Chapter 5:

Silence reigned. A soundless, oppressive silence in which a heartbeat could be heard. However, fear was an inaccessible emotion for Yuri — just as conditionally stripped away as the landscape surrounding him. As if the very concept of fear had been suppressed by something superior, leaving behind only a faint agitation with a twitch.

Standing directly before him was the already familiar monster. White beads imitating eyes. A mouth that was also a body. A tongue that mimicked limbs and stretched out to seize prey. It was familiar. Intriguingly strange.

— Bleh bla bloo bleh. (Good day. I am a representative of the obscurantism corporation, responsible for your transformation. I have come to inform you that you have passed the evaluation and may be hired.)

The situation was sufficiently absurd. Yuri's life had been complete absurdity as it was, and the fact that the monster had politely introduced itself — having previously simply eaten his head — was perhaps the peak of his understanding of cause and effect. Right now his mind was in such turmoil that he spoke more mechanically than consciously.

— But I don't want to work.

— Bloo bleh bla bla bloo. (It appears you do not understand the situation at hand. I was not asking your opinion.)

The moment the monster finished speaking, Yuri's body buckled toward the ground. All that suppressed pain and fear came crashing down directly onto him.

[Monster, monster, monster. I won't survive. I can't survive. How did I even survive? I saw what I shouldn't have seen. How can I possibly keep living? Terrifying, terrifying, terrifying — so terrifying. Why did I chase that damned head so eagerly?! Wait. Something was wrong with me — as if right now everything is fine. Shit, my mind isn't right. I'm not okay! Think, think, please think. I know I'm frightened but I have to think. The head. My head was bitten off. Damn — this monster is going to bite my head off again right now!]

— Bla bla bloo. (I think the demonstration was sufficient for grasping your situation.)

And it was as if all the trembling and freshly shed tears had been a joke. Yuri's body calmed, and his mind cleared.

[I am in deep shit.]

That was his only thought. That brief fit of fear had set the previously resting gears of his mind turning. His death. The man in the purple suit. The fact that he had been able to do something resembling teleportation. And even the manner in which he had "eaten." Why had he never stopped to think about any of this? Why had he taken everything so easily — as if even when a thought arose, it was suppressed...

Suppressed?

His gaze stopped wandering and fell on the monster, whose mouth spread into a smile — which was revolting, yet caused no revulsion. Or perhaps Yuri simply couldn't experience it. Not yet.

— Blyoo blyoo bla. (It seems you have begun to understand the situation at hand. I hope you will no longer put on this circus unbecoming of your age and will follow me.)

Yuri nodded. He didn't really have a choice anyway. He never had.

The world began to regain its colours, and the monster disappeared. But its foul smell remained distinctly present. Yuri had no choice — he needed to make his way to the source of the smell once more, even if something unpleasant awaited him at the end.

...

..

.

There were no doors, and no road. But Yuri could distinctly sense the smell of the path — or rather, the stench of the monster. The surrounding space distorted — or rather, he distorted it himself. The journey was not long. It couldn't be long, given that Yuri could pass through the road itself. Arriving at his destination, his eyes were met with yet another dose of surrealism.

Corpses. An enormous number of corpses, devouring one another. Some torn to shreds, some bearing only a few wounds. But every single one of them was fervently consuming its own kind with equal intensity. That, however, was only how they looked if you examined them closely. At first glance there were no corpses here at all — only a magnificent hall resembling a cathedral.

Could other people even see what this place truly looked like? For some reason Yuri was certain they could not. It was unfortunate that he could.

In the centre of the hall stood a throne — magnificent, trimmed in gold, and if you looked closely — composed of foreign eyes with pale pupils that pulsed intermittently. Seated on the throne was yet another monster, though this one didn't look like one. It was more like a human silhouette made of torn space — though its height and limbs were far longer than they should have been. Rather like some faceless man in a business suit with a red tie. It held in its hands an A4 sheet of paper. It was a standard employment contract.

If one were to skip the business language and other tedious and deeply unpleasant portions of the document, the contents were as follows:

Party B, that is Yuri, undertakes to collect a specified quantity of a certain substance [I don't know what it is, but in the text it is called "pita" and the number 6] within the allotted timeframe and transfer it to Party A. Yuri is entitled to fifteen percent of the collected sum, as well as the expansion of his "equipment" [what is meant by this is not explained]. The equipment will belong to Yuri and cannot be seized.

In exchange for fulfilling the aforementioned conditions, Party A undertakes to guarantee the right of existence regardless of the threat of disappearance.

Given Yuri's professional experience, this contract sounded extremely dubious and was full of vagueness with room for various interpretations. If it were up to him — he would never in his life have signed such papers. But to his deepest regret, it was not up to him. If this creature controlled that monster — what did it itself represent? Yuri was in danger simply knowing this, and he obviously didn't want danger for his already diminutive frame. Moreover, what was mentioned was not even life, but existence itself — something many philosophers have long wrestled with. And what, in the understanding of a monster that perverted reality, that might mean — was a genuinely interesting, yet terrifying question to voice.

Unfortunately, alternatives are not the right of the weak, and so Yuri had no such luxury. The contract was signed in blood. How did he know that? Because the silhouette did exactly that. Biting his own finger was not difficult — Yuri simply had the concept of fear crossed out. Which in certain circumstances turned out to be rather convenient.

— G... get-out!

The silhouette attempted to speak, but it sounded more like an animal imitating human sounds. However, Yuri's ears could quite make out the meaning — and so he left just as unhindered as he had arrived.

...

..

.

He returned to his office, outfitted for comfort. The smell of stale paper was well-familiar. The blanket he had brought was warm and cosy — allowing him to feel relaxed, if only briefly. However, that didn't mean he had time to be idle: he needed to collect the "pita," and he had no idea where or how to obtain it. Though he vaguely sensed that he simply needed to "eat" — he didn't know why or how, he simply felt it was right.

What he did feel clearly was that he had exactly one month. Why the hell did he feel that so distinctly? God only knows. All Yuri knew was that he was in this up to his neck. Why, whenever any problem arose, was it obliged to land specifically on him? It was so unfair...

He was alone. And there were many problems. Even if there were many Yuris, that wouldn't mean there would be fewer problems — there would simply be more Yuris whining. But he had a strong desire for there to be more of him regardless: at least the whining wouldn't be solitary. He would have liked to feel the warmth of comforting arms around him. Gentle hands touching his back.

[Huh?] Either he was imagining things, or someone was actually hugging him. Lifting his head from the floor, he saw a girl — so attractive that his "little brother" might soon be making himself known. Remarkably — the beautiful maiden with little bunny ears appeared to have a chocolate bar in the pocket of her dress. That was the only explanation he could think of for why her dress was lifting up...

The girl and Yuri fell silent.

— Are we the same person?

— Yes.

— If we had sex — would that be gay or masturbation?

— Well, we could certainly find out.

— Yeah, why not!

— But even for us — isn't that a bit, you know... insane?

— You're probably right... :(

— I'm sad that I'm right.

Though Yuri didn't show it, he was an incorrigible pervert with extremely specific inclinations. As for the reasons why he hadn't minded running around in a dress all this time — I'll leave that to your own reflection.