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Where...?
Where am I?
I can't see anything...
I try to move, but I discover I can't. I can't feel my hands or my body, because I simply don't have them. I'm a formless being, floating in an endless void.
Everything around me is darkness—a blackness so deep and absolute that it doesn't even allow the concept of light. There's no up or down, no sound, no touch. It's not just the absence of sight. It's the absence of everything.
You can't see the darkness, but you feel it. It sinks into you, a heavy emptiness pressing against where your chest used to be.
How did I get here?
Why am I so calm?
Why don't I have a physical body?
Am I... dead?
...
This darkness...
This strange sensation of not feeling anything—no weight, no warmth, no wind...
How boring.
Is this eternity? Floating, disembodied, in nothingness?
Haa... sigh... I wonder how I died?
I try to recall. Maybe if I focus... really hard...
Flashes. Sparks. Heat. A dull roar. Something red and blinding. A scream—was it mine?
No... I don't understand. It's like my mind is... veiled. As if someone poured ink over my memories. Everything is foggy and incomplete. Like trying to remember a dream slipping through my fingers.
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We see a young woman.
Bronze-skinned, with reddish-brown hair tied up in a high ponytail that bounces slightly as she walks. Her figure is slender, delicate. Not weak—just light, like someone who dances more than she runs. Her chest is modest, neither drawing attention nor hiding it. Her brown eyes carry an odd mixture of calm and exhaustion, like someone who's seen too much and expects too little.
She wears the standard school uniform: a neatly pressed black vest over a long-sleeved white shirt, a jet-black skirt with crisp white trim, cream-colored thigh-high socks, and dark brown shoes worn at the edges. Her bag dangles from her left hand. In her right, a strawberry yogurt popsicle glistens under the afternoon sun.
It's Friday.
I was walking home from school, savoring one of my favorite popsicles. A small pleasure after a day full of surprise exams and meaningless lectures. I was mentally drained, emotionally flat. All I wanted was to lie on the couch, throw on some anime, and forget the world existed.
I pulled out my phone.
6:30 p.m. – Friday
–Still early – I mumbled to no one.
I passed a row of parked cars and turned down the street that led to the park—the same shortcut I always took to get home. It smelled faintly of dust and sun-warmed grass. The wind was light and dry. Familiar.
Then, a blur of motion.
A truck sped right past me.
–Kyaa! Damn idiot, you nearly scared me to death!
I reflexively stepped back and clutched my chest. I wasn't usually so jumpy, but something about today... felt off. I looked both ways before crossing—something I didn't always do—and continued walking as if nothing had happened. The park plaza opened before me, its fountains running and children still playing near the edge.
Then I saw them.
A group of girls from school, gathered around a bench, giggling and sharing vanilla cones. I recognized them. Popular, average grades, average lives.
I frowned without thinking, then immediately forced a blank expression.
It wasn't their fault. It wasn't anything personal. I just... didn't like them. Too clean. Too normal. Too unaware.
"Thanks, dad," I muttered internally, "for making me too curious to be blissfully ignorant."
I shook off the thought and checked my popsicle. Still intact. I calculated how long it'd last before melting—maybe ten more minutes. Enough to make it home.
I kept walking.
–I'm xxxxx, leader of xxxxx! Today I'll defeat you, xxxxx, and prove that the xxxxx are the strongest!
Voices echoed from behind the bushes, near the park's sports court.
The source: a group of boys squaring off. One in particular stood out—not for his size, but for his presence. Short dark brown hair fell in uneven bangs that covered his eyebrows. He had sharp eyes, dark and focused. His school uniform was sharp, formal. Too formal for someone in the middle of a fight.
Four delinquents charged at him, baseball bats swinging.
He dodged effortlessly.
Each move was practiced, controlled, like he wasn't fighting so much as dancing. Twisting his body, redirecting momentum, using openings to disarm and knock them out. It was clear he'd done this before. Too many times.
I decided not to care.
Fights weren't unusual here. Just another drama on loop. I turned away...
...but something caught my eye.
A bat. Flying through the air. Straight toward me.
Time slowed.
I stepped back and bent my back, watching it fly past me and crash onto the ground with a metallic thud.
I stood up and looked coldly at the group of boys.
My popsicle was lying on the floor.
That broke me.
I dropped my bag, picked up the bat, and walked toward them with calm precision.
–Hey! – I called out, voice firm.
–Which one of you geniuses threw this at me? – I asked, lifting the bat for emphasis.
–Stay out of it, bitch! – one of the delinquents snapped.
Oh... that's how it's going to be?
I smiled. Coldly.
What followed was a blur.
I darted in. Bats swung, fists flew—but I was already past them. Painful groans echoed through the plaza. I moved with controlled fury, redirecting their clumsy attacks and responding with brutal precision.
When it was over, I dropped the bat next to the unconscious bodies and picked up my bag.
The boy I'd seen earlier stood nearby, arms crossed.
–You again, xxxxx? – he said with mild irritation.
–When will you stop getting involved in other people's business?
–Do you need something, xxxxx? – I asked, brushing him off.
Silence.
I walked away without waiting for a reply. The sun was already setting behind the buildings. I made it home,
...Tossed my bag aside and stepped into the shower. The warm water hit my skin like a reset button. When I finished, I made a simple sandwich and turned on the stove.
Click... Click...
I lit the stove...
Trick! – Trick!
Suddenly, a spark. A faint flame.
And then, something inside me broke.
My heart skipped a beat. The smell of gas, the crackling of the fire...
Everything blurred.
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Fragment of memory (confused, distorted):
"M-mom, dad!!!" I shouted between coughs.
The wood creaked. The walls glowed red.
Something fell nearby.
My legs trembled. I couldn't breathe.
The flame danced... as if it were watching me.
"Run!" —a voice. Or a memory. I'm not sure.
I...
...ran.
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I came back to myself.
The sandwich was still half-made. The gas was still on.I turned off the stove immediately and collapsed to the floor, my hands trembling.
"What... was that?"
I couldn't remember clearly. But the fire...
It scared me.
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... … …
How long have I been floating?
Hours?
Days?
How boring! Will I spend the rest of my existence in this empty void?
Wait.
What is that?
A light.
It grows rapidly, pushing back the darkness.
Pow... Pow...
...(murmurs)...
Voices—soft at first, then clearer.
A rush of air. A jolt.
And suddenly, I open my eyes.
–What... is this...? –
I look around.
A massive chamber stretches out before me. High ceilings. Bright, magical lights. The walls shimmer slightly, like the space itself is unstable. Around me, dozens—maybe hundreds—of people. Some crying. Others huddled in quiet groups. Many just staring ahead, lost.
Teenagers, mostly. Some kids no older than fourteen. A few older faces—maybe in their mid-twenties.
Everyone looks just as confused as I feel.
–Where am I?