Tristan had always been the kind of boy who blended into the background.
With raven-black hair that drooped slightly over his forehead and striking green eyes that could have been captivating—if only they weren't hidden behind layers of exhaustion and disinterest—he was the sort of person you might see once in a hallway and then forget forever. Average features, average build. Nothing about him ever stood out… at least not on the surface.
He didn't smile much. He didn't talk unless spoken to. Most days, he existed more like a shadow than a person.
Except to one.
His older sister, Emma.
She was everything too Tristan.
she was charismatic, dazzling, and impossibly beautiful. Long obsidian hair that shimmered like silk under the light, and crimson eyes that held fire and defiance. If Tristan was a quiet candle in the dark, Emma was a blazing torch, unafraid to burn those who came too close.
Despite their differences,
Their parents had vanished from their lives the moment Emma turned eighteen. One day, their mother and father were packing suitcases and promising to return. The next, they were just… gone. No calls. No letters. No explanations.
Tristan was fifteen at the time. Still a boy.
Emma—barely an adult—became everything for him his guardian, his protector, his Parent.
Fortunately, she had already carved a path for herself. She was a rising model, beloved for her looks and her cool-headed confidence on camera. Their lives weren't perfect, but they were stable… until everything changed.
A man with power. A director with influence and a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He tried to touch her, to use his position to claim something that was never his. But Emma wasn't the type to cower.
She recorded everything.
The threats. The Bad things The Dirty Secrets she had been collecting.
She sued the company. The case made headlines. And though she lost her position and the spotlight dimmed, the settlement she received was enough for them to live quietly for years.
But Emma never stopped working.
---
A Regular Evening
"Tristan! Wake up! Dinner's ready!" Emma's voice rang through the house, echoing up the narrow stairwell.
It wasn't the first time she had to call him twice.
Tristan stirred from his desk, his eyes barely able to open. His room was a mess. Papers stacked in unsteady piles, textbooks opened to pages filled with highlighter marks and sticky notes. His laptop blinked beside him, an unfinished essay still glowing faintly on the screen.
He yawned as he rubbed his eyes, dragging his feet downstairs.
And there she was.
Emma, standing in the kitchen with her hands on her hips, dressed in a simple Crop top. And a Apron. Her curvy Body Palpable in the Outfit.
Even dressed down, she looked like that she could be compared as a Goddess.
She squinted at him, her crimson eyes narrowing playfully. "Hmm~ my Little Brother had been cold lately in his sister aren't you?"
Tristan gave a tired shrug.
She pouted dramatically and reached out to squeeze his cheeks. "Really~ what will you do if I'm gone? Who's going to feed you? Keep you from turning into a skeleton buried in textbooks?"
Despite his fatigue, Tristan smiled faintly. "Don't worry. I'm fine."
"You're not," she sighed, ruffling his hair as they sat at the table. "But I'll allow it. Just eat."
The two sat in comfortable silence as they began eating. The table was simple, but the warmth between them made it feel like home.
"So," Emma asked, her voice softening with curiosity, "still Top 1 at school?"
Tristan lazily spooned rice into his mouth and nodded. "Yeah. Still top of my class."
She grinned. "That's my brother~"
The praise was casual, but it landed deep. Tristan didn't show it, but her words always meant more than any trophy or recognition.
He was tired. School was draining, even suffocating at times. He spent hours memorizing human anatomy, reading through law books, solving complex equations—all in a race to prove he wasn't helpless. That he could still succeed, even without parents, even without a perfect life.
Behind his tired eyes was a mind that refused to quit.
A genius, some professors whispered. A once-in-a-generation mind.
NASA had already taken notice. So had several research associations. But none of that made the pressure easier.
"Being Top 1 in the best university is really troublesome," Tristan mumbled, stretching his sore neck.
Emma chuckled. "You're lucky you have me. Tell your big sis all your troubles~"
Her voice was teasing but comforting.
Tristan opened his mouth to respond—
And then the world shattered.
---
The Fall of Earth
The house trembled.
Then cracked.
Then broke.
The ground beneath them split like glass. The air twisted into something thick and unnatural, a pulse of dread spreading through the city like an invisible wave. Before Tristan could scream, before Emma could move—
Everything went black.
But death didn't come.
Instead—
> [System Activation Successful]
[You have been Transmigrated into the Nightmare World.]
Tristan gasped awake.
His body ached. The air was dry and cold. The only source of light came from a flickering campfire beside him. The ground beneath him was hard and rough—like compacted ash and rock. Around him was… nothing. Endless darkness. No sky. No stars. Just… void.
And beside him was Emma.
She was already awake, her face pale and stiff with shock, staring at something floating in front of her.
"Tristan… do you see this blue thing floating in front of me?" she whispered, her voice shaking.
Tristan sat up, rubbing his head. "What does it say?"
Emma didn't answer right away. Her crimson eyes scanned the screen carefully.
---
[System]
Points: [0]
Rank: G-
Strength: G
Agility: G
Vitality: G-
Intelligence: G
Mana: 0
> Abilities: None
Skills: None
[Upgrade Camp: 100 Points]
> [Scrolls Scrap 0,Bronze 0,Silver 0,Gold 0, Diamond 0,Ruby 0, Legendary 0, Mystical 0, Ancient 0, Divine 0, Prismatic 0]
---
She blinked. "It's a system."
Tristan's heart pounded. "You have one?"
Emma nodded. "But it's... really basic. I'm ranked G-. I have no abilities."
Tristan frowned. "I don't see anything in front of me. No screen. Nothing."
Before Emma could respond, the sky—if it could even be called that—rippled.
A second screen appeared. But this one wasn't personal. It hovered high above, visible to every human scattered across this unknown world.
> [System Notification]
[Welcome to the Nightmare World.]
[Earth has been destroyed. You have been chosen to survive in this place.]
[Every person has been granted a personal camp and a system.]
[Tip: Never trust figures that walk in the dark.]
A cold silence fell.
Across the world, people screamed. Others cheered. Many—especially those who had read fantasy novels and dreamed of power—were excited. They thought this was their chance to become overpowered heroes.
They had no idea what was coming.
Within minutes, it began.
Dark figures appeared at the edges of camps—creatures with no face, no form, just outlines of smoke and hunger. They moved without sound, feeding on anything that stepped too far from the firelight.
In Emma and Tristan's camp, two shadows emerged.
Emma's hand shot out, grabbing Tristan's tightly. "What are they?"
Tristan's mind raced. "Stay in the light," he muttered. "They don't cross the fire."
The campfire was already weakening, its light dimming with every second.
Tristan stood, tense. "I don't have a system. But I remember stories like this. Games. Worlds like this."
Emma looked at him in shock. "Tristan, are you okay?"
"I think so. But if we want to survive—we need to upgrade the camp. Defend the light. Everything depends on it."
He took a deep breath. His mind was moving faster than it ever had.