[Location- ???]
Stars.
We all know about stars. We all see stars.
Have you ever gazed upon a starry sky? A night so pristine, so limitless, that the heavens themselves seem to stretch on forever? No city lights to drown them out, no clouds to obscure their brilliance.
A magical night where the sky is clear, and the stars twinkle like scattered diamonds across the abyss, shining down upon the earth in quiet, cosmic wonder.
That was what I was seeing.
But this wasn't the sky, and those weren't stars.
A never-ending void stretched endlessly in all directions, swallowing everything within its grasp. It was not a night sky, not a celestial canvas filled with distant suns—it was an expanse of nothingness, where countless pinpricks of light flickered and pulsed like distant echoes of existence.
'If you stare into the abyss, the abyss will stare back.'
But looking at this nothingness in front of me, I was sure.
Even the abyss would not dare stare back at this.
The "stars" were not stars at all. As I focused on them, I realized they were something far more intricate, more terrifyingly delicate—bubbles.
Glowing spheres of varying sizes floated within the void. Each one contained something within—an entire world, an entire reality, locked away in its fragile shell. Some were as small as a mere planet, others stretched to incomprehensible scales, vast enough to house billions of multiverses containing within them an infinite number of universes
And the worst part? These were the small ones.
Beyond them, further into the abyss, existed bubbles so massive, so impossibly vast, that my mind could not fully grasp their magnitude. They loomed over everything, their mere presence distorting the space around them, like black holes that bent not just light but the very fabric of existence itself.
You know how the sun is really big but to us it's nothing more than a small dot because of the massive distance between the earth and the sun? That barely applied to the bigger bubbles.
The colossal bubbles before me stretched so endlessly vast that, despite being an unfathomable distance away—so far that the human number system didn't even have a name for it—they still appeared just a few meters from me. Their immense scale defied comprehension, dwarfing anything I had ever known.
And yet, I couldn't reach them.
A massive golden barrier, even more incomprehensible in scale, stood between me and the churning expanse beyond. It shimmered with an ethereal glow, neither solid nor liquid, yet unyielding, its sheer presence making it clear that no force, no will, could bypass it.
The flickering of these bubbles was not the gentle twinkle of starlight nor the comforting glow of celestial bodies illuminating the night sky. There was no atmosphere here to cause the phenomenon of diffraction.
No, this flickering came from their constant destruction and recreation. It was not a natural cycle but a deliberate one. The light did not waver because of distance—it was the final, fleeting remnants of entire worlds being erased.
Dark, nebulous figures prowled through the void, their forms shifting and undulating as if they were both real and unreal at the same time. They moved without sound, without hesitation, their long, twisting limbs reaching out to the bubbles that floated too close. And with a simple touch—no, not even that, a mere gesture—an entire reality was wiped from existence.
No fanfare. No explosion. No resistance.
One moment, it was there—a world filled with stars, civilizations, and lives stretching across countless eons. And the next? It simply ceased to be. Its light flared briefly, a final, desperate cry of something that once was—and then it was gone.
Yet, just as effortlessly as they destroyed, they created. Where one bubble vanished, another took its place. A new reality, born from nothing, pulsing with the same fragile radiance, hanging in the balance of forces far beyond comprehension.
And then, as if sensing my gaze, one of them turned its head and met my eyes.
And in that instant, my soul trembled.
Incomprehensible.
My very existence began to flicker. Not a gentle wavering, but a violent convulsion, as though the fabric of my being was unraveling at the seams. My soul twisted and contorted at impossible angles, bending in ways that defied all logic, as if desperately trying to comprehend a being so far beyond me that understanding was an impossibility.
I had no brain, yet thoughts flooded my mind.I had no heart, yet I could feel its frantic, panicked thumping.I had no body, yet I felt an unbearable ache—an agony that had no source, yet spread through every fiber of what I was.
And then, in a moment that lasted both forever and no time at all—
My soul shattered.
"Again?"
A voice, calm yet filled with an otherworldly weight, echoed through the void.
And just like that, my broken essence reformed.
The scattered fragments of my being, reduced to mere stardust, defied the very concept of destruction. They coalesced, drawn together by an unseen force, stitching themselves back into the shape of a soul.
"Is everything fine?"
My eyes opened as I turned to see the source of the sound, but all I could see was a vast red cloud in front of me. For a moment, I was confused whether the giant cloud was the source of the sound.
"You can talk, right?"
"A-a talking cloud?"
"Ah," The being chuckled as if amused by my question. "Not quite, but if you were to see my true form, your soul would collapse again."
