CHAPTER 1: God Is Dead
Hello… hello… 1, 2, 3…
Maybe someone can still hear my voice.
The signal feels weak—fractured—like it's being swallowed by something vast and unseen. My time is running out. I can feel it, the way one feels the last seconds before sleep, when the body grows heavy and the mind starts slipping away.
Still, before I disappear, I need to leave behind a truth.
This world you believe to be real… is nothing more than a shadow.
Everything around you—your home, the light above your head, the people you love—none of it exists the way you think it does. It is a carefully constructed illusion. A stage. A beautifully painted lie.
Even you yourself… are not real.
The moment you try to prove your own existence, the moment you question why you are here, you will draw their attention. And once they look at you…
You will no longer be you.
This world does not have much time left.
Whatever is true will be erased. Whatever is false will spread until it becomes indistinguishable from reality.
Somewhere nearby, someone is screaming.
The sound is wrong. Too sharp. Too inhuman.
None of us will survive.
Because they are coming.
And they—
Year 3516, November 12
Time: 8:14 AM
Noir Alen woke up earlier than usual, his eyes snapping open before the room's ambient light system could finish adjusting to morning mode. The ceiling above him shimmered faintly, mimicking the soft glow of sunrise—even though the real sun was hidden behind layers of artificial climate control.
Today wasn't an ordinary day.
For the past three years, Noir had been in a relationship with a girl he had never met in person. No shared meals. No accidental touches. No real-world presence. Only holographic video calls, voices transmitted across cities, and emotions carried by data.
Her name was Rara Lion.
He trusted her more than anyone.
His wrist device vibrated.
Incoming call.
— "Hey," Rara's voice came through, sharp and impatient. "Where are you?"
Noir groaned, sitting up too fast.
— "Wait! Give me two minutes."
— "Two minutes?" she snapped. "We were supposed to meet at eight."
— "I know, I know—bad idea eating that much street food last night. I'm in the bathroom."
There was a pause. Then—
— "Then stay in the bathroom your whole life," she said flatly. "I'm leaving for university."
— "Hey, hey, I was joking," Noir laughed nervously. "I left five minutes before you did."
— "Then where are you?"
— "Right in front of the coffee shop. One minute."
— "Fine. Don't be late."
The call ended.
When they finally met, reality felt… heavier than the screen ever allowed. Rara stood there, real and breathing, her eyes scanning him as if confirming he truly existed.
Then she smiled—and ran toward him.
She hugged him tightly, as if afraid he might vanish.
— "So," Noir said, still surprised by the warmth of her presence, "you're really my Rara."
— "Obviously," she said, laughing. "Who else would I be?"
They laughed together, the tension dissolving for a moment.
They sat on a nearby bench, shoulders brushing.
The world around them looked nothing like the past Noir had read about in history archives. Vehicles moved silently through the sky, leaving thin trails of light. Borders between countries were meaningless now—travel had become almost instantaneous.
Humans mined distant planets. Harvested stars. Studied realities beyond their own.
Science had evolved past limits once thought absolute. Dark energy. Black holes. Wormholes. Multiple dimensions. Even phenomena beyond the observable universe were no longer mysteries—they were data.
This was the era humanity once dreamed of.
Yet something felt wrong.
Rara grew quiet.
Her fingers twisted together, her gaze fixed on the ground.
— "Noir," she said suddenly. "I need to talk to you about something important."
He turned to her.
— "What is it?"
— "Take me to your house. I can't say this outside."
— "But we were supposed to eat first—"
— "You don't understand," she snapped, her voice cracking. "You don't understand."
She stopped herself, inhaling sharply.
— "Sorry," she muttered. "Forget it."
Rara's moods had always been unpredictable. Noir had learned not to question them too much.
They were standing near Street Wave, the transport hub. Twenty minutes later, they reached Noir's apartment.
The moment the door closed behind them, Rara's tension exploded.
— "Take me to your bedroom."
Noir hesitated, then obeyed.
Inside, she grabbed his hand tightly.
— "I love you," she said.
— "I love you too," Noir replied. "Now tell me what's wrong."
Her eyes trembled.
— "I told you last night… that there was something I hadn't been able to say for three years."
— "I'm listening."
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
— "This isn't the real world, Noir."
He blinked.
— "What?"
— "In reality," she continued, breath shaking, "you, me—none of us exist. Everything here is fake."
— "Wait," Noir said, heart pounding. "That doesn't make sense."
— "We don't have much time," she said urgently. "They know."
— "Who knows?" he asked. "Rara, explain. I trust you."
A loud bang shook the door.
— "OPEN THE DOOR OR WE WILL BREAK IT!"
Noir froze.
— "What the hell is happening?"
Rara cupped his cheek gently.
— "Be careful," she whispered.
The door exploded inward.
Special forces soldiers poured in, weapons raised, tearing through walls like paper.
They grabbed Rara.
Noir lunged forward—
And the world shattered.
His vision blurred. Sound warped.
Darkness swallowed him.
As he fell, memories flooded his mind—memories that were not his. Lives he never lived. Truths he was never meant to know.
Time: 10:38 AM
Noir woke up on the road.
Sirens screamed. People ran. The sky churned with violent clouds.
Beside him flowed The White River, its waters boiling unnaturally. Lightning split the sky, revealing something impossible in the distance.
The solar system.
Not a planet. Not a star.
All of it.
Noir's blood ran cold.
Earth was inside the solar system.
So how was this possible?
Understanding struck him like a blade.
The planet was leaving the solar system....
To be continued...