Chapter 1
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It was a nice day.
Not in some poetic, sunrise-drenched, Instagram-filter kind of way. Just... calm. The kind of morning where nothing happens—and you're grateful for it.
Jun groaned and pressed his palm into his eye socket. Little static fireworks sparked behind his eyelids. He blinked up at the ceiling fan clunking overhead, spinning like it had a grudge. It'd been clicking like that for weeks. He kept meaning to oil it.
Didn't.
He sat up and stared at the wall for a few seconds, brain buffering. No messages. No calls. Just the hum of the fridge, the soft light leaking through the curtains, and the sound of pigeons outside throwing down like feathered gangsters.
"Peaceful," he muttered, voice hoarse. "Too peaceful. Something's probably gonna screw it up."
He paused, then immediately frowned.
"Screw it—let's not jinx it."
He reached over to the nightstand, grabbed his phone, and thumbed it awake. No texts. No emails. One notification though—from his favorite forum app:
"The Abyss Gazes Back" – New Chapter Released!
His eyes lit up.
"Ohhh hell yeah," he whispered.
Then reality thudded back into place.
"...After I study. Exams first. Or I'm actually gonna die before the semester's over."
8
He dragged himself out of bed, pulled on yesterday's jeans off the floor, and grabbed the half-assed stack of flashcards he made at 2 a.m. Brushed his teeth while staring into space. Threw on a hoodie. Tote bag. Headphones. Keys. Out the door.
...Yeah, he totally forgot to wash his face. Again.
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The café sat at the corner like it had always been there—walls of glass, warm wood interiors, and a sign just faded enough to feel vintage:
ELDER BREW.
The barista, a guy with a tired face and one eyebrow piercing, glanced up as Jun walked in.
"Same as usual?"
"Yeah. Black, no sugar. I like to suffer."
The guy snorted and got to work.
Jun claimed his usual window seat. Sunlight pooled across the table like spilled gold. He unpacked his books and flashcards with the enthusiasm of a man preparing for execution. Around him, the café buzzed with soft conversations, keyboards clacking, and the occasional milk steamer hiss.
Comfortable. Safe.
He liked this place. No one asked questions. No one gave a damn. Just caffeine, soft lighting, and strangers minding their business.
He flipped through the cards absently, mumbling:
"Ontological nihilism... uhhh... existence is meaningless at a fundamental level... or something."
His lips moved, but his brain started drifting.
---
He glanced across the room. A couple sat by the corner window. The girl was laughing, hand over her mouth. The guy leaned in like he was trying to memorize her breath.
Jun smiled, a little crooked.
"Good for them," he murmured.
He was twenty-two. Philosophy major. Average grades. Probably forgettable. Lived alone in a boxy studio with peeling paint and a water heater that sounded like it was trying to summon demons every time it turned on.
But he had books. And stories.
Cthulhu. Dagon. The Yellow King. He read them all like bedtime stories made of teeth and whispers. Worlds where truth peeled reality open and showed you what was underneath.
Did it hurt his grades? Yeah, probably.
Did he care?
Not really.
He sipped his coffee and sighed. "Okay, time to be a responsible adult for once."
He picked up another flashcard.
Flashcard: What is existential dread?
Jun squinted. "Waking up, realizing nothing matters, and still showing up to class like a clown?"
Close enough.
His gaze drifted out the window. Cars. People. A golden retriever dragging its human along. A delivery truck slowing near the curb.
Normal stuf—
SCREEEEEECH.
The sound snapped the world in half.
Tires screaming. Too loud. Too close.
Jun blinked, confused.
The flashcards slipped from his hand.
One second later, the café window shattered with a sound like the world tearing.
Glass shards exploded across the room. People screamed. A roaring wall of metal came crashing through the storefront.
The truck didn't stop. Didn't even slow down.
Tables flipped. Chairs flew. Someone shouted his name—maybe the barista—
Then he saw it.
The windshield.
His own reflection.
And then—impact.
WHAM.
The world flipped sideways. His body lifted. Everything went weightless.
CRACK.
His back hit the far wall. Something deep in him snapped.
Blood filled his mouth.
The pain was... massive. But also somehow far away, like it belonged to someone else.
Then even that disappeared.
---
He couldn't move.
Couldn't feel.
Sound faded out. The world was quiet now. Muffled. Distant.
His head lolled to the side. One eye barely open.
He saw the ruins of the table.
His flashcards fluttering in the breeze like forgotten prayers.
Coffee dripping down the wall. Thick. Black. Slow.
Is this it...?
Seriously...?
I didn't even get to read the new chapter...
The thought was stupid.
So stupid it made him want to laugh. Or maybe cry. Or both.
But he couldn't do either.
Darkness closed in—slow and soft.