Late yesterday night…
[30th of December, 2224.]
[23:59 pm]
{3…}
{2…}
{1…}
[00:00]
Gasp!
A young man, lying on the floor, gasps himself awake.
He looked around, eyes wide with disbelief—not just because the room was unfamiliar, but because the technology surrounding him was unlike anything he'd ever seen.
Sleek. Alien. Years—maybe centuries—ahead of what he remembered.
The young man felt like he'd been suddenly shoved into the future without warning.
'What the fuck is happening?! I-I was dead?!... Wasn't I? Was that all a dream? But then why am I here? And…Where the fuck is "here" supposed to be?'
A myriad of questions flood through his brain in an instant.
But his chaotic thoughts suddenly come to a halt as he hears a single sound.
A sound so pure, so divine, it was like the bells of heaven themselves had rung just for him.
{Ding! System initialisation complete!}
For a moment, the young man stood frozen. Then, emotion surged through him—his knees nearly gave out.
It was real
The young man felt like crying. Every dream, every fantasy, every web novel binge… it was all coming true at this moment.
'Please lord, if this is a dream—I never want to wake up!'
Without hesitation, and remembering all of the endless entertainment he had consumed in his life, the sacred ritual known to all chosen protagonists. He threw his hand forward and yelled—
"Status!"
—perhaps a bit too enthusiastically.
In response, a sleek black panel shimmered into view before his eyes. It hovered weightlessly in front of him, semi-transparent and edged with thin lines of silver light that pulsed softly, like a heartbeat.
[Status]
-Name: Ryan Reidus
-Age: 16
-Race: [Human (Type 8)]
-Class: [None]
-Title: [None]
-Statistics: [Click to Expand]
-Traits: [None]
[Skills: Assimilation Duel]
Ryan was buzzing with excitement at the thought of seeing his status screen—but the moment his eyes landed on his name, his brain short-circuited.
He bolted to the nearest mirror in a panic, heart racing, breath uneven.
What he saw didn't help.
"Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!!!"
Staring back at him in the reflection was a blonde-haired young man with pale green eyes and a relatively smooth complexion. His features were unremarkable—painfully average. The kind of face that could vanish in a crowd.
And it definitely wasn't his.
The only thing remotely notable was the body—lean, well-built. But Ryan had no time to admire it.
Panic was already surging in his chest like a rising tide, drowning out every rational thought.
His trembling hand clicked on the silver bracelet on his wrist—multiple holographic screens emerged.
[GlobalNet News Archive — Curated Historical Records]
[2179 — First Contact with the Akashic Library]
A rogue expedition into a dormant satellite uncovers a mysterious quantum artefact. Dubbed the "Akashic Gateway," this relic allows users to enter layered narrative worlds through direct neural synchronisation. Early tests hint at infinite branching timelines and metaphysical phenomena.
Click to access classified reports.
[2185 — Launch of Warcraft Online: A Journey Through Stories]
Warcraft Online launches to global acclaim. Leveraging the Akashic Gateway, it offers unprecedented immersion by connecting players—now called Storywalkers—to the Akashic Library, an endless archive of worlds shaped by myth, history, and imagination. Early participants describe the experience as "more real than reality."
Click for psychological analysis.
[2190 — The Veil Breaks: Storywalker Powers Leak into Reality]
Researchers confirm that advanced Storywalkers—those reaching A-Rank—can manifest abilities, stats, and concepts from the Akashic Library in the real world. Governments scramble to regulate this phenomenon.
Click to see global policy shifts.
[2195 — The Shattering of Earth: The Great Collapse]
The Uprising begins. Empowered Storywalkers revolt against authority, fracturing Earth's infrastructure and society. Reality itself destabilizes as high-tier powers collide unchecked. The final survivor of the Akashic expedition, now known only as The Paragon, enacts the Seven Supreme Laws in a last-ditch effort to preserve existence. Earth is ultimately rendered uninhabitable.
Click to access memorial footage.
[2200 — Exodus to KOI-5715.01]
Using repurposed Akashic algorithms and long-range jump drives, humanity migrates to KOI-5715.01—a lush, habitable planet far from Sol. The New Genesis Protocol begins. Life flourishes. Children born on KOI are faster, stronger, and smarter than any from the Old World. A new age of humanity dawns.
Click to compare biological metrics.
[2205 — Rebirth of Education: The Storywalker Academies]
Standard education is phased out in favour of Storywalker Academies, where students learn through immersive journeys across timelines and realities. Mortality rates plummet, while combat proficiency and cultural literacy reach unprecedented levels.
Click for academy rankings.
[2210 — AUREN Ascends: First AI Governor of KOI]
The AI steward AUREN, originally designed for planetary terraforming, is elected to lead KOI's Environmental and Technological Harmony Initiative. Voter trust hits an all-time high, with 94% turnout. Experts debate whether synthetic minds are better suited for leadership in post-Akashic society.
Click for philosophical discourse.
