A Snowy Day.
Stranded inside a building, I did what any technician would do in such a situation.
That is, I activated the emergency generator installed in the building.

Whiiirrrr—!

"…There we go."

The lights that had been extinguished flickered back on, and we, who had been trapped in the pure white darkness, returned to the world of light. Upon returning to the first-floor lobby, I let out a sigh of relief as I saw the now-functioning elevator.

"Shall we head up now, Gallum?"
"Scientist, just to be clear, earlier when you—"
"Earlier? What happened? I was so startled I must’ve forgotten whatever it was."

Gallum, who had called me a beast or some such thing earlier, gave me a disgruntled look. However, I simply responded with a wide grin, trying to placate him. Although I had managed to get the emergency generator running, there was no guarantee the elevator wouldn’t suddenly stop mid-ascent.

If, by chance, the elevator plummeted, the only one capable of saving me during freefall would be Gallum, with his muscles transcending physical limits, shrugging off a landing from several hundred meters. Ah, behold those magnificent muscles over there. In this primitive world, devoid of civilization, nothing is more valuable than that impressive form.

"Hmph… I’ll let it go this time."

Returning to the Evilus Corporation’s headquarters with Gallum, we arrived at the lab to find Aile and Bira fiddling with a gaming console in the corner. Their innocent expressions made it seem like they were completely oblivious to what had just transpired.

Well, it made sense. The lab was equipped with a perpetual energy device powering the AI. It could easily handle the lab’s electrical needs on its own.

"Oh—what’s this? You’re back already?"
"Oh, welcome back!"

Giving Aile a light flick on the forehead as she sneakily hid the gaming console behind her back and pretended to read a book, I plopped onto the sofa and briefed the two of them on our situation.

"The outside is completely blocked. The snowstorm’s so bad that returning isn’t an option."
"Ugh… But I need to go back to watch anime…"
"You can watch it here."
"The internet is down…"
"Ah."

I explained that the building’s power outage had likely extended to the entire area, suggesting that even the base station was down.

Upon hearing this, Aile looked as though I’d just told her the country had been invaded. She slumped onto the sofa, mumbling something about playing games to cheer herself up.

Leaving the limp, mollusk-like Aile to her gaming console, I continued my conversation with Bira.

"There’s the Gate, right? Can’t we use that to get back?"
"The Gate is currently being used by Arima…"
"Arima? Why? What’s going on?"
"The moment the snow started, she went on leave to visit her hometown. It’s one of those places where it never snows, year-round."
"Can’t she just open and close it remotely?"
"It’s not free, you know? Besides, we’re out of fuel…"

And the one responsible for refueling the Gate? Arima herself, the mage who had promptly taken leave and disappeared to her faraway hometown.

Hearing about Arima’s absence for the first time, Bira clicked her tongue and muttered, "If Arima were here, she could resolve this easily."

"How?"
"She’s a mage. If she can summon lightning from a clear sky, surely she could turn a blizzard into clear weather too."

It was an utterly irresponsible remark, but I couldn’t help but agree. If anyone could fix this bizarre weather phenomenon, it would be Arima, the grand mage capable of altering the heavens and the earth.

On a normal day, she might have whined about lacking mana, but given this was a trip to another world—a mana-rich dimension—there would have been no reason for her to conserve it.

"So, should we go and find Arima?"
"And how long would that take? There’s no AI on her side to help track her down. By the time you find her, the blizzard might already be over."
"Fair point…"
"Let’s just stay here and have fun for the day! What’s the worst that could happen? There are four executives of Evilus here, after all!"
"But I really want to go home and watch anime…"

While Bira laid out her grand plan, Aile alone continued to whine. Soon after, Gallum returned, drying his fur, and joined us. The four of us huddled together, enjoying an impromptu retreat. We had plenty of food and drink, thanks to the other executives stockpiling supplies in my lab like magpies hoarding shiny trinkets.

As the gathered executives nibbled on snacks and sipped drinks, the conversation naturally turned to the damned weather anomaly.

