Endless Chaos – Chaos Void Plane: The Path of Story
Chapter 1 – The World Without a Horizon
Raphael woke up to the sound of wind.
A cold, steady wind that swept across an open field.
For a moment, he didn't move. His mind was still foggy, trapped between sleep and wakefulness.
"…What time is it?"
He expected to see the ceiling of his small apartment.
Instead, when he opened his eyes, he saw an endless sky.
Strange streaks of silver and pale blue flowed slowly across the heavens like rivers of light.
Raphael blinked.
"…Huh?"
He sat up immediately.
Grass brushed against his hands as he looked around.
There were no walls.
No furniture.
No computer.
No apartment.
Just an open field stretching in every direction.
"…Where am I?"
Raphael quickly stood up, brushing dirt from his clothes. His hoodie and jeans were still the same ones he wore last night.
Last night…
He remembered sitting at his desk, scrolling through manga chapters and web novels while rain tapped against his window.
He had stayed up too late again, thinking about story ideas and fantasy worlds.
Then he went to bed.
That was it.
There was no memory of traveling anywhere.
Yet now he stood in the middle of an unfamiliar landscape.
Far in the distance, he could see a small village. A few dozen wooden houses clustered together near a narrow dirt road.
Smoke drifted lazily from several chimneys.
At least there were people.
Raphael exhaled slowly.
"…Okay. First step—ask where I am."
He began walking toward the village.
As he got closer, the details became clearer.
The houses were built from rough wood and stone.
Chickens wandered around small fenced yards.
A farmer worked beside a wooden plow pulled by a tired-looking ox.
The entire place looked like something straight out of a historical drama.
Or a fantasy setting.
Raphael frowned.
"…That's weird."
When he stepped onto the village road, several villagers stopped what they were doing.
They stared at him.
One woman whispered something to the man beside her.
A child pointed openly.
"Mom, his clothes look funny."
Raphael forced an awkward smile.
"Hello."
The villagers exchanged confused looks.
Finally, an old man stepped forward, leaning on a wooden cane.
"You are not from here."
Raphael laughed nervously.
"Yeah… I noticed."
The old man studied him carefully.
"Which kingdom are you from?"
Raphael blinked.
"…Kingdom?"
The villagers murmured.
"You don't know the kingdoms?" someone whispered.
Raphael rubbed the back of his neck.
"Uh… no?"
The old man's expression became more serious.
"Then where did you come from?"
Raphael hesitated.
How was he supposed to answer that?
He didn't even know himself.
"…Far away," he said finally.
The old man did not look convinced.
But before he could continue questioning, something caught Raphael's attention.
Beyond the village, far in the distance, the land stretched outward toward the horizon.
Or rather…
Toward where the horizon should have been.
Raphael narrowed his eyes.
Something felt off.
He turned slowly and looked toward the far edge of the landscape.
His heartbeat quickened.
"…Wait."
There was no curve.
No distant fading line where the land met the sky.
Instead—
The land simply ended.
Far away, the earth dropped off into an endless abyss filled with swirling gray mist and drifting fragments of stone.
Raphael felt his stomach drop.
"…That's impossible."
Earth was round.
Everyone knew that.
The horizon always curved gently.
But here…
The world was flat.
He walked to the top of a nearby hill for a better view.
The villagers watched silently.
When Raphael reached the crest and looked down again, the sight became even clearer.
The land was like a massive floating continent.
Beyond its edge stretched a vast dark expanse filled with fragments of rock drifting through a chaotic void.
The sky above was filled with strange flowing lights that moved slowly like currents in an invisible ocean.
Raphael whispered under his breath.
"…This isn't Earth."
A strange sensation suddenly appeared in his mind.
Not a voice.
Not exactly a thought either.
More like a fragment of understanding emerging from nowhere.
A name surfaced in his consciousness.
Chaos Void Plane
Raphael's eyes widened.
"…Chaos Void Plane?"
The knowledge was faint and incomplete, but it carried a clear meaning.
This world was not a normal planet.
It was a plane of existence.
One of countless realms drifting within the endless expanse known as Endless Chaos.
Raphael gripped his head.
"…I must be dreaming."
But everything felt real.
The wind.
The ground beneath his feet.
The distant sound of villagers talking behind him.
Slowly, Raphael lowered his hands.
If this place really was another world…
Then the rules of reality here might be different.
Very different.
He looked back toward the village.
Several villagers were arguing near a well.
"I'm telling you the hero split the mountain with one strike!"
"That's just a legend."
"It's still possible!"
Raphael listened quietly.
They were arguing about a story.
A legend.
And judging from their tone…
They were debating whether it could be real.
Raphael suddenly felt something click in his mind.
Stories.
Legends.
Belief.
Back in his world, stories were everywhere.
Manga.
Anime.
Novels.
Games.
Humanity had created millions of fictional worlds and heroes.
Raphael slowly smiled.
If this strange plane truly responded to belief and stories…
Then someone who carried countless stories from another civilization might possess something extremely valuable.
He looked up at the flowing sky of the Chaos Void Plane.
Excitement slowly replaced the confusion in his chest.
"…Maybe this world won't be so boring after all."
After all—
If stories had power here…
Then Raphael knew exactly what he would do.
He would create them.
And one day…
Perhaps the stories he told would no longer remain fiction.
They might become reality.
Without realizing it, Raphael had already stepped onto a new path.
A path that would one day reshape the Chaos Void Plane itself.
The Path of Story.