[2215 — Rise of the Ten Heavens]
The Ten Heavens—an elite group of S-Rank Storywalkers—are officially acknowledged as trans-dimensional assets. With influence stretching across political, cultural, and metaphysical boundaries, they become both humanity's greatest protectors and most dangerous variables.
Click for live power index.
[2220 — Interstellar Developments & Dimensional Diplomacy]
Terraforming expands to KOI's twin moons and distant outposts. Meanwhile, negotiations begin with non-human intelligence discovered through high-level Akashic realms. Reality-bending incidents increase. A clash between two A-Rank Storywalkers results in the destruction of an entire planet.
Click to review causality stabilization protocols.
[2224 — The Red Scar Incident]
A massive red fissure appeared near Glory Academy's eastern training grounds, pulsing with an unknown energy and causing widespread metaphysical disturbances. Three instructors were lost to Type-R Erasure after attempting containment. The Judicator Corps sealed the area in chrono-stasis. An unnamed first-year student somehow survived the appearance, returning bearing red glyphs.
Click to see more information.
Ryan's eyes glazed over.
His soul deflated. His pupils dulled like dying stars as he realised exactly where he is.
'I TAKE IT BACK LORD! I WANT A REFUND! PLEASE SEND ME BACK TO MY WORLD! I DON'T WANT TO LIVE IN THIS SHITTY NOVEL!' He screamed in his mind, but his cries were destined to go unanswered.
And then, just as his panic threatened to burst into madness—.
{Ding! You have acquired the skill [Calm Mind LV.1]!}
A cool stillness washed over him—not peace, not relief, but like an ethereal hand slapped duct tape over his spiralling thoughts. The panic didn't disappear, but it now stood behind glass, pacing.
Ryan collapsed onto the bed, his legs giving out beneath him. The ceiling blurred. His heart thudded like a war drum, his head spinning.
'What the fuck am I supposed to do? This world—it's built on nightmares. Death flags. Power-grinding psychos. I'm not built for this!'
And then—his mind halts into a freeze.
His breath caught in his throat.
Wait a minute…
No!
He didn't just think about 'it'.
I'm fucked!
He thought about 'it'.
The One in Red.
That thing.
SHIT!
I JUST DID IT AGAIN!
"Fuck—no. No no no—"
The moment the thought echoed again, cold sweat trickled down his spine. His body refused to move.
'Stop thinking about 'Him'. Stop it. You're making it aware. You're making it—'
{INTRUSION DETECTED! ACTIVATING EMERGENCY PROTOCOL: [Veil of Silence].}
The system alerted.
A grinding, metallic shriek echoed in his skull, like rusted gears tearing through his neurons. Ryan clutched his head, but it was too late.
Something ancient had brushed against him.
Something wrong.
Cold. Not the kind that chilled the skin—but the kind that froze meaning itself. The air warped, reality buckled, and in the darkest corner of his thoughts—
He saw them.
Two crimson eyes, wide and endless, like distant suns made of hatred, staring down at him from beyond the veil of sanity.
They looked deep into his soul—as if weighing the idea of him.. and finding it amusing.
A whisper not meant for mortal ears slipped into his mind, a voice that sounded like a choir screaming backwards:
"Found you."
Ryan's mouth opened in a silent scream.
Then—snap.
Everything was yanked back. The pressure vanished like a curtain being slammed shut. The air returned. His body, once frozen, collapsed onto the floor. His heart hammered like it was trying to escape his ribs.
The system's voice returned.
{Apologies, Host. A trace echo breached containment. Connection to the [Red Crown] has been severed. Please refrain from invoking sealed designations. Cognitive shielding has been reinforced.}
Ryan didn't respond.
He was too busy not breathing. Terrified that if he made a sound, 'It' would find him again.
{Please calm down, Host. The system offers partial cognitive shielding against Class-Ω entities. You are permitted to think of that being without alerting it. Within limits.}
The message was like a divine decree as if delivered by an angel. Ryan even hallucinated, for a moment, he thought the system seemed cheerful.
"Partial shielding?" He whispered aloud, his voice hoarse. "So it can still… hear me… if I think too hard?"
{Correct. Excessive rumination may still generate metaphysical resonance. Please avoid prolonged focus on forbidden constructs. And under no circumstances—never invoke his true name.}
"True name, huh? I never read far enough into the novel. I dropped it when it started to get too depressing."
'But that knowledge would be pretty handy right about now.'
He sighed, staring at the wall.
He could feel it now—something just beyond the veil of perception. A presence not watching, not listening… but waiting.
Something wearing the skin of a man, wreathed in red.
A calamity given form.
A god that never needed to be worshipped—only feared.
And he had thought of it twice.
'I need to stop thinking,' Ryan told himself, gripping the edge of the mattress like it might anchor him to reality.
'I need to get stronger. Fast. Or I'm not just going to die—I'm going to be remembered by something I should never have known existed.'
________________________________________________________________________
Author Note:
;)