The Chosen Sky
Streetlights glowed along the sidewalk, reflecting pale yellow light on the asphalt still slightly wet from the afternoon rain. In the distance, the sound of passing vehicles could be heard, occasionally punctuated by a short, impatient honk.
For most people, night was just a time to rest or forget a tiring day.
But for Kael, night was always different.
The night air felt cold, but that wasn't what
made his body shiver.
Kael had had this habit for a long time.
Whenever his mind felt too full, he would climb to the school rooftop. No one really forbade him, even though students weren't
allowed there after classes ended.
Kael sat at the edge of the concrete, his legs
dangling several meters above the ground.
He stared at the sky.
The stars looked tiny among the thin clouds drifting slowly.
"Strange," he murmured softly.
There was always something different when
he stared at the sky too long
as if the sky wasn't just an empty vast space, but something… alive within it.
Kael exhaled deeply.
Since he was a child, he often felt as though the world had layers invisible to most people.
A feeling he could never fully explain.
Even to himself.
Today wasn't really any different from yesterday.
The teacher droned on in monotone, while students chatted about things Kael found trivial new games, petty class drama, weekend plans.
School carried on as usual.
Kael sat in class, taking notes, occasionally answering questions when his name was
called.
He wasn't stupid.
But he never tried to be the best either.
Everything felt… flat.
As if life moved along a straight line that never changed.
Sometimes he wondered if everyone felt the same way.
Or if it was just him.
The night wind blew gently, stirring Kael's black hair.
He looked at the sky again.
"If life's going to stay like this forever…" he murmured.
The sentence never finished.
Because, honestly, he didn't know how to continue it.
Was he bored?
Lonely?
Just confused about the meaning of
everything?
Kael wasn't sure.
But one thing he knew for certain: that strange feeling that always appeared whenever he stared at the sky too long.
As if something was… keeping an eye on him.
He shook his head gently, trying to push the thought away.
"Guess I've been staying up too late," he muttered to himself.
But just as he was about to stand,
the wind stopped.
Not gradually.
Suddenly… there was no movement in the air.
Kael furrowed his brow.
He waited for a few seconds.
The night wind always moved, even slightly.
But now the air felt… strange.
Completely still.
Kael stood.
He looked down at the street below the school building.
A car was in the middle of the road.
Its headlights still on.
But it wasn't moving.
Not forward.
Not backward.
No engine sound.
No tire noise.
Kael observed more closely.
Then he noticed something that made his chest tighten.
The car wasn't stopped.
It was completely still, like a picture frozen in a
photograph.
"…What?"
Kael stepped closer to the edge of the rooftop.
On the sidewalk, a man walked while looking at his phone.
His steps froze mid-air, as if time itself had stopped in the middle of motion.
No vehicle sounds.
No city noise.
Deadly silence.
Kael's heart pounded harder.
"T-This… is just a dream, right?"
He pinched his own arm.
Pain flared.
He was still awake.
Kael swallowed.
"If this isn't a dream…"
His words trailed off.
Because at that exact moment, the sky changed.
At first, subtly.
Almost imperceptibly.
But slowly, something in the sky began to
move.
The clouds that had been drifting paused.
Then the dark night sky… began to crack.
Kael froze.
The fissure was thin, like a line of light appearing through the darkness.
But it gradually widened.
Soft white light began to spill from the crack.
Not lamp light.
Not starlight.
The light felt… different.
Kael couldn't explain it.
But every part of his body sensed the same thing:
fear.
And something even greater than fear:
awe.
He stared at the sky without blinking.
The crack of light widened.
As if something beyond the sky was trying to peer into the world.
Kael felt his breath shorten.
A strange sensation rose in his chest.
As if a colossal presence had just noticed
him.
"Impossible…" he whispered.
But the feeling grew stronger.
The sky wasn't just changing.
The sky was… watching the light coming from the fissure.
Slowly, the sky seemed to lower itself.
Not spreading across the city.
But toward…
Kael.
He didn't move.
Not because he couldn't.
But because his body refused.
Something within him told him this moment
was important.
Very important.
The light finally stopped a few meters above him.
The air around Kael felt heavy, filled with unseen energy.
Then a voice sounded.
Calm.
Deep.
Too immense for a human to fully grasp.
"You."
Kael held his breath.
The voice carried no emotion,
yet each word felt immensely weighty.
"Human."
Kael tried to speak.
"Who…?"
But his words were too small.
Too insignificant.
The light above him shimmered slightly.
"Many humans live without ever being seen."
Kael didn't understand.
But he couldn't stop listening.
"Many humans live without ever being seen."
The light grew brighter.
"But tonight"
The voice paused briefly,
as if something enormous was making a decision.
"The sky has seen you…"
Kael's heart raced.
He didn't know why.
But those words made his body feel hot.
"Why… me?" Kael finally asked.
A few seconds passed in silence.
"Because you asked."
Kael froze.
"Because you looked."
"And because you never stopped searching."
Kael didn't understand what it meant.
But before he could say anything else,
the light descended.
Directly toward him.
Energy he could not comprehend coursed
through his body.
Kael dropped to his knees.
His chest burned like fire.
Yet strangely… it didn't hurt.
It felt more like his body was being forced into something new.
The voice spoke one last time.
"From tonight…"
The light filled Kael's vision.
"You are chosen by the sky."
The world moved again.
The wind blew.
Vehicle sounds returned.
People on the streets continued their steps, unaware of anything.
As if nothing had ever happened.
But on the school rooftop,
Kael remained on his knees.
Breathing heavily.
Shivering.
He slowly looked at his own hands.
A small light pulsed in his palms.
Like a remnant of something that shouldn't exist in this world.
Kael gazed at the sky again.
The sky had returned to normal.
And far away, in a place that couldn't even be called sky,
it was still watching.