Darkness filled Raazi's room.
It was 12 noon. Books about time travel and novels were scattered across his desk.
He slowly opened his eyes and murmured,
"Again… that same bad dream."
He sat up on the bed and thought silently,
"I get this dream every year…"
Raazi opened the window, got ready, and left the house to go somewhere. As he walked, a strange thought crossed his mind:
"This will probably be my final destination."
His face turned slightly sad.
Ahead of him walked two mysterious people. Their clothes were red and yellow, and their faces were covered.
Raazi thought,
"Could they be from another world?"
Suddenly, one of them ran toward him and hugged him tightly. Raazi was shocked. Controlling himself, he asked,
"Do we know each other?"
The person said nothing and only cried while hugging him. From the voice, Raazi realized it was a girl.
The second person, standing beside her, said in a cold and mysterious tone,
"Nia… that's enough. Step away."
The girl slowly calmed down and looked at Raazi.
"Why has your hair turned black? And why have you become so thin?"
The mysterious person placed a hand on her shoulder. She stopped talking and said sadly,
"Let's go now…"
Raazi thought,
"Someone is playing another prank on me again."
He rudely walked past them and left.
At the bus stop, Raazi stood quietly. Two college students were talking nearby.
"Did you hear today's latest news?"
"Yes, but is it really true?"
The bus arrived. Raazi boarded it and sat in the last seat. He opened his phone and checked the news. After reading it, he thought,
"Everyone has to die one day anyway."
Outside the window, he admired the beautiful scenery—huge mountains and deep forests.
Suddenly, he noticed the trees and the ground shaking. Fear crept in. He closed his eyes.
When Raazi opened his eyes again, he was lying on a bed. His vision was blurry. His entire body was covered with wounds. A black scarf was wrapped around his shoulder, stained with blood. Pain spread through his body.
The walls around him were made of mud. He was lying on the ground.
"How did I get here?" he wondered, but he couldn't remember anything.
An old woman entered and said kindly,
"Good… you're finally awake."
She was wearing torn traditional clothes. Raazi tried to move but couldn't.
"Don't try to move," the old woman said.
Just then, a child around 9 or 10 years old came in, calling her "Grandmother."
Raazi asked weakly,
"Can you call a hospital? If this pain continues, I'll die."
The old woman looked confused.
"Don't worry. I've already applied medicine. You'll recover soon. But… what is a hospital?"
Raazi thought,
"They don't even know what a hospital is?"
He asked,
"Grandmother… what is the name of this place?"
She replied,
"First recover. You'll understand everything in time."
The grandmother and the child stepped outside. The boy asked,
"Grandmother, why did you save him? Because of him, we could have died too."
She gently placed her hand on his head and smiled.
"Don't be afraid. Our prophecy has come true."
When Raazi finally stepped outside, sunlight fell softly on his face.
In front of him were 10 to 15 houses made of mud. Huge trees, 50–60 feet tall, surrounded the area. He was shocked.
He tried to recall his memory.
"I was on a bus… that's all I remember."
The same boy came running toward him, breathing heavily.
"Would you like to come with me?" he asked.
Raazi nodded without thinking.
As they walked, Raazi saw people farming—old men, young men, women.
The boy introduced himself,
"My name is Sain."
Raazi thought,
"That sounds like a character from a novel."
Sain asked,
"What is your name?"
"My name is Rajesh… but you can call me Raazi."
They walked and talked for a long time. It felt like a strong friendship was forming.
They reached a place where even sunlight couldn't reach. Raazi felt uneasy. Sain held his hand and led him forward.
They arrived at a beautiful river glowing with light. Colorful fish and flowers floated on the surface.
Raazi dipped his hand into the water and felt powerful energy flowing through him.
Sain smiled.
"It's a wonderful place. I come here sometimes."
Sain started bathing. Raazi looked around, still feeling strange.
He noticed a tree with two green fruits. As he moved closer—
Suddenly, his body froze.
His vision changed.
He saw blood everywhere. A giant sword covered in blood came crashing down toward him. Screams echoed around him, piercing his ears. The pain felt real.
He screamed and collapsed, covering his ears.
He snapped back to reality, drenched in sweat. Sain stood beside him, confused.
"What happened? You were standing here the whole time."
Raazi said nothing.
Sain moved toward the fruits, but Raazi grabbed his hand and pulled him back.
"Let's leave."
Sain asked,
"Why are you sweating so much?"
Then he noticed the black scarf.
"Whose scarf is that? It has blood on it."
"I don't know," Raazi said. "When I woke up, I was already wearing it."
Raazi washed the scarf in the river. As the blood dissolved, it felt as if something alive was hidden within it.
They started leaving.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake. Something massive was approaching.
"Run!" Sain shouted.
They ran and hid behind a giant tree, breathing heavily.
Raazi asked,
"Why did we run?"
Sain replied in fear,
"We barely escaped death."
Before Raazi could understand, the giant tree in front of them was sliced in half with a single blow.
They slowly turned around.
Behind them stood a horrifying creature—
A giant frog-like monster with four to five tongues, terrifying eyes, and a body colored half green and half red.
It moved so fast that they couldn't even react.
Hidden nearby, a mysterious man watched them with his face covered.
He whispered,
"I sent a NEN-rank monster to kill them."
With a strange smile, he disappeared.
The monster trapped Raazi and Sain in a dark illusion—black swamp everywhere, disgusting and lifeless. The monster grabbed them with its tongues and examined them closely, as if searching for someone.
Raazi trembled in fear.
The monster threw him violently. Raazi broke free from the illusion—but a sharp wooden branch pierced into his stomach.
He slowly pulled it out, trying to stand.
Behind him, Sain screamed in pain as the monster tightened its grip.
Raazi turned back…