The sunburst overhead in the morning, blindingly bright as it passed over the roofs, bathing the rain-soaked pavement still shiny with last night's unexpected downpour in golden warm light.

  The air retained a soft earthy smell—the distinctive scent of rain-washed soil mixed with the smell of coffee brewing and motor fumes.

  Outside, birds sang melodiously from the trees, their bright calls struggling to match the increasingly cacophonous din of city life. Cars beeped impatiently, engines roared by, and people scurried about, already swept up in the storm of another busy weekday morning.

  "Of course, it's Wednesday morning… rush hour again," I muttered in disgust. "And yet, I'm still so damn tired."

  I slumped in my chair, dragging my fork around the plate, prodding at the warm egg as if it had personally insulted me.

  "But I don't want another slap to the cheek. Arrive at school with a face that looks like a puffed-up cotton ball? No thanks."

  I grumbled to myself as I slowly chewed my toast, the corners dry and crumbly on my palate. A combination of frustration and shame churned in my belly—I despised how slow I'd gotten.

  If only I could have one complete night of deep, untroubled sleep. Just one.

  But the nightmares were relentless.

  Crawler in after night. Black, disjointed, and oppressive. Like someone—or something—had its eyes trained on me through the veil of sleep.

  "Lei's gonna be furious if I don't go to her place again. Ugh. Maybe I can appease her with a chocolate bar?"

  I groaned, then scowled.

  "And I really need to stop letting her boss me around like I'm some kind of human stress ball. She's been acting like this since the moment I started getting close to Bea."

  Trailing behind my whirling thoughts, I didn't even know how much time had passed until—

  Thump-thump-thump.

  Heavy footsteps came careening down from upstairs. I was glued to the spot, fear creeping into my belly. That was Mom, for sure.

  A jolt of fear jolted through me, and adrenaline burst forth in a panic-stricken rush. I jammed food into my mouth in desperation.

  Chomp. Gulp. Chomp. Gulp!

  I was sick to my stomach—scalding bile burned the back of my throat—but I gritted through it.

  I didn't dare risk her ire this morning.

  "What a mess!" she stormed in, arms clamped tightly around a bursting laundry basket.

  "Yeesh, maah??" I got out, puffed cheeks like a hamster, mouth full of half-chewed food. I cast a wary eye at her hands—no sandals to be seen.

  Thank God.

  "Get going, finish your breakfast, and go to school. I'm gone. Don't forget to turn off the TV before you go."

  "Uh-huh…" I mumbled, still chewing.

  "What was that?" she snapped.

  I could already sense my wicked ear quivering in anticipation of a reprimand pinch.

  "Yes, ma'am! I'll even clean up and wash my plate!" I exclaimed.

  "Good boy. I'll bring home something nice for dinner if you finish your homework. I'm off."

  "Take care, Mom! Come back safe!"

  She nodded slightly and smiled as she stepped outside.

  I stood there and watched her leave, the silhouette of her receding form sticking with me longer than it should. I felt a surge of nostalgia sweep through me—when the house was complete, when Dad was yukking it up at breakfast, and Mom was laughing down the hall.

  She's only doing it because she cares.

  She wouldn't be so mean if she didn't. Her tightness is only worry in disguise.

  But.

  "I still miss Dad."

  I wish we could play catch again. Once.

  Yet the case went cold. No suspect. No justice. Just a never-ending circle of dead ends and unanswerable questions.

  A bitter heat swelled in my chest, curling like smoke.

  I gritted my teeth and exhaled deeply, attempting to force the grief back down.

  "Alright, enough moping. I'm gonna be late!"

  I leaped into action, stumbling around to get dressed while the muffled voice of the announcer went on in the background on the television.

  "We're seeing a day in history, everyone! December 12, 2012—the so-called end of the world, or so some read the ancient Mayan calendar says. That's right, people—the end of the 5,126-year-long b'ak'tun cycle is here! While many think it marks doomsday, experts tell us it's all a great misunderstanding."

  I didn't wait for the rest. I rushed outside and pulled the TV plug out of the socket in one quick motion.

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  "Let's go! But… I should make sure Lei's still waiting by her gate. Just in case."

  I reached the street and a sound I knew was carried to my ears—the boisterous, rapid chatter of the neighborhood aunties under the juvenile mahogany tree my dad had planted when I was six years old.

  Their voices, like multiple layers of cake, were full of spicy rumors and knowing guffaws.

  "Would you look at that," I grumbled, squinting at them, "even birds can't compete with how early gossip travels these days…"

  I gripped my bike handles tightly, bracing myself for whatever catastrophe the day had in store.

  I shouted after them with mock bravado, puffing my chest and narrowing my eyes like some valiant knight defending sacred turf. They finally scattered, snickering, and I let out a huff of triumph.

  With a creak and a rattle, I mounted my old, rust-speckled bicycle. The seat squeaked as I settled in, and the worn-out chain groaned in protest as I pushed off, pedaling straight into what was sure to be another glorious disaster.

