The very air seemed to transform, growing thick and heavy, as if an invisible substance had been poured into the atmosphere. Towering pillars, ancient and immense, were embedded into the earth itself, appearing as though the entire weight of the world rested upon their shoulders.
Suddenly, a brilliant light fell upon all the youngsters, causing their bodies to shine with an unearthly radiance.
Ji-hoon's breath hitched.
"W-What… what's happening to my body…?" he whispered, his voice trembling.
It felt as if his very form was being recreated from scratch. The golden luminescence awakened a dormant power inside him—one he didn't understand, one that scared him more than anything else.
His fingers shook as an invisible energy surged through him.
"I can feel it… inside my bones… this isn't normal… this isn't human…"
The entire world watched in stunned silence, but the colossal pillars quickly began to dissolve, fading back into the void.
Ji-hoon managed a shaky whisper, "So this is it…? It's more than I ever imagined. I thought some angel would just teleport us to a fantasy world. But this… this feels like dying and being reborn at the same time…"
Then, a terrifying voice—the Angel's—echoed across the globe.
Ji-hoon flinched as the sound vibrated through his soul.
"In this world," it thundered, "people have apps like 'Future.' Whatever you choose to do, do it with the betterment of society in mind. You are fueled by my power. Do not waste it."
Ji-hoon swallowed hard, a cold shiver crawling down his spine.
"Betterment…? Power…? What did I ever do to deserve this…"
Then the pillars activated once more. A massive eruption of pure light engulfed them.
Screams echoed everywhere.
Ji-hoon's eyes widened in terror as he felt his legs vanish first, dissolving into particles.
"N-No… no no no—!! My body—!!"
His voice cracked, breaking into raw fear.
His flesh melted away, leaving behind a brilliant orb of white soul-light.
Ji-hoon looked down at the fading outline of his body, his stomach twisting.
"I… I really died, didn't I?" he whispered weakly, the nausea rising in his throat.
Everyone else was vomiting or crying, but Ji-hoon simply shut his eyes.
A strange calm washed over him—a calm born of hopeless acceptance.
"Take me," he commanded silently.
If this was the end, then let it end quickly.
Time seemed to freeze.
A blinding light wrapped around him—a luminous cocoon swallowing him whole.
Everything—his breath, heartbeat, the trembling of his soul—was absorbed.
When the light finally dimmed, he opened his eyes to a vast, empty void.
A strange silence—too silent—greeted him.
His chest tightened.
"Where… am I…?"
His own voice echoed back at him, small and hollow.
He floated weightlessly.
No pain.
No warmth.
No world.
Just… nothing.
Then, reality ripped open around him—thousands of holes showing different worlds.
Ji-hoon's eyes widened, his heartbeat accelerating painfully.
"Earth… other planets… what is this place?!"
Suddenly the cocoon pulled him towards a black hole.
A raw, primal terror surged inside him.
"No—NO! NOT THERE—!!"
But nothing answered him.
The pressure crushed his senses; his vision shattered into darkness.
Then—
A violent jolt.
His awareness rebooted.
He was hurtling through a massive sky, seven planets aligned before him like a cosmic ritual.
"What… what kind of sick dream is this!?" he gasped, powerless against the speed ripping him apart.
The light launched him past six planets—reality cracking around him—until the seventh planet approached.
Then he was ejected.
The sky exploded open, revealing colossal forests, mountain ranges, and ocean-like rivers.
He could only think one thing:
"What in the hell…?"
CRACK.
His body smashed into a giant tree.
Agony swallowed him whole.
He couldn't even scream.
The world blurred.
The pain was too much.
Before blacking out, he whispered, "Am I… still alive…?"
Everything faded.
---
Scene Shift: Pillar-Town
A massive settlement thrived around a giant, pulsating pillar. People emerged from its openings—the newly arrived, including Ji-hoon's friends.
Ji-hoon never made it here.
His Earth file had marked him with dark crimes—even ones he didn't fully understand.
This world didn't care.
Such people were thrown randomly into dangerous zones.
A silent punishment.
---
Awakening
Ji-hoon gasped awake, his chest burning.
The canopy above him was unfamiliar, glowing with alien colors.
"Ah… it hurts… everything hurts…" he groaned.
Two glowing messages appeared before him:
// SYSTEM INITIATED //
MISSION 1: SURVIVAL
Objective: Live for 15 Days.
MISSION 2: INTEGRATION
Reach nearest settlement to be acknowledged as a citizen.
Ji-hoon stared at the messages, his lips quivering.
"Fifteen days…? You want me to survive like this…? Alone…?"
He laughed weakly, the sound breaking halfway.
"Of course… of course. Punishment world… why wouldn't it be?"
He dragged himself up, every limb trembling.
The gentle cocoon-light was gone.
Only pain remained.
Deep roars echoed from distant beasts.
Ji-hoon clenched his jaw.
His eyes hardened.
"And so it begins," he whispered to the empty forest—
half fear, half determination.
His true survival had started.
---