, you green salad!”

Bulbasaur didn’t even glance back.
Those tiny legs carried it faster than any logical biology could explain.

Arty hesitated for half a second, looked at the fallen bag, then at the fleeing Bulbasaur.

“You’re driving me insane, you little spinach!”

She grabbed the backpack, pushed off her knees, and ran after it.

“The supposedly deified polytrix, a demon crow, truck-kun… and now a vegan enemy. My life’s officially glitched.”

The grass beneath her feet sparkled with every step, tiny lights scattering around — not that she noticed.

“That salad’s not getting away this time!”

—

Bulbasaur glanced back, eyes saying “Catch me if you can, human.”

Arty’s lungs were burning.

“Slow down, you chlorophyll maniac! How is something that small this fast? That’s not biologically fair!”

Bulbasaur turned, grinned, and sped up.
The plains stretched endlessly.
The grass now reached her knees, glowing faintly.

“Seriously, why is the grass glowing?! Who coded this place!?”

(I don't know)

Ahead, a rocky hill rose — not too tall, but topped with a strange mist.
Bulbasaur ran straight toward it.

“No no no, don’t go up there. I’m not the ‘climb the mountain and find your destiny’ protagonist! I’m the side character who misses the bus!”

But Bulbasaur ignored her, slipping between rocks and vanishing into the misty path.

But Arty gritted her teeth and followed.

Predictably... it didn’t go well.

(Sorry Arty…)

Physics gave up.
A chaotic tumble combo followed. and a short flight later, Arty landed into the dirt.

“This... this is a sign. A literal divine sign to go home.”

Bulbasaur stopped nearby, head tilted, eyes full of mild amusement.
As if asking, “You done, drama queen?”

Arty sighed, sat up, dropped her backpack beside her.

“Fine. You win, you green menace. Go wherever you’re going—”

At that moment…the wind direction miraculously changed. The mist began to clear.

Beyond the hill, purple light shimmered.
Buildings appeared through the haze — some tilted, some crystal-like.
And in the center... a tall, slender tower rose.

Arty squinted.

(Wait a sec… is that the Seoul Tower?)

She blinked.

“Did you guys forget to turn off the VPN when creating this world!?”

(Uh… *Cries*)

Then she looked up—
and gasped.

The entire city was encased in a massive, translucent dome.
Colors pulsed through it — pinks, purples, blues — flickering like lightning across its surface.
And strangest of all… it was breathing.

“Okay. That’s either a giant Wi-Fi bubble... or the fantasy version of the Simpsons Movie dome.”

Bulbasaur just blinked at her.

Bulbasaur looked at Arty's surprised but sweet gaze. Then it let out a "Bulb!" sound. it tilted it’s head, as if to say, "Are you finished?”

“Are you mocking me?”

Bulbasaur smiled. it looked up with those innocent puppy-dog eyes... Then, instead of reaching the top of the hill, it chose to return to Arty.

Bulbasaur was silent for a moment, then slowly approached. Arty was still clutching her Pokeball, her arms crossed, and frowning.

Bulbasaur narrowed it eyes.

And suddenly—pop!—bulbasaur tapped it own head against the Pokeball.

The Pokeball opened, and yellow/Golden light surrounded Bulbasaur, who was drawn into it of it’s own volition.

In a few seconds, the ball slipped from Arty's hands and fell to the ground.

It bounced once.

Twice.

On the third, there was a "click!”

Silence.

Arty stared at it.
Then slowly grinned.

“Okay… either that’s the dumbest victory ever, or I just got pity-caught.”

She held it up — the orange Pokéball glowing faintly in her hand.
And realized… there was a living creature inside.

She shivered a little.
Then shrugged.

“Eh. it went in willingly. Probably has Stockholm Syndrome or something.”

She carefully placed the pokeball in a different compartment in her backpack, then looked around. The sun was slowly setting; the horizon was orange, the grass a faint tinge of gold.

Then she looked at the little hill in front of her for a while, then sighed.

“Nope. Not climbing that thing. I’m not a ‘mountain journey’ person. I’m a ‘dramatic monologue’ person.”

She circled the hill, walking through the glowing grass.
The air smelled fresh, but faintly electric.

“Weird air... kinda nice though. Feels like I’m about to charge myself by breathing. If there’s a Pikachu nearby, someone better warn the power grid.”

(Arty, please stop breaking the fourth wall.)

She laughed to herself.
Then saw it — a small stone path leading onward.

And beside it… Creatures that looked like Pokémon but were a completely different species... They looked like little goblins with strange striped masks on their faces and...and they were dancing with strange sticks in their hands?????

(What the hell—are those Hilichurls!? How did Genshin get into this Crack fic?!)

“What the hell is this? Did the Pokémon Go DLC pack come out while I was sleeping?”

The dome's colors flickered for a moment in the wind. At that moment—a faint, mixed-sounding hum could be heard coming from the city.

Arty's eyes widened.