  Her house wasn’t far—just a few blocks down from mine. She’s been my closest friend since we were little.

  Lei.

  Long, raven-black hair that shimmered like ink under sunlight, warm caramel eyes that always seemed to know too much, and a kind of calm presence that once felt like home.

  I still remember the first time we met. I was five, left to play at the park while Mom headed off to her second job. Lei was there, crouched in the sandbox, quietly doodling with a stick. No words were exchanged—just two kids building a crooked castle out of sun-baked sand.

  From then on, we became inseparable—playing tag until dusk, riding the seesaw, or just sitting beneath the shade trading silly stories.

  I’d always been a bit of a loner—awkward, anxious, unsure of how to fit in. But with her, I didn’t have to. She made the world feel simple.

  But as the years passed, things got... complicated.

  Lei had grown moody.

  One moment, she’d be laughing at my jokes; the next, she’d ice me out completely. She hated it when I talked to other girls—especially Bea—and she'd erupt in jealous fits that made no sense to me. It was like she wanted me all to herself. And maybe, deep down, I understood why.

  Her family had money. A big house with imported decor, everything polished to perfection. But behind all that glass and stone was silence. Her parents were always away—traveling, working, hosting events—and she was left to fill the void alone.

  I couldn’t abandon her, not when I knew she needed someone to simply stay.

  "I'm close now," I muttered as the sleek outline of her home came into view.

  The two-story building stood out on the street like something from a luxury magazine—modern European flair, curved balcony rails, arched windows, and a gleaming gray gate that stood shut like a palace door.

  I squinted. No sign of her outside.

  “Maybe she already left without me,” I whispered, disappointment creeping in like an itch under the skin.

  “Can’t blame her.”

  A quick glance at my watch made my stomach drop.

  Almost 8:00 AM.

  I slammed the pedals harder, the wind whipping past my cheeks as I raced toward school, praying I'd make it before the gates closed.

  But…

  Nope.

  I skidded to a halt just as the school gates creaked shut—an agonizingly slow motion that felt personally directed at me. Behind the bars, the round-faced guard stared with an annoyingly smug grin, arms crossed over his barrel chest like a final boss.

  “Not again…” I groaned.

  Students who arrived late had one humiliating option—kneel, beg, and get handed a dreaded pink slip of shame: the late ticket. And for each one you collected, the fine stacked higher and higher.

  “This is my fourth,” I muttered. “One more and Mom’s gonna get called…”

  I shuddered at the image—her sandal transforming into a weapon of mass destruction. My entire body became a target.

  No thanks.

  With a sharp turn, I veered off down a less-traveled path toward a familiar refuge—a shallow creek just past the road. Lei and I used to hang out there, gaming under the wide branches of an old tree whose bark had grown as wrinkled as a wise old man.

  But she wasn’t there either.

  I let my bike fall to the side and flopped down on the plush grass, the ground cool and damp beneath my back. Overhead, sunlight filtered through the leaves in golden shards. A few birds pecked lazily at the creek’s edge, their feathers fluffed from the heat.

  The sound of rushing water filled my ears, soothing and steady.

  Then the memories crept in again.

  Those dreams…

  “Man… it felt so real,” I muttered, staring blankly at the sky. “This whole week’s been the same.”

  Nightmares. Always the same.

  A monstrous figure looming in shadows, grotesque and unreal. Towers of flame licking the horizon. Mountains of corpses, stacked high like grotesque monuments. And the screams—oh God, the screams—shredded through the air as that thing rampaged through helpless people.

  I swallowed hard.

  “Maybe it’s from that horror movie I watched... Jump scares messing with my brain. Should’ve listened to Alex…”

  "Wait... Where is he now? I haven’t heard a single word from him since he left for America to live with his parents. It’s like he just disappeared from our lives."

  I closed my eyes under the tree’s embrace, hiding from the world for a while longer.

  “Mom’s not home till late anyway… I’ll just pretend I went to class. She won’t notice.”

  Back at home, I kicked off my shoes and dove onto my bed like a lazy panda in slow motion. The mattress creaked beneath me as I stretched out, arms above my head.

  “Just a quick nap. I’ll reheat the breakfast later…” I whispered while yawning.

  My eyelids drooped. The world softened. Everything melted away.

  12:12:12

  Time froze.

  An ear-splitting, metallic screech drilled into my skull like a jagged blade.

  The earth shook—violently. Like a titan had stirred beneath the surface.

  I jolted awake, heart pounding—only to find myself not in bed…

  But face-down in a patch of cold, dry dirt.

  Dirt between my teeth. The taste of copper on my tongue. The world… dead silent.

  Something had changed.

  Something terrible had begun.

  A shock of burning agony coursed through my cheek and neck, snapping me out of unconsciousness as if by a harsh slap of reality.

  "Ughh… what the devil?" I grunted, massaging the throbbing side of my face. "I swear I fell asleep on my bed… not next to some dry creek!"

