On a hot summer day, busy streets were filled with people as a young man wearing cool clothes and loose pants walked along the path. He stopped at the crossing, waiting for the traffic light to turn green, a chilled Coke in one hand, taking small sips while waiting. His name was Vyom Sen—shortly, Yom.
Following his usual daily routine, he waited patiently, casually scrolling through his phone when suddenly a man passed by him. Nothing unusual, or so it seemed.
That man, always in a hurry, crossed the pathway. But suddenly, something changed. He stopped midway on the road and began clutching his head, groaning in pain. His steps were unsteady, and he seemed to lose focus. People around him were startled, but as if that wasn't enough, a truck was speeding toward him. People shouted and screamed for him to move, but he stood frozen, as though he couldn't hear anyone.
Yom wanted to save him, but when he started to take action, it already seemed too late. Just a few inches before the truck reached him, the man suddenly awakened from his stupor, turned, and raised his hand as if expecting something to happen—but realization dawned on him. As if already tired of another unexpected failure, he simply stopped trying. His lips curved into a peaceful smile, as though he had accepted something. As if death approaching him was strangely calm—like a fool walking straight into the truck.
Nobody understood what he was trying to do, but with every passing second he got closer to death. Yom rushed toward him to help, but the man began laughing madly and muttered,
"So even time beyond… I will fail."
"That's why nobody believes and stops him…"
"Even so, I will change it…"
Just as he continued uttering incomprehensible words, Yom reached him and tried to make him support himself while others called for an ambulance. The man continued speaking:
"Na, let's leave… I'm already too tired."
"So before I meet this peaceful fate…"
"Let's create a variable."
While bleeding, he grabbed Yom's hand and said, "I don't know how you will utilize it, but try your best and be at your freest. Also, don't believe… nothing is free." His hand grew limp as he lost strength. He weakly raised a finger toward Yom, and a spark—like an electric charge—shot out and pierced into Yom's mind.
Drowsiness overwhelmed him, and he collapsed unconscious.
That man, as if finally meeting his end, died with his eyes closed and a peaceful smile on his face. People crowded around as the ambulance arrived.
A strange incident—sensational for a moment—was soon forgotten by the public except for a few small news lines.
IN THE HOSPITAL
Yom opened his eyes with a headache but managed to regain clarity and focus. He felt something more—something strange—but kept still. Within minutes, doctors and nurses arrived and checked on him. After a few tests, they found him stable. Despite the hospital's insistence, he left that same day.
What shocked him was learning that he had been unconscious for ten straight days.
2 days later in his apartment
Yom organized everything that had happened to him since that incident and was shocked beyond belief. That person was a reborn—someone who had already experienced the doomsday—and it meant he had come from the future.Which meant only one thing: the future doomsday was on its way now.
And it wasn't far.It was coming in less than a year… or more precisely, he had only a few months to prepare.
What unsettled him even more was the nature of that doomsday. It wasn't limited to zombies or similar disasters. It involved a myriad of realms converging together, causing unnatural changes—almost as if the entire world would transform, altering the very rules by which it operated.
But in the coming times, only power will not be enough. Not numbers either. Wisdom will matter the most.
Yom decided what he needed to ensure his survival. For that, an unnatural path was required—something against the odds—a trump card. Not just one, but multiple.
If one wasn't enough, then two… even more. Four, five, or as many as possible. Something he could always rely on, because from the memories he received, people died due to the unexpected. Even the powerful fell because of it.
These memories belonged to Hector, a journalist. Later, he gained an opportunity and obtained an ability similar to spatial travel, which saved him countless times. Although he wasn't overwhelmingly strong, when it came to roaming the world, he was never left behind. The amount of information he possessed was incredible. Unfortunately, he was eventually trapped—but it seemed he found a way to return to the past. In the end, he probably no longer wanted to struggle in the cycle of life, death, and constant running.
But Yom wanted to be prepared. He would walk the path Hector once thought about—the path Hector believed impossible—yet one that could only be created at the very beginning of the doomsday.
Silently thanking Hector for the information, Yom stepped outside the apartment.