"Where the hell am I?"
Kai spun around in panic.
The strange metal room still surrounded him. The walls were dark and smooth, reflecting faint blue light from the strange belt around his waist.
Several figures stood in front of him.
None of them looked human.
Kai stared at them with wide eyes.
Then suddenly he shouted,
"Oh God! Did you send angels to take my soul?!"
He looked around again in terror.
"Or am I already dead… and this is hell?"
For a moment nobody said anything.
Kai slowly rubbed his face and sighed.
"Well… I guess I wasn't expecting much from my life anyway."
He glanced at the group again.
One of them immediately caught his attention.
The being was huge.
Its skin looked like dark red stone, and glowing cracks ran across its arms and neck like lines of magma inside rock.
Kai leaned forward slightly and pointed.
"Wow…"
"That dude has cracks on his skin."
One of the people in the group finally stepped forward.
He looked mostly human, though his sharp golden eyes made him look slightly different.
The man crossed his arms and spoke calmly.
"So you are the new cadet."
Kai blinked.
"Cadet?"
He pointed at himself.
"Wait… what cadet?"
"Why am I here?"
Then he suddenly raised his hands in surrender.
"Please Mr. Devils, don't punish me!"
"I'm not cursed! I didn't kill my family!"
The man stared at him.
"What the hell is he babbling about?"
"Is this kid sane?"
The giant stone-skinned man stepped forward with a heavy step.
"Hey kid."
"Just shut your trap and listen."
"This is not hell."
"And you are not dead."
Kai froze.
"…What?"
"You mean…"
"I'm not dead?"
The rock giant crossed his arms.
"No."
Kai looked around the room again.
"Then what the hell am I doing here?"
"And what place is this?"
A woman standing behind the others finally spoke.
She looked tall and elegant, with pale silver skin and glowing blue eyes.
Her expression looked annoyed.
"Will you stop asking questions for five seconds?"
Kai immediately straightened his back.
"Oh… yeah."
"Sorry."
The golden-eyed man stepped forward again.
"You are currently inside the headquarters of the Space Control and Crime in Check Core."
He paused briefly.
"In short… the SCCCC."
Kai stared at him.
Then he scratched his head.
"That's… a lot of C's."
Nobody laughed.
Kai coughed awkwardly.
"Right…"
He pointed again at the stone giant.
"Okay sir… big rock guy with cracks on his body."
"So why am I here?"
"And more importantly…"
"How do I get out of here?"
He sighed dramatically.
"You see, for the first time in my life something good was about to happen."
"And suddenly I got teleported here."
The silver-skinned woman frowned slightly.
"So you understand the concept of teleportation?"
"I thought you Earthlings were a backward race."
Kai's eyes widened.
"What the hell?"
"So I really did get teleported here?"
The stone giant nodded.
"Yes."
"How did you think you arrived here?"
"This planet is approximately 1.5 million light years away from your world."
Kai froze.
"…No freaking way."
He looked around again.
"So I'm on a completely different planet?"
The golden-eyed man answered calmly.
"Yes."
"And now you are officially a cadet of the SCCCC."
Kai blinked.
"Wait…"
"You mean like… military?"
The man nodded.
"You have been chosen."
Kai raised a hand.
"Yeah… about that…"
"I politely decline."
The group stared at him.
Kai shrugged.
"Nothing personal."
"But I kinda had a date tonight."
"And honestly this whole alien recruitment thing is a bit sudden."
The man sighed slightly.
"You misunderstand the situation."
"You do not have a choice."
Kai frowned.
"What do you mean I don't have a choice?"
The man pointed toward Kai's waist.
"The belt chose you."
Kai slowly looked down.
The strange belt around his waist was still glowing faintly.
"So…?"
"So what?"
The man continued calmly.
"That belt is now bonded to you."
"You cannot run from it."
"And if you somehow return to Earth with that belt…"
He paused.
"You will not survive long."
Kai narrowed his eyes.
"…Explain."
The stone giant answered this time.
"There are hunters."
"Belt Hunters."
"They hunt people like you."
Kai crossed his arms.
"I don't fear death, old man."
The giant stared at him silently.
Then he spoke again.
"You may not fear death."
"But do you have someone you love?"
"Your family?"
Kai opened his mouth.
Then closed it again.
"…No."
"I'm alone."
The words came out quietly.
But suddenly—
A memory appeared in his mind.
A girl standing beside a fountain.
Waiting.
Umi.
Kai's expression changed.
"…Actually."
"No."
"I do have someone."
"Well… she loves me at least."
The golden-eyed man nodded slowly.
"Exactly."
"If you return to Earth with that belt…"
"You will not only put yourself in danger."
"You will also put anyone connected to you in danger."
Kai clenched his fists slightly.
"…You're serious?"
The man nodded.
"The threats that roam the universe are far greater than anything your small planet has ever seen."
Kai looked down again at the glowing belt.
For the first time since arriving here…
He felt the weight of the situation.
Then he sighed.
"…This sucks."
The silver-skinned woman frowned.
"That is your response?"
Kai nodded.
"Yeah."
He looked up again.
"So basically…"
"I was teleported across the galaxy."
"Bonded with some weird cosmic belt."
"Joined a space police organization without my permission."
"And if I go home…"
"Alien hunters might kill the only girl who ever asked me out."
The stone giant nodded.
"That is an accurate summary."
Kai rubbed his face.
"…Great."
He looked up again.
"Fine."
"But I still have one question."
The group waited.
Kai pointed at the belt around his waist.
"What exactly is this thing?"
The room grew quiet for a moment.
The golden-eyed man looked at the belt carefully before speaking.
"That," he said calmly, "is a Viscent Belt."
Kai blinked.
"A what belt?"
The silver-skinned woman answered this time.
"A Viscent Belt is one of the most powerful artifacts created by the Core."
She crossed her arms.
"It allows its user to manipulate cosmic energy."
Kai looked down again at the glowing belt.
"So basically…"
"It's a fancy alien power belt."
The stone giant let out a rough chuckle.
"You could say that."
"But do not underestimate it."
"Even a normal Viscent Belt is considered one of the most dangerous artifacts in the known universe."
Kai scratched the back of his head.
"…And this thing chose me?"
The golden-eyed man nodded.
"Yes."
"The belts choose their users themselves."
"That means the Core cannot simply take it away from you."
Kai sighed.
"Great."
"So the weird glowing belt kidnapped me and now I'm stuck in space."
The silver-skinned woman looked slightly irritated.
"Think of it as an honor."
Kai shrugged.
"I'll think about that later."
The stone giant suddenly laughed loudly.
For the first time since Kai had arrived.
Meanwhile, deep inside the enormous Core headquarters…
security systems quietly began registering the arrival of a new cadet.
A boy from Earth.
Chosen by a Viscent Belt.
None of them realized that the belt around Kai's waist was not just another Viscent Belt.
And far away…
someone else was watching.
Hidden Location – Unknown
A man lay comfortably on a floating reclining chair.
The room around him was dark and silent.
In front of him floated a large fog-covered screen made of shifting energy.
The image on the screen slowly cleared.
It showed a confused boy standing inside a Core chamber.
Kai Orion.
The man watched quietly for a few seconds.
Then a faint smile appeared on his face.
"So…"
he murmured softly.
"The belt chose you."
He leaned back in the chair, clearly amused.
"…Interesting."
The foggy screen flickered again as the man continued watching the boy.
Like someone observing a very entertaining game that had just begun.
On the other side Kai had no idea that the moment he stepped into the Core, his quiet life on Earth had already ended, and a far more dangerous journey had begun.