The world ended quietly.
There were no explosions, no thunder, no biblical trumpets.
Only a strange, trembling sound—like glass being touched by a cold fingertip.
—ting… ting… ting…
The morning sky above Seoul rippled as if someone pressed a hand against reality itself. Clouds folded inward. Colors drained. Birds scattered in frantic spirals.
And then the crack appeared.
A thin, luminous line split the heavens from north to south, glowing like molten silver. People on the streets stopped walking. Car engines died. Conversations froze mid-sentence.
Everyone stared upward.
L
**But in a small apartment in Mapo-gu…
…one person felt it before it even happened.**
Han Jihoon sat alone in the dim room, one hand gripping his shaking wrist. Sweat trickled down his forehead. His heartbeat was too loud—too heavy—like someone knocking from inside his chest.
He had felt this sensation for weeks.
A pressure.
A presence.
Something calling his name from far beyond the world.
He didn't believe in supernatural things.
He didn't believe in destiny.
He barely believed in himself.
But that morning, as everyone outside gasped at the sky…
Jihoon whispered:
"…It's here."
A low hum spread across the city.
Streetlights flickered. Electronic signboards died. The air vibrated with an unfamiliar energy—warm yet suffocating, like standing beside an unseen fire.
People screamed.
Some fell to their knees.
Some desperately prayed.
Some simply stared, too stunned to even breathe.
And in the middle of it all, an enormous, obsidian structure pierced through the cracked sky and descended slowly like a falling star.
A tower.
A black, endless tower—engraved with runes no one had ever seen before.
The world changed in a single breath.
Inside Jihoon's mind, a voice whispered.
Not loud.
Not violent.
Just… precise.
—You are chosen.
Jihoon froze.
"…What?"
—You will build what they could not.
You will climb what they fear.
You will change the fate of mankind.
His hands trembled violently now.
He didn't understand.
He didn't want any of this.
"Why me?"
Silence.
Then—
—Because you carry a truth that cannot be erased.
His vision blurred. His temperature dropped. Something cold crawled up his spine.
Then the world shattered.
A deafening boom shook the city.
A shockwave rippled outward from the tower's impact point. Windows exploded. Dust rose like a storm. A deep, vibrating pulse rippled through every human alive.
Every phone screen lit up with identical text:
[THE ASCENT HAS BEGUN.]
[AWAKENED: 0.0003% of population.]
People panicked. Cars slammed into each other. Sirens wailed. News channels collapsed. The internet froze with a single flashing banner:
"Global Phenomenon — Unknown Object Appears Worldwide."
More towers fell across the planet.
One in Tokyo.
One in Karachi.
One in Berlin.
One in New York.
One on the Arabian Peninsula.
One above the frozen Arctic.
Humanity could only watch.
But Jihoon… wasn't watching.
He was experiencing something else entirely.
His body collapsed. Cold darkness swallowed him. When he opened his eyes again, he stood in a vast, empty white space—endless, silent, and impossibly smooth.
A figure made of shifting shadows stood before him.
Not human.
Not exactly a monster.
Something between.
"Han Jihoon," it said, its voice echoing like layered whispers. "Welcome to the Ascent."
Jihoon stepped back instinctively. "What are you?"
"We are the Architects. The ones who built the Towers. The ones who decide the next era."
Jihoon swallowed.
His throat was dry.
"Why did you choose me?"
"For the same reason your world ignored you," the shadow answered calmly.
"You endure."
Jihoon clenched his fists, unsure whether it was anger or confusion in his chest.
"You will enter the Tower sooner than others," it continued. "When you climb, humanity climbs. When you fall, humanity falls."
Jihoon shook his head.
"No… I'm not a hero."
"Good," the Architect replied.
"Heroes die first."
The white space cracked like a mirror.
Reality pulled him down.
Jihoon awoke on the floor of his apartment.
He gasped for air, chest heaving, sweat soaking through his shirt.
Outside, the sky was still cracked.
The Tower still stood.
But now, faint blue lines glowed along his forearms—like runes crawling under his skin.
He didn't need anyone to explain.
He had been awakened.
A message appeared in front of him, floating like a hologram made of pure light.
[SYSTEM ACTIVATED.]
[CLASS: UNKNOWN.]
[ABILITY: SEALED.]
[QUEST: APPROACH THE TOWER.]
Jihoon closed his eyes slowly.
His life—his boring, painful, meaningless life—
was over.
A new one had begun.
But he didn't feel excitement.
He didn't feel hope.
Only dread.
And a quiet promise to himself:
"If the world is changing…
…I will not let it swallow me again."
Far away, in Pakistan…
The Karachi Tower glowed far brighter than any other.
A young man stepped forward, eyes burning with determination, his body already radiating awakened energy.
Unlike Jihoon…
…he awakened instantly.
He would become the first ranked powerhouse of Asia.
But that was a story for later.
Back in Seoul…
Han Jihoon stepped out of his apartment.
The city was in chaos.
The sky was broken.
People were running, crying, screaming.
And at the end of the street stood the Tower—impossibly tall, impossibly silent.
Waiting.
Calling him.
He took his first step.
And the Ascent began.
END OF CHAPTER 1 (REWRITE)