Chapter 1 - The Mysterious Light
A fifteen-year-old boy moved through the crowd. His clothes were black, his hair dark, and his brown eyes usually stared slightly downward, avoiding others' gazes. His posture was slightly hunched, and his steps were uneven. Each step paused briefly, as if his legs refused to hurry.
His name was Lloyd Smith.
Lloyd entered a small shop. The bell above the door jingled, and the air was filled with the scent of old paper and cold coffee. Shelves brimmed with books and comics—a quiet, safe world of another dimension.
The shopkeeper smiled.
"Hello, Lloyd. Marvel comics again?"
Lloyd hesitated, taking a deep breath.
"H… hi, Mr. John. I… I want the Journey into Secrets comic."
John replied calmly, without hurry:
"Second shelf on the left, second row."
Lloyd picked up the book and returned to the counter.
"H… here's your money, Mr. John."
John took the money but glanced down at Lloyd's legs for a moment.
"Lloyd, still stuttering? Legs bothering you too?"
A faint smile appeared on Lloyd's lips.
"Y… yes. Wh… when I was four, I fell from the fourth floor. Since then… I've stuttered. And my legs… the doctor said I have to wait until I'm twenty."
John let out a short sigh.
"Hope you get better, son."
Lloyd stepped out of the shop. The rain had intensified. Cars splashed water everywhere as they passed. He took shelter in a street-side restaurant, ordered noodles, and sat on a metal chair.
The server placed the plate in front of him.
"Here's your noodles."
"T… thanks."
Lloyd began eating. Behind him, two people spoke quietly but seriously.
"Did you hear? Ms. Alice, the greatest prophet, has died."
"Prophet? That's nonsense."
"But her prophecies were always accurate. They say her last one was about the end of the world."
Lloyd's spoon froze in midair.
"If there's danger, the armies and governments will stop it… that's always what they say."
The rain gradually eased. Lloyd began walking home. Forty minutes later, he opened the door.
"Mom… I'm home."
His mother smiled.
"Good job, son. How was your walk? The doctor said to take it easy."
"I'm fine, Mom. I ate too."
He went to his room and collapsed on the bed, staring at the ceiling; tiny cracks formed a map of places he didn't know.
He whispered to himself:
"I've wanted to be a hero since I was a child… just so someone would see me. They always acted as if I didn't exist."
Lloyd always felt stressed around others. Words fled just when he needed them most.
He picked up his phone. The internet was full of discussion, fear, and rumors.
"The apocalypse is near."
"The final judgment."
"The battle between good and evil."
"The world will end and be reborn."
He put the phone down. His throat was dry.
"Does… the world really end?"
He read the last message:
"If the world's going to end, I hope it's a war between angels and demons… at least that would be exciting."
A bitter smile touched his lips.
"Some people even make jokes about the end of the world…"
He turned off the phone. Silence fell over the room, and the sound of rain faded into the distance. His eyelids grew heavy, and sleep gently, silently, claimed him.
And at that very moment…
Beyond the Earth.
Beyond the solar systems and stars.
Somewhere outside the galaxies, a man stood.
Taller than a human, with a human-like body; long red hair that gleamed in the void, a white beard, and gray eyes. His gaze fixed on a distant point: a small blue planet.
Earth.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips. His voice, needing no air, echoed through the void:
"Interesting…"
The next day, Lloyd awoke with heavy eyelids.
The pale morning light filtered through the curtains, but his mind hovered between sleep and wakefulness. A strange feeling lingered in his chest, like a memory without shape.
He sat on the bed and murmured:
"Last night… I had a strange dream."
The gray mist was still in his mind.
Endless.
Formless.
Silent.
No Earth, no sky.
Just mist… and a feeling that it was watching him.
He shook his head and got up. A little later, he sat at the breakfast table.
His mother smiled.
"Good morning, son."
"Good morning to you too, Mom."
He hesitated.
"I want to go to grandma and grandpa's today."
Her expression turned serious for a moment.
"Alright, just be careful. Walk slowly."
Lloyd nodded.
"Okay."
The air was humid and the streets crowded. Cars honked over one another as if the city itself was in a hurry.
He thought to himself:
"Probably no bus today. It's the rainy season… everyone's outside."
His eyes fell on his bicycle.
"Better ride myself."
He mounted and started moving. The further he went, the heavier the crowd and the creeping stress.
Lloyd changed his route.
Through the mountains.
The road was quieter. Fewer sounds—just the wind, the wheels… and his thoughts.
"I've always wanted to be a hero. To save others. To be seen. Not for fame. Just so someone… knows I exist."
He pedaled.
"I have no friends. Only family. But with them… I'm happy."
A heavy thought passed his mind.
"Sometimes I feel I have no purpose."
He remembered his stutter. Words froze around others… but not when he was alone.
A shadow of a memory rose. He was four years old.
A fall.
Four floors.
The sound of breaking.
Hospital.
Since then, social anxiety.
And my legs… always aching. Even when I wasn't walking.
The doctor said I'd have to wait until I was twenty.
And yet…
I survived that fall.
He pedaled.
Suddenly—
The front wheel slipped.
"No—!"
Everything spun. Earth and sky switched places. His body flew forward.
And then…
Nothing.
Lloyd felt weightless.
He opened his eyes. Darkness. Deep. Boundless.
"M… where am I?"
He looked at himself.
No body.
Transparent. Like vapor.
I… died?
Fear washed over him like a cold wave.
In that moment, a golden light filled everything. Warm, calm, painless.
A voice, without form, spoke:
"Hello, Lloyd."
His heart raced.
"W… who are you?"
The light did not answer. It only drew closer.
Suddenly—
Lloyd woke with a deep breath.
"Oh… my head…"
Pain pierced sharply. He opened his eyes.
A cliff.
He looked at his body.
Whole. No wounds. No broken bones.
But the image of the light… still there.
I spoke to it…
It tried to make me remember.
Pain. Sharp. Merciless.
"Oh… my head…!"
Tears ran down. His body shivered. Then, as suddenly as it had come, the pain receded.
"What… what happened?"
He took a deep breath and stood. He looked at the cliff wall.
"How do I… get up?"
The wind blew. But not an ordinary wind. It swirled around him, alive. Obedient.
Before he knew it, the ground beneath him vanished. The wind lifted him and his bicycle.
A few seconds later—
Road.
Mountains.
Safety.
Lloyd froze.
"I… I have… power?"
He whispered:
"Did… God hear my prayers?"
He wanted to return.
And then he realized.
His legs… didn't hurt.
He stood and looked at his knees.
"They're… healed?"
A car passed. He waved.
"Excuse me, what time is it?"
"Twelve forty-eight."
"Thanks."
The car drove away.
Lloyd stayed there.
I… spoke without stuttering.
A trembling smile appeared.
"I… need to… go home."
He didn't know that this was not just a miracle.
This…
Was the beginning of something that should never have happened.
To be continued…