"Collapse?" I whispered in fear as I recalled the memory of being wiped from existence. "Are you...one of those entities?"
"No need to be so formal, even if you hurl hundreds of insults at me, I would not get mad at you" The being in front of me hummed as if enjoying my confusion "After all, why would I care for the words of someone who, to me, has a status even lower than that of an ant? I'm not a cultivator."
I stayed silent at his words, dumbfounded, but knew that he was correct. This was not arrogance but fact.
"As for me, you could indeed call me one of those entities,, the being answered in a polite tone. "We're called Domain Keepers."
"Domain Keepers..."
"I do hope you don't hold a grudge against my colleague. No matter how much control we possess, a power gap this vast cannot be accounted for."
"Colleague?" I echoed, my voice barely above a whisper.
The red cloud pulsed again, shifting like a storm caught in slow motion. "The one who looked at you. That fleeting moment of recognition was enough to break you apart. It was not malice—merely the consequence of something as vast as us perceiving something as small as you."
I clenched my fists—or, at least, I tried to. Did I even have fists? A body? I had no way of knowing.
"I suppose I can't exactly hold a grudge against something I can't even comprehend."
"No, you can. In fact, it even serves as a great deal of motivation to those who wish to become the strongest when they perceive a being far beyond their strength."
"I have no such motives."
"That is good, I have no intentions of having you remember this conversation, not even this space."
"...Right."
I firmly believed a person is made of his memories, so obviously, I was not fine with that, but what could I do against a being like this? Throw a tantrum? Hard pass. Not only is that not going to work, but it might risk him getting annoyed at me.
"Those bubbles…"
"They are called Domains."
"Domains, huh? Makes sense why you guys are called Domain Keepers then," I murmured. "I saw some really big ones too."
The red cloud pulsed as if laughing. "Size is relative. Domains are ever-changing. At their core, they are nothing more than playthings for us. If we desire a massive, thriving domain teeming with billions of civilizations, we can create one with a mere thought. And if we grow bored of it…"
A pause.
The void around us pulsed, and suddenly, the humongous bubble meters away from me flickered—its glow dimming in an instant before exploding into tiny little glowing fragments and then ceasing to be.
"We simply erase it and make something new. Perhaps something as small and insignificant as a lone, lifeless planet," the being continued, its voice eerily casual.
I swallowed, though I had no throat. A creeping realization settled over me.
To them, these worlds—these universes—were nothing more than fleeting distractions.
A bitter thought formed in my mind, and before I could stop myself, I whispered, "Am I—"
"You are, indeed, just a plaything for me."
A simple statement spoken with absolute certainty.
Frustration swelled inside me. A primal, helpless anger at the sheer vastness of the power imbalance before me. I clenched my nonexistent fists, forcing my mind to focus.
"And these golden barriers?" I asked, directing my gaze toward the radiant, towering walls that stretched endlessly across the void.
The red cloud seemed to flicker, its form momentarily darkening, as though the very mention of them stirred something within it. "Our bane," it said, a rare edge of disdain in its tone. "The Domain Barriers are what divide existence into separate domains. They limit our freedom, confining us within a single domain, forcing us to abide by boundaries that should not exist."
I narrowed my eyes. "Can't you just destroy it?"
Silence. Then, a low hum, almost resembling a sigh.
"Even if every single Domain Keeper attacked together, I doubt it would make even a crack in these golden barriers," the being admitted. There was no frustration in its voice, only cold acceptance.
For the first time, I saw something that even these incomprehensible beings could not control.
"Enough about that," the cloud said, its form shifting slightly as if refocusing on me. "It does not matter to you."
There was no room for argument in its voice. No hesitation. Just a statement of fact.
"This memory will be erased from your mind, and I doubt that you will ever meet us again," it continued, its tone indifferent. "So, let us get this over with quickly."
A strange sensation washed over me—an awareness that this moment, this conversation, was already slipping away. Like trying to grasp water with bare hands, my thoughts began to blur at the edges, the details growing hazy.
Something inside me rebelled at the idea. But against a being like this, what could I even do?
"So, Matsumoto Miyamoto, let us see how you died."
And then Matsumoto saw
---
(Scene change)
A spacious apartment, comfortably fitting three male residents, carried the lived-in warmth of a shared space. The furniture was a mix of personal tastes—some sleek and modern, others old but well-loved.To me, it just looked like these three guys took whatever was available and crammed it in.
