It was a night veiled in mist and mystery, cloaked beneath a shroud of clouds that dimmed the heavens. The stars, scattered like forgotten jewels across the cosmic canvas, blinked weakly through the haze. The moon—queen of the night—hid bashfully behind the dense veil of vapors as if shielding herself from the gaze of the world. A biting wind howled through the alleyways and across rooftops, carrying with it a chill so sharp it could make kings tremble.
I sat by the window, staring into that ethereal darkness, lost in the wilderness of thought. There was something awe-inspiring about nature's untamed beauty. It stripped away the weight of civilization and left only wonder behind. In that quiet moment, I let my mind drift into the dreamscape—a formless realm where I was nothing more than a speck of dust, drifting endlessly across the unknown.
"Oi… you there?"
A voice stirred me, cutting through the fog of my reverie like a blade through silk.
"Bro, are you even listening?" The voice came again, accompanied by a firm shake that jolted my body.
"Huh—!?"
I blinked back to reality. The cool breeze was still on my face, and I realized I had dozed off in a chair beside the open window. I yawned and stretched, fatigue still clinging to my bones.
Kevin, my best friend, stood beside me with an expression that teetered between exasperation and amusement. "You've got some nerve, man. Sleeping while I'm busting my ass doing your work?"
He cracked his knuckles, his glare half-serious. I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight—it was hard to take him seriously when he looked like an overworked office drone about to give a TED Talk on betrayal.
It was three in the morning, and we were huddled inside his small apartment, illuminated only by the pale blue glow of his monitor.
"Oh, come on. Can't you just handle this yourself?" I grumbled half-heartedly.
"Huh!? This is your project, genius. I'm just here because your girlfriend begged me to help you out. You think I'd lift a finger for you otherwise?"
Fair. It was my responsibility, though the plan was originally to split the workload as a group. That plan had unraveled spectacularly when our professor, in a fit of either sadism or sudden enlightenment, declared the project solo. I panicked. And like any desperate man with zero work ethic, I turned to Kevin.
Or, more accurately, I dumped everything on him.
"Yeah-yeah, whatever," I muttered, tossing him a soda can as a peace offering. He caught it and cracked it open with the weariness of a man long resigned to my nonsense.
"You know I suck at writing reports."
"Funny," he said, sipping the drink, "considering you aced every written project last year."
Well, yeah. Those were easy. Just regurgitate some half-plagiarized content from the internet and voila—instant grades. The system practically encouraged laziness.
"Kevin, my dude, let's just finish this and chill. I'll owe you one."
He scoffed. "Chill, my ass."
Despite the banter, the mood was light. We lounged in the glow of our screen-lit midnight, exchanging sarcasm and soda like soldiers in a trench. Then, unexpectedly, my phone rang.
The clock read 3:14 A.M.
Who the hell would be calling at this hour?
I snatched the phone off the cluttered side table. The caller ID flashed a name that jolted me upright.
Eva.
Kevin glanced at me and raised a brow. "Eva, huh?" He smirked and motioned for me to pick up.
[Hello?]
[Ryan... could you come to my place right now? Please.]
Her voice. It trembled. Soft, hesitant, almost afraid.
[Is something wrong?] I asked, sitting up straighter.
[I... I can't explain over the phone.]
[I'm coming.]
I ended the call without another word and grabbed my hoodie from the corner of the room.
"What happened?" Kevin asked, now serious.
"She just said to come. Nothing more."
He nodded; his smirk gone. He could read between the lines—and what he understood with that no context call made him grim.
"Go. I'll finish up here."
"Thanks, man. I owe you big."
Without another word, I bolted from the apartment, adrenaline already surging in my veins.
The streets were deserted, bathed in amber from flickering streetlights. I paused at a crosswalk, waiting for the red to shift. The city around me felt eerily hollow—like a paused world.
As I checked my phone for any new messages, I noticed someone.
A girl. No older than a high school student. Standing far too close to the edge of the sidewalk. Her movements were stiff, unnatural. There was a strange vacancy in her eyes like she wasn't entirely there.
What is she doing here… at this hour?
I watched, alarm rising. Something was wrong.
And then—she moved.
No, leapt.
"Hey! Watch out!"
I lunged forward, heart hammering. I tried to grab her arm—too late.
In the seconds that followed, time unraveled.
Fear paralyzed my legs. My instincts screamed at me to run. My mind exploded with images of crushed bones, searing pain, and death.
Move, damn it!
"Shit… I can't just let her die!"
I jumped.
And then—
Crash!
Pain.
Unimaginable, blinding pain.
A truck had slammed into me, sending agony lancing through my body. I lay crumpled on the asphalt, blood pouring from my head, stinging my eyes. My left arm was mangled, shattered beneath the tire's weight. My legs… I couldn't even feel them anymore.
Fortunately, the girl was safe. Trembling. Crying but survived the crash.
"You idiot! Why… why did you do that!?" She came running to me. "You don't even know me!"
I wanted to respond. Wanted to tell her that it didn't matter—that no one deserves to die alone on a cold street. But my body no longer obeyed.
People crowded around. The driver ran over. Someone called for an ambulance.
Too late.
Am I going to die? Is this the end?
My vision dimmed. The world was fading.
My phone buzzed weakly in my pocket.
Eva…
I wish I could have seen you one last time.
Darkness.
Silence.
I floated in an endless void. A space without sound, light, or form. I had no body—no eyes, no hands. Only thought remained. And fear.
I had always feared the dark.
But I wasn't dead. Not yet.
Suddenly—
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[Initializing System]
[Loading user's stats…]
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A voice echoed in my mind. Synthetic. Unfamiliar. Like something out of a video game.
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[Race confirmed.]
[Searching for abilities…]
[Error.]
[Retrying…]
[Error.]
[Troubleshooting…]
[Failed.]
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What the hell…?
I was still conscious. Trapped in a void, but aware. Thinking. Feeling. Panicking. I was getting anxious; my fear of both darkness and loneliness was catching up to me.
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[Failure in finding any abilities…]
[Retrying…]
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It continued.
Dozens of attempts. Dozens of failures.
Just move on already, dammit!
Then, finally—
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[Finding ability…]
[Success…!]
[Registration completed!]
[Welcome]
[User will now enter a state of hibernation.]
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Wait—what!?