The first thing he noticed was the color.
White.
Not the white of clouds or snow, but a strange, endless white that covered
everything—the floor, the walls, the ceiling. It felt like standing inside an empty
thought.
Arin slowly opened his eyes and sat up. His head throbbed as if he had been struck by
something heavy.
"Where… am I?" he muttered.
The room gave no answer.
For a moment, the only sound was a faint echo, almost like distant laughter drifting
through the air.
Arin frowned.
This doesn't make sense.
He stood up carefully, scanning the empty space around him. His mind was already
working, trying to understand the situation.
No doors.
No windows.
No shadows.
Just white.
Then he heard a groan behind him.
"Ugh… my head…"
Arin turned and saw his friend lying on the floor, slowly pushing himself up.
"Kael," Arin said. "You're awake."
Kael rubbed his eyes and blinked at the endless white around them.
"Okay…" he said slowly. "Either I'm dreaming… or we got kidnapped by someone who
really likes white paint."
Arin crossed his arms.
"Think carefully. What's the last thing you remember?"
Kael stared at the floor, thinking.
The first sign that something was wrong… was the bubbles.
Thousands of them.
They exploded out of Kael's oxygen tank like a miniature rocket engine.
Underwater, Arin stared at him in horror.
What did you do?
Kael grinned through his diving mask and pointed proudly at the tank behind him.
Then he made a flying motion with his hands.
Arin's eyes narrowed.
Even through the water, he could read Kael perfectly.
No.
Kael nodded enthusiastically.
Yes.
Arin shook his head harder.
Absolutely not.
Kael ignored him.
Slowly—far too confidently—he pulled the small diving knife from his belt.
Arin froze.
You wouldn't.
Kael pointed at the oxygen pipe.
Then he pointed behind himself.
Then he made the flying gesture again.
Jetpack.
Arin slapped his own forehead inside the diving mask.
Even underwater, Kael's imagination was dangerous.
Before Arin could stop him—
Slice.
The oxygen pipe split open.
Air blasted out violently.
For one glorious moment…
Kael shot forward like a rocket.
His eyes widened in amazement.
IT WORKS!
Then the tank spun him sideways like a broken missile.
Kael pinwheeled wildly through the water.
Straight toward Arin.
Arin had exactly half a second to realize what was about to happen.
Then—
Crash.
The two of them slammed together and rolled across the reef in a chaotic cloud of
bubbles.
Kael slowly floated upside down.
Arin stared at him.
Their oxygen gauges both flashed EMPTY.
Kael gave him a weak thumbs-up.
Arin closed his eyes.
Unbelievable.
Darkness swallowed everything.
And when Arin opened his eyes again…
Everything was white.
Both of them looked at each other.
Silence filled the room.
Kael's eyes widened.
"…Wait."
Arin sighed quietly.
"We're dead," he said.
Kael jumped to his feet.
"WE'RE DEAD?!" he shouted.
His voice echoed loudly in the empty room.
Arin rubbed his temple.
"Can you not shout?"
"But we died!" Kael yelled. "Bro, you're telling me we actually died?!"
Arin shrugged.
"Based on the evidence… yes."
Kael stared at him for several seconds.
Then suddenly, he laughed.
"Wow," he said. "I always imagined the afterlife would be cooler. Like floating castles
or angels or something."
Arin raised an eyebrow.
"You imagined angels?"
"I imagine a lot of things," Kael replied proudly.
Then his expression suddenly changed.
"What about my family?" he said quietly.
Arin looked at him.
Kael's eyes started to water.
"What if they're crying right now? What if they're wondering where I went?"
Arin stared at him for a moment.
Then he said flatly,
"We're both orphans."
Kael blinked.
"Oh."
A pause.
"…Right," he said. "I forgot."
Arin sighed.
Only Kael could forget something like that in the middle of a crisis.
"So," Kael said, clapping his hands once. "Now what do we do?"
Before Arin could answer, the white room suddenly trembled.
The floor beneath their feet rippled like water.
"What the—" Kael started.
The entire world dissolved.
The white walls shattered into light, and the two boys felt the ground vanish beneath
them.
For a brief moment, they were falling through endless darkness.
Then—
Thud.
They landed hard on solid ground.
Dust rose around them, and the smell of smoke and cooking food drifted through the
air.
Arin groaned and pushed himself up.
This time, the world was no longer white.
They stood on a dusty road surrounded by stone buildings with wooden roofs. People
walked through the streets wearing medieval clothing. Market stalls lined the road, and
in the distance a large lake reflected the sunlight.
It looked like something out of a fantasy story.
Kael's jaw slowly dropped.
"Okay," he whispered. "Either heaven got a medieval update…"
Arin looked around carefully, observing everything.
"…or we're somewhere very strange."
Kael pointed forward.
"Hey," he said.
Arin followed his finger.
Above the town, the massive tower rose into the sky like a pillar holding the heavens in
place.
Its peak vanished beyond the clouds.
Arin stared at it in silence.
Kael followed his gaze.
"Think we're supposed to go up there?" Kael asked.
Arin didn't answer immediately.
Because for some reason…
the moment he looked at the tower—
it felt like the beginning of everything.