Darkness swallowed the horizon as thunder rolled across the sky like the steady beat of war drums. Lightning tore through the clouds again and again, endless and relentless, as if the heavens themselves were splitting apart.
Hah… hah… hah…
A young man struggled to breathe. The pressure in the air felt heavy, suffocating. Each rumble tightened around his chest like invisible chains.
"Aahh!"
A distant scream echoed—
—and everything shattered.
Beep… beep… beep…
Kael jolted upright in his bed, drenched in sweat. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he tried to steady his breathing.
Another dream.
Or maybe the same one.
He pressed a hand against his chest. The fear lingered, but like most dreams, the details slipped away the moment he tried to remember them.
Bzzt… bzzt…
His phone vibrated beside him.
Still catching his breath, he picked it up and read the notification:
"A Rare Universal Phenomenon is expected to occur in our world. Prepare yourselves. Three planets will merge, forming a new world — our new home."
Kael stared at the screen for a moment.
Then he locked it.
"Clickbait," he muttered quietly.
He had more important things to worry about.
He cooked a simple breakfast, ate in silence, then left for school.
At school, he went straight to his seat near the back of the classroom. His body felt heavy. Three hours of sleep after a full night shift at the construction site was never enough.
As the teacher's voice droned on in front of the class, Kael's eyelids slowly lowered.
Just a few minutes…
Thud.
Pain exploded at the back of his head.
A book fell to the floor beside him.
"Not my fault you can't dodge," someone laughed from behind.
Kael didn't turn around.
Four boys sat in the row behind him. They were known for their arrogance — loud, confident, untouchable.
"Hey, he's ignoring you," one of them said.
"Oh? Then let me try again."
Another book flew forward.
Thud.
"Sorry! You just really can't dodge, huh? Hahaha!"
A few classmates snickered.
Kael stared at his desk.
He said nothing.
"Hey! Are you deaf or just stupid?" the bully snapped.
Before anything could escalate further, the classroom door opened.
The teacher stepped inside.
Everyone hurried back to their seats.
The bullies clicked their tongues in annoyance.
Class resumed.
After school, Kael left quietly. As he walked down the street, he noticed something strange.
The four boys were following him.
He didn't react.
He simply continued walking.
When he reached the construction site and entered through the gate, they finally stopped.
Kael had been working there for a year.
The pay was higher than most part-time jobs, but the work was exhausting. Heavy materials.
Long hours. No comfort.
He endured it.
There was no one else to rely on.
The next morning, whispers followed him the moment he entered school.
Eyes lingered.
Phones were being hidden.
He sat down slowly.
"Did you know he works at a construction site?" a girl whispered.
"Yeah… that's disgusting. Covered in dirt and cement all day," another replied, laughing quietly.
Kael lowered his gaze.
Then—
"Hey."
It was the same classmate from yesterday.
"We saw the video."
Kael's fingers tightened slightly.
"You slipping while carrying cement. It's all over social media."
Laughter spread across the classroom.
Kael remained silent.
Above them, unnoticed at first, the sky began to darken.
The light from the windows dimmed.
Someone near the front gasped.
The ground trembled faintly.
Then again — stronger.
The bright morning turned into something unnatural. Shadows stretched across the room. The air felt heavy, wrong.
Panic erupted.
Students rushed outside. Some cried. Others turned on their phone flashlights.
Kael stood up slowly.
Outside, the sky was pitch black.
No stars.
No moon.
Only lightning ripping across the darkness.
Rumble… rumble…
The earth shook again.
People screamed in the distance.
"Aahh! Help!"
Kael felt it again.
That same tightness in his chest from his dream.
Hah… hah… hah…
He began walking home.
The world felt unfamiliar. The air vibrated with something unseen.
Lightning struck repeatedly, illuminating the streets in violent flashes.
And then—
A blinding light burst from his right side.
A deafening horn.
Everything happened in less than a second.
Impact.
Silence.
Darkness.
Where am I?
It was empty.
No sound.
No light.
Am I… dead?
His thoughts felt distant.
What a waste…
I never reached my dreams.
Since my parents died… I never really lived.
I never had friends.
Mama… Papa… I'm sorry.
A faint glow appeared in the distance.
It grew brighter.
Warmer.
Until it swallowed him completely.
When Kael opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a place beyond imagination.
Golden sunlight poured over endless fields. Trees with silver leaves swayed gently in a wind that carried no cold. Fruits of gold and crystal shimmered under the sky.
This wasn't Earth.
It felt peaceful.
Pure.
Complete.
A man stood in the distance.
He wore simple white garments, yet the air around him seemed to bend slightly, as if reality respected his presence.
"Good morning…" Kael called carefully. "Is this heaven?"
No response.
He tried again.
"Am I dead?"
The man slowly turned.
Kael immediately lowered his head.
The man's face shone too brightly to look at directly. It wasn't light that blinded — it was presence.
"You are like a fruit that fell from its tree," the man said gently. "You must rot first before you can grow."
Kael swallowed.
"I… don't understand."
"You will."
The man gestured toward a vast, empty field.
"Come. Help me plant these seeds."
Kael hesitated.
But something in the man's voice carried neither force nor command — only quiet certainty.
He followed.
As they planted seeds side by side, Kael felt something strange.
The weight in his chest disappeared.
The loneliness faded.
Time felt different there.
Soft.
Unmeasured.
Others soon appeared — confused, lost, just like him.
A young man.
A young woman.
The mysterious figure spoke to each of them in ways that felt deeply personal.
"Lost plants like you will be brought to my home," he told the young woman. "I will nurture you until you can stand on your own."
To the young man, he said:
"This place must be cared for. Growth requires responsibility."
Time passed.
When the fields were finally full of life, night fell gently.
The man turned to them one last time.
"When you wake, your duties will begin. Challenges will come. But you will grow."
The world faded.
Kael opened his eyes.
Sunlight burned against his vision.
He was lying on the forest floor.
Surrounded by towering trees.
Rumble… rumble…
His stomach growled.
He stood up slowly.
Nearby, he found a lake.
When he looked into the water—
He froze.
His hair was white.
His eyes were deep crimson.
"Aahh—!"
"You have nothing to fear," a voice echoed inside his mind.
Kael stumbled backward.
"Who are you?!"
"I am one of the World Voices. I am assigned to assist the chosen."
Before he could respond—
The forest trembled.
A massive shadow loomed behind him.
The air grew dense with killing intent.
"You are in danger. Would you like to activate Law Breaker?"
"What danger—?"
The creature stepped forward.
It was enormous.
Kael couldn't move.
"Emergency protocol initiated."
"Law Breaker activated."
Something shifted inside him.
The world slowed.
His body moved without hesitation.
In a single motion—
The creature shattered like broken crystal.
Silence returned to the forest.
Kael stood there, breathing slowly.
The world was no longer the same.
And neither was he.
To be continued.