When Izumi touched the icon in the same way, the app booted and crashed in the same way. After that, a popup window opened.

What's this? "Warning"? Hmm. It looks like some of the tablets settings aren't playing nice with the app. It says that if we follow the instructions on the screen, we should be able to fix it. What do you want to do?

Brainwashed doll Rika: I don't really know much about these things. Izumi, please take care of it.
Izumi: Fine, leave it to me.

Izumi let Rika badger her into following the tablet's instructions.

Perhaps because of the unfamiliar operation, she got a little dizzy, but the instructions on the screen were incredibly simple, so Izumi was able to change the settings without much fuss.

That was rather easy. Rika, you probably could have handled it yourself.

Brainwashed doll Rika: You may be right. Hey, look. All that's left is to apply the settings.
Izumi: OK.

Upon tapping the OK button, the time until the settings would be applied was displayed, and a countdown began. 300...299...288...

(Just seconds? Don't these things normally display hours, minutes, seconds?

Rika...

Hey, no looking away from the tablet. I want to check the new settings as soon as possbile, so we have to test it out immediately after the countdown finishes.

So, watch for the moment that the countdown ends. Concentrate on it carefully so you don't miss it...

...Fine.

Izumi concentrated on the screen as Rika had asked. Before she knew it, the idea of looking away from the screen had entirely left her mind. Izumi sat there, almost as if she had forgotten how to move her neck.

The screen flickered with each dropping number. Her eyes blurred. Even so, she couldn't conceive of the solution of looking away from the screen. Izumi gazed into the screen, forgetting even to blink.

Something had been placed on her head. Izumi, unable to move her neck, had no way of resisting.

Her arms relaxed, and she forgot even how to move her hands.

The thing on her head began to pour sounds into her ears.

It was closer to a ringing in her ears than music.It was slightly out of sync with the countdown, and something about that made it echo throughout her head.

Look at the screen. Concentrate.

Through the sound, she heard Rika's voice. Since it was passing through the thing covering her ears, she began to hallucinate that she was being talked to from far, far away.

The numbers are going down. With each passing number, your consciousness disappears. Your consciousness is being absorbed by each number as it passes.

The numbers continued to drop. They kept dropping and they couldn't be stopped. Little by little, time marched on.

The numbers drop. Her mind goes numb. Her consciousness drains away. Rika's voice can be heard in the distance.

The numbers continue. Her thoughts leave her mind. In their place, bliss. Absolute bliss.

All she sees are the numbers. The sounds in her ears do not rouse her. The numbers consume her. The numbers are everything to her. It feels so good.

The numbers are me. I am the numbers. All I can feel are the numbers. The numbers are everything. I am the numbers.

The numbers are decreasing. I'm decreasing. I'm emptying. I can't stop it. Time marches on.

10...9...8
I hear Rika's voice. I'll go unconscious at 0. It will feel even better.

7...6...5...4...
A pleasant tingle washes through my head. It feels so good. It will feel even better at zero. Zero. Zero.

3...2...1...
I am the numbers. Soon I will be zero. When I am zero, I will be empty.

My mind goes blank.