Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 77, Section 75: Outlining the Context

chap!
Snap!

Shin Higashiyama weaved among the group of rotting executioners, using his camera to slow their movements time and again, creating opportunities to escape.

This is Yoyogi Station.

It is also the last platform leading to Shinagawa Station.

The problem is that this is also the platform where he ran away after opening the iron gate at Hibiya Station.

Those skeleton soldiers and that old officer are still here waiting for him!
So the test begins the moment the train arrives at the station.

He needed to find something unusual during the chase, take photos, and stall until the train arrived at the station to board it.

It's enough to make you feel hopeless.

You call this normal difficulty?
So the real ending is that this man really did complete the game with only one life?!

Since the game's perspective is focused on this man, it means that even if he didn't achieve a perfect completion, he at least reached the vicinity of the finish line.

If it were Higashiyama Shin, he would be confident that he could just kill his way through. Forget about solving the mystery; once he wiped out all the enemies, there would be no more puzzles.

But this person's physical condition is just that of an ordinary person, the kind of office worker who might be in poor health!

It's important to know that the game difficulty increases dramatically starting from Sugamo Station, where you'll encounter monsters dressed in old military uniforms all the way to Yoyogi Station.

He died more than a dozen times before finally arriving here, using his corpse to forge a path through the gate.

chap!
Higashiyama Shin's eyes stung, and a stream of blood slowly trickled down.

He's almost at his limit. If he continues to use this camera like this, he'll definitely go blind.

Even if you don't go blind, if your eyesight is significantly reduced, you'll have to spend more lives trying to make mistakes in later levels.

But he was prepared. Without saying a word, he took out the fish eyeball, pressed it against the camera viewfinder, framed as many monsters as possible, and then pressed the shutter button.

Click!

A much louder camera slammed on the shutter.

A flash of light, like lightning, streaked across the platform, illuminating almost the entire area.

The fish eyeball popped and vanished into smoke, while all the monsters froze in place, as if they were frozen in time.

"Ho ho."

Higashiyama Shin stared at the motionless monsters. He caught his breath for a while before wearily walking to the edge of the platform, wiping away his blood and tears, rubbing his sore eyes, and waiting for the train to arrive.

After his eyes gradually recovered and the stinging pain subsided, he took out the new unusual photos he had taken at the platform.

It was a little boy whose face was full of worry. He seemed to be afraid of his surroundings, and he held tightly to his father's sleeve with vigilance, drawing precious sense of security from him.

Ever since my dad told me those horrible stories, I've been seeing dark shadows and getting headaches. Are those spirits? Dad's taking me to get checked out today. I hope it's not spirits, just my imagination.

From then on, a rather clear line of thought appeared in Higashiyama Shin's mind.

But a final verification is still needed.

That was the reminder from the girl in the white dress.

"There is more than just darkness in the darkness; the little boy has forgotten things he shouldn't have forgotten."

This sentence is probably meant to be used at Shinagawa Station.

Similarly, this is the final test.

The train slowly approached, and the monsters went from being completely still to moving in slow motion, albeit ridiculously slow, enough for Shinichi Higashiyama to leisurely walk onto the train and leave.

Bang, bang, bang.

The train departs for Shinagawa Station, while Shinichi Higashiyama sits calmly in his seat, organizing the clues.

If we assume Yoyogi is the starting point, and we move clockwise from the direction the train he was on came from, then everything begins when the little boy felt he saw a dark shadow, and his father took him to the hospital for a checkup.

The little boy didn't reveal the test results, but the scenery and photos along the way to Sugamo Station showed that he had endured a long period of darkness. And then, slowly, he learned to accept it?

Even after she completely lost her sight, she would still comfort her father.

Based on this, it seems to be a difficult disease to treat and could affect vision. Is it a brain tumor causing compression? Retinoblastoma? Or some other rare disease?

This doesn't require much investigation; all that's needed is to know that the little boy lost his sight due to an illness.

He remembered that the little boy asked him to find his father, but after visiting so many stations along the way, he found no one who looked like his father except for photos.

He photographed the anomalies at the vast majority of the sites, except for...
Shinagawa Station.

Combining the information, we arrive at the conclusion that the darkness of Shinagawa Station conceals a reality the little boy doesn't want to recall.

We've arrived at Shinagawa Station.

Looking at the station sign hanging there, Shinichi Higashiyama put the photo in his pocket, picked up his camera, and stepped off the train.

The little boy remained in the same spot, sitting on the chair, swinging his legs like any other child, and softly singing an off-key song.

I've fallen in love with this season of soft colors.

Just like falling in love with you, shining brightly that day.

Please keep running until the very end!

It's the song "Don't Give Up" that I heard at Shinbashi Station.

"Brother? Is that you back?"

The little boy looked in the direction of Higashiyama Shin, his face full of smiles and anticipation.

"Um, brother, I can see all the photos you took, but did you find my dad? It seems like the people in the photos are him from the past, not him now."

The boy looked slightly dejected.

Higashiyama watched the train leave before slowly walking up to the little boy.

"I think I know where your father is, but are you sure you want to see him again?"

Without hesitation, the little boy nodded firmly: "Yes! I've been waiting for my dad here for a very, very long time, so long that I've lost track of time. Brother, do you really know where my dad is?"

"Have other people been here before?" Shin Higashiyama suddenly asked another question.

The little boy's expression froze for a moment, as if he had experienced a brief moment of pain, but it disappeared just as quickly. If he hadn't believed his eyes, Higashiyama Shin would have thought it was an illusion.

"I...I don't remember. I think I do, but I also think I don't."

The little boy answered somewhat hesitantly.

"I understand."

Higashiyama Shin nodded knowingly, slowly walking to the edge of the pitch-black platform, staring at the deep darkness below.
He raised his camera.

"and many more!!"

The little boy's face suddenly turned ferocious and terrifying. His sunken eyes stared intently in the direction of Higashiyama Shin, and the sound he made was full of pain.

"No, no. Brother, no, I don't want to know, please!"

The little boy pleaded, trembling all over, but he did not do anything to stop them, nor did he transform into a monster, and the surroundings were safe.

Higashiyama Shin shook his head, turned his gaze back, raised his camera, and held it in front of him.

Just like when he first arrived at Shinagawa Station and saw the little boy from behind.

He was also looking in that direction at the camera.

chapped.

Higashiyama Shin pressed the shutter.

(End of this chapter)