A massive mountain rises into the sky. Two couples arrive there, eager to hike—one of the most breathtaking tourist spots imaginable. The air is cold, thin… unnaturally still.
Kaven and Rema begin their climb.
"Kaven… am I okay?" Rema's voice sounds slightly distant.
"You're fine. Here, take this." Kaven hands her a water bottle.
Rema drinks, then frowns. "We started climbing at 8 in the morning… how is it already afternoon? Look—it's 1:45."
Kaven shakes his head. "No way. My watch is in my bag. It can't be afternoon already. Your watch must be wrong."
"But I just bought it the day before yesterday… it can't break this fast."
"Not broken… maybe it got pressed or something. Time shifted."
"…Maybe."
They sit on a ledge to rest. The mountain feels too quiet now. No wind. No birds.
Kaven pulls out his phone.
4:22 PM.
His heart skips.
"What the hell… 4:22?"
Rema checks her phone. "…Same."
A strange feeling crawls under their skin, but they brush it off—some technical glitch, nothing more.
They keep climbing.
"By the way," Kaven smirks, "Jonny drank way too much last night, didn't he?"
Rema laughs. "Yeah… he was acting crazy… even went naked. I still laugh thinking about it."
"Last night was fun, right?"
No response.
"…Rema?"
Kaven turns around—
—and the world breaks.
There is no Rema.
There is no mountain.
Only an endless ocean far below… and he is standing on the edge of a massive, slanted rock.
"What the—am I… dreaming?"
Everything feels real. Too real.
His foot slips.
He falls.
The wind howls as he plunges into the dark ocean below—
And the moment he hits the water—
Reality shatters.
He is no longer falling.
He is standing.
In a forest.
Cold. Silent. Rotten.
Beside him lies Rema's dead body.
A wolf is tearing into her flesh, ripping, chewing, devouring.
"…Rema?"
The wolf stops.
It slowly turns its head toward Kaven.
Its eyes… are not animal.
They are watching.
Blackness consumes everything.
—
Kaven gasps and wakes up in his bedroom.
Sweat drips down his face.
"…Just a dream… thank God… I've never seen something so horrible in my life."
Beside him, Rema sleeps peacefully.
"Today is the 16th… our hike is tomorrow."
Relieved, he lies back down.
But something feels wrong.
Very wrong.
He grabs his phone.
The screen lights up.
17th. 4:56.
"…What?"
His breath stops.
And suddenly—
He's back.
Back on the mountain.
Back with Rema.
"Kaven? Kaven?"
"H–huh? Yeah… yeah, what is it?"
"I've been calling you. Why aren't you answering? Is something wrong?"
"…No… no, it's nothing. Stay chill."
But his mind is spiraling.
This isn't normal.
Something is wrong with reality itself.
Then—
"Hey… look at the sky."
Kaven looks up.
And his blood runs cold.
The sky… is glitching.
Flickering. Tearing. Breaking like corrupted data.
Nothing feels real.
Nothing is real.
Everything is fake.
Chapter 16: Deep Dark Bound
The sky distorts violently.
The weather shifts on its own.
The sun begins to move—fast.
Too fast.
Day becomes night. Night becomes day. Again and again in seconds.
The stars appear, vanish, reappear.
Reality is collapsing.
Rema trembles. "W-what is… h-happening? I c-can't… sp-speak properly…"
Kaven stutters, "I-is this… the end…?"
Darkness swallows everything.
Complete silence.
"…Kaven?" Rema whispers.
No answer.
"What is happening? Where are we? We were on the mountain… why is day turning into night? Where are we now?!"
"I… I don't know…"
Then—
Footsteps.
One.
Two.
Then many.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Breathing. Murmuring. Presence.
"Someone's coming…"
"Who's there?!"
The darkness slowly fades.
And they are no longer alone.
They are standing in a crowd.
A massive crowd.
Confused people everywhere.
They are in the middle of New York City.
It is exactly 12 PM.
Gigantic screens on skyscrapers flicker to life.
"Everything is fake."
"Everything is fake."
"Wake up."
Panic spreads.
"What does that mean? What's going on?!"
Then—
They appear.
Tall figures in strange clothing.
Their faces were hidden before.
But now—
They reveal themselves.
A giant microphone descends from above.
As if this moment…
Was expected.
But by whom?
One of them speaks.
"A war is about to begin."
A war?
Against whom?
"Look up… and you'll understand."
Slowly—
Everyone looks at the sky.
And sees them.
Gigantic beings.
Six… maybe seven.
They look like humans.
But no human could ever be that large.
They are watching.
Observing.
Judging.
Who are they?