A young man who looked sleepy and exhausted sat on a wooden bench in a park.
He held a burger in his hand. Looking at the burger in his hand, Kayen couldn't hold himself back any longer.
With saliva in his mouth, Kayen lifted the burger and immediately took his first bite… Instantly, a satisfied expression appeared on his face.
Without waiting long, Kayen took another bite. Chewing and swallowing it, then taking yet another bite.
It continued like that, until the final bite finally came. With hesitant hands, Kayen put the last piece of the burger into his mouth.
'Damn, I could only afford this one burger.'
With that thought, this time he chewed slowly, as if afraid that this simple moment of pleasure would end too quickly. But in the end, he still swallowed it, bringing his temporary happiness to an end.
"Sigh, it's gone…" Kayen said in a regretful tone.
Then, using the wrapper that had previously covered the burger, he wiped the sauce left at the corner of his mouth. After cleaning himself, he stood up from the bench.
With the wrapper still in his hand, Kayen walked toward where the trash can was. After judging the distance to be enough, he crumpled it up and immediately threw the wrapper…
"Damn, it didn't go in."
Only for a sudden gust of wind to appear, shifting its trajectory and causing it to fall quite far from the trash can. Too lazy to pick it up, Kayen decided to return to the bench.
However, as soon as he sat down, Kayen could feel as if someone was staring at him, making him uncomfortable.
Looking left and right, he only saw people going about their usual activities in the park, not paying any attention to Kayen who had just littered.
'Am I hallucinating?'
Feeling that he was only hallucinating due to exhaustion, Kayen decided to relax his body against the bench. Intending to sleep one last time.
"Cough"
However, before he truly fell asleep, Kayen heard a heavy cough behind him.
Curious about the sound, Kayen opened his eyes.
After opening them, he saw a large shadow blocking the sunlight, and he couldn't help but look back.
'What the—?'
Looking back, a dark blue color filled his vision. Looking up, Kayen could see the face of a man who looked displeased. Looking even higher, Kayen saw that the man was wearing a police hat.
'Police?'
Kayen fell silent for a moment, trying to think about what was happening. After thinking for a few moments, he immediately understood the situation. Kayen quickly stood up from the bench and walked toward the burger wrapper he had thrown carelessly.
Kayen picked up the wrapper and immediately threw it properly into the trash can.
He then looked toward the police officer who had looked displeased earlier. Now the officer gave Kayen a thumbs-up and wore a proud expression.
Seeing the situation turn good, Kayen decided to return to his bench. Seeing this, the officer also sat on the same bench as Kayen.
Kayen, who had intended to continue sleeping, now couldn't because the atmosphere felt too awkward for him to sleep.
Glancing at the officer from the corner of his eye, Kayen intended to start a conversation. After all, he would die today, so interacting one last time didn't seem bad.
However, before he could begin, the officer removed his hat, revealing his black hair. While holding the hat in his hand, he extended his other hand.
"My name is Noah…" the officer said, still holding out his hand.
"Uhhh… My name is Kayen." Kayen replied, quite surprised that the officer had started the conversation first.
"Kayen? That's a unique name." Hearing Kayen's name, the officer showed an interested expression.
"…Haha, actually there's quite a funny story behind my name." Kayen said, drawing more of the officer's attention.
"Ohh… May I hear it?"
"Of course," Kayen said.
Kayen yawned sleepily first, then began to briefly explain the story behind his name. "When I was just born, I was supposed to be named Kai by my mother. But my mother, who was too exhausted after giving birth, accidentally added 'en' when saying the name Kai."
"So, my name can also be said as Kai en." In a shy tone, Kayen introduced his second name.
Noah chuckled softly, a laugh that sounded sincere. "Your mother was creative. At least your name has a unique history, Kai en. Better than a common name."
After saying that, Noah then asked in a worried tone, "But, Kayen… you look really terrible. Your face is pale, your eyes are red. How long has it been since you slept?"
