What's Happening to Me?

As the energy continued to send shockwaves through his body, a gate suddenly opened behind Amir, pulling him in with an irresistible force. Falling into what felt like an endless void, Amir was disoriented, his senses overwhelmed.

Then, in an instant, he was transported to an unknown land.

"Arghhh, my head hurts... fuck."

"Am I imagining things again?"

He slapped his face repeatedly, trying to snap himself back to reality. But before he could process anything, his thoughts were shattered by the deafening clash of steel and an earth-shaking roar.

Turning around, his breath caught in his throat at the horrifying scene unfolding before him. A lone warrior stood atop a mountain of corpses, battling against thousands of soldiers. The warrior's blade burned with a fierce green aura as he cut through his enemies with relentless precision.

Fear gripped Amir. He had no idea what was happening, but his instincts screamed at him to run. He turned to flee, but before he could take another step, his body froze in shock.

Charging toward him was a massive centaur-like creature, its lower half that of a powerful steed, while its upper body wielded a colossal weapon. The beast spun its weapon with terrifying force, galloping straight at him.

"W-what...?" Amir gasped, paralyzed by fear.

The weapon was too fast. He couldn't dodge it. In a split second, Amir clenched his eyes shut, bracing for the inevitable impact.

"Perhaps all I ever needed was peace... a life this world could never give me. Maybe death is my only escape."

But the impact never came.

Confused, Amir hesitantly opened his eyes. The massive weapon—and even the centaur-like beast—had passed through him as if he were nothing but air.

"Heh...?" Amir muttered, utterly baffled.

As he turned back to the battlefield, the scene before him began to distort, moving unnaturally fast, like a timelapse accelerating toward its conclusion. The green-aura warrior stood victorious over the countless slain enemies, but just as he thought the battle was over, a figure emerged from the shadows.

A towering, demonic entity, clad in crimson robes embroidered with intricate gold patterns. Its form was regal yet terrifying, exuding an aura of pure malevolence. Its face was shrouded in darkness, featureless yet oppressive. Amir remained frozen, watching in speechless horror.

This was Aram—the God of Hell.

With a single, decisive motion, Aram sealed the warrior's soul, trapping it in an eternal prison. The world around Amir flickered once more.

Now, Amir found himself in a vast, treasure-laden cavern. The golden glow of riches barely illuminated the scene of pure carnage. Agonized screams filled the air as a monstrous demon shredded human bodies like paper. Soldiers in ancient uniforms fired desperately, their bullets futile against the creature's wrath.

Amir watched in horror as an American soldier's leg was severed clean off, his cries of agony lost in the chaos. But then his eyes locked onto something—a familiar face. A man—his grandfather. The old man clutched a fragmented green crystal at the heart of the cavern and ran, his every step fueled by desperation.

Without thinking, Amir followed.

"Grandpa! Arghh! Grandpa, can you hear me?!"

"Grandpa, what is happening?!"

"Ahh, fuck—!"

They emerged from the collapsing cave into a dense forest. His grandfather, barely holding onto his breath, stumbled forward, his strength failing. And then—he fell.

"Grandpa! No! Please, stand up! Please!"

Amir reached out, desperate to help—but his hands passed through his grandfather's body like a ghost.

That's when it hit him. This wasn't real. Everything he had seen—was a memory from the past.

The realm around him began to fade, dissolving into darkness. Then, without warning, he was back—standing on the rooftop of his apartment.

But something was wrong.

"Arghhh! Arghhhh!"

A searing pain erupted from his wrist. Green fire consumed his skin, burning into his very soul. Desperate, he stumbled into his room, thrusting his arm under cold running water. The flames finally died out, leaving behind something even more unsettling—a mark.

A strange tattoo, glowing faintly on his wrist.

Amir groaned, running a shaky hand through his hair. "Ahh, great. Now my life is at the peak of the worst." As if everything hadn't already gone to shit, now he had a glowing mark burned into his skin.

"What if the government finds out about this?" His heart pounded at the thought. "Those bastards would probably lock me up and experiment on me like some fucking lab rat." Visions of cold, sterile labs and soulless scientists dissecting him like some freak of nature filled his mind.

He clenched his fist, staring at the mark. "What even is this? A curse? A brand? A fucking death sentence?" His thoughts spiraled. What if it started spreading? What if it did something to him? What if it turned him into one of those monsters he saw back there?

"Shit, what if this thing has a mind of its own?" He shook his arm violently, as if he could shake off whatever force had latched onto him. But the mark remained, glowing ominously, pulsing like a heartbeat.

"Power..." The word lingered in his mind, tempting, dangerous. "If this is power, then why the hell do I feel like I'm about to lose everything?"

After grappling with his unsettling thoughts, Amir decided to take a bath, hoping the warm water would wash away his anxiety. Feeling slightly more at ease, he retreated to his room, eager for the escape that sleep might offer.

But as he lay in bed, something felt off.

The world around him seemed to come alive with an overwhelming symphony of sounds. He could hear everything—the faint rustle of leaves outside, the distant hum of traffic, even the almost imperceptible buzz of a fly's wings. It was as if his senses had been dialed up to an unbearable intensity. Desperate for relief, he pressed pillows tightly over his ears, trying to muffle the cacophony. Eventually, exhaustion overtook him, and he drifted into a restless sleep.

Meanwhile, in the depths of Hell, Aram observed with a sinister grin.

"It seems the side effects have no effect on him. HAHAHAHAHAH," he cackled, his voice echoing through the infernal realm.

The next morning, Amir dragged himself to school, his eyes bloodshot as if he had been on an all-night drug binge. In reality, he barely managed to sleep last night. Every single sound—the rustling of leaves, distant footsteps, even the faintest buzzing of insects—had echoed in his head like an unbearable symphony, keeping him awake until dawn.

As he walked through the hallway, lost in his own exhaustion, a sudden tap on his back jolted him. When he turned around, he was met with a smiling girl—but something was off. His breath hitched. She wasn't human. Her features were almost elven, but there were no eyebrows framing her eerie eyes.

"Hahhh! Let go of me!" Amir yelped, immediately breaking into a sprint.

Students turned their heads as he bolted down the hallway, confusion and amusement flashing across their faces.

"What the hell is wrong with him? Is he on drugs or something?" Eirene muttered, watching her best friend lose his mind.

Panting, Amir finally reached his classroom and slumped into his chair, his mind a tangled mess.

"What the fuck was that?! Am I hallucinating now? No… I saw it. That thing was real. But why am I not sweating after running like that?" He stared at his hands, confused. "Is this some kind of power? But not sweating isn't a power! Haaaaaaa, I'm going crazy! I just want to sleep all day…"

Before he could process anything further, the teacher walked in, signaling the start of the lesson.

At first, Amir tried to ignore everything and focus, but something even weirder happened. As the teacher wrote a complex math problem on the board, Amir instinctively solved it in his head before anyone else.

"X equals negative four," he mumbled absentmindedly.

The entire class turned silent.

"Correct," the teacher said, adjusting his glasses. "But… I haven't even finished writing the equation. How did you know that?"

Amir blinked. "Huh?"

His classmates exchanged glances, some amused, others suspicious. Even Eirene narrowed her eyes at him.

"Since when were you a genius?" she whispered.

Amir had no answer. His brain was working at an insane speed, but his body felt like it was running on fumes.

"What the hell is happening to me?"