"where am I?"—this single question echoed through a place of complete darkness.
To the right, to the left, above, below—everywhere was nothing but darkness.
It seemed as if light had no existence there. A place where light was non-existent, and a single word from my mouth could create a thousand echoes.
In that unknown and dark place, I stood speechless.
As I came to my senses, I became utterly confused and disoriented. I looked around but could see nothing but darkness.
Looking at my own hands and body, I thought, (Where am I?)
"Can anyone hear my voice?"
I had hoped for an answer to pierce through the darkness. But in that void, only my own question echoed back to me.
Disoriented, the moment I looked behind me, I saw a colossal door. It was so tall that even by craning my neck, I couldn't see its top.
"What is this?... Is this even possible?"
My eyes widened completely. I tried to convince myself, "This is probably a dream. This can't possibly be real, ha-ha-ha…"
"...Just a little longer. Then morning will come, and I'll wake up."
"This is just a dream... but it looks so… WHATEVER!!"
"I might find an answer if I go to that door."
Saying this, I started running towards the door. I just kept running… Time passed and passed, but…
…One day later…
(It's probably been two minutes.)
…One week later…
The more I thought it was just a little further, the more the door seemed to recede a thousand kilometers away.
"It's probably been ten minutes! But why haven't I reached it yet? It doesn't look that far!"
…One year later…
I was still running. I had stopped keeping track of time long ago. But in the midst of this run, a strange thing caught my attention.
"Wait, I've been running for a long time… but I don't feel tired, or thirsty, or hungry. No part of my body aches from running. What is happening!? And what kind of place is this!"
Finally, frustrated and defeated, I turned around. Suddenly, I bumped into something.
"Agh… What was that?"
Looking closely, I saw the massive door, now right in front of me.
This time, I could not only see it clearly but also touch it.
I noticed a nearly circular pattern drawn on it in gold and red, with a somewhat thick rod running through the middle. Something like that…
Suddenly, the massive door swung open with a tremendous noise. A brilliant beam of light shot out from the other side.
The light was so intense that, in contrast to the infinite darkness, it dazzled my eyes.
Unable to bear the blinding light, I covered my eyes with my hands.
After a while, when the intensity of the light subsided, I removed my hands from my eyes.
Then, I slowly began to open my eyelids. After my eyes were fully open, only one word escaped my lips:
"...wonderful!!!"
I stood there, fascinated.
An azure, transparent sky, the murmuring of a river, and the sweet fragrance of flowers—everything combined to create an exquisite and heavenly garden.
It was truly a garden of ambrosia.
The beauty of this place was so extraordinary that it was impossible to describe in words.
Even if I were to call it 'the most beautiful' with my words, it would still feel like an understatement.
Perhaps no language on Earth could capture its true form.
"...Is this heaven?"—I stared at it with captivated eyes. I was completely immersed in this enchanting environment.
In the very center of this garden, or heaven, stood a great ancient tree. Its branches spread across the horizon, as if it alone held the entire creation within its embrace.
I began to walk forward slowly.
With a silent face, I was completely lost in this beauty, walking only to reach the foot of that tree.
With every step I took, new flowers began to bloom from under my feet, as if this place itself was welcoming me.
A gust of cool breeze touched my cheek. Slowly, my old clothes transformed into a shimmering, thin white garment.
Birds flying in the sky began to sing in their own language, and the gentle gurgling of the river played in my ears like a beautiful melody.
For a moment, I looked at the tree again.
"...Are there two people standing under the tree?"
But in the next moment, I realized it was just my imagination.
Before my eyes lay exquisite beauty, but the world behind me was entirely different.
The very flowers that had bloomed at my arrival began to rot.
The river's water dried up, and from the cracked earth, blood began to ooze.
Along with that blood, rows of corpses emerged from the fractured ground.
In front of that crowd of hundreds of dead, another injured corpse emerged, different from the rest.
With a hand on its neck, it tried to drag itself toward the great tree. And the rows of the dead followed it, as if chasing it to kill it.
