The sun was setting behind us.
Orange light stretched across the empty streets—
fading slowly into darkness.
We walked in silence.
Not the comfortable kind.
The kind that presses on your chest.
I glanced at her once.
Then looked away.
I've always been like this.
I don't start conversations.
I wait.
Until someone else breaks the silence.
And eventually—
she did.
"So," she said, her voice calm,"you completed your training… hmm?"
I nodded."Yeah. We were… celebrating."
Celebrating.
The word felt strange now.
Almost ironic.
She didn't react.
Just kept walking.
"Here," she said after a while,"we've arrived."
I looked up.
And froze.
"…A metro station?"
It was abandoned.
Broken lights.
Cracked tiles.
Dark tunnels stretching into nothing.
"This is our base?" I asked, unable to hide my confusion.
She stepped forward.
"There is no safer place than this," she replied.
That didn't feel reassuring.
At all.
Still—
I followed.
Because I had no choice.
The tunnel was dark.
Too dark.
The kind that swallows sound.
She switched on a torch.
A thin beam of light cut through the darkness.
We walked.
Five minutes.
Maybe ten.
Time felt… strange here.
Until finally—
we reached something.
A station.
But not abandoned.
Not entirely.
Lights.
Faint.
Dim.
But alive.
"This," she said,"is our actual base."
I stepped forward slowly.
People.
There were people.
Living here.
Surviving.
A guy passed by—
casual.
Relaxed.
"Hey, Kat," he said.
Kat.
So that was her name.
He walked ahead—
then suddenly stopped.
Turned back.
His eyes landed on me.
Sharp.
Curious.
"Who's she?" he asked, pointing.
Kat didn't hesitate.
"A newbie."
That was it.
No explanation.
No concern.
He nodded.
"Got it," he said casually."Welcome, then."
Just like that.
As if this was normal.
"I'll call the others," he added, already walking away.
Within minutes—
they were all there.
Nine people.
Now ten.
Including me.
They stood in a loose circle.
Watching.
Measuring.
I took a breath.
"Hi…" I started.
My voice felt smaller than usual.
"My signature name is White."
Names mattered.
Real ones were forbidden.
That's what we were taught.
A boy leaned forward slightly.
"Which planet are you from?" he asked.
I blinked.
"…What?"
I almost laughed.
Is this some kind of joke?
"Earth," I said."Obviously."
Silence.
Then—
a few exchanged looks.
"Oh," someone muttered.
"So she's from Earth."
Earth?
From Earth?
"Your criteria, Kat," another voice added.
I frowned.
"Wait—what does that even mean?" I asked."And what do you mean which planet?"
A girl stepped forward.
Tall.
Confident.
"I'm from Planet Gene M684," she said calmly."Signature name—Xone."
My brain stopped.
"…Gene what?"
No one laughed.
No one corrected her.
They were serious.
Every single one of them.
A slow, cold realization crept in.
I looked around.
At their faces.
At their eyes.
Different.
Subtle.
But different.
Then—
my wristband vibrated.
Again.
I looked down.
A new message appeared.
"New Environment Detected."
Another line.
"Cross-World Integration: Active."
My breath hitched.
Cross… world?
Before I could process it—
one final line appeared.
"You are no longer in your original reality."
The ground beneath me felt unstable.
"This… isn't Earth, is it?" I whispered.
No one answered.
Because they didn't need to.
Kat finally spoke.
Quiet.
Certain.
"No," she said.
A pause.
"Earth was just your starting point."
Silence wrapped around me.
Tighter than before.
And for the first time—
I wasn't just scared of dying.
I was scared of something worse.
Not understanding the rules.