"I remember now," I said as the fog on my brain lifted. "I'm Matsumoto Miyamoto, age 16, born 2009. My parents are deceased; my mother, who died giving birth to my sister and my father- possibly from grief- went missing for 10 years and was considered legally dead."
Time seemed to pause as the world turned gray. I looked around the apartment I once used to live in as more memories flooded back within me.
My eyes drifted across the room, settling on the dozens of Pokémon posters plastered across the walls—so many that you could no longer tell what the original color of the paint used on the wall was. Charizard, Blastoise, Gardevoir, Lopunny, Vaporeon, Hatterene—every Pokémon I could think of, frozen in dynamic poses, their printed eyes filled with life and adventure.
I walked through the apartment, my hands outstretched, fingers grazing the wall as if trying to grasp the remnants of my childhood. But no matter how much I reached, my hands passed right through, unable to hold onto what was already lost.
Then, I stopped.
My gaze fell upon an unremarkable yet massive cupboard standing silently in the corner of the room. A hesitant breath left my lips before I stepped forward. I didn't bother opening the doors—I simply phased through them.
'Ah, it's still here. My most prized possession.'
Rows of Nintendo consoles lay neatly inside, untouched by time. Multiple Game Boys, link cables, Game Boy Pockets, a Nintendo 64, a Nintendo 3DS, and even the Switch—all stacked carefully.
Most of them stopped working a long time ago, unfortunately.
(A/N- In the older versions of Pokemon ROMs, you were unable to catch every single Pokemon in one game. You needed multiple Gameboys with different game versions and a link cable to transfer the Pokemon over to complete the Pokedex.)
'Oh right, this stuff was here too'
And yet, I paid attention to none of them.
My gaze was completely focused on the blue safe tucked away in a corner.
Of course, I still remembered the combination by heart, but there was no need to use it now. Instead, I simply phased my head through the metal, peering inside at what lay hidden within.
They were drawings made by my younger sister that she gifted me back when we were young.
They weren't good drawings, quite terrible actually. Just rough lines drawn by a really thick crayon that tore apart most of the pages, but to me, they were priceless treasures.
Of course, I never said that to her—no self-respecting sibling ever would. Teasing was easier than admitting how much those crumpled pages meant to me.
But now that I'm dead… I wish I had.
I wish I could have shown her, even just a little more, how much she meant to me.
I'm going to miss her.
---
(Scene change)
*Rattata used Quick Attack*
*The foe's Arceus fainted*
'Classic Focus Slash Ratatta strategy'
The Focus Slash Ratatta strategy refers to when a person takes a low-level Ratatta and equips it with a focus slash. The Rattata also has the moves Endeavor and Quick Attack.
[The Focus Sash (Japanese: きあいのタスキ Fighting Spirit Sash) is a type of held item introduced in Generation IV that prevents the holder from fainting in one hit.]
[Endeavor (Japanese: がむしゃら Daredevil) is a damage-dealing Normal-type move introduced in Generation III. It is TM205 in Generation IX. Endeavor causes the target's HP to equal the user's current HP.]
[Quick Attack (Japanese: でんこうせっか Lightning Speed) is a damage-dealing Normal-type move introduced in Generation I. Quick Attack inflicts damage. It has a priority of +1, so it is used before all moves that do not have increased priority.]
The "FEAR" strategy.
First, the Rattata is equipped with a Focus Sash, a special item that allows it to survive a fatal attack with exactly one HP, no matter how strong the opponent's move is.
Then, when it's down to that single HP, Rattata strikes back with Endeavor, a move that brings the opponent's HP down to match its own. Since Rattata is barely clinging to life with just one HP, the opponent—no matter how powerful—suddenly finds itself in the same position.
And that's when the final move comes into play: Quick Attack. A simple, weak move on its own—but it has priority, meaning it will always go first. One last tap, and the opponent, no matter how monstrous it once was, is knocked out.
*YOU HAVE RUN OUT OF USABLE POKÉMON*
'Of course,' I thought, looking at the screen. 'It's not a sure-win strategy.'
The first problem is other priority moves. Since the Rattata is low level, if the enemy Pokemon also uses a priority move, it will move first and faint the Rattata. There are also moves like Extreme Speed, which have a +2 priority as compared to Quick Attack, which only has a +1 priority.
The second is multi-hit moves. Focus Slash only stops you from dying on the first move, so if you use a multi-hit move like Ice Shard or Population Bomb, the Rattata will faint.
The last one is that this gambit only works once, so you need a genuine team. Or a team of 6 Ratatta's if you're a bitch.
However, I did not lose for any of those reasons.
'A Gengar, huh?'
