03. Ritual
He tosses the empty container onto the table, then tosses himself onto the bed.
His part-time job pays like shit, and the customers are worse than shit. He is barely scraping together enough credits to graduate, and his girlfriend has stopped answering him. The electric kettle is broken, and he even botched draining the hot water from his cup yakisoba.
He no longer has the energy to be angry.
Hunched like a mummy raising its head, he fiddles with his phone.
As he scrolls through his usual timeline, trying to calm himself, one post catches his eye.
“This seriously erased my memory!”
“Bullshit lol.”
He cannot tell whether it is a logo or some kind of mark, but apparently drawing the figure and praying over it can produce various effects. Detailed instructions follow.
Thinking it is ridiculous, he searches for paper and a pen.
He clears a space on the table, opens a notebook, and copies the figure while looking at his phone.
Somehow, he begins to feel refreshed.
He holds his palm over the notebook, straightens his posture, closes his eyes, and prays.
That day, the world's memories and records broke.