Chapter 1
Rain lashed against the broken window like countdown fingers. Gray light filtered through the blinds, weak and weary.
Dogju Syu was on his mattress—no blanket, no pillow, just lying down.
His eyes followed the mold creeping along the ceiling. He'd meant to scrub it off. I never got to it; it didn't matter now anyway.
His laptop buzzed on the ground beside him. The student portal was still open.
FINAL GRADES POSTED.
He clicked without thinking.
Calculus: F
Advanced Physics: F
Attendance: Barred
He gazed.
No Reaction, just a slow blink as the gravity of it hung over him like lead in his chest. He closed the tab, but the grades remained imprinted behind his eyes.
A new email arrived.
Subject: Tuition Payment Due – 5 Days Remaining
Dogju let out a brief, mirthless laugh. There was no humor in it.
He rolled onto his side, allowing the screen to black out by itself. The rain outside intensified—louder now, like it was attempting to drown the world.
No future, no plan, Nothing but a degree he'd never finish and a mountain of debt crushing his shoulders.
His heart didn't ache—just lay there. Tired.
A flicker of motion caught his eye.
The old TV, still plugged in, sprang to life—static, then red letters.
EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM
CELESTIAL IMPACT IMMINENT – 12 MINUTES TO IMPACT
THIS IS NOT A DRILL, TAKE COVER NOW.
The words were repeated in a loop by a mechanical voice. Sirens wailed in the distance. People screamed.
Cars collided, The sky was ripped apart—black clouds ripped open by scorching red streaks. Something enormous rumbled in the distance. The kind of noise you feel in your bones.
Dogju did not budge; he gazed.
Twelve minutes.
His eyes drifted back to the ceiling. The mold line had spread to the light fixture.
He shut his eyes.
".Took you long enough," he grumbled.
And then the world ended.
In an instant. Just light—pure and total. It swallowed everything.
Then: silence.
[System Booting.]
A chime rang out in the emptiness.
Cold.
Electronic.
Dogju opened his eyes—but in a room of White, nothing. Blue windows floated in the air around him, cold and antiseptic.
[Hello, Player.]
[Initializing User Setup…]
[Loading System Environment…]
Bars filled, menus opened. It was a smooth operation, like an operating table in surgery.
Then—glitch.
A flicker.
Another.
The UI stuttered, scrambled, and finally broke like glass under pressure.
[ERROR: UNAUTHORIZED SYSTEM CREATED.]
[System Breach Detected.]
[REWRITING CORE PARAMETERS…]
The void convulsed.
Code lines writhed in agony like ripped ligaments. Something within the machine screamed noiselessly, redefining rules it didn't comprehend.
Dogju floated suspended in the middle of it, watching the system devour itself and re-form.
One final window locked into place.
Blood red.
[SUPREME SYSTEM CREATED.]
[ALL LIMITATIONS ELIMINATED.]
[WELCOME TO YOUR NEW LIFE.]