Hello...Yui

CHAPTER 2 — “Spawn Point: Hello… Yui”

Scene opens—late afternoon.

The sun drips orange over apartment buildings. Outside, the sound of cicadas buzzes faintly.

INT. YUI’S ROOM – 4:42 PM

YUI (in school uniform, bag slung to one side) unlocks the door, steps inside.

> YUI: (half-asleep) “Home… finally.”

She tosses her bag on the bed and flops down, burying her face in the blanket. Her phone buzzes beside her.

She groans, rolls over, grabs the phone lazily—and begins scrolling. A quiet hum from the AC fills the silence.

INSERT: HER SCREEN — TikTok, game trailers, random memes.

Suddenly, the screen glitches—a white flash.

Yui frowns.

> YUI: “Huh?…”

She blinks.

CUT TO BLACK.

A subtle ringing in her ears grows louder. Like digital noise. Or…

“Loading…”

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INT. ??? – UNKNOWN DIMENSION

Yui gasps and jolts awake—on the floor. She's no longer in her room.

She’s sitting on stone tiles now, hands braced behind her, breath unsteady.

> YUI: (blinking) “…The hell is this?”

Around her: shadows flicker. Walls stretch too far. Ceiling? None. Just void.

Soft glowing lights hover in the distance. A strange smell—like wet metal.

A low humming noise starts behind her.

She turns—

There he is.

MR. CRAWLINGS.

Same ragged black coat. Long limbs that don't bend quite right.

Head tilted. No stitched mouth, just a faint shadow where his mouth should be.

His fingers twitch.

And he's already close.

Too close.

> MR. CRAWLINGS: “Yu…iiiii... wan plaaay?...”

(his voice sounds glitched, like badly dubbed English. His words break apart as if buffering.)

> YUI: (still sitting) “You again…?”

She doesn’t scream. Just stares—confused, heart thudding but not terrified.

His arms stretch slightly forward like a child asking for a toy.

He leans in, his height towering compared to her small figure on the ground.

> YUI: (gulping) “…You just… want to play, right?”

She slowly lifts one hand—and gently pats his head.

He freezes.

Then—

MR. CRAWLINGS lets out a strange sound. Not quite a purr. Not quite a sigh. His head tilts again, almost melting into the gesture.

> MR. CRAWLINGS: “Yuui… niice….”

> YUI: “Ehh?! Uh—okay, okay—too close now.”

She tries to push herself up, but he doesn’t move. His face is inches away. His wide eyes shimmer strangely.

She scoots back, still on the ground.

> YUI: “Are you like… a tutorial monster or something?”

> MR. CRAWLINGS: (tilting head) “…Yuu don un-der-stan. Bu'… tha game… like u…”

He twitches.

> MR. CRAWLINGS: “Gotta… keeep you heeere... okay…? Play...”

His tone is soft—but the words aren’t comforting. Like a child saying something he was told to say.

Yui’s eyes narrow.

> YUI: “This is just a dream. That’s all. Stupid messed-up game ad. Shouldn’t have clicked it.”

She pinches herself.

Nothing happens.

Mr. Crawlings slowly lifts one hand and lightly taps her forehead.

“TAG.”

The floor under her glows red for a second.

Digital vines pulse along the tiles.

She shivers.

> YUI: “That didn’t feel like a dream…”

> MR. CRAWLINGS: “Yuu... will respawn if go bye-bye... don’ worry...”

His words make no sense. And yet… she feels her head spinning with a distant familiarity. As if she's done this before.

A voice echoes faintly—

> [SYSTEM]: YOU HAVE ENTERED: SAFE ZONE 0 - LIMBO NEST

Mr. Crawlings finally backs up. One twitchy leg after another.

> MR. CRAWLINGS: “Heheh… Yui… nice… play.”

Then he disappears—melting backward into the dark like static unwinding.

Yui remains sitting on the cold stone, knees up, phone still in hand but the screen’s dead.

> YUI: “…Okay. I need to uninstall whatever the hell this is.”

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END OF CHAPTER 2

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