The convenience store lights were painfully bright—
sharp enough to feel like they were cutting through my eyes.
I shifted the ramyeon packs in one hand and walked toward the billing counter, the plastic crinkling softly with each step.
A young cashier stood behind the register. His name was Aron. I came to this store often, so we knew each other pretty well.
Aron was the type who apologized even when someone stepped on his foot.
The kind of person people relied on… without ever realizing it.
He was the kind of person the world would break first—
not because he was weak, but because he was too kind to survive it.
"Morning, Aron. Two ramyeon and two rice balls."
"Morning, Mr. Zekai."
He scanned the items without looking up, fingers moving quickly across the keypad.
My name is Zekai. Zekai Krystan.
My grandfather used to tell me the meaning of that name. "The one who watches the world."
Whenever he explained it, it always sounded a little funny. Maybe that was why he chose it. Most of the time, I just watched things happen.
Like a spectator in my own life.
Watching was easier.
Acting meant consequences.
Most people think doing nothing is safe.
It isn't.
Doing nothing just means you accept whatever happens next.
You don't choose the outcome.
You just live with it.
…That's the part I never liked.
So I chose neither.
I rarely acted.
Because of that, my grandfather often called me a fool.
The strange part was that he was the only one who seemed to understand me.
Then he added, "What about your grandpa, Marcus? I haven't seen him lately."
"He left early. He said he had a performance."
Aron looked at the register screen.
"Sixteen credits."
I slid my hand into my coat pocket, my fingers brushing against something cold.
Not metal. Not plastic.
Something… heavier.
I pulled it out slightly, tilting my wrist to get a better look. A small black-and-red box rested in my palm.
I didn't recognize it.
Which meant—this didn't belong to me.
Two things, then.
The box in my hand—
small, black and red. Solid. Physical.
And something else I hadn't noticed yet.
Something deeper in the coat.
Strange. I didn't remember putting this in my pocket.
Without thinking much about it, I placed the box on the counter, took out the credits, and paid. Aron packed the items, and I picked them up before walking toward the door.
"Take care, Mr. Zekai," Aron said with a small smile.
I nodded.
The bell rang behind me as I pushed the door open and stepped outside, the cool air brushing lightly against my face.
"Thank you, Mr. Zekai. Have a good day."
The sound of the bell seemed unusually loud today.
Then it hit me.
I don't carry random things in my pockets.
Because this wasn't my coat.
It was Marcus Grandpa's coat.
He must have taken mine by mistake, and I must have taken his.
My phone began buzzing with notifications. I unlocked the screen and opened a V-Tube news clip while walking.
[" —continuing coverage from Linoria," the reporter said.
"Authorities confirmed six more deaths overnight."
"All victims were previously convicted criminals."
Behind the reporter, an evidence board appeared. Photos were connected with red strings, and at the center, someone had drawn a large symbol in thick black marker.
"The letter H."
"This brings the confirmed total to one thousand and twenty-two victims." ]
I lowered the phone slightly.
One thousand and twenty-two.
That wasn't a number anymore.
It was intent.
No one kills that many people—
unless no one can stop them.
At that point, it was no longer just a serial killer.
It was something else.
"Why is he targeting criminals?"
I muted the video and put my phone away.
The pedestrian signal was red, so I stopped at the intersection, shifting my weight slightly as I glanced around.
A few people nearby caught my attention. They were wearing black coats and sunglasses, standing apart from the rest of the crowd.
What drew my attention wasn't their clothing.
It was what they were doing.
They tilted their heads up toward the sky, their movements almost perfectly synchronized.
Then down at their watches.
Then back up again.
Like they had done this before.
As if they were waiting for something.
Curious, I lifted my head slightly, following their gaze.
There was nothing there.
Why were they staring at the sky?
Then I noticed something else. Their watches flickered green—then shifted to orange.
Their expressions didn't change.
That meant this wasn't unexpected.
One of the men leaned toward another.
"Countdown started," he whispered.
"Be ready."
The other man nodded without taking his eyes off the sky.
Maybe they were waiting for something to fall from the sky.
But no one looked scared.
People don't wait calmly for disasters.
They run.
These people weren't running.
Which meant—
they already knew.
No… nothing like that would happen.
Across the road, more people wearing similar black coats were doing the same thing—looking up, checking their watches, and waiting.
"What a bunch of fools," I muttered.
The pedestrian signal turned green, and I began crossing the road.
Behind me, the convenience store door burst open.
"Mr. Zekai—WAIT! You forgot this—"
I turned slightly.
