Do you ever wonder why you're here?
Not here as in... location. I mean here. Existing. Breathing. Waking up every morning, brushing your teeth, eating breakfast, going through the same five to ten motions that make up your oh-so-precious life.
Because I used to. All the time.
You see, I wasn't depressed or anything. Not really. I didn't want to die, I just... didn't care about living. At least not in the way most people seem to. People clinging to jobs they hate, smiling through relationships that drain them, hoarding money for a future they're not even sure they'll make it to. Does that count as living?
For me, life was a series of passive checkboxes. Wake up. Exist. Consume. Sleep. Repeat. The same loop every day. The same numb rhythm. A metronome tick-ticking its way across the years.
And I just kept thinking: Is this it? Is this really all there is?
Sometimes I'd stare up at the ceiling in my shoebox apartment, headphones in, screen glowing blue, and whisper to myself like a lunatic:
"If life had a purpose, wouldn't it have shown itself by now?"
Nothing ever answered back.
Not until the day everything changed.
I used to envy characters in stories. You know the ones. The protagonist. The chosen one. The fool who gets thrown into another world with nothing but a wooden stick and a head full of anime quotes. They had direction. They had meaning.
Even if the world tried to kill them, at least they lived with purpose.
I wasn't noticed by anyone. Not really. Parents? Not flashy. Friends? A handful of decent ones, sure. Lovers? Ha. Try finding romance when you spend more time talking to a glowing screen than actual people.
Still, I wasn't broken. Just... bored. Endlessly bored. Restless. Like my soul was stuck in a waiting room, the world forgetting to call my number.
So one day, in the middle of the night, after a cheap cup of coffee and a session of completing broken code, I asked the universe:
"Give me something to fight for. Or take me away."
Yeah. I know. Cringe. I thought the same thing as soon as I said it. But the thing is... the universe must've been listening that night.
Because not long after, the countdown began.
---
It started as a dream. Or maybe it was something else.
I don't remember falling asleep.
Bit I do remember standing in a vast, empty field. Sky black as ink with a mixture of midnight blue. Stars pulsing like dying embers. Wind whispering secrets I couldn't quite hear. In front of me was a sword.
No. Not just a sword. The Sword.
Beautiful. Ancient. Covered in moss and rootlike vines, as if nature had tried to claim it and failed. It thrummed with power. I could feel it even from a distance—a steady heartbeat echoing in my chest, not mine, but somehow a part of me.
I stepped forward.
My hands were trembling. My mind told me this was insane, that this wasn't real. But my heart?
It said: Finally.
And when I touched the hilt—
[System Binding Successful. Initiating Integration. Countdown Active.]
Those were the first words.
I didn't know what they meant. Not really. But I saw the numbers. I still remember them exactly:
[Event Countdown: 06 Days 14 Hours 02 Minutes]
Then everything exploded into light.
---
I woke up gasping.
But I wasn't in my apartment. I wasn't even in a hospital bed or a dreamscape.
I was in a room I'd never seen before. Walls of polished wood. Shelves stacked with colorful books and strange herbs. Sunlight streaming through old glass windows framed by ivy. The scent of sugar, cream, and fresh bread lingered in the air.
I sat up too fast and immediately regretted it.
My head spun.
Then I saw my hands.
Smaller. Paler. Finer.
I scrambled toward a mirror by the desk.
What looked back at me was... not me. Or maybe a version of me that had been sculpted by a deranged fantasy-loving god. Short, sure. But with striking golden-brown eyes. Soft, clear skin. Black hair that curled around my ears in loose waves.
I looked... cute? Handsome? Both?
And the reflection blinked when I did. Opened its mouth in sync with mine.
"What the hell?"
A knock interrupted my existential spiral.
"Felix! Breakfast is ready!" a girl's voice called.
Felix?
That wasn't my name. Was it?
I opened the door. Outside stood a girl around fifteen. Strawberry blonde hair tied in a loose ponytail, flour dusting her nose. She smiled up at me like she'd known me forever.
"Come on, big brother! Don't make Matteo mad again!"
I blinked.
Big brother?
Another voice echoed from below. "Felix, you better not be sleeping in again! The ovens are on and Heather already messed up the icing!"
Something inside me clicked. Like a switch being thrown.
[System Message: Welcome, Felix Anderson.
Bound Entity: Dream-Forged Blade (Status: Dormant).
Countdown Initiated.]
[Next Event: Academy Entrance Exam. Time Remaining: 6 Days, 13 Hours.]
My lips parted. But no sound came out.
Because in that moment, I knew.
This was real.
I had been transported.
I was confused.
But for the first time in my life—for the first time ever—
I felt alive.