After a complete day of work, I was finally able to clock out.
Haa… when will this end…
I've been working in this company for five years now. And guess what? Not a single promotion. Nothing. Just enough salary to make sure my so-called "extravagant"—which is actually pretty normal—lifestyle can barely keep up with the rising cost of living. Capitalism at its finest.
I don't really have a choice but to stay.
Haa… how time passes.
It's not like I have much of a life outside of work anymore. That's been the case ever since all my friends left the company for better opportunities. One by one, they moved on. I stayed.
In reality, I'm an idiot. Seriously—why don't I just look for another job?
But with the unbelievable number of layoffs happening everywhere, companies now have endless options. And that just means brutal competition for people like me, who are simply looking for a new workplace with minimal expectations.
After taking the metro, I finally had a chance to relax. I pulled out my phone and continued reading Lord of the Mysteries. And honestly—how is it possible for a novel to be this horrifying and emotional at the same time?
Cuttlefish, you've created a masterpiece.
Five chapters later, my stop arrived. But I couldn't tear myself away from the story. Amon was literally about to take over Klein. So, like every responsible citizen, I kept reading while walking toward the exit.
After leaving the station, I headed toward my apartment. Due to my complete lack of attention, I failed to notice a car speeding toward me. By the time I realized something was wrong, all I saw were two yellow eyes—headlights—
BOOM.
Everything went black.
No sound.
No light.
No movement.
Absolute stillness.
It felt as if someone had shut down a computer, and everything simply stopped at that exact moment.
After who knows how long, I felt something—movement. But deep inside, I knew something was terribly wrong. Something that should never have happened.
I felt myself being squeezed through a barrier.
Then I began falling—at full speed, like a comet tearing through space. I wanted to scream, but no sound came out. I tried to move, only to realize I had no hands. No body. No human features at all.
I was nothing more than a formless blob, hurtling downward at an unimaginable speed.
Then—
BOOM.
An explosion erupted inside my mind.
And I lost consciousness.