*This coldness... why does my body feel like it's lying on a bathroom ceramic floor?*
That strange feeling piercing his spine forced Nova, a 12-year-old boy, to open his heavy eyelids. Slowly, his blurred vision began to gather focus, assembling particles of light into clearer shapes. And once his eyes could see perfectly, waves of extraordinary shock struck his entire consciousness.
He was not in a bathroom.
In fact, he was not in any place he had ever known before.
Nova now seemed to be lying in the middle of an extremely vast room—no, more precisely, a room that seemed to have no end at all. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all flawlessly white. There was no furniture, no windows, no doors. Just an endless white expanse stretching in all directions.
But that wasn't the only strange thing captured by his retinas.
Above his head, around him, even in every corner he could reach with his gaze—there were thousands, no, perhaps tens of thousands of books floating in the air. Those books hovered without gravity.
"What... am I seeing this right? Why are there so many books here? And... where exactly am I now?"
With careful movements, he began to stand up. His head looked up, his black eyes sweeping around him. He turned slowly, observing every corner of the room that looked identical to one another. Strong curiosity made him explore the strangeness surrounding him.
Nova walked. And kept walking.
His steps echoed softly on the white floor that felt solid yet also not truly there. But no matter how long he walked, no matter how far he felt he had traveled, the scenery around him never changed. Just an expanse of white room with endless books.
"No matter how long I walk, in the end all I see is just this white room," Nova muttered, this time with a note of frustration beginning to creep in. His hand rose, touching his left arm with trembling fingers. "What kind of room is this really? Am I dreaming right now?"
He pinched his arm. The pain felt real.
"No... this is too real to be called a dream," he whispered softly.
Hesitantly, Nova reached out his right hand toward one of the books floating not far from his reach. Those books didn't even have titles. When his fingers were almost touching the surface of the cover that looked cold, suddenly, a strange sensation ran through the nape of his neck.
A very strong feeling, as if someone—or something—was watching him from behind very intently.
With a quick movement, Nova immediately turned his body around.
And what he saw truly made his brain stop functioning for a moment.
About two meters behind him, floating calmly was an object shaped like a perfect sphere like a baseball. Its color was pitch black. And right in the center of that black sphere, there was a structure resembling a glowing red eyeball.
Nova stared at the object in shock.
"W-what is this? A black ball? Since when... since when has this strange thing been behind me?"
"How rude! I have a name, you know!"
Suddenly, that ball—or whatever it was—made a sound. Its voice was clear, like a girl around 17 or 18 years old, with a slightly annoyed tone.
"Huh?!" Nova's head spun left and right, as if searching for something. "Where did that voice come from?!"
"Hey, who else do you think is in this room besides you and me?" the voice sounded again, this time with a clearer tone and seeming to hold back laughter. "Or don't tell me you think the books are talking?"
Nova's eyes slowly returned to the black ball still floating calmly before him. Its electric eye blinks felt like they were staring at him.
"Y-you..." Nova pointed with his finger. "You're talking? How can... how can a black ball talk?!"
"Hey, I told you I have a name, I'm not just a ball!" The voice sounded firmer this time, with an intonation clearly showing displeasure at being called 'ball'. "My name is—"
"Wait, wait a minute!" Nova interrupted quickly, his hand raised like a traffic police stopping vehicles. "You said you're not a ball?! Can't you see your own body shape? You're clearly round like a ball! And what's even stranger, how can you talk? You don't even have a mouth!"
"Haaah..." A long, dramatic sigh was heard from that black ball. "Alright, it seems I need to explain in very, very simple language. Listen carefully and don't interrupt me again, okay?"
Nova nodded slowly, still with a wary expression.
"First, I'm not from Earth and I can speak through this glowing eyeball you're looking at. No need for a mouth, no need for vocal cords. Second, from this moment forward, I will live with you. Do you understand so far?"
"Huh?!" Nova stared with wide eyes. "What are you talking about? Live with me? I don't understand at all! What makes you want to live with me? I'm just an ordinary kid!"
"Because you are the new Justice."
Silence enveloped that white room for a few seconds. Nova stared at the black ball with an empty gaze, his brain trying to process the information he had just heard.
"Justice?" he repeated softly. "Who is Justice?"
"Justice is someone tasked with saving and protecting from all kinds of threats and challenges that threaten the balance—both visible and hidden. The previous Justice has died, so now you will be their replacement."
Nova remained frozen for a few seconds.
"I... Justice's replacement?" he said slowly, then shook his head hard. "I don't want to! I don't want to! Why should I be their replacement? Why should I become Justice and perform tasks like a superhero? I'm still a kid, you know? And also, there are already Sages in this world whose job is to protect humanity! Why is there still a need for Justice? Isn't that redundant?"
"Hoh?" The voice sounded interested, as if Nova had just said something intriguing. "Do you think Sages can deliver true justice?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Nova answered with a confident tone. "Sages are humanity's heroes! They've protected this world from monsters, from disasters, from other major threats. Everyone knows that!"
"True," the ball acknowledged in a flat tone. "Sages do indeed protect the world from major threats. But..." It paused for a moment. "Do you think that's enough to be true justice? Are monsters and disasters the only threats to balance?"
Nova fell silent, not knowing what to answer. There was something in that question that made him feel uncomfortable.
"In the end," the voice continued, "you will still become Justice when the time comes. It's not a choice I'm forcing on you or fate, but it is your own desire. You yourself will decide to become that."
"What do you mean—"
"Forget that. Alright, now it's my turn to ask," Nova tried to take over the conversation, his hands crossed in front of his chest in a defensive pose. "What exactly are you? Are you some kind of advanced AI? A robot from outer space? Or an alien creature like in movies?"
"I'm neither AI nor robot," the voice answered calmly. "I am a living being similar to humans, but also very different in many ways. That's all I can say for now."
*A living being similar to humans?* Nova was getting more confused hearing it. *What does that mean? If it's similar to humans, why is it shaped like a ball?*
"Oh right, there's something important you need to know," the ball continued with a lighter tone. "Right now we're both in my artificial dream realm—or more precisely, a consciousness space I created. I'm the one who brought your consciousness into here. Your real body is still sleeping soundly on your bed in your room, what's here is only your consciousness."
Nova stared at his own hands, opening and closing his fists. It felt real. Too real.
"And one more thing you need to know," the voice continued, "time here doesn't run the same as time in the real world. Even if we chat here for days, weeks, even months, time outside will remain the same as when you fell asleep last night. So you don't need to worry about being late for school or anything like that."
*It can bring my consciousness here just like that. How can it do something so strange? And also, how can it understand my language and speak Earth's language perfectly? Even its accent isn't strange at all...*
Too many questions were spinning in Nova's head like a whirlwind that couldn't stop.
"Alright, I think that's enough for this first meeting. I don't want to burden your brain with too much information at once. Now it's time for you to return to your real body."
"Eh, wait a minute!" Nova raised his hand in panic, stepping forward toward that black ball. "I still have many unanswered questions! I don't even know your name yet! And how can you—"
But before Nova could finish his sentence, before his fingers could touch the surface of that black ball, his vision suddenly became blurred. The entire white room began to fade like a watercolor painting hit by water, colors and shapes mixing together. His body felt light, as if he was being pulled by invisible gravity.
And in the blink of an eye, he had vanished from that white room.
The black ball remained floating in its place, its electric eye blinking as if smiling even though it had no mouth.
"See you again, Nova," it whispered softly, its voice echoing in the emptiness of the white space that was now silent again. "We'll meet again."