The void still echoed with the remnants of that dark, omnipotent voice, but as the overwhelming tension lifted, the stillness that remained was almost as unsettling. I offered my hand to Eun-Kyung, still trembling from the aftershocks of whatever had just happened.

She stared at me like she didn't recognize me, her gaze darting from my bloodstained fingers to my face. I could understand why. Hell, I barely recognized myself. What just happened wasn't normal, and I wasn't sure if I was even the same person I was a moment ago. But in the end, I couldn't back down.

If I did, I wasn't sure if we'd get another chance.

"Namgung Kyong..." her voice was quiet, barely a whisper. "What... was that?"

I didn't have a good answer for her, not one that made sense. I didn't know what this place was or what that voice wanted with us.

"Honestly?" I painfully grinned, keeping my voice steady despite the chaos still roiling inside me. "I have no idea."

She hesitated, her eyes lingering on my outstretched hand, the blood coating it like some grim reminder of the danger we were just in. I could see the war inside her.

Finally, with a shaky breath, she reached out and took my hand.

Despite everything, we were still standing, and that counted for something.

***

It wasn't violent, but it was insistent, like the entire space was directing me somewhere. For a moment, I thought I was imagining it, the way everything here felt so unreal.

But no, something was guiding me.

Obviously, I couldn't help but notice the green message box to my left, blinking incessantly, demanding my attention once again.

[ Exclusive Skill, "Libra Clairvoyance" is activated. ]

Finally a little time to breathe. Though it wasn't much — every second felt like it could be our last. Still, I couldn't deny the small relief washing over me, however temporary.

For the longest time, I'd lived life on autopilot—coasting, really. There was never any need to be more than what I was. People like me don't get special powers, or exclusive skills, or thrown into places that bend the very fabric of reality.

People like me don't get to be important.

That was the rule of life, right?

But here I was, standing in this twisted, surreal world with blood on my hands, literally. And here I was being pulled by something unseen, something that expected me to make a choice.

I glanced at Eun-Kyung, still gripping my hand. She was scared, no doubt about it, but she was still here. Still holding on. In a way, that made her braver than me. At least she had enough sense to be afraid.

In an attempt to break the silence, she forced a sneer, her voice shaking just enough to give her away. "Hey, Namgung Kyong. 'The show must go on', huh?"

A bitter chuckle escaped her mouth.

'That's a little embarrassing' I almost said out loud.

The tension in the air lightened, if only slightly, as Eun-Kyung tried to joke through the fear. I appreciated the effort, even if the humor felt strained against the weight of our situation.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

"Yeah, right," I replied, forcing a giggle myself. "So, I'm the main character right?"

Perhaps shocked by my sudden outwardness, Gu Eun-Kyung paused for a second.

She rolled her eyes, a faint smile breaking through the fear as she continued tracing the path I was creating. "You? A main character? More like an accidental sidekick who stumbled into the wrong story."

"Accidental sidekick?" I thought about shooting back. But I ended up just grinning despite the heaviness still hanging over us. I'd mortified myself enough for the day, anyways.

By the way, my foot ran into a solid invisible wall, prompting me to stop in my tracks right before I slammed my entire torso into it.

Eun-Kyung looked up sharply. "What the hell?" she muttered, taking a step back when she saw me come to such a sudden halt.

I pressed my hand against the empty air, feeling the smooth, cool surface of something I couldn't see. It felt like more than just a simple wall — it felt deliberate, like it was placed here on purpose.

My fingers attempted to trace the outline of the unseen obstruction, but no end was found. I was trying to make sense of it. There was a faint, almost imperceptible shimmer, like light bending at the edge of something hidden. Even in this eternal brightness.

Then I felt it — a subtle seam, a shift in the texture beneath my fingertips.

"A door."

The words slipped out before I could stop them, a quiet realisation that felt like it carried the weight of everything wrong with this place. My fingers traced the seam, running along the invisible boundary, feeling the slight shift in pressure.

"A door?" Eun-Kyung's voice was filled with disbelief.

I reluctant nodded, but my hand was already pressing against the seam, my fingers curling around something solid yet unseen. A door, hidden in the air itself, as if waiting for someone to find it.

"... Oh," I muttered, half to her, half to myself.

With a push, the seam groaned, and a faint line of light began to appear, splitting the empty space in front of us. It wasn't blinding like the void we had just escaped from, but a soft, pale glow, like moonlight reflected off still water. The shimmering crack widened as I pushed further, revealing the outline of a door, materialising out of thin air.

Eun-Kyung took a step back, her breath catching.

I wasn't sure how to explain it. That pull I'd been feeling, the guidance that had led me forward — it wasn't just leading me somewhere, it was guiding me toward this. I didn't know why or how, but I could sense that this door was meant for me. Or, more specifically, for us.

With a deep breath, I did what it was screaming at me to do.

After a final push, the door swung open. A cold, biting wind swept out from the other side, sending chills racing down my spine. Beyond the door, I couldn't see anything. It was almost as if I had gone blind; a thick, impenetrable fog lay beyond the door, swirling with shadows that seemed to pulse with a life of their own. The wind howled through the narrow crack, carrying with it a strange, distant sound — like whispers at the edge of hearing, too faint to make out but unsettling all the same.

I glanced at Eun-Kyung, whose face had gone pale. Her eyes were locked on what I had just discovered, but she made no move to step forward. I couldn't blame her; I wasn't exactly eager to walk into that fog myself.

I hesitated. The urge to turn back gnawed at me, but that insistent pull, that invisible force guiding me, was stronger. It wasn't giving me a choice. I stepped forward while grabbing her hand again, and Eun-Kyung followed, her hand never leaving mine.

The fog swallowed us whole.

***

As soon as we crossed the threshold, the air changed. It was heavy, almost suffocating, with the unmistakable scent of damp earth and decay. My footsteps crunched on the cold, hard ground, though I couldn't see it beneath the swirling mist. The world around us felt more confined, the endless white replaced by the oppressive weight of darkness pressing in from all sides.

Suddenly, the fog began to shift, pulling back just enough to reveal the outline of towering walls, rising impossibly high into the gloom above. They stretched out in every direction, creating a maze that seemed to twist and coil like a living thing. The walls weren't made of stone or brick but of a strange, shimmering substance, like glitter rubbed against a dense wall, reflecting the fog and the faint light that filtered through the cracks overhead. The labyrinth pulsed with an eerie energy, its pathways shifting ever so slightly, as though it were alive and waiting for us to enter.

I opened the screen I hadn't familiarised myself with yet once more.

[ You have arrived at the Main Quest Location. ]

My eyes instinctively dropped lower, scanning the glowing screen for more information, and that's when the knot in my stomach tightened.

I braced myself, feeling the cold weight of dread settle deeper into my bones. My mind struggled to process the meaning of those words.

[ Time Remaining: 20:12:43 ]