Kai dragged the mop across the café floor where he worked part time to earn more money. His body was moving more out of habit than energy or even mood.
The smell of spilled coffee and disinfectant clung to his clothes.
By the time he wiped the last table, his cheap phone buzzed in his pocket.
Another delivery request had arrived.
With a sigh, he washed his hands, slung on his faded jacket, and hurried outside.
A few minutes later he arrived at the small restaurant and the staff handed him a warm paper bag of food.
Sometimes he was delivering noodles and sometimes fried rice from the restaurants.
Sometimes he delivered a heavy box with electronic gadgets someone had ordered.
The type of package never mattered. What mattered was speed.
He weaved his scooter through traffic, the same streets he had memorized a thousand times over.
Rainwater splashed against his trousers when he cut through a narrow alley.
By the time he reached the destination, the man at the door frowned.
"You're late."
"It's only five minutes—" Kai forced a smile, handing the package over.
"Tch, delivery service these days is not professional."
The door slammed in his face.
His chest tightened, but he swallowed the words burning at the tip of his tongue.
Another scolding. Another complaint. Another little weight pressing down on him. It was a normal day.
He parked on the side of the street and pulled out his phone and scrolled through the latest web novel chapter.
Within seconds, the bitterness in his chest faded.
The hero on the screen fought with his powerful weapon and supernatural against a powerful pirate and the situation climbed into a higher level when the other demigod level enemies suddenly appeared.
Kai read hungrily, ignoring the honking cars and buzzing messages.
For a moment, his mind left the streets of the city and wandered into another world.
By lunchtime, his mood had steadied.
He ate a quick meal alone of rice and a fried egg with soy sauce which were leftover from the restaurant then went back on the road.
Hours slipped by in the same pattern of pick up, deliver, smile, and endure.
The sun fell, turning the sky dark orange, then deep purple.
By the time night swallowed the streets, Kai was still riding his old scooter.
His stomach growled. He had forgotten to eat dinner.
The neon lights blurred in his tired and sleepy eyes. He rubbed his stomach with one hand, the other still gripping the handlebars.
The thought of a warm meal at home with his grandparents tugged him forward.
Almost home. Just a little longer.
He was sure he could handle a little more. He usually did.
There were nights when exhaustion dragged him straight into bed without dinner and he just skipped meals entirely and only ate the next day.
Compared to those, tonight felt like nothing special.
At least, that's what he told himself.
He kept driving.
But the blurriness in his eyes worsened. His head grew heavier each second. His stomach twisted sharply, the hollow hunger suddenly turning into stabbing pain that made him clench his teeth.
He grimaced, his grip on the scooter trembling.
The world tilted.
The scooter swerved, metal scraping against the road.
Kai barely registered the jolt before the blinding glare of truck headlights swallowed his vision.
His heart lurched in his chest.
Then came the impact.
He felt the truck hit him.
The force lifted his body like a ragdoll, but strangely the pain never fully arrived.
It hovered at the edge of his nerves, then dissolved into nothingness, as if someone had muted his senses.
And then silence and darkness.
When the darkness faded, Kai found himself standing upright, though he didn't remember getting up.
The roar of traffic and the stench of gasoline were gone. Instead, there was only stillness.
A dark plain shrouded in thick rolling mist stretched endlessly around him. The ground beneath his feet was cold and damp with the color of ash.
No lights, cars, buildings, or human voices. Only the sound of the mist swirling like whispers in his ears.
Kai swallowed his saliva.
He looked down at his hands. It was still the same calloused fingers from work.
His faded jacket clung to his body. His scooter was gone.
"Where am I?"
His voice echoed, then was swallowed by the fog.
Something stirred in the mist.
Step by step, it drew closer, with movement flowing like drifting water.
Kai froze. His chest tightened as the outline sharpened.
It was a tall figure, her hair was so long. Black strands cascading like a river, reaching almost to her legs.
"Uh…" Kai's throat tightened. His voice cracked, barely more than a whisper.
He didn't even know what he wanted to say. His mind was still dazed, his body still trembling with the memory of headlights and screeching tires.
The figure stepped fully out of the fog at last.
She was a woman.
Her beauty struck him and made him come to his senses. Sharp and undeniable.
Her skin was fair and pale against the endless darkness, her eyes looked deep as dark night.
She wore robes of black silk embroidered with faint silver lines.
The style was nothing like the world he was just in. It reminded Kai of the fantastical cultivation novels he used to read during stolen moments on delivery breaks.
Her gaze softened as it met his.
She smiled, a curve so elegant it felt like the mist itself parted for it.
And just like that, Kai's foggy mind cleared.
His heartbeat steadied and his panic dulled.
"So," the woman said, her voice low and melodic, carrying through the emptiness as if the fog itself carried her words. "You are the new soul that has arrived here."
She lowered her head in a bow, her long hair swaying like liquid night.
"Welcome to my world."
"What?!" Kai was shocked and lost for words.
—