Everything had been normal—until the strange phenomenon appeared.
Holes started opening across the world without warning.
They showed up everywhere—cities, forests, even in the middle of the ocean. Scientists kept watching them day and night, but months passed with no answers.
Four months later, nothing had changed.
"It's been four months since those holes appeared… and no one still knows what they are," Miyuki said while scrolling through the news on her phone.
"Yeah," I replied. "Still no explanation."
She hesitated. "Do you think… something might come out of them? Like a monster?"
I scoffed. "This isn't some fantasy novel. Stuff like that doesn't happen in real life."
"Well, yeah," she said awkwardly. "But just in case, you know?"
I laughed a little. "You really read too many fantasy stories."
We'd been friends since childhood, and we went to the same school.
That morning, we were riding the train together when she suddenly stopped scrolling.
"Yuuki, look at this."
She showed me her phone. A video played—something massive crawling out of a hole.
"It looks real, right?" she asked.
I studied it. "Probably CGI. Still impressive though."
"Yeah," she said. "They really went all out."
Soon, the train arrived. We got off and walked toward school like usual, talking about random things.
Halfway there, I suddenly slowed down.
"Hey… did you hear that?" I asked.
"Hear what?" Miyuki looked at me, worried.
I listened carefully.
Nothing.
I forced a smile. "Never mind. I stayed up all night playing games. I'm probably just tired."
"You should really sleep more," she said.
We reached our classroom, and the morning passed quietly.
Then—
Ding! Ding!
"It's lunch already!" Miyuki said. "Yuuki, let's eat together."
"Alright."
We opened our lunch boxes.
"Karaage," I said.
Her eyes lit up. "Me too! Same lunch!"
We laughed and started eating.
After we finished, I stood up. "I'll grab drinks. What do you want?"
"Orange juice, please!"
I headed to the vending machines.
As I reached for my wallet, a sharp pain suddenly shot through my head.
That voice again.
My vision blurred.
The ground rushed up—
—and everything went dark.
When I woke up, I was in the infirmary.
"Miyuki…?" I muttered.
She was sitting beside me, relief flooding her face.
"You passed out near the vending machine."
"What did the nurse say?"
"That you're exhausted. She told you to rest."
I lay back down… and before I knew it, I fell asleep again.
Then I dreamed.
The world was in ruins.
Monsters roamed everywhere.
Bodies—everywhere.
In the distance, four people were fighting, using strange glowing powers.
I moved closer.
And froze.
One of them… was me.
I was fighting alongside three others, cutting down monsters pouring endlessly from those Gates.
"What… is this?" I whispered.
Suddenly—
"HA—!"
I jolted awake.
"What a weird dream…" I muttered. "I should go back to class."
Back at my desk, the dream wouldn't leave my mind.
"Yuuki! Hey!"
"Huh—yeah?" I snapped out of it.
"You okay? You've been spacing out."
"I just had a strange dream."
"What kind?"
"I'm not telling," I said quickly. "Anyway, did anything happen while I was gone?"
"Nothing," she pouted. "You totally changed the subject."
I looked at her—
And before I could stop myself, the words slipped out.
"You look cute."
Time froze.
Her face turned bright red, and she immediately ran out of the classroom.
I stared at my desk, my own face burning.
What did I just say…?
A few minutes later, she came back and sat down silently.
When I glanced at her, she shot me a glare so intense I immediately looked away—out the window.
And froze.
A massive figure stood outside.
Green skin. Towering body.
A monster.
The same one from my dream.
"…I'm just imagining things," I whispered.
Then—
screams erupted.
"Hey—has that hole always been there?!" someone shouted.
"No, it wasn't!" another yelled.
The air distorted—
And a hole appeared.
It expanded—
Then something massive burst out.
Chaos.
Students screamed and ran as the monster attacked everything in sight. Guards were tossed aside like nothing.
"Everyone stay calm! Follow me—now!" the teacher shouted.
We ran.
As we passed another classroom—
My stomach dropped.
Another hole had opened inside it.
Monsters poured out, leaving destruction behind.
Everyone split up in panic.
I grabbed Miyuki's hand and ran, my heart pounding as the screams faded behind us.
This wasn't a dream anymore.
And somehow—
I knew this was just the beginning.
We ran until we found somewhere safe.
The infirmary.
I slammed the door shut behind us.
We both let out shaky breaths.
Then— we froze.
A goblin was still inside.
It was crouched over the nurse…
eating her.
It slowly turned toward us.
Then it screeched—
and lunged straight at Miyuki.
"Watch out!"
Without thinking, I yanked open a drawer and grabbed a pair of scissors.
As it came at her—
I stepped forward—
and stabbed it.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Its distorted scream filled the room—
until it finally collapsed.
Silence.
Miyuki trembled beside me.
"Hey… this is just a dream, right? Right?!" she cried, clutching my arm as tears streamed down her face.
I pulled her close and held her tightly.
"Don't worry… we'll be fine," I said.
"I'm sure of it. No matter what happens…"
"I'll protect you."
A few hours passed.
Miyuki had finally calmed down and was resting.
I stood up and looked around the infirmary.
If this was real…
then we needed to survive.
I started searching for anything that could be used as a weapon.
Because deep down—
I knew.
This was only the beginning.