But I paid no mind to what was happening behind me. I didn't want to notice. I just wanted to lose myself in this beauty and rest in the shade of that tree.
Eventually, I reached the base of the tree.
As soon as I sat down, leaning against the trunk, I looked back the way I had come.
Instantly, everything returned to normal. The dark and terrifying scene was once again transformed into its beautiful form in a flash.
As I sat under the tree, an intense exhaustion enveloped me. My eyes felt heavy, and I was overcome with a powerful urge to sleep.
"Why am I so sleepy? It feels like I haven't slept properly in a long time," I wondered.
I decided to get some rest. But at the same time, I couldn't take my eyes off this stunning beauty; my heart wanted to keep watching this scene.
Suddenly, a drop of water fell on my left hand. I immediately looked up at the sky. "The sky is clear? Then where did the water come from?"
Just then, I unconsciously placed a hand on my left cheek.
"I'm crying? But why?"
Tears were continuously falling from my left eye. I was crying from one eye, but I didn't know the reason.
Slowly, my eyes closed in slumber, and I fell asleep. Just before drifting off, I heard one last voice:
"...I give it to you, Durlav."
***
With a 'THUD,' I fell from the bed to the floor.
"AHHH… MY BACK!…"
"Where am I? In my own room."—I said, letting out a big yawn.
"Starting my day by falling off the bed. How great is that?"—I muttered.
Clothes and belongings were scattered around the room in such a way that it looked as if an animal lived here, not a person.
Nothing was in its proper place. It was such a messy and chaotic room that it was obvious it was mine.
I'm well-accustomed to this room of mine, so ignoring everything, I went out to the balcony.
From the balcony, I stared at the river. To be honest, I can see the river from my house, but not that well. It's beyond five or six more houses, a river whose beauty the motorboats had ruined long ago.
Suddenly, a question popped into my head, "Oh, what's today's date?"—As soon as I turned to look into the room, I realized I first had to find the calendar.
In a normal room, a calendar hangs in a specific place. But searching for a calendar in this room of mine is like searching for water in a desert.
With an annoyed sigh, I began to search every corner of the room to complete this impossible mission.
Finally, after ransacking every corner of the room, I couldn't find the calendar.
"WHERE IS THIS BASTARD CALENDAR!!!"
Just then, my eyes caught the corner of my pillow. I could see a corner of the calendar sticking out.
That means I myself had placed the calendar under my pillow.
"That figures… This room really is strange!"
But a question was spinning in my head, "How did the calendar get under the pillow?... This is now the biggest mystery of my life."
"Whatever… I finally found it,"—saying this, I took the calendar in hand, and the moment I saw the date, I froze.
"It's real!"
I immediately ran to the balcony and screamed.
"TODAY IS DECEMBER 1ST, 1914! THAT MEANS, YAHOOO YA-HOOO…!!!"
"HEY YOU BASTARD, SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!!"—the voice of an elderly neighbor responded to my scream.
"I'm sorry!!" I said and quickly went back inside.
But the smile on my lips about today's date hasn't faded.
"So today is the day…"
***
…Meanwhile…
Inside the city's tallest building, the 'Quad Tower,' some masked terrorists were planting bombs in every corner.
From their conversation, it was clear they intended to blow up the entire building with the press of a single button.
"Fit all the bombs carefully. Just one press of a button, and the Quad Tower is finished."
Just then, a sharp voice was heard from behind them, "Yes, and then what?"
Startled, they turned around to see a young girl. Seeing her, they broke into a mocking laugh, "Ha-ha-ha…"
***
With a joyful face, I entered the washroom to freshen up. "So my dream is going to come true today."
"So this is how my story will end. I will fulfill my dream. Fantastic!"
While I was lost in this happy thought, a drop of water fell on my left hand. I was surprised. "Where did this drop of water come from? Is there a leak somewhere?"
But the moment I looked in the mirror, I saw tears continuously falling from my left eye. At that moment, I placed a hand on my left cheek.
"...I'm crying? But why?"
[The prologue Arc is end]
To be continue....