Who Says Game Developers Can't Save the World?

On a business trip, an employee of Black and White Games brings thirteen character cards to this world.

Looking at the shattered world before him, he rubs his chin, takes out a brand-new character card, and starts his half-hearted work routine.

*

Before the famous detective became famous, he found someone exactly like himself.

First month:

They shared an umbrella, food, a home, and a bed.

His Chishu had been wandering for so long that he refused to reveal his secret, no matter what.

First year:

They shared birthdays, secrets, and honors.

His Chishu finally agreed to open the door to his heart just a crack, allowing family inside for a little while.

Fifth year:

The famous detective used his eyes to discover the little detective's greatest secret.

He earned the right to knock on that door whenever he wanted.

Eighth year:

At last, they were inseparable, openly declaring to the world that they were partners.

They swore an undying love to fate as lovers.

[Savior: Scholar]

He comes from the deepest darkness and embraces absolute justice.

Filthy or pure, base or noble, eternal or fleeting, he will always be the brightest guide in the daylight.

*

A soul born from winter snow is loved by all things, yet cruelly robbed by fate of the ability to feel emotions.

But in childhood, he meets a cloud destined to leave him.

That dark cloud patiently teaches the clumsy child, step by step, how to be a normal person. He studies earnestly, but he's still too foolish.

Long after the dark cloud leaves him in a snowy night, the hollow child still hasn't learned how to welcome others with a sincere heart.

He only smiles, standing among the crowd with the gentlest, kindest expression, waiting for the future promised by some cloud as it vanished: perhaps they will meet again.

But before he can reunite with his best friend, someone gets there first, using this body to seal a pitch-black heart inside the hollow one's chest.

[Onlooker: Knight]

He chases the light, from birth to death, from brilliance to darkness. He will always love that light.

Darkness pursues him, from past to future, from collapse to annihilation. His soul has long been wrapped in the bonds of sin.

*

“In this pitch-black world, we weaklings can't do anything.”

Watching the snowflake tremble, terrified of losing what it loves, the boy who has never known freedom smiles brilliantly at his beloved for the first time in a long while, in the final moment of his life.

“Actually, I really do like clouds.”

Desperate cries cannot hold on to a body slowly rotting away. With his life, he gives his beloved one last blessing.

…

“Life and death have always gone hand in hand. Death gives rise to life, and life brings death to an end. My dear, we've always been together, and always will be.”

“Of course. I've never been a coward.”

Above the ruins, the white-haired boy who brought destruction and screams stands before the tower. He lifts blood-red eyes and smiles at the person before him with a familiar face.

“Long time no see. How about a hug to celebrate our reunion?”

“After all, ”

“I'm him.”

[Fallen: Two-Faced Ghost]

He learns the truth of freedom through death. Then he secretly makes use of Hell several times, using his hatred of himself to return to this world without a sound.

*

[██: Liar]

“You were born to rule the darkness.”

The shadows say, “What you see reflected in your eyes is the true form of all things after their fall.”

“True knowledge lies in admitting ignorance.”

Someone sighs: “You carry the marks of the past. They are a brand that cannot be removed.”

“Courage lies in accepting fear.”

Someone questions him: “Your methods still resemble the shadows.”

“Victory lies in facing the darkness.”

Someone uneasily says, “Even pure light can blind. Perhaps you take things too far.”

Laughter rises from the abandoned abyss and echoes along the edge of pure white.

“You think you have chosen the path of martyrdom, but you should know that this is merely the tyranny of light. And tyranny, dear child, is still the form you and I knew best at the beginning.”

The maxim travels through the world on fluttering pages, whispering amid fear and despair.

“Dear child, come. You will eventually return to, ”

*

…

A girl with outspread wings sings a song. A red-haired young man raises a greatsword. In the maelstrom called fate, they meet a boy who has lost his soul, recognize one another, and fight to the death.

“We choose the light. We reject the shadows.”

“We will save all people from the world, and save everything from purgatory.”

-

A young man with feathered ears takes out a blank sheet of paper. A girl with honey-colored, slit-pupil eyes dances in a tower. They wander and laugh between black and white, trying to find a loophole in victory.

“We fear nothing. We are invincible.”

“The selfish collector gets everything, while the obsessive savior embraces eternal sleep.”

-

A silver-haired curse spirit recites a poem of dreamwalking. A monk bearing the weight of pain prays with his eyes closed. A monster, neither human nor object, having reforged its evil intentions in purgatory, opens its eyes.

“Returning from death, enduring through pain.”

“Those who submit to fear are understandable; those who fall to the devil are only doing what comes naturally.”

…

In the Nth year of his business trip, the employee counts the character cards he hasn't used yet: [Photographer] [Trader] [Gladiator] [Liar] […]

Only then does he realize he has used less than half of his character cards.

Employee: “Wow, I'm amazing.”

The other employees, sent over by the boss to help: “...Wow, did you save all those character cards for us?”

…

Reading guide and content warnings:

1. No secret identities are revealed in the story. The protagonist's colleagues arrive to help in the middle and later parts.

2. Some original settings are included, such as fake replacements, fake incest, fake love triangles, and amnesia. Basically, they're all the author's personal preferences. [Apologies for any out-of-character moments.]

3. The secret identities have rather melodramatic plotlines with one another, such as Secret Identity A loving Secret Identity B, while Secret Identity B's unrequited love is Secret Identity C, and so on.

4. Some secret identities are misunderstood in a way that makes others think they've become more enlightened.

5. Bottom-focused. See the character list for the specific relationship pairings.

Theme: Countless versions of you are desperately trying to save you, so never give up on the road to saving yourself