The respawn screen glowed like it was mocking him — like it had already decided he would lose again.
Ahkun leaned forward in his chair, controller gripped tightly in both hands, eyes locked onto the screen as the boss towered over his character's corpse for the seventh time in a row. The pixelated monster roared triumphantly before fading into the loading animation.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
He dropped the controller onto his desk and leaned back, staring at the ceiling. The faint hum of his laptop fan filled the silence of his room. Empty noodle cups sat stacked beside his monitor like a small monument to poor life decisions, while posters of his favorite anime characters lined the walls, watching him with unwavering confidence he definitely didn't share at that moment.
Beside his monitor sat a slightly chipped figurine of a swordsman from an older anime series — one he had saved three months of allowance to buy years ago. The figure's blade had snapped once and been glued back carefully. He never replaced it.
Ahkun dragged a hand down his face.
"I almost had it that time…"
He glanced back at the screen, watching the loading bar crawl forward like it had all the time in the world. The boss fight wasn't impossible. He had memorized the patterns, calculated the timing, even practiced defensive counters. But one mistake—just one—and everything collapsed.
With a long exhale, he pushed the keyboard aside and opened his streaming tab.
"Break time," he muttered.
Rows of anime thumbnails filled the screen instantly, vibrant colors splashing across his dimly lit room. This was his escape. Where logic bent, where strategy met imagination, where characters clawed their way out of impossible odds through sheer determination.
His cursor hovered over a new episode from one of his favorite series before a notification chimed softly in the corner of the screen.
A small pop-up window blinked into existence.
Unknown URL.
Ahkun frowned.
"…What's this?"
He moved the cursor over it, hesitating for only a second before clicking.
The screen shifted smoothly, redirecting him to a sleek, unfamiliar marketplace interface. Dark-themed. Polished. Minimalistic. Rows of digital collectibles filled the page.
Characters.
Not generic ones either. Highly detailed, vividly rendered characters that looked like they had been pulled straight out of animated worlds. Each one stood posed inside a glowing frame, their expressions frozen yet strangely lifelike.
Ahkun leaned closer to the screen.
"Wait…"
His eyes widened slightly when he spotted one in particular.
It was a character from one of his all-time favorite anime series. The resemblance was uncanny—not an exact replica, but close enough that any fan would immediately recognize the inspiration. The sharp eyes. The battle-worn cloak. The subtle scar across the cheek.
It looked… real.
He clicked it.
The page expanded smoothly, displaying the character in full detail. Beneath the image was a simple label:
Soul Token
Ahkun raised an eyebrow.
"'Soul Token,' huh?"
Below it sat a short description.
*Characters bound to their worlds. Possession grants access beyond the boundary.*
He let out a quiet chuckle.
"Yeah… sure it does."
Still, he scrolled further, studying the model from different angles. The craftsmanship was insane. The eyes alone looked disturbingly alive.
A strange thought crossed his mind, making him tilt his head slightly.
It almost felt like the image was breathing.
Ahkun blinked and shook his head.
"Okay… that's creepy."
He glanced at the price tag. It wasn't cheap, but it wasn't outrageous either. He had spent more on limited edition game skins before without thinking twice.
He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms.
"This is stupid."
A pause.
"…But it's kinda cool."
Another pause.
"…And it's my favorite character type…"
He sighed heavily, already knowing he had lost the argument with himself.
"Whatever. One purchase isn't going to kill me."
Ahkun completed the transaction.
The confirmation animation rippled across the screen like water disturbed by a falling pebble. The character portrait flickered once, very subtly, before stabilizing again.
He squinted.
"…Did that just—"
The monitor dimmed for a split second.
Then the Soul Token pulsed.
Ahkun froze.
The glow wasn't bright, but it was unmistakable. A soft shimmer spread across the edges of the image, expanding outward like faint ripples through glass.
"…Okay. That's definitely not normal."
The air in his room felt heavier.
Not hot. Not cold. Just… dense.
Ahkun slowly stood up from his chair, his gaze locked onto the screen. The light from the Soul Token grew slightly stronger, flickering in uneven rhythms like a heartbeat struggling to find balance.
The edges of his monitor began to blur.
He blinked hard.
"What the hell…?"
The blur spread.
His desk stretched unnaturally, warping like it was being viewed through distorted water. The posters on his wall bent inward, their colors smearing into unfamiliar shapes. The low hum of his laptop deepened into a warped vibration that rattled through his chest.
Ahkun stumbled back.
"This isn't funny."
This had to be a virus. A graphics glitch. A dream. Anything except what his instincts were screaming at him.
The glow erupted.
The Soul Token flared with sudden intensity, its light spilling across the room like liquid silver. The floor beneath his feet rippled violently, breaking apart into shards of darkness that swallowed the familiar world piece by piece.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
"Wait—! STOP!"
His voice twisted as it left his mouth, stretching into distorted echoes that bounced through the collapsing space around him. The ceiling shattered into fragments of fading light. Gravity twisted sideways, dragging him forward as if invisible hands had latched onto his body.
The glow swallowed him whole.
Silence.
Then—
Cold air slammed into his lungs.
Ahkun coughed violently, his body hitting solid ground with enough force to knock the breath from his chest. He rolled onto his side, gasping, his hands clutching at rough stone beneath him.
The scent hit him next.
Smoke.
Metal.
And something faintly rotten carried on the wind.
He forced himself upright, his head spinning as his vision slowly steadied. The sky above him stretched wide and pale, streaked with thin gray clouds drifting sluggishly across an unfamiliar horizon.
Ahkun blinked.
Massive walls loomed in the distance.
They stretched impossibly high.
Their surfaces were scarred with cracks and patches of reinforced plating.
Watchtowers lined the top like jagged teeth.
Soldiers paced along the edges. Their movements were sharp. Disciplined.
Beyond the walls, he could hear it.
A distant roar.
Deep.
Monstrous.
His stomach dropped.
Closer to where he stood, narrow streets twisted between tightly packed stone buildings. The structures looked old, worn by time and necessity rather than design. People moved hurriedly through the alleys, their clothing rough and utilitarian, their faces tired, wary.
None of them noticed him.
Ahkun slowly pushed himself to his feet, his legs unsteady.
"…This isn't…"
His voice barely came out as more than a whisper.
He turned slowly, scanning the towering walls again. The massive iron gates built into them. The soldiers stationed along every visible route. The tension hanging in the air like a storm waiting to break.
Another distant roar echoed across the sky, louder this time.
Ahkun's chest tightened as realization crept in.
"This isn't my world…"
His fingers trembled slightly as he stared at the towering barricades meant to hold back something far worse than he could imagine.
"…Where did you send me?"
The wind carried another guttural howl from beyond the walls.
Ahkun swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on the horizon as a chilling certainty settled into his bones.
Wherever he was…
He wasn't safe.
And he had no way back.
---