For years... yes, for years I worked just to open that door.
Thick books, endless mock exams, sleepless nights. All for a single purpose.
Not just for myself. For my family.
They gave me everything they could. We weren't poor, but we never had more than enough either.
They gave me what they had—so I could smile, so I could chase my dreams. They sacrificed quietly, without asking anything in return.
And I always thought, "I have to become someone they'll be proud of."
And finally, that day came.
I got into the university I wanted.
But then… I had to serve in the military. I took a break from school for a year.
"I'll come back after it's over," I told myself. "One year won't matter."
I was in bomb disposal training that day.
Two wires. Red and blue.
My breath was warm, my hands were trembling, but I was used to working under pressure.
Until that moment, I had never made a mistake.
When the commander said, "Ascal, be careful," I nodded.
But something… yes, something went wrong.
A moment of hesitation.
The reflection of the wires.
And a sound.
BOOM.
Everything went silent.
Every cell in my body shattered in an instant.
My mind whispered to itself, "Was that it?"
All my efforts… wasted.
Apparently, the lifespan assigned to me—Ascal Serin—was 23 years.
I closed my eyes.
I had accepted the silence.
But then… a light.
Suddenly, my eyes opened wide.
I lifted my head—and froze.
"What's going on?"
"What is this…?"
"Why are there so many… versions of me?"
When I looked around, I saw the others doing the same.
Each face was identical to mine. Same eyes. Same features.
But their expressions were different—some angry, some frightened, some completely empty.
And then, a six-winged angel descended from above.
Its wings shimmered with light, and its presence twisted the very fabric of reality.
The Ascal copies fell silent at the sight of it.
The angel floated down and locked eyes with me—Ascal Serin's ghost.
It leaned in with a faint smile.
Angel:
"Well, well... So you were summoned the moment you died. How lucky is that?
Your body is still in pieces, lying on the ground, but you? Still here.
You're a strange one, Ascal Serin."
I didn't avert my gaze.
Ascal (Spirit):
"Where am I? And why does everyone... look like me?"
The angel chuckled as it hovered away, then rose high above the crowd.
Angel:
"Welcome, all of you—'you'.
I'm sure you're all wondering why you're here, right?
Why the people around you look exactly like you?
Why they even share your name?"
Whispers broke out. The silence fractured.
Ascal-34 (nervously):
"Is this… a joke? Some kind of simulation?"
Ascal-09 (sternly):
"No. This feels too real. Even my soul is shaking.
Simulations don't feel like this."
The angel smiled and opened its arms.
Angel:
"So you're convinced it's real. Excellent.
Now… let's get to the real reason you're here."
A heavy silence followed. The angel's smile widened, its eyes narrowing.
Angel (coldly):
"You're going to kill each other."
The words cut through the air like ice.
Ascal-21:
"What did you just say?"
Ascal-43 (angrily):
"What kind of sick game is this?! You bring us here and make us fight our own copies?!"
Angel (mocking):
"No, no, not a game.
This is a... cleansing operation.
The gods demand harmony across parallel universes.
Similar timelines, similar choices, similar outcomes… but you?"
The angel pointed at each of them.
Angel:
"One of you lost your parents before you were even born.
One became a dictator.
One is married.
One's still a child.
And one... is dead."
(It turned back toward me.)
I raised my head. I wasn't afraid anymore. Just… heavy inside.
Ascal (thinking):
"So I'm dead.
And yet I'm here.
Maybe that alone is reason enough to fight."
Angel (approvingly):
"Exactly. I can see it in your eyes—you're all thinking 'why us?'
Why this fight?
Because you are the ones who broke the pattern.
Your choices made the timelines diverge.
Now, you'll face your own destinies.
You will fight one another.
And in the end… only five will remain."
Someone laughed—unhinged.
Ascal-03 (half-mad):
"So what? We survive and what—get into heaven? Become gods?"
Angel (uninterested):
"No.
You'll earn the right to travel between universes.
You'll be able to walk freely across the lives of every version of Ascal that exists.
And…"
(It looked at me again.)
"…you, the dead one—if you win,
you get your body back."
Everything went still.
All eyes turned to me.
I was translucent. Broken. But I stood tall.
I looked fragile, but there was resolve in my eyes.
I wasn't afraid anymore.
Ascal (softly, but firmly):
"Fine."
They kept staring, waiting.
Ascal (sharper):
"I said fine.
I'm going to win."
Ascal-76 (mocking):
"You? You're not even alive. Just a soul without a shell."
Ascal (calmly):
"But you can feel pain.
I can't.
That alone gives me the edge."