Crossing the Darkness

Jin-Won Kim walked down the quiet street, his footsteps echoing against the wet pavement. The glow of streetlights flickered above him, casting elongated shadows on the empty road. Something felt... off. The city was unusually silent, as if the world itself was holding its breath.

As he continued walking, the streetlights began to dim one by one. A shiver ran down his spine.

Then, without warning—total darkness.

Jin-Won stopped, his heartbeat pounding in his ears. This wasn't a simple power outage. There was an unnatural stillness in the air, a presence he couldn't describe.

Before he could react, a strange force pulled at his entire body. It felt as if the ground beneath him had vanished, as if he was being dragged into an abyss.

The last thing he heard before everything faded was a distant voice whispering—

"Welcome to the game."

---

Jin-Won's eyes fluttered open. A sharp chill ran through him as he lay sprawled on a cold, cracked stone floor. His vision blurred for a moment before clearing, revealing a ruined cityscape under a crimson sky.

This wasn't the street he had been walking on.

The air felt heavy, dense with something unnatural. He pushed himself up, scanning his surroundings. The buildings were ancient, their walls covered in strange, glowing symbols. The eerie silence was broken only by the distant sound of wind whistling through broken structures.

Then, a voice.

"Jin-Won?!"

He turned sharply, his heart racing.

Standing a few feet away was Hori Jang, his face pale with shock. And he wasn't alone.

A small group of people stood behind him—people Jin-Won recognized. His friends.

"What… what is this place?" Hori's voice was unsteady, his hands clenched into fists.

Jin-Won had no answer.

All he knew was that they were no longer in their world.

And something—someone—had brought them here for a reason.

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