A universe where no one suffers

[Prologue] - The sad truth about the world

The world had never sat right with Y/N. He had always been the kind of person who asked too many questions, the ones that made others uncomfortable. Why did people have to suffer? Why was pain considered necessary for growth? The idea that hardship was some kind of rite of passage never made sense to him. It was as though society had simply accepted suffering as an inevitable part of existence, a cruel fact of life that no one bothered to challenge.

He sat at his desk in his small, dimly lit apartment, staring blankly at the news on TV. The anchor's voice droned on monotonously in the background, reciting the same bleak statistics as always.

"Death tolls continue to rise across the globe as conflict escalates in several regions. Experts warn that we are approaching a global crisis point..."

Y/N sighed, running a hand through his hair. It was always the same. War, famine, disease. People suffering endlessly, trapped in a cycle of misery. The world was broken, and no one seemed to have any real solutions. Not the politicians, not the economists, not the so-called experts.

He turned his attention to the glowing screen of his computer, the startup logo of Persona 5 flashing before his eyes. He'd been playing the game obsessively for weeks now, drawn into its deep narrative and complex characters. But it wasn't just the gameplay or the graphics that had hooked him—it was Maruki Takuto, one of the game's antagonists.

Maruki wasn't like the other villains he'd encountered in games. He wasn't trying to destroy the world for the sake of chaos, nor was he driven by greed or power. Maruki wanted to create a world where no one had to suffer, where pain and misery could be erased, and everyone could live in peace. Y/N couldn't help but feel a deep resonance with those ideals. In fact, Maruki's vision of a utopia where suffering didn't exist was the closest thing to an answer Y/N had ever found for the questions that plagued him.

As he played through Maruki's arc, watching the character struggle to impose his vision on the world, Y/N found himself nodding in agreement with every speech, and every philosophical point. 'Why do we need to suffer?'  he thought, echoing Maruki's sentiments. 'Why is pain a necessary part of life?'

The world around him had only reinforced Maruki's philosophy. The constant news of death, destruction, and despair painted a picture that was hard to argue with. The idea of a reality without suffering seemed like a dream—one worth fighting for.

As Y/N played deeper into the game, Maruki's final moments loomed before him. The character stood tall, making his last case for his utopia, urging the player to consider the value of a world free from suffering. Y/N leaned forward in his chair, fully immersed in the scene. He could almost hear the quiet rumble of his own thoughts in sync with Maruki's words.

"I want to create a reality where no one has to endure pain," Maruki's voice echoed in the game, a tone both pleading and resolute. "A world where we can all be happy."

Y/N stared at the screen, lost in thought. "That doesn't sound like a villain to me," he muttered aloud. He wondered why people in the game resisted Maruki's vision so vehemently. Sure, there was the question of free will, of whether it was ethical to reshape the world in such a way. But was free will really worth the suffering that came with it?

"Maybe... maybe they're the ones who are wrong," Y/N whispered to himself.

He leaned back in his chair, his eyes never leaving the screen. The world Maruki wanted to create—where no one had to suffer, where everyone could live in peace—wasn't just a fantasy to him. It was a possibility. Maybe not in the real world, but somewhere, somehow, there had to be a way to eliminate suffering for good.

Y/N felt a familiar pang in his chest, a mix of frustration and longing. He'd spent his entire life questioning the world, challenging the notion that suffering was inevitable, but he had never found a real answer. Maruki, though fictional, had given him something to hold onto—a belief that things could be different.

As the game's final scenes played out, Y/N watched Maruki's vision crumble under the weight of opposition. The world rejected his utopia, preferring the flawed reality they had always known. It left Y/N feeling hollow, like something had been ripped away from him.

"Why?" Y/N muttered. "Why do people choose suffering?"

He closed the game, staring at the blank screen as the weight of his thoughts settled over him like a thick fog. The question gnawed at him. Maruki had been right. There had to be a way to create a world without suffering. But how?

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his chest, interrupting his thoughts. Y/N gasped, clutching at his shirt as the pain grew more intense. His vision blurred, the room around him spinning violently. He staggered to his feet, trying to catch his breath, but his legs gave out beneath him, sending him crashing to the floor.

"W-what...?" His voice came out weak, barely a whisper, as darkness closed in around him. His body felt heavy, his limbs unresponsive. The last thing he saw was the flickering light of his computer screen before everything went black.

The next thing Y/N was aware of was a dull, rhythmic beeping. It was slow and steady, almost calming, but the sterile smell in the air and the coldness beneath his body jolted him into a state of confusion. His eyelids fluttered open, and he was met with the stark whiteness of a ceiling he didn't recognize.

'Where am I?'  he thought groggily. His body felt strange, almost foreign as if it wasn't his own. He tried to sit up, but his muscles resisted, and he slumped back down, exhausted by the effort.

"He's awake." A voice, calm and clinical, reached his ears.

Y/N blinked, his vision slowly focusing. He turned his head slightly, trying to make sense of his surroundings. He was in what looked like a futuristic medical room. Machines beeped rhythmically beside him, and strange devices he couldn't recognize lined the walls. Standing at the foot of his bed was a woman in a crisp white coat, her eyes scanning a tablet she held in her hands.

"You're lucky," she said, not looking up from the screen. "You collapsed during one of your shifts, but we managed to stabilize you."

Y/N's throat felt dry, and his voice came out hoarse. "Shift...?"

The woman glanced up, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, you were on your usual research shift when it happened. You've been unconscious for a while."

Research? The word echoed in his mind, but it didn't make sense. He wasn't a researcher. He wasn't even supposed to be here. Wherever here was.

He glanced around again, his eyes catching the emblem on the wall: Herta Space Station.

Herta Space Station. The name didn't trigger any memories. He had no idea what this place was or why he was here. But as he stared at his hands, now covered in the sleeves of a white lab coat, a sinking feeling settled in his gut. This wasn't his body.

Panic surged through him. He tried to speak, to ask questions, but his voice failed him. His mind raced as he pieced together what little he could remember. The pain in his chest. Collapsing in his apartment. The darkness.

'Did I... die? ' The thought was terrifying, but it was the only explanation that made sense. He had died, or at least come close to it. But somehow, he had ended up here, in this unfamiliar body, on a space station he had never heard of.

The woman must have noticed the confusion on his face because she stepped closer, her expression softening slightly. "You've been through a lot. It's normal to feel disoriented after such an experience. But don't worry, you're in good hands. Just focus on resting for now."

Y/N nodded weakly, though his mind was anything but at rest. His heart pounded as he tried to process what had happened. Was this reincarnation? Had he been reborn into someone else's body? It was too surreal, too unbelievable. And yet, here he was, alive—if that's what this was.

As the woman left the room, Y/N's thoughts turned inward. He wasn't sure how or why he had ended up in this new life, but one thing was clear: this was an opportunity. A chance to start over, to find meaning. And perhaps, just perhaps, a chance to make Maruki's vision of a world without suffering a reality.

Lying there in the sterile, silent room, Y/N closed his eyes. His old life was gone. But maybe, in this new one, he could finally create the world he had always dreamed of. A world where no one had to suffer.