South Korea, Gangbuk — 2016
Shit. I forgot to feed Darwin. He'll be fine though—he's a fighter. Just behind this door.
I shoved it open, fish food in hand. "HEY, DARWI—Darwin…?"
No. No, he's just sleeping. Fish sleep belly-up, right? Yeah. That has to be it.
Ten minutes later.
"Yeah, he's definitely dead. Sorry, son. I know you loved Darwin."
"W-what?!"
Dad only nodded. Something cracked inside me. I curled up on my bed for hours, couldn't even face his lifeless body.
Darwin... you were Mom's last gift. And I killed you. I'm sorry, buddy. I'm sorry, Mom.
He clutched the glass bowl tighter.
The glass bowl felt heavier than it should.
To Dad, a fish was just a fish. To me, Darwin was a memory-fragile, alive, something I was trusted to protect. And I failed.
"Well… there's no point keeping you here anymore. Sleep well with the other fishies, my fishy prince..."
He let Darwin slip into the toilet bowl. One final glance.
PLOP
Then—he flushed it.
As the water swirled, he muttered one last thing before breaking down.
"I-I won't forget you..." His voice cracked, sobs bursting into a scream.
"MY FUCKING FISH!"
[RING, RING, RING]
"Sniff… hello?"
"Yo, Jeong! You sound wrecked. What happened?"
"Nothing's up. Only down. Darwin just died…"
"PFF—" A cough. "Sorry, my hamster stepped on my foot. Look, I'll gift you a new game on MEATS. People say it's good."
"…Fine. I'll try it."
Fucking sniff.
===
"Twelve Amendments? This looks cool…"
I downloaded it, not knowing it would change everything.
[Create your character]
"…I feel so empty…"
"My fucking fish."
"No—he wasn't just a fish. He was Darwin."
[Set name: Null?]
"Yes."
[Are you sure?]
"YES, DAMN IT."
[Name locked]
===
Twelve Amendments had exploded on release. One man made it—the fanbase only called him the Judge.
But it didn't last. He butchered the story into microtransactions, sold the pieces back one by one. No one ever actually finished the main quest.
And me? I kept playing.
"I can't believe I'm a college graduate and still grinding this stupid fucking game…"
[Booting…]
[Welcome back, Null!]
Sigh. "WHY THE HELL DID I NAME MYSELF NULL?!"
I leaned back in my chair. "I—Jeong Dohyuk, finance graduate—am still stuck in this garbage. Me, and twelve thousand other idiots keeping it alive. Even Buwon quit years ago, and he's the one who dragged me into this."
Deep breaths. In. Out.
"…I should quit. I need to find a job. Mom and Dad aren't here anymore—I have to stand on my own."
[ALT+F4]
"…Wonder what I can do for money."
[Boot…]
"…Wait, what? Special event?" I frowned. "This game hasn't had an update in years. Might as well check it out."
[Boot…³]
[Welcome back, Null!]
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."
"Made it in time!"
[5]
[4]
[3]
[2]
[1]
"Here we go—"
!!!
The room shook.
At first, I thought my PC had fried. But then the walls trembled, car alarms screamed, the house collapsed, and the sky turned blood red.
[Special Event: 12th Amendment – World Enforcement Begins]
The words didn't just glow on my screen—they burned into the air, into the city itself.
The ground split. Rubble rained.
And I saw him.
"Wait… that face. I know it."
An angel's visage. Beautiful, but burning with chaos.
"Is that… Anathema?"
The INTRO CUTSCENE. From Twelve Amendments. Except this wasn't a screen.
The game was bleeding into reality. And my heart wasn't afraid. It was pounding with excitement.
"Well," I muttered, standing on shaking concrete, "at least I don't need to job-hunt anymore."
Maybe I was calm because I'd seen this before. Not all of it—but enough to know the shape of what came next.
"Oh look. Wyrms." I pointed at colossal forms tearing out of the ground. "Those guys were annoying in the tutorial."
…Has reality not hit me yet? The world's ending and I'm treating it like a rerun.
"Ew. That sounded edgy. Anyway, I should probably find the evacuation people..."
The internet still worked. I pulled up the emergency announcements-safe zone at my old university. Perfect. Not far... except for these dumbass wyrms.
I remembered the bestiary: wyrms were blind but hypersensitive to vibrations. In theory, all I had to do was walk calmly, toss a few distractions, and I'd be fine.
Yeah. In theory.
"FUCK THAT—RUN!!"
There's no way I'm sneaking past skyscraper-sized worms without making a sound! Whoever designed that mechanic was a dumbass!
So I bolted—hurling rocks and chunks of debris behind me. Each crash echoed, pulling the wyrms away just enough. It worked. Barely. My lungs were on fire, but I made it to campus. No wyrms followed.
This place was definitely a safe zone. The game had been based in China, but its worldbuilding let you visit every country. If I remembered right, this was Gangbuk's safe zone.
But then I wondered… in-game, this was usually the start. Anathema shattered the world, then gave us weapons—the Laws.
I waited for them.
And then—
[Pop!]
[System formed!]
[Retrieving data…]
A firework-like effect with a golden banner appeared over my head.
[PLAYER: NULL HAS ARRIVED]
It echoed throughout the survivors.
"…Oh. That's embarrassing."
Screams erupted.
"WHAT THE HELL, DO YOU SEE THAT?!"
"WHO'S NULL?!"
"WHY ARE THERE FIREWORKS?!"
"ARE WE GONNA DIE?!"
Chaos erupted-panic, screams, fingers stabbing the air at me. The crowd rippled like water, bodies shoving and tripping in waves.
I just stretched. Sighed.
Around this point, people should be receiving their amendments.
"I know what to pick this time…" I whispered.
[Please pick a card.]
My pupils blew wide.
"…HUH? WHY THE FUCK IS IT RANDOMIZED?!"
[Thirty seconds till timer runs out]
"WHY THE FUCK IS THERE A TIMER?!"
Everyone scrambled. Some fumbled with glowing text, others froze—skeptics refusing to believe. This wasn't how I remembered at all.
"U-uh…"
[Fifteen seconds]
"Shit… THIS!"
[5 seconds]
[Amendment Selected]
[You have received the Amendment of…]
"This better be good—"
[Law of Knowledge!]
[Congratulations, NULL!]
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME, FUCKING LAW OF KNOWLEDGE? I COULDN'T EVEN KEEP A FUCKING GOLDFISH ALIVE AND I GOT THE SHITTIEST AMENDMENT?!"
Heads whipped toward me. For a long, awkward beat, silence. Then whispers spread.
To them, I probably already looked insane. And the calamity had just begun