Aron was running toward the crosswalk, waving the same black-and-red box I had just left at the counter.
So he noticed it too.
I slowed my steps, glancing back over my shoulder.
At that moment, my phone rang.
[Call from: Marcus Grandpa]
I answered it—but before I could speak, someone slammed into my shoulder.
My grip loosened—my phone slipped from my hand and hit the ground with a sharp crack.
Then—
Something slipped out from deeper inside my coat.
It was a black stone card.
It hit the asphalt.
My eyes locked onto it—not because I wanted to, but because something inside me did.
A thin red line ran across its surface like a crack in dried blood.
Tick.
A pressure settled over everything.
My heartbeat skipped—just once.
Something responded.
The sound didn't echo.
It spread—like it passed through everything at once.
Like the world had just been tapped… and something responded.
For a brief moment, the noise of the city faded—car engines, footsteps, voices—all of it seemed to lower in volume.
I crouched down, reaching for my phone while keeping my eyes on the card.
"Hello, Grandpa—"
No answer.
The signal cut out. The call dropped instantly.
I stared at the screen for a moment. Grandpa rarely called in the morning. He knew I hated being interrupted. Something about the timing felt strange.
"Damn it."
Then I picked up the black stone card.
"This wasn't from the box Aron brought. This came from inside Marcus's coat."
The box was still with Aron.
This wasn't the same object.
Two objects.
The box—something given.
The card—something hidden.
Buried deeper in Marcus's coat.
Not misplaced.
Hidden.
This one felt different.
The card felt heavier than it should have been.
When I touched it, the air turned cold—dense.
My fingers curled tightly around the card.
Something had already arrived.
The traffic lights flickered.
The air pressed against my lungs—heavy, wrong.
It wasn't coming from outside.
Something inside me reacted first.
The ground trembled beneath my feet, forcing me to steady myself.
Shadows stretched across the road, twisting unnaturally before snapping back into place.
Not gradually.
All at once.
Like reality skipped a step—
overwritten mid-motion.
The sound reminded me of glass breaking underwater.
I didn't stop.
My legs kept moving forward, even as my mind struggled to catch up.
Step by step—I crossed the road, still staring at the card.
The world wasn't changing.
It had already changed—
and I was late to realize it.
Like my body had already decided to keep walking…
before I understood anything was happening.
A hand suddenly grabbed my shoulder from behind.
"Mr. Zekai… stop."
Aron's voice was shaky. I could hear his heavy breathing.
I froze mid-step, my body locking instantly.
Not because of fear.
But because his grip felt real—
more real than everything else.
Maybe I should have stopped.
But something in me refused to panic.
For a moment Aron stood close behind me, his grip tightening as his eyes remained shut, like he was afraid to look. Then he slowly opened them and stared ahead.
"What… is that?"
I followed his gaze.
The world around us was changing.
The air around the intersection turned gray, like smoke trapped inside glass, swirling slowly as if it were breathing.
Not white.
Not black.
Something in between.
Then it moved.
Slowly.
Like it was breathing.
Aron's grip tightened.
It closed in around us, curling from every direction.
Above us. Beside us.
Everywhere.
It felt like we were trapped inside a giant whirlpool of fog.
The gray fog didn't drift—it surrounded us, sealing the intersection from the rest of the world.
Then—
Dozens of strange voices filled the air.
They sounded like distant cries—
overlapping, breaking, desperate.
"Why is this happening to us…?"
"Save me…"
"Run!"
"Please… don't leave us…"
The voices pressed in from every direction, forcing my head to tilt slightly as if trying to escape them.
They came from everywhere—
inside my head.
Aron's grip on my shoulder tightened.
"What is this?" His voice cracked halfway through.
I forced my voice to stay calm. "Don't panic… just stay close to me."
The voices grew louder.
Not around us—
inside.
The air stopped moving.
Not slowed.
Stopped.
The gray distortion around us collapsed inward—like the world had just taken a breath.
Then—
A blinding white light burst across my vision, forcing my eyes shut as my body tensed.
The light didn't blind me.
It erased everything else.
Like the world forgot what it was supposed to show me.
"Ahhhhh!"
For several seconds, I squeezed my eyes shut, struggling to steady my breathing as everything disappeared.
My chest tightened as my heart pounded violently against my ribs.
Slowly, the light began to fade.
The world didn't break… it folded.
Like a page being turned—
and we were no longer on the same side of the story.
End of Chapter 1 — When the Sky Turned Red