Chapter 1

The Beauty of Life (人生の美しさ) is the first chapter of the Ellipsis light novel.

Summary
A high-school girl is awakened within a void of darkness by the voice of a child. The child refers to the high-schooler as Sada, prompting her to regain fragments of her lost memories. As the child's voice becomes more clear, a shining light burns brighter in front of Sada. The child reveals itself as a perpetually burning spectre, touching Sada's neck while taunting her.

Sada wakes up from the ordeal, brushing it off as a nightmare. However, she quickly realizes she's in an unfamiliar swamp entirely naked and slathered in blood. Confused and afraid, she discovers a bizarre horn sprouting from her forehead. Trapped within the swamp by the surrounding quarry, she attempts to find a means to escape. As Sada investigates, she soon finds numerous others in the same predicament as herself. Finding a young American boy named Jimmy, Sada notices that Jimmy bears similar horns on his arms along with a bizarre brand on his neck.

More and more people begin to wake up within the swamp, crying and pleading for help. Once all one-hundred have awakened, a malicious voice rings throughout the entire quarry. The demonic voice welcomes them and explains that they are deceased souls now trapped in the Realm of Null: a purgatory between Heaven and Hell. It then tells Sada and the others that they will have to compete within the sacred Rings of Rebirth. Their first trial is escaping the swamp with their lives. Before disappearing, the voice hints that their salvation will be found on the "cusp of despair".

Upon leaving, two statues guarding a massive set of iron gates come to life. The chimeric demons named Gozu and Mezu respectively immediately set upon the people closest to the sealed gates, tearing them to pieces.