WHUUUSH!!!
In a flash, Des found himself transported into what appeared to be a temple.
It was pure white, decorated in gold and silver, and all kinds of rare gems. It also felt pleasantly warm, and a nice aroma wafted into the air that made him relax. None of these were described in the novel, so they came as a surprise to him.
The hall was massive, capable of easily containing hundreds of people. Its pillars firmly connected the tall ceiling to the clear ground, and all around the walls there were rune-like engravings that also matched symbols etched into the pillars.
Right as Des was taking in the nice ambiance of the room, he began to notice quite a few eyes on him. There were at least a couple dozen people in the room, which surprised him.
'Already? I thought I acted pretty quickly, and yet there are these many that got here before me?'
Those thoughts quickly changed when he realized that he was in Selection Temple 001.
He could already see familiar faces.
'Derek, Leo, Ogun, Ashley, Demeter, and… that must be…' His eyes quickly focused on the man who stood a distance from everyone else.
His eyes were busy scouring the surroundings as he narrowed them with quiet suspicion. With blond hair that seemed to shimmer like the sun, and a perfectly toned build that seemed to be carved out by the very gods, he stood at over six feet tall with a priestly garment that seemed to already be soiled in blood.
"… Nikolai Kirsten, the protagonist of [Revelations of the Apocalypse]."
While Des was still having this thought, one of the people in the room approached him.
"Oh? Looks like someone else has arrived." The stranger had black hair with deep blue eyes, and he hurriedly walking forward as he offered a hand. "Don't mind that guy. I hear he was the first to arrive, but he's been silently looking around the room since I came here."
"Ah…" Des realized he had made it obvious that he was observing Nikolai, so he smiled sheepishly, trying to contain his embarrassment.
"I don't blame you for staring… he's quite the looker, isn't he? But, that stain on his outfit… you think he killed someone before coming here?" The man went on to say, staring disapprovingly at the unaware Nikolai.
Somehow, this rubbed Des the wrong way.
"You shouldn't always judge a book by its cover! Don't just make assumptions without getting to know the person…" He quickly stopped speaking once he caught himself rambling on.
This was something he only did when it came to matters involving [Revelations of the Apocalypse]. As an avid fan of the series, he had somehow made it his job to defend the book at any opportunity he could online.
These opportunities weren't a lot, since the novel wasn't very popular, but he made sure to vehemently protect his treasure against any form of criticisms and also tried to get new readers to stick around and give the story a chance.
All of these were efforts in futility, as he quickly realized that humans already had their own preconceived notions and taste. Just because [Revelations of the Apocalypse] was his favorite novel, that didn't stop someone else from thinking it was trash.
He had long given up on reading comments bashing the book, but somehow he ended up defending the protagonist of the story by mere reflex.
"Sorry for raising my voice…" He quickly apologized.
"No, no… it was my bad." The black-haired man quickly replied. "I shouldn't have been quick to judge. Now that I look at the red stain… it could be wine or juice."
"Exactly!"
In the novel, it was revealed that Nikolai actually had a bit of an accident with the wine meant for communion in the church, and he was in the middle of cleaning up the mess when the Apocalypse began.
The reason he maintained his distance from everyone else in the room was because he didn't want to inconvenience anyone with the alcoholic smell. Plus, he was taking a look around the temple because he had always been naturally inquisitive since he was a child, and the runic symbols all over the temple felt similar to ancient languages that he studied in University.
Everything had a reason, and one couldn't simply judge something at face value.
"Say… what's your name?" Despite their conversation already being over, and even more people appearing in the temple, the man asked for his name.
"Uh? It's Desmond, but everyone calls me Des."
"Des, huh? That's a nice name." The man smiled at him, an unknown glint flashing in his deep blue eyes as he repeated the name.
Out of obligation, Des decided to throw the question back at him.
'I don't know who this guy is, and he also doesn't appear familiar at all. It doesn't seem like he's one of the major characters that is mentioned in the book.'
"My name? It's Johnathan… but you can call me John."
'John? No major character in the novel had that name… and even though some appeared down the line, since it's a pretty common name, I don't think any of them were in the same Selection Temple as Nikolai.' Des reasoned as he once again observed the John before him. 'His appearance and personality also don't match any of the ones I know.'
After thinking for a while, Des finally came to a conclusion.
'He must be an extra… one of those unnamed characters in the story.'
[Revelations of the Apocalypse] boasted an immense cast of characters, and while it had a protagonist, the story featured the perspectives of all kinds of people: from Survivors to Elects.
There was even a very captivating monologue that featured a dying beggar close to the end.
That remained one of Des' favorite moments in the book.
'Many people found it hard to commit to the story since it kept taking focus away from the main character, but I actually found that quality of [Revelations] to be very endearing, and it was executed very uniquely too.' He smiled, remembering the good old days. 'That was one of the things that cemented it as my favorite novel.'
"Nice to meet you, John. Take care of yourself, and be careful." Des nodded at him, exchanging one final pleasantry before walking away.
'I can't be too stuck conversing with him. I need to get myself acquainted with the other characters, especially the protagonist.' Des clenched his fist. 'If I can get close to them, I'll have a higher chance at surviving the imminent threat.'
[… But what if things were different? The world operates on the fundamental laws of cause and effect. If a single thing moves out of place, it could completely change the outcome of an event. This applies to anything in nature, as well as humans…]
A line from [Revelations of the Apocalypse] suddenly appeared in Des' head, causing him to halt in his steps.
'If I interact with them, wouldn't I be changing the course of events?'
Doing so at such an early stage would be too dangerous, wouldn't it? If he began to make changes now, it could completely alter the events that would take place later in the future, which would then render a lot of the things he knew obsolete.
'I have to be careful.' Des told himself, walking to a corner as he turned on his smartphone.
'Thankfully, it still works…'
Sighing in relief, Des sat on the ground and opened the web novel app on his smartphone and went to his downloaded section.
There, he saw it.
[Revelations Of The Apocalypse: How To Survive In The Last Days Of Humanity]
'There's still about twenty more hours to go before the Selection Ceremony begins. Once that happens, all electronic devices will stop working, and I'll be unable to read the book again. Before that happens, I should refresh my memory and read as much as I can…' He brought out a tiny notepad and pen from his breast pocket, ready to jot down all the important details that he could not afford to forget.
'… This is the most important thing at the moment!'
While he was doing this, more people appeared at the Selection Temple. Conversations echoed out, and people displayed all kinds of reactions: from excitement to dread. Some were completely silent, while others were talkative.
Amidst all of this, a certain person watched Des from the corner of his eyes.
He saw how diligently Des' eyes scrolled through the phone, and how swiftly his pen moved on the clear surface of his tiny notebook.
A small smile formed on his face as he nodded slowly.
"Looks like I was right about you, dedicated reader…" A deep whisper subtly echoed from his lips as he turned away.
"Try your best to survive."