In the end, Endeavor is a normal-type move and can't attack ghost types.
"Well that fucking sucks" "Matsumoto" said while stretching "There goes my nuzlocke."
While Matsumoto stretched and headed out of the room, I stood there in my ethereal form, thinking about my life.
Pokemon was...perhaps the dearest thing in my life, next to my sister of course. Ever since I was a child, I only remember playing Pokemon games and watching the entire Pokemon anime and manga.
And...that's it. That's all I remember from this life.
Damn, if only this knowledge was usefu-
My breath hitched as the past version of me opened the door.
And came face to face with my sister.
"Nii-chan, hurry up!" she whined, tugging at my sleeve. "If we don't get there first, all the good rocks will be gone!"
"They're just rocks," I sighed, letting her drag me along.
"No, they're treasure!" she huffed, puffing out her cheeks. "You just don't have any imagination!"
I rolled my eyes but smiled as she ran ahead, her braids bouncing behind her. "Fine, fine. Lead the way, oh great treasure hunter."
She beamed. "I knew you'd get it!"
Back then, her eyes sparkled with curiosity, a deep brown that reflected the warmth of the world she once believed in. Her black hair, always neatly tied into twin braids, bounced as she ran, full of life and energy. She had a habit of grinning too widely, showing off a missing tooth or two, and her laughter came easily, ringing through the house like a melody
She wore bright-colored dresses, often covered in grass stains from playing outside, and her small hands were always busy—gripping crayons, building little towers, or reaching out excitedly to drag me into whatever adventure she had imagined for the day. There was no hesitation in her steps, no weight on her shoulders, only the boundless enthusiasm of a child who hadn't yet learned that the world could be cruel.
Now though...
My mind went blank.
My past self froze in place, and I, as nothing more than a spectator, could only watch.
There she stood—my sister.
The memories came rushing back like a tidal wave. Things I had long buried, things I thought I had moved past. But no. The sight of her, even just a memory of her, unearthed them all in an instant.
Her hair, once neatly kept, now fell in uneven strands over her shoulders, a deep shade of black with a subtle brown tint that caught the light. She had always worn it in a ponytail, but today it was loose, slightly unkempt, as if she had been too tired to care.
Her eyes—God, her eyes. The same ones I remembered, dark yet soft, carrying an exhaustion that ran far deeper than just lack of sleep. They flickered with hesitation, with something unspoken. A quiet sadness, a silent longing.
She was thin, thinner than she should've been. Her frame, always delicate, now seemed even frailer, as if the weight of the world had pressed down on her for too long. The hoodie she wore—one I recognized as an old one of mine—hung loosely over her form, sleeves slightly too long, the fabric worn from use.
She looked the same as I remembered. The same tired yet gentle eyes, the same hesitant stance as if she wasn't sure whether to step forward or turn away.
Her lips parted slightly as if searching for words, but none came. And in that silence, I felt it—the space, the distance, the things left unsaid.
She was here.
But it felt like she was already gone.
'Talk to her.' I mentally screamed at my past self, though I knew it would be futile. 'Please, talk to her.'
I wanted to reach out.
To say something—anything.
But neither of us did.
'You can't hear me,' I thought, standing in front of her, watching as she remained completely unaware of my presence. 'I guess this is just me trying to ease my own guilt... I don't know.'
'I wasn't the best brother. Hell, I probably wasn't even a decent one. But now that I'm gone, at least promise me this—study properly. Stay away from bad habits. Find good friends, real ones, and if you ever fall in love, make sure it's with someone who truly cares about you.'
I hesitated, then smiled bitterly.
'And if anyone dares to mess with you, you have my full permission to kick their ass.'
'You can have my Pokémon stuff... though, knowing you, you'll probably just throw it all out. You always hated that stuff, huh?'
We just stood there, two strangers wearing the faces of family, before silently turning away, walking down separate paths as if we had never known each other at all.
'Fuck' I thought looking at the scene, before sighing 'Ah whatever, maybe she'll be better of with me dead'
---
(Scene change)
Before the two of them could walk any further, the lights in the house started to flicker before completely going off.
'Huh? A power outag-?'
I paused as my eyes, now capable of seeing the dark, focused on...
What the fuck?
'That-that thing's not human!'
A pitch-black entity flickered into existence, its form devoid of features, of organs, of life itself. It was emptiness given shape, an absence so profound it made my very soul recoil.
My soul screamed in fear at the level of dread I was experiencing. Mechanically, my head turned upwards as I saw...
A massive singular eye, larger than the planet itself staring down at humanity.