001 | 1-1. The Cage of Perfection
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【To Our Readers: Concerning the Placement of This Work】 Thank you for reading the Main Story. This piece, “Episode-Zero: The Origin of the Pearl,” is set in September 2020, one year prior to Chapter 1 of the main volume, and depicts the initial encounter between Sarah and Kurosaki.
■ Relationship with the Main Story Where and how did Sarah and Kurosaki meet, and what led to the creation of the video platform “VANTABLACK” ? This episode serves as a crucial “key” to deeper enjoyment of the main story.
■ Which Should You Read First? Essentially, it is recommended to read this as a “corroboration” while following the main story, but it can also be fully enjoyed as a standalone prequel. The full picture of the narrative will gradually reveal itself.
Author: Mina_Underwater
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Chapter 1: Destiny Tied by the Deep
Without even realizing it, the man, Edward Kurosaki, had at some point begun breathing inside a cage named “perfection.”
Morning in Cairns brought a humid breeze peculiar to the tropics that rustled the roadside trees, while a dull light fell in patches across the distant surface of the sea. Even as he looked down at the vista from the top floor of his office, Kurosaki’s heart remained completely unmoved.
A 32-year-old young president hailed as a rising star of the IT world, leading “Black Dog,” a fintech firm headquartered right here in Cairns, Australia.
He was tall, with facial features as sharp and sculpted as a statue. Possessing talent and success that anyone would envy, he nevertheless constantly turned a blade upon himself.
“If it is not perfect, it has no value in existing.”
It was as if he had carved such a curse into his very soul. His cool, piercing gaze, his thoroughly calculated words, and an attitude that allowed for not a single slip of a margin crushed those around him rather than charming them.
The women who approached him trembled without exception at that sharp edge, and before long, they drew away. For Kurosaki, their departures brought neither surprise nor pain.
Solitude was merely an expense, paid for long ago as the price of success. That very Kurosaki had taken a vacation—a rare occurrence of just three days, though that in itself was an anomaly significant enough to become news within the company.
On the morning he headed for the airport, the sky over Cairns was unstable; thick clouds hung low, while occasionally the sunlight pierced through the overcast gaps like a blade.
Looking up at the weather through the car window, Kurosaki thought to himself—perhaps his own mind, much like this gloomy sky, was searching for a break in the clouds.
His destination was a villa nestled quietly in the mountains of New Zealand. That land, where the cold southern wind swept through, possessed a serenity that somehow resonated with the deepest depths of his heart.
Whether it was a place where his mind could find rest, or whether he was merely choosing it as a refuge, he did not know—
Breathing a heavy sigh that yet carried a faint hint of liberation, Kurosaki prepared for his journey.