“Wow. Peaceful… but also very ‘something bad’s about to happen’ kind of peaceful.”

(At that very moment Arty noticed the sign on the road that would cause her a lot of trouble during her journey :)

-WELCOME TO BRONX CITY-
“The City of Happiness – Please mind your health, and refrain from using explosives near the entrance.”

Arty stared at it. But when she saw the name of the city, she pretended she didn't see anything.

“Who the hell uses explosives at city entrances? ...Oh wait, yeah. That’s exactly what the main character would do.”

(Arty, stop. You’re scaring me.)

—

At the end of the path there was a small bridge. Underneath the bridge, the water was clear, but tiny particles of light were floating in it—as if it weren't water but liquid stardust.

And next to it... an old man was fishing.

(Oh shit. Here we go again.)

“Uh... hello?”

The man didn't turn his head.
He was like an NPC programmed in the '90s—he didn't even blink as he spoke.
"Young girl..." he said in a monotone voice.
"See those sparkly singing fish? Catch three of them for me, and I'll give you a map of the city for free…”

Arty was silent for a moment.

Then, with a serious expression, she replied: “So… classic… Tutorial task… I can practically feel with every fiber of my being that the universe isn’t taking me seriously.”

Even the wind fell silent as the man remained impassive.

Arty’s face fell, and her inner voice boomed: “Okay, Arty. Calm down… stupid singing fishes… How hard could it be?
isn't spamming the Spacebar normally catches fishes on its own?”

(No, Arty. This isn’t Stardew Valley.)

She grabbed the glowing fishing rod that practically screamed “PICK ME!”

“Eh, how hard could it be?”

(famous last words.)

She cast the line—
and instantly, the water erupted in shimmering blue light.
The singing fish fell silent.
Waves rippled violently.

“Uh... that’s a lot of effects for a fish.”

Then the rod jerked.
Hard.

“HEY! HEY WAIT! FISH AREN’T SUPPOSED TO BE THIS STRONG!”

she tried to pull back the fishing rod, to uncover the mystery that lay beneath the water—
but instead something even more terrifying happened... Underwater... It began to swim towards the surface on its own… Colors shifted — deep blue, then purple, then pink—

Something round, emerged.

It blinked.

“Poyoo~!”

Arty froze.

she looked slowly.

On the end of her fishing rod...
was a small, round creature, completely pink, with blue eyes and puffy cheeks.

“No way... Did I just fish up—KIRBY!?”

Kirby freed herself from the hook, floated for a moment, and then started bouncing on the water.

(I don't know, man, the laws of physics are weird here.)

With each jump, she made a "poyoo~!" sound, leaving bubbles underwater.

The old man finally looked up — eyes empty.

“That’s... not a singing fish.”

“CAN’T YOU SEE WHAT THIS THING IS!? THIS THING IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE FINAL BOSS OR SOMETHING!”

Arty still gripped her fishing rod tightly with both hands as Kirby continued to frolic joyfully on the water and bead of sweat slowly trickled down her forehead.

“Okay… Arty… calm down. This is just… a dream. Yeah. In the Tutorial, you just summoned a pink cosmic vacuum god from another universe instead of a fish. That’s perfectly normal, happens all the time.”

Kirby said, “Poyoo~!” again—
and launched itself straight at her.

“Wait—WAIT—STOP—”

Too late.

Pop!

Kirby slammed into Arty… and just like every Kirby in every universe… a vacuum was heard...

"HEY! STOP! NOT MY HONMOON BACKPACK!”

Kirby choked out a surprised, "Why?" before quickly backing away.

Arty took a deep breath, her heart still pounding... The shock of nearly losing her Starter Pack was overwhelming.

"Okay... okay... I saved the backpack. Universe, thanks for taking pity on me for once."

(You're welcome.)

Then she looked at Kirby—the pink Blob was bouncing in front of her, seemingly dancing happily.

And The old man suddenly broke the silence and dropped his fishing rod back into the water. “The fish are still there.”

Arty closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Yeah, yeah… those singing fish are there. But my sanity? It swam a little far away.”

Kirby said “why~!” again, but this time there was a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

Arty couldn’t help but laugh.

And then she sighed lightly.
“Great. So now I have a Kirby.
I’m half in the Pokémon world, half in some Honmoon multiverse...
Whoever coded this world has a serious Open world And MMO addiction.”

(Wait, how did you know that? True tho)

"Also, my first side quest:

(Catch the old man's fish.)
(What actually happened:)

ended with me accidentally summoning a cosmic pink creature from another universe. Perfect start."

she adjusted her bag and dusted herself off.

Kirby was waiting right next to her, a gleam of pure curiosity in her eyes.

Arty raised her eyebrows. "Okay... so you'll follow me, huh?..."

Kirby said cheerfully, "poyo~!"

And the two of them started walking toward the entrance to Bronx City—

a place that was both weird and absurd, and somehow... completely in Arty's world…