"What's... happening to me?"

When Kuroda Soichiro woke up, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck.

It was as if the bones in his neck were cracking open, burning with a fiery pain.

Instinctively, he wanted to reach back and touch his neck, to see if it had truly split open... but he realized his hand was somehow restrained, unable to move.

From the rough, rope-like texture touching his skin, it seemed his hands were bound, tied to a cylindrical metal object.

And whenever he tried to move his hands to break free, a sharp pain shot through his wrists.

Perhaps his wrists were already scraped raw during the time he was unconscious.

"I am imprisoned."

"My freedom has been restricted."

His body was bound.

Both of his hands were.

Both of his feet were.

He couldn't move at all, held completely still.

Kuroda Soichiro thought he had opened his eyes, but it was pitch black, no light at all, unable to see anything.

The darkness was so thick that he wondered if his eyes were truly open.

But his physical senses assured him that his eyes were indeed open.

How could there be a place with absolutely no light, perhaps in a hidden chamber?

"Where am I?"

"What time is it now?"

"What has happened?"

Kuroda's mind panicked for three seconds, then he forced himself to calm down.

"I'm not dead, not at the worst outcome yet."

"There will be a solution to face the enemy."

"At worst, it's just death."

These were the three sentences Kuroda frequently told himself.

Since the time he got involved in the underworld as a student until now, every time he faced difficulties, he would say these to himself.

Miraculously, he managed to get through whatever predicament he faced.

Step by step, he led to the establishment of his "Kuroda Group," controlling the shopping street and becoming a force to be reckoned with.

Then he recollected that he was at the familiar Japanese restaurant, poisoned and knocked unconscious by a girl he had never met before... and then he ended up here.

He had been kidnapped.

Kuroda Soichiro understood the situation.

"Since they captured me, there must be a purpose. Let's first understand the enemy's goal before considering a strategy."

"Moreover, to capture me alive at all costs to this extent shows the enemy is very anxious."

"The more anxious the enemy, the less anxious I should be. I need to disrupt their rhythm and make them follow my lead."

With this in mind, Kuroda decided to stay silent, not calling out, not making noise.

The opponent would surely come in periodically to check on him.

After all, the purpose of the abduction was to communicate or negotiate, and in any case, they couldn't just leave him unattended.

When the time comes, he would act accordingly.

Having figured this out, Kuroda immediately felt more at ease, and the surroundings he had not paid attention to before started to take on a presence.

Speaking of which, the place where I am being held is so quiet, not even a single sound can be heard...

Kuroda Soichiro, who calmed down to listen carefully, couldn't hear any external noise at all.

Absolute darkness.

Absolute silence.

It might sound okay, even feel like a comfortable environment for sleeping.

But it's not.

After a while, the continuous absolute darkness and absolute silence made Kuroda slowly start to feel fear.

Almost imperceptibly, as if there were tiny ants crawling in his heart, gnawing away, giving him a strange sensation.

Then, he began to hear the sound of his heartbeat, the sound of his breath, every beat, every breath was crystal clear.

Further on, the sound of his intestines moving, the sound of bones rubbing against each other, even the sound of blood flowing, all could be heard clearly.

He couldn't sense the external world, only himself.

But does he really exist... or is he just dreaming?

Kuroda Soichiro was consumed by this absolute space.