  My voice broke, parched and raspy, as I blinked away the fog obscuring my eyes.

  Then—

  ["Greetings! You have been selected as one of the honored Emissaries of Doom. Well done. Now you will serve as His messenger, leading humankind into honeyed, final oblivion."]

  The voice resonated—sour and inhuman, as if clogged gears churning within a hulked machine. It vibrated everywhere about me, sounding as if the wind itself had spoken.

  Jumping, I jerked my head up, eyes sweeping the area for what was speaking.

  There was nothing.

  No numbers. No silhouettes. Bare, cracked ground extending infinitely beneath a pale, washed-out sky. The earth below me was rough, dry, nearly seared. The trees, the structures…, and even the air were less dense and hollow as if something essential had been drained away.

  "Shit, what is happening?" I shouted, grappling at the dust, attempting to grasp something—anything concrete.

  ["Oops~ looks like you missed your ride."]

  The voice taunted again, this time with a chortling static that scraped my eardrums.

  I turned in circles, searching for the speaker—something. But the world was still empty. Bleached and barren.

  ["I'm in your head, dimwit."]

  My breath caught.

  "Wha—what?!" I stuttered, patting the sides of my skull, searching for wires or implants or… I don't know, antennae?

  ["Electromagnetic impulse interface. Simple telepathic protocol. Don't panic, I'm not inside your head—just. On the frequency."]

  "Where am I then? Where is everyone?!" I asked, fear surging in my throat like poison.

  ["Listen closely, meatbag. I’ll only say this once. Your world—your cozy little bubble of routines and ramen—is just one of countless reflections, parallel worlds scattered like shattered mirrors. All of them are governed by the Supreme and Benevolent Ruler. And now, as part of His grand experiment, everything—every tree, every city, every soul—has been relocated to new realms of darkness to spur a new cycle of evolution."]

  ["You, though? You slept in."] The voice cackled, gears whirring with mad glee.

  ["I'm really interested in seeing if humanity will rise again. Crawling on all fours, learning to walk, to run, to fly. Or will they be extinct like the last lot? Either way, I'll get a show out of it."]

  The metallic glee that followed sounded like a thousand razors across my brain. I pressed my head, knees folding.

  ["But fortunate you! You've been selected as an Emissary of Doom. Ah, what a grand name, eh? Otherwise, you'd just shrivel away here all by yourself, until the sun incinerates your bones to dust. But now? You have an opportunity. A mission. Woo-hoo!"]

  I breathed in, trying not to lose my footing. Dust stuck to my tongue.

  ["To unlock your powers, simply tap into the interwave. I coded the Doom System myself, you see—patterned after those small RPGs you humans have an infatuation with. Concentrate hard, and the status window should open."]

  I hesitated… then obeyed. A flash of thought, and—

  Fwoosh.

  A rubric blood-red screen flashed into being before me, hovering in midair, radiating malevolent energy like a haunted trinket.

  ["Voilà! You can also view other characters' stats, consult your noobie guide—handwritten by me, myself, and I—read the tutorial. But don't waste too much time; more contact with me might induce, shall we say… cranial implosion. Boom!"]

  "Seriously?!" I shouted.

  ["Seriously,"] the voice sneered at me with a malevolent chuckle.

  ["Now—with your abilities, you can tear through the membrane between worlds. Who knows? You may even run into your mother or that clingy little kid friend of yours. Or not. Either way, I've fulfilled my obligation. Intro Ceremony: done. Good Luck!"]

  Silence ensued.

  No more mechanical sarcasm. Just the wailing wind and the muted hum of something huge and beyond comprehension around me.

  I got up, shaking off the dirt stuck to my pants. My legs swayed unsteadily, still reeling from the fall and the abrupt whiplash of reality. I gazed once more at the status screen.

  Name: Jin Asura

  Level: 1

  Rank: 12th

  Title: The Leviathan, Emissary of Doom

  Constellation: Capricornus

  Innate Traits:

  Devourer of the Sun | Truthseeker | Transcended One | Ungodly | Vorpal Hex

  Occupation: None

  Point Allocation: 3 Pts

  HP: 50 | MP: 20

  STR: 4 | INT: 2

  AGI: 5 | VIT: 4

  DEF: 1 | MOR: -1

  "Thus, I just picture myself shredding through a fabric?"

  I extended my hand, picturing the action—such as rifting apart an intangible drape. A burst of static tickled my fingertips, a thousand little shocks zapping my skin.

  "It didn't hurt me, but it wasn't right."

  Then—

  [Skill: Void Rend]

  The air tore apart with a harsh crack. A churning black gash opened up before me, screaming like the maw of a beast. Out of the tear came a stinging cold, followed by bestial snarls reverberating from beyond the veil.

  I braced myself, heart pounding.

  The void throbbed as if it were alive.

  And I walked through—into the unknown.

  Outer Celestials,

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