Kayen fell silent, thinking about whether he should tell the truth or not. After a while, he finally made his decision.
"It's been three days since that voice appeared in my dream."
Noah, who had been wearing a friendly expression, was instantly replaced by tension. As a police officer, he knew exactly what this meant.
"The voice… that notification? You were chosen to undergo the descent?"
"Yes." Kayen answered, his voice filled with drowsiness.
Noah immediately grabbed his radio and turned it on. He quickly reported what he had just heard into the radio, not thinking at all that it might just be a lie.
"We have a chosen one at…" Noah said while informing his current location.
….
Several decades ago.
Millions of people suddenly dreamed of being chosen to undergo a trial called descent.
At first, not much attention was given to it, only a few people were interested in this dream. The rest just thought it was an ordinary nightmare.
However, when these "chosen" people went to sleep, at dawn, their existence could no longer be found, as if they had never existed at all.
Instantly, the world that had once been peaceful was struck by mass panic. If it were dozens or hundreds, it might still be explained logically, but millions of people suddenly disappearing was not something that could be explained by logic.
Governments that received this news immediately tried to find out what was really happening.
However, while the world was still in panic, in the places where the people who had died during descent disappeared, the monsters that killed them replaced their spots, and without delay they attacked the humans around them.
Facing the sudden monster attacks, the national military forces were completely unprepared and were quickly overwhelmed.
However, when the national military was on the verge of collapse, marking the destruction of humanity, the awakened—those who successfully completed their first descent and returned safely—appeared.
Using the powers they had awakened, the awakened immediately stopped the monsters' rampage, restoring the peace that once existed.
However, everyone knew that this was only the beginning. Therefore, the government immediately pressured schools to focus on teaching survival and combat skills, to increase the chances of successfully completing their descent.
Of course, those who were wealthier and had higher status usually asked an Awakened to teach them, which would increase their chances of success if chosen.
As for Kayen, he had no one and nothing. He had never even gone to school. There was nothing he could rely on to successfully undergo his descent. Which meant Kayen would certainly die.
Someone chosen for descent would generally have two responses. One believed they could complete it and hoped to gain good abilities, Thinking that descent was a blessing.
The other was someone who realized they could never complete it and would die during descent if chosen, Thinking that descent was a curse.
Needless to say, anyone could tell that Kayen was not the first one.
Back to the present.
Noah, who had informed what he heard and his current location, immediately turned back to Kayen.
He then asked in a slightly annoyed tone, "Why didn't you inform the authorities? Wasn't the public told to report to the authorities if chosen?"
Kayen was silent for a moment, then in a flat tone said, "As someone from the outskirts of the city, I wanted to be remembered."
Hearing this, Noah fell silent for a moment, as if waiting for Kayen to continue. But after waiting for some time, he realized that was the reason.
"Even if you're remembered as the person who caused destruction and death?!" Noah said angrily because Kayen's reason was so ridiculous.
"As long as I'm remembered, it's fine… That's what I thought, but because of our conversation I realized I was wrong, so forgive me." Kayen said, his eyes already too heavy to keep open, and finally closed.
Seeing this, Noah immediately fired a shot into the sky. He then said in a commanding tone, "Wake up quickly, a police car will come and take you to a safe room to undergo descent."
However, only silence responded. Kayen's eyes remained closed, as if he didn't hear the gunshot that had just happened near him.
Noah then pointed his gun at Kayen and said, "Wake up quickly, or I will shoot you dead."
Noah knew that if someone chosen died before undergoing their descent, no monster would replace their spot.
Yet still, there was no response from Kayen. Seeing this, Noah considered truly shooting Kayen dead.
But in the end, he couldn't do it. Seeing how young Kayen still was, Noah couldn't bring himself to kill someone that young.
Kayen, who had lost consciousness, saw only darkness. However, after staring into the darkness for a while, a voice that sounded familiar yet could not be remembered was heard.
["Challenger, welcome to your first descent."]