I sometimes wonder.

I wonder if humans are put on this earth to die.

Every human being goes through life, bumping into others.

We experience happiness, anger, sadness, and pain.

And at the end of this journey, there is always death.

In the end, we are living our lives so that we can have a better death.

I always wanted my death to be a worthy death.

To die protecting my loved ones.

No one expects much from a 20-year-old high school graduate.

I work a part-time job until dawn to make ends meet.

Eat, work, sleep.

I hoped that the end of my meaninglessly repetitive life would be beautiful.

I wanted to give something to the people I love, at least until the moment of my death.

But now, what is this?

"Lee Hyun-sung!!! Open your eyes!!"

A woman's sobbing voice echoed through the depths of my foggy mind.

I squinted through unfocused eyes to see the woman holding my head.

I could see the red scarf wrapped around her neck.

"Seo-yeon...?"

"Are you awake?! Look at me!!"

I still can't see Seo-yeon's face.

I can make out the outline, but I can't see her nostrils.

What is this terrible pain I feel all over my body?

The pain was overwhelming, as if every bone in my body had been crushed.

Thud.

"...?"

Something hot came up in my throat and I spat it out, and red blood spurted out of my mouth.

Did I just spit up blood?

I turned my creaking head to look around and saw a truck with a dented bumper.

I lowered my head again and checked myself.

Two legs bent at odd angles and a bloody hand.

"Ugh..."

"Hyunseong?!"

My head spun and my vision went dark.

I hear Seo-yeon's surprised voice, but I don't have the energy to answer.

It's only now that I start to remember.

I was on my way home from dinner with my childhood friend Seo-yeon...

Seo-yeon stopped me on the side of the road, saying she had something she wanted to tell me...

A truck came out of nowhere and raced toward her, and I was hit instead.

Cough-!

I coughed, and red blood spurted out of my mouth.

I think my organs are fucked up.

I knew instinctively.

I die on the spot.

"Hyun-sung... What can I do... Aaaaaaah...!"

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I could see Seo-yeon clutching her head in agony.

As my blurry vision cleared a bit, I could see the tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Why... Why are you crying..."

"Don't die... Huh? Don't die..."

Seo-yeon buried her face in my chest and finally broke down crying.

I can't tell if the dampness on my chest is from blood or tears.

I want to pat her back with my hand, but my arm doesn't move.

I can only meekly accept Seo-yeon's hug, unable to do anything.

"Don't die... Don't die..."

Seo-yeon's voice is slowly fading away.

Suddenly, the shadow of death loomed over me.

It wasn't a bad feeling.

I died the way I wanted to, protecting my loved ones.

I had protected my dearest friend, the one who had kept me from falling apart as a high school freshman.

"Thank God..."

"Huh...?"

Seo-yeon snorted and lifted her head in response to my unintentional muttering.

Her eyes were already red and swollen from crying so much.

I feel ironic.

I must be dying, but at the same time, I feel alive.

There was a place for me in her heart.

A place in her heart that this world has never given me.

"Haha..."

"Why... why are you laughing...?"

"I'm glad... I'm glad you're okay..."

I am happy.

I'm happy that my life is coming to a meaningful end.

I'm so happy that tears well up in my eyes.

Now my vision was beginning to blacken.

It seemed that my time was coming to an end.

I flashed one last smile at Seo, who had a strange expression on her face that I couldn't tell if she was laughing or crying.

"Bye."

20 years old.

The life of high school freshman Lee Hyun-sung ended with saving his best friend.

[System requirements established].

[You are given a chance to live a new life].

[Mr. Lee Hyun-sung, welcome to being a savior].

...What?

.

.

. .

. . .

.

White sleet dances dizzily down from the sky, and the breath from Seo-yeon's lonely mouth dissipates into thin air.

In front of the emergency room of a nearby university hospital.

She sits on a bench, her eyes fixed on someone unseen.

"Hyun-sung..."

A cracked voice escapes from her faintly gaping mouth.

Hyun-sung was dead.

By the time the ambulance arrived, he was already in cardiac arrest.

Not long after Hyun-sung's body was wheeled into the operating room, the doctor who came out solemnly told Seo-yeon the news of his death.

The world was falling apart.

Whirling

The increasingly strong winter wind pierces through Seo-yeon's arms, sending a bitter chill through her bones.

If only she could freeze to death.

Seo-yeon thought as she watched the sleet fall from the sky with empty eyes.

She loved Hyunseong.

She'd had a crush on him since childhood, and she'd purposely been mean to him to keep her feelings hidden.

If only she had been more honest with him.

If only she had confessed her feelings to him earlier.

If she hadn't planned to confess on the spot when Hyun-sung had his accident.

He might be by her side right now.

"Ugh..."

She grits her teeth and tries to hold it in, but a pained groan eventually escapes.

Seo-yeon covers her face with her hands.

Her hands are stained with the blood that flowed from Hyunseong's body, but she doesn't care.

She didn't dare to wash away the last traces of Hyun-sung.

