One rainy night, while re‑reading the first volume, a stray lightning strike hits the shop’s old fluorescent lights. The resulting surge causes a glitch in the shop’s antiquated computer system, and a opens in the middle of Mami’s copy of Starlight Guardians . The rift pulls her into a parallel world that looks exactly like the manga’s panels—bright colors, exaggerated physics, and characters who seem aware they’re part of a story.