The first time the world ended, I died without understanding anything.
The second time… I watched it happen.
The sky didn't crack or slowly darken.
It collapsed.
One moment, the sun was there. The next, something swallowed it whole, as if a piece of reality had been torn away.
At first, there was silence.
Not normal silence.
The kind that presses against your ears, like the world is holding its breath.
Then came the sound.
A deep, dragging noise, like something massive grinding against the fabric of reality itself.
People stopped.
A phone slipped from someone's hand. A car veered off and slammed into a streetlight. Somewhere nearby, someone started laughing, too loud, too wrong.
Others just stared.
Frozen.
Confused.
Waiting for someone else to explain what they were seeing.
Then the messages appeared.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION: FAILED]
[RETRYING…]
[ERROR: UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED]
"What is that…?"
The question came from somewhere behind me.
No one answered.
Because no one could.
The sky split open.
Not like clouds parting.
Not like light breaking through.
It tore.
Like flesh being ripped apart.
Something moved beyond it.
Not stars.
Not space.
Something else.
Something that shouldn't exist.
And then—
It looked back.
My breath caught in my throat.
For a moment, I felt something lock onto me.
Not physically.
But in a way that made my entire body freeze.
Then the first thing fell.
It hit the ground with a sound that didn't belong in this world.
A wet, heavy impact.
Then another.
And another.
Shapes dropped from the sky.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
They moved the moment they landed.
No hesitation.
No confusion.
A woman screamed.
Someone ran.
Someone else fell.
Then the killing started.
A man sprinted past me, shouting for help.
He didn't make it three steps.
Something caught him from behind and tore him open like paper.
I didn't scream.
I couldn't.
My body refused to move.
Because I understood something in that moment.
This wasn't an accident.
This wasn't something that could be fixed.
This was the end.
[SYSTEM REBOOT SUCCESSFUL]
[WELCOME, USER]
The message burned into my vision.
Too late.
Everything was already collapsing.
I forced my body to move.
I ran.
I didn't remember deciding to.
My legs just moved, carrying me forward through chaos.
People pushed past me. Someone grabbed my arm, begging for help.
I pulled free.
I didn't look back.
If I stopped, I would die.
The streets were worse.
Cars crashed into each other. People tripped and got trampled. The sound of screaming filled everything.
And above it all—
More of those things kept falling.
[NEW QUEST GENERATED]
Survive for 10 minutes
Reward: Basic Status Access
Failure: Death
"Ten minutes… seriously?"
The words came out hollow.
I turned a corner—
And something landed in front of me.
Too close.
It unfolded slowly.
Tall.
Wrong.
Its limbs bent at impossible angles, shifting like they weren't fixed in place.
Its head tilted.
It was looking at me.
Not randomly.
Not blindly.
Directly.
My body locked.
Run.
The thought came too late.
It moved.
I tried to turn.
I wasn't fast enough.
Pain exploded through my chest.
For a moment, I didn't understand what happened.
Then I looked down.
A claw had pierced straight through me.
Warmth spread.
My strength disappeared.
"…Ah."
That was all that came out.
No final words.
No desperate struggle.
Just—
Understanding.
I was going to die.
[QUEST FAILED]
[PENALTY: DEATH CONFIRMED]
The world faded.
The screams.
The sky.
The pain.
Everything disappeared.
…
Air slammed back into my lungs.
I jerked upright, choking like I had been drowning.
My room came into focus.
My bed.
The walls.
Morning light.
Normal.
Untouched.
"…I died."
The memory was still there.
Clear.
Sharp.
Real.
This wasn't a dream.
Then—
[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION: SUCCESSFUL]
My blood ran cold.
"No… don't tell me—"
[Welcome back.]
[This time, try not to disappoint me.]
That tone—
That wasn't help.
That was amusement.
[NEW PASSIVE UNLOCKED]
"Debt of Death"
My hands clenched.
"What are you?"
[I am the reason you came back.]
[And the reason you will wish you hadn't.]
I felt it then.
This wasn't salvation.
This was something else.
Something that wanted to see what I would become.
I took a slow breath.
"Then let's see which one of us breaks first."
[NEW QUEST GENERATED]
Kill your first human.
Silence filled the room.
"…You're serious."
No explanation.
No alternative.
Just a single word waiting for me—
[ACCEPT?]
And this time—
I understood exactly what it meant.
The world didn't end once.
It was about to end again.