In a world meticulously shaped by technology, everything ran according to plan.
No major conflicts.
No poverty.
No disorder.
Everything was orderly, sterile… and far too perfect.
Nine great nations ruled the entire Earth. Every territory had been defined, every profession predetermined from birth, and every future mapped out long before anyone could even utter the word freedom.
The most exceptional teens from each region were rigorously selected to enter the World Central Academy—a prestigious institution that served as the gateway for the young generation to become the "pillars of future civilization."
They were taught everything: science, strategy, ethics—even modern martial arts.
But behind all this grandeur, many of them secretly asked themselves:
Is this... enough?
My name is Ahreum Kwon, a first-year student at the World Central Academy.
Equivalent to the first year of high school—if the old system still existed.
But that system died out fifty years ago.
My days were nearly identical. Wake up at 5:00 AM, physical training session, then theoretical lessons until night. Sleep at 10:00 PM, wake up again, repeat.
They called me an "exemplar." One of the "Chosen Hundred."
But today… for reasons even I couldn't explain, a tightness weighed down on my chest.
I wanted something to change.
That afternoon, the classroom buzzed more than usual.
Some students had begun to relax—midterm exams had just ended.
Among them were familiar faces. Like me, they were part of the elite class, and somehow... they'd become important in this monotonous life of mine.
Yenara Li—Yena—was always the loudest among us. Cheerful, impulsive, and often way too excited over the smallest things.
"Ahreeee~! Don't tell me you forgot we planned to train tonight?" she leaned over my desk.
I glanced at her. "Didn't forget."
"Yaaay! But don't be late this time, okay? I'm not falling for your excuses again!"
Behind her, a loud scoff.
Renji Aikawa stood leaning against the wall, his trademark smug grin plastered on his face.
"Training? Tch. Waste of time. I've told you—skills come from instinct, not memorization."
"Yeah, well, your instinct is why your scores are all over the place," Yena snapped.
Not far from them, Daewon Ryu sat on top of a desk, one earphone in. His fingers tapped a rhythm on his thigh, keeping time with music only he could hear.
"You guys are too loud. I just need peace to find inspiration."
Near the window, Agri Tsukihara was glued to a tiny hologram screen, analyzing complex graphs. Quiet and serious, yet his presence always brought a strange sense of calm.
"Agri, you coming to training later?" Yena asked.
"Not sure. Still testing biological responses in enclosed environments."
In the corner of the room, two starkly contrasting figures whispered to each other.
Naomi Ellis—bubbly and talkative—and Farya Himeno—elegant and cold.
They were always together, despite being total opposites.
Close by sat Evelyn Morozova—Lyn to us—reading a thick book, completely unfazed by the noise around her. Calm and brilliant, her gaze often seemed to hold a thousand secrets.
One seat behind Lyn came a smooth, confident voice.
Aubrey Lancaster—the sharp mind of our group—always with the right answers, whether it was for science or social maneuvering.
"Yena, you should also manage the team's emotions, not just their energy. Too many social explosions in one room."
Yena raised an eyebrow. "Explosions? I thought it was just me being loud."
And finally, sitting closest to the door like a silent sentinel, was Jihwan Seo. Tall, calm, always half-lazy—but somehow never out of the loop.
"The sky's strange today. Micro-gravitational waves detected. If you're smart, don't leave the dorm tonight."
"What are you now, a weather sensor?" Renji laughed.
I just watched them from my seat.
Sometimes, I wondered if maybe… I wasn't as bored as I thought.
Maybe they were the reason I kept going.
That evening, I sat alone on the girls' dorm balcony.
The sky turned orange. The sun slowly set behind the city's silhouette.
The breeze tugged at my hair as I stared at the horizon.
For some reason... a bad feeling crept in.
But I didn't have time to dwell on it.
The first tremor was light—like something shifting far beneath the earth.
Then the second one. Stronger.
Then—crash! The whole building shook. Sirens blared. Emergency alarms flashed red. But there were no instructions from Central. Only chaos.
I didn't even get to stand before a violent quake hit—
BOOOOOM!!
The sky cracked open, and the ground pulled downward.
Gravity vanished. Everything went silent.
Then—pressure, like a mountain slamming into my chest.
Darkness.
...
When I opened my eyes, the world had changed.
The air I breathed felt foreign.
Fresh… but strange—like it wasn't ordinary oxygen.
The dorm was in ruins. Cracks on the walls. Half the ceiling collapsed.
Yet somehow, the structure still stood. Solid.
I had only a few scrapes. Maybe because I wasn't near the collapsing wall.
Around me, voices stirred.
Yena sat nearby, gasping, eyes wide at the gaping hole in the ceiling.
Farya and Naomi slowly rose—clothes dusty, but unharmed.
Lyn and Aubrey were also fine—a few scrapes, but standing.
We were all still here.
Still together. At least... for now.
I rushed to the shattered window.
What I saw made my heart sink:
A dark purple sky.
Two moons hung still over an endless forest of bluish-green trees—like nothing from any biology book.
No streetlights.
No skyscrapers.
Just ruins—burned and broken remains of another dorm across the field.
"…This isn't Earth," I whispered, barely believing it.
Smoke curled in the distance.
Fires still burned in what remained of the buildings.
Distant screams. Sobs. Survivors.
But most of the others… were silent.
We tried contacting our instructors—nothing.
Internal comms were dead.
The central academy building—where the staff and teachers were—had been leveled.
Even the strongest among them… gone without a trace.
Farya stood beside me, staring at the two moons.
"The sky… why does it look different?"
Naomi approached, voice trembling.
"Is this really another planet?"
Lyn clutched her sleeve.
"Or... another world?"
I didn't answer.
Because deep down, I already knew—
This wasn't a dream.
This wasn't an illusion.
We had been transported—dropped—into somewhere else.
And I could feel it.
Something in the air… a kind of energy I had never known.
This world isn't just strange.
It's alive.