Chapter 1

That night.

Lights flickered in the distance.

A gentle breeze brushed against Evan, and he gazed calmly at the moon on the horizon.

The soft, hazy moonlight spilled down, casting a faint shimmer across the street in front of him.

With a hint of unease, he pulled out his cell phone. It was a recent purchase, but now, two lines of clear text glowed on the screen.

[Do you want to understand the meaning of life? Do you want to truly live?]

[Yes]

Evan was eighteen years old, fresh from his college entrance exams, and awaiting his admission letter. His family wasn't wealthy by any stretch, but they were comfortable. His parents were still around, though often away for work, and life, all things considered, was pretty good.

He felt content with the present. He had no burning desire to unravel the meaning of life or to become a pawn in some grand cosmic game.

Yet here he was, faced with these two options that left him torn between amusement and frustration.

Evan was no stranger to the internet, and these exact lines had popped up in memes and forums he'd seen before. He'd even daydreamed about a scenario like this, but now that it was real, he hesitated.

Part of him wondered if it was a scam—some hacker's trick, waiting for him to click so they could drain his accounts. After wrestling with the decision for a while, he chose not to tap the screen.

No matter how he looked at it, clicking seemed like a bad idea.

Since last night, the phone had stayed on, and thanks to that, Evan hadn't touched it all day. He even borrowed someone else's phone to test it, only to watch its screen flicker off before the same two lines reappeared.

Evan sank into deep thought.

He mulled it over silently.

He had no answers.

Back to the question: Was this some kind of trap?

Clicking it felt like it could lead to something terrible—like signing away his freedom with no way out. Both options were "yes," after all, as if he had no real choice.

Lost in his thoughts, he wandered down the quiet street under the night sky.

But in the next moment, his worries vanished.

A portal—or something like it—hurtled toward him at blinding speed, leaving him no time to react. The sheer force of the impact shattered the scene around him. Amid the screech of metal and the sound of tearing, Evan was flung backward like a kite with its string cut.

Pain surged through him, sharp and overwhelming, and almost instantly, his consciousness faded.

He didn't know where the vehicle had come from. It seemed to materialize out of nowhere. On a quiet night like this, something moving that fast should've made a racket, but he hadn't heard a thing—it was as if it had appeared from thin air.

When Evan opened his eyes again, he found himself in a vast white expanse.

He glanced around, bewildered. A gray mist hung in the air, blurring everything into a haze.

Feeling his limbs—intact and unharmed, as if the crash had never happened—he took a cautious step forward. The ground beneath him rippled, sending waves through the white void.

Evan frowned. If nothing unexpected had happened, he should be dead.

It was bizarre. First, the strange message, and now this—a car straight out of nowhere to whisk him away. Were there really so many ways to get pulled into another world these days? And if he didn't agree, did it even matter?

What was he supposed to do now? He tried to speak, but no sound came out. His mouth moved, yet the air remained silent, as if this place were a vacuum.

Confused, he looked around and waited, but no guiding figure—no deity or wise spirit—appeared. Growing impatient, he muttered to himself inwardly: They drag me here by force, but there's not even a single person to explain what's going on.

So, he started walking aimlessly.

The boundless white void stretched on without end.

In this empty expanse, Evan trudged along, a solitary figure in a lifeless world.

There was no one else—just him.

He didn't know how far he'd gone or how many steps he'd taken.

Eventually, a creeping loneliness began to stir in his chest. That solitude morphed into fear, gnawing at him.

At first, he'd looked around curiously, but now he walked in silence, his steps steady and calm.

The path was endless and barren. No sound reached his ears, no signs of life appeared.

There was no color—just an endless sea of white and a suffocating stillness.

What was this place?

A wry smile tugged at Evan's lips.

He'd arrived, but without any grand overseer, all that remained was this blank, white world.

Fatigue began to weigh on him. He felt weak.

Deciding to rest, he sat down on the ground, and the white surface rippled beneath him once more.

He tilted his head up to take in his surroundings.

The white void lacked color or warmth—it was simply an empty expanse.

It felt like a blank canvas awaiting an artist's brush or a pristine book waiting for its first words.

A bold thought struck him: With no overseer or guide, what if he was the one meant to shape this world?

He cast his mind back to the quiet night before the crash.

Darkness had settled over the city, pierced by the glow of neon lights. The streets grew emptier, save for a few stumbling drunks. A soft wind rustled the leaves, whispering faintly.

Tall buildings loomed in the distance, their windows aglow like a castle in the dark. Most shops along the street were shuttered, though a handful of late-night food stalls remained open, their tempting aromas wafting through the air.

A cat darted from a corner, padding silently toward a trash can. It sniffed, then licked at something, its tongue making a soft sound. Nearby, a dog barked, shattering the night's calm.

Evan had walked through that city under the stars.

The sky glittered with countless twinkling lights, like diamonds strewn across a black velvet curtain. The moon peeked out, half-hidden, casting a gentle glow. Somewhere in the distance, a nightingale sang, its clear notes drifting through the air.

The city at night had felt like a mysterious realm, brimming with secrets and possibilities. It had brought him peace and a touch of joy, but also a quiet loneliness.

As he recalled it, the world around him shifted. The white void flipped upside down. Evan looked up—the blank sky was gone, replaced by a deep, dark night. Moonlight poured down, silvery and bright. The street beneath him buzzed to life. A black-and-white cat appeared before him. Scenes unfurled rapidly around him, radiating outward with Evan at their center. He stood there, quietly taking it all in.

The loneliness faded. The fear of the unknown melted away, replaced by a rush of curiosity and wonder.