Noah stared absentmindedly as the cashier scanned the last of his items. He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling a sudden rush of heat crawl up his back.
"Idiot..." he muttered under his breath.
He exhaled, trying to steady his thoughts, and slowly opened his eyes again.
The cashier was watching him with a smug smile.
"Are you done, princess? It's time to pay."
Noah's face flushed with embarrassment. Without a word, he pulled out his card and tapped to pay.
After packing the sodas and chips into his bag, he turned to leave.
"You're too interested in pointless stuff, Noah."
He froze mid-step but didn't turn around.
"What do you know?" he said coldly, then walked away.
As he made his way home, the words echoed in his mind. He muttered to himself:
"What a weirdo. Who does he think he is, digging into my business?"
But deep down, Noah knew Nero wasn't wrong. He just didn't want to face the truth.
"I need to talk to someone... Maybe I'll call Dad."
When he reached his apartment building, his eyes landed on a group of familiar figures—two girls and two guys, all about his age.
He recognized them immediately: his class rep Freya, her best friend Isa, and even Lucas. But as his gaze settled on the fourth figure, a chill ran down his spine.
Liam.
"Damn that Liam," Noah cursed silently, instinctively turning his eyes away.
"Hey, Noah! How are you doing?" Isa called out cheerfully.
Lucas gave a small nod without saying a word.
Liam kept his hands in his pockets, not even acknowledging Noah's presence.
"Noah," Freya said, stepping forward. "It's been a month. You haven't been coming to school, so... we came to check on you. And bring you back, of course."
"How arrogant," Noah muttered under his breath.
Freya turned to Liam. "We brought him here to apologize."
"I'm sorry," Liam said quickly, still avoiding eye contact.
"Hey, apologize properly," Lucas growled.
"I said I'm sorry," Liam muttered again, only slightly more sincerely.
"I said—" Lucas started, but Noah cut him off.
"It's fine," Noah said with a forced smile, brushing past them toward his door.
"When are you coming back?" Freya asked, her tone impatient.
"Tomorrow," he replied flatly, unlocking the door.
"Good," she said simply, then turned to leave.
"Bye, Noah!" Isa called, waving as she followed.
Noah didn't respond. He stepped into the apartment—and froze.
Suddenly, the entire world around him dissolved into a stark, endless white.
Noah looked around. Nothing was in sight. But as he raised his head, his pupils shrank in shock.
Numerous white and gold gears spun with interlocked teeth—some massive, others tiny—converging into an incomprehensibly complex structure.
Clank!
Suddenly, two golden eyes opened, staring back at him.
Noah didn't know when, but crimson fluid began to roll from his nose. He wiped the blood from his face, gazing at it with trembling hands.
"You shouldn't have looked for too long," a voice whispered into his ear.
Noah turned to see a white and gold phantom standing in front of him, a hint of amusement on his lips.
"Where am I... Who are you?"
Noah suddenly groaned, clutching his head tightly.
"Don't speak too quickly. You haven't recovered yet."
"I am Galo, the owner of ####."
He stared in shock, unsure how to respond.
"Forgive me. You're not qualified to know that."
"Well then..."
"Send me back," Noah demanded.
"I will not," Galo replied with a smile.
"You see, I need the six of you."
"Six?… That's beside the point—I want to go back!"
"Don't worry about it."
"Take care now," Galo said, waving at Noah.
Suddenly, the space beneath Noah dimmed, and he fell into an abyss—endless shadows and coldness creeping in from every corner.
Noah screamed at the top of his lungs as he plummeted. Soon, the lights faded.
Slowly, Noah opened his eyes. A familiar face crouched before him, smiling.
"How was the beauty sleep?" Nero said with a grin.
"You… What are you doing here?"
Nero tilted his head, then spoke softly. "Does the name Galo ring any bells?"
"So you were also sent here."
Nero nodded and slowly stood up.
"It's a beautiful place."
Noah raised his head and looked around. His eyes trembled.
"This… This is crazy."
The sky was fractured into two parts. The left side mingled with an ink-blackness, constantly shifting and drooping like rain.
The right side glowed with a golden radiance that illuminated everything—except the other half. Clouds floated by, carrying objects as they hovered in silence.
Noah looked at Nero with a shocked expression.
"This... This is beautiful. That guy must be crazy."
"Nero, that thing—I mean, Galo—mentioned there were six of us."
But Nero was still staring deeply at the world around them, seemingly lost in its wonder.
"Great. Now what do we do? This place isn't safe. There has to be a way out," Noah thought to himself.
He looked toward the left side, dripping with ink and exuding a sticky aura. Then he glanced to the right, which looked relatively safer.
"There's no way it's this easy."
"Okay Nero, let's go right," he said, tapping his forehead. "We need to understand what this place is before making any moves."
"Something tells me that place is not a good choice," he added, pointing toward the inky left side.
Nero still ignored him, gazing at the fairy tale-like world with a curious expression.
He suddenly raised his hand and pointed at the distant.
"Someone's over there."
Noah stared in the direction Nero was pointing at, a vague humanoid shape.
"There a problem though."
"It's on that side." Noah sighed nervously.