Ray lived a life like a blank sheet of paper monotonous, quiet, and dull.
Each morning, he woke up in the same room, staring at the same ceiling, sipping instant coffee that tasted like cardboard. He stared at his phone with zero notifications and no job interview offers.
He had just graduated from college. He had the degree, but no job. His friends had started working, some were getting married, others moving on with life. But Ray he was still here, stuck in a loop that never changed.
"Is this really going to be my life forever?" Ray muttered, staring at his reflection on the dark phone screen.
That day was no different from the others. Or at least, so he thought.
By noon, he was hanging out at a roadside coffee stall, laughing half-heartedly with directionless friends, or just scrolling mindlessly through social media until late at night.
No dreams. No passion. No change. Ray's life was a repetition of yesterday, and the day before that. Nothing new. No surprises. And somehow, he was starting to get used to it.
That night, rain tapped gently against his bedroom window. The wind stirred the old curtain by the bed. Ray stared at the ceiling above the same one as always.
With tired eyes and a voice barely audible, he whispered, "If I disappeared tomorrow… would anyone even notice?"
No one answered.
Only the soft rain and the slow ticking of the wall clock kept him company.
Ray closed his eyes. Just like every other night. No hope, no dreams.
But that night… was different.
As his consciousness drifted into sleep, something beyond logic pulled him into a strange darkness.
A new world awaited.
A world too vast to comprehend.
A world that would give him… a reason to live.
When Ray opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was: the sky was different.
A deep blue stretched endlessly overhead, adorned with two small suns glowing faintly like lanterns hung at the ends of the world. There were no buildings, no cars, no people. Only the rustling of strange trees and the whisper of wind.
The air felt foreign. Sharper. Heavier. Alive.
Ray blinked several times, trying to process it all. He felt somehow lighter. Too light.
Slowly, he sat up and looked at his hands.
Small. Thin. Covered in old scars and whip marks.
This body… wasn't his.
Panic crept in, but before his mind could spiral into fear, a sharp pain slammed into his head a flood of memories that weren't his own.
Ray from Earth froze. His head throbbed violently, and like an unstoppable torrent, memories surged into him.
Visions that didn't belong to him, but felt too real.
As if the body refused to be forgotten.
This body's name… was also Ray.
And its fate was far too cruel for a child.
This twelve-year-old boy had suffered wounds that never healed.
That day…
The sky was overcast, and the village roads were muddy from last night's rain.
Ray stood silently by the roadside, watching with his own eyes…
The girl.
His childhood friend. The one who once promised beneath an old tree that they would marry one day.
She walked beside a nobleman.
The noble's robe was luxurious, his laughter carried through the air. The girl didn't even glance Ray's way, as if he never existed.
And that night…
Just as the lights dimmed and his family was preparing for sleep
The door was slammed violently.
"Where are your cards?!"
Voices of strangers roared.
They wore leather, some masked, all armed and hungry for power.
Ray's father tried to shield his mother.
But they were beaten. Dragged out. Forced to reveal the location of their "cards."
Ray just twelve years old could only freeze.
And Ray from Earth trembled. The flood of memories continued to crash into him.
That night, as flames devoured their home,
And his mother's screams mixed with the clang of weapons,
In the chaos of burning wood and falling debris,
A voice called out a voice he would never forget.
"Ray… run…! Don't look back…!"
His mother's voice.
Painful, but filled with a love only a dying mother could offer.
Ray's body froze.
His steps unsure, his mind blank.
But amid the noise metal clashing, screams, and roaring fire another cry pierced his heart.
"Ray… hurry! Hide! Don't let them catch you!"
That voice again.
Weak. Shaking. But firm.
Ray stumbled back. His legs barely held him upright. But that voice it pulled him out of the fog.
"Go… Ray…!"
He bit his lip until it bled, holding back his sobs.
He had to survive.
Ray ran. Breath ragged, eyes blurred with tears and smoke. He didn't look back. He couldn't.
His small feet dashed into the forest behind the house.
One thought in his mind: Run.
Run from the flames. From the screams.
He reached the riverbank. The river wasn't wide, but the current was strong.
"I have to survive…"
He stepped into the water. It was freezing. The current pushed hard against him. But he kept moving, pushing forward with what little strength he had.
But the body was too weak.
Right in the middle of the river, his vision darkened. His head felt light. His breath faded.
"Father… Mother…"
And then everything turned black.
The memories stopped there.