"Huh... Huh..."

A piece of hardened blood stuck to her face.

Seo-yeon took a deep breath to calm herself.

Hyun-sung's funeral is about to begin.

No one will come to pay their respects.

He's always been a loner.

But she loved him because he was a wonderful person who smiled brightly and cared about the people around him.

"..."

Seo-yeon, who had been crouching with her face covered for a long time, slowly released her arms.

The moment she lets Hyun-sung go, she must stay by his side.

Staggering to her feet, she slowly walked toward the funeral home.

He said until the end that he was glad she wasn't hurt.

"...Idiot."

Swallowing back a tearful mutter, Seo-yeon quickened her heavy steps.

.

.

. .

. . .

.

"..."

Seo-Yeon stood still, staring straight ahead.

A picture frame rested among beautifully decorated chrysanthemums.

The smile of a man smiling brightly in the cramped frame seemed to cut through her heart.

Slowly, Seo-yeon's feet moved forward.

Her body, clad in a black robe, trembled slightly.

"...I'm sorry."

Seo-yeon murmured as she stroked Hyun-sung's face in the photo.

"...I love you."

She shook her head.

"Ugh...! Hahaha...!"

Seo-Yeon's body collapsed in an instant.

Sinking to the ground, she laughs maniacally with Youngjung in her arms.

"Ahahahahaha!!!"

Her own throat tickled horribly.

Buck-buck-buck-!

Seo-Yeon's sharp nails made red cuts on her delicate neck.

Red blood oozes out and smears over her white skin like paint, but her hand doesn't stop.

Buck-buck-buck-buck.

Flesh tears, blood flows.

"Ahhhhhh...!!! Ahhhhhh...!!!"

With a scream that I couldn't tell if she was crying or laughing, Seo-yeon sat back and scratched her neck for a long time.

Until those who were surprised by her madness stopped her.

She didn't stop punishing herself.

.

.

. . .

. . .

.

"...What the hell."

That was the only thing I could say as I looked at the blue message that suddenly appeared in front of me.

I can't even touch this message that appeared as my dark vision suddenly brightened.

This is the status window, or something.

As I stared at the message window for a moment, another message popped up.

[Lee Hyun-sung, you have been chosen as a savior].

"Savior?"

I couldn't help but scratch my head at the blue message that popped up again.

This is so strange.

I must be dead, so why is my body visible?

What is this strange blue-lit space?

I take a moment to look around, and I'm stunned by what I see.

Thick branches like the roots of a blue tree extend out in all directions, and at the end of them, unidentifiable white spheres hang like fruit.

I felt creeped out by the scene, like something out of a cosmic horror movie or novel.

[Your mission is to travel to a dimension in need and save it].

"Save?"

[That noble soul you have. The developers of the system are impressed by your soul, which has no regrets in the face of death. According to the system's calculations, there is a 98.9% probability that you would have found satisfaction in saving others and facing death].

The system?

The developer?

My head was about to explode as I took in the information from the message window spewing out unintelligible words.

[Now I propose to you: would you like to take on the task of gaining new life and saving another dimension?]

"What does that mean..."

I'm confused.

But at the same time, I'm intrigued.

Something I've only seen in novels is happening to me.

Is the developer of the system a god-like being?

Is he or she giving me a new life and asking me to save some world?

Cautiously, I ask the question in the message window.

"What exactly is my mission to save another dimension?"

The message window didn't take long to answer.

[In this world, there are many dimensions with different characteristics. Your mission is to enter the dimension in need among them and grow the 'Chosen One' inside the dimension. Once the growth of the 'Chosen One' is complete, you will end your own life and move to the next dimension].

"..."

I'm dumbfounded by this story, it's so out of my comfort zone.

Parallel universe theory, or something like that?

To summarize, the system is asking me to travel to an unfamiliar dimension and grow a person called the Chosen One.

When the mission is complete, I kill myself and move on to the next dimension.

Facing the message window, which somehow had the feel of a slave contract, I asked one last question.

"...What happens if I refuse?"

[Your soul will be extinguished].

"..."

A question with a predetermined answer.

Apparently, I was dead.

The message window refers to me as a soul.

At this point, I can only do what the system tells me to do.

But it's not a bad feeling.

I know what it feels like to protect someone and lose their life.

The desire to feel the euphoria of that moment again begins to rise from deep within my chest.

"Good."

The corners of my mouth curved gently into a smile.

"I'm dead anyway, so I'll give it a shot."

[Good choice].

Woof.

My body began to bathe in a blue glow as the system's message came to mind.

Is this okay?

[I am immediately transported to the first dimension, #00031782].

"Holy shit-"

I instinctively tried to spit out an expletive in disbelief, but the system was faster.

With a violent jolt, my body spins frantically, sucked somewhere.

The white sphere in front of me.

"Aaahhh...!!!"

Pow-!

The moment my body collided with the sphere's surface, the world went black.

[Dimensional Rush Success].

...This is a success?