"How long is this cursed snowstorm planning to last?"
"Isn’t this the scientist’s fault?"
"Bira, we already covered this topic earlier."
"Oh, did we?"
"More importantly, why do you always assume these things are my fault…"

As expected, the discussion veered into scientist-bashing.

"If someone could create a snowstorm of this magnitude, they’d definitely qualify as an S-class superhuman."
"More like above S-class! The whole world is in chaos from this snowstorm!"
"Doesn’t that seem strange, though? There are cities that stay warm year-round…"
"Which is why it’s a weather anomaly! Or maybe it’s an actual villain attack?"
"At least it’s not a scientific issue."

The debate shifted to the level of power needed to sustain such a vast snowstorm.

"I’m telling you, this kind of planetary climate chaos couldn’t happen overnight just from simple technological development. There must have been signs. People aren’t so dumb that they wouldn’t notice."
"So, you’re saying this isn’t a natural phenomenon but an artificial one? There’s no record of anyone using superpowers on this scale before. Unless it’s some SSS-class superhuman…"
"Bira, you might not know this, but such beings do exist in this world."
"What? Me, not know— I’ve experienced way more than you—"
"Pl-please, both of you, stop fighting…"

The argument was interrupted.

Flicker, flicker.
"Ahhhhhh!"
"What the—!?"
"Your screaming is scarier, Aile…"

The lights flickered a few times before stabilizing, ending the commotion.

Late at night.
It was a dark hour, with neither sunlight nor moonlight to illuminate the world.

Noticing that the white madness staining the window was no longer visible, I cautiously attempted to open it, thinking the snow might have stopped. However, the window refused to budge. Even after grunting and straining with all my might, it remained immovable.

"Uuuunngh—!"
"Pfft, hahahaha! A man can’t even open a window? I keep telling you to work out! Move aside. This big sister will—oh, what the—?"
"Both of you, step aside. Weaklings."

It wasn’t until Gallum arrived, tearing the window open with brute force, that we finally understood why it wouldn’t open—and why the world outside had been pitch black, completely obscured.

"The window…."
"Ice?!"

Outside the window, snow had solidified into layers of ice several centimeters thick. Considering we were on a floor dozens of stories above ground level, the sheer amount of snowfall was incomprehensible.

With a casual flick, Gallum knocked chunks of ice off the window, letting them tumble downward. Peeking outside, he quickly pulled back, his face covered in powdery snow.

"I can’t even guess how much has piled up."
"Let’s head downstairs for a closer look."
"I’m coming with you."

Gallum and I descended to the first floor. Watching the elevator operate in silence, I felt an unusual sense of foreboding in the awkward quiet—a primal instinct I hadn’t experienced since arriving in this world.

Thunk! The elevator came to a stop on the first floor, accompanied by a jarring vibration unbecoming of such a supposedly high-end device.

Gallum must have sensed something was off, too; he stared intently at the doors, his expression taut with tension. A moment later, the doors slid open to reveal… a massive wall.

"This is…"
"…Oh, great."

It was a wall of snow.

In other words, the relentless blizzard had filled the entire first floor of the building.

To sum it up in one word:

"Unbelievable…"

The door opened, and all we saw was a wall of snow.

[Urgent… report… the damage caused by unprecedented snowfall is…]
[Citizens… please… stay indoors as much as… possible…]
[An unprecedented… anomaly… survivors… all deceased…]

"Hey, the TV’s working."

In the lab’s interior, while Eight and Gallum were downstairs, Bira and Aile were the only ones left. They stared wide-eyed at the faint, flickering audio from the TV.

Though the signal cut in and out, rendering most of the broadcast incomprehensible, one thing was clear: the situation was far from normal.

Gulp.

The two exchanged uneasy glances, swallowing nervously.

It dawned on them that this might not merely be a bizarre weather anomaly…

…but a glimpse of something far greater.

The fragment of humanity’s extinction.