The jungle fell into a strange stillness.
Keil Voss and Bruce stood facing each other, their gazes locked—not with hostility, but with a cold clarity that only those who understood each other too well could possess. There were no unnecessary words between them. No wasted expressions. Just quiet calculation.
Seraphine stood nearby, caught between them, unable to fully grasp what passed silently in that exchange.
For a brief moment—
Everything was normal.
---
Then it began.
---
Keil felt it first.
Not an aura.
Not killing intent.
Not even a presence.
---
It was something far more unsettling.
---
The world itself… started to break.
---
At first, it was subtle.
The edges of the trees flickered.
The shadows beneath them trembled.
Then—
The ground beneath Keil's feet loosened, not like soil, but like something losing form.
---
His pupils shrank.
---
"…What…?"
---
The jungle began to disintegrate.
---
Not collapse.
Not explode.
---
Disintegrate.
---
Like it was never real to begin with.
---
The trees shattered into countless tiny particles, dissolving into the air like dust under invisible pressure. The sky itself fragmented, breaking apart into scattered points of light that drifted aimlessly.
---
Seraphine's voice trembled.
"…What is happening?!"
---
Bruce didn't respond.
For the first time—
Even his expression showed a faint shift.
---
Keil turned his head sharply.
---
Seraphine's body—
Was breaking apart.
---
Not blood.
Not flesh.
---
Particles.
---
Tiny fragments of existence peeling away from her form, drifting into the void like scattered ashes.
---
"…Seraphine."
---
His voice remained calm.
But his eyes—
Sharpened.
---
Bruce's form began to fade as well.
---
Even he—
Was not exempt.
---
"…Interesting."
Bruce muttered quietly, his voice growing distant.
---
"…So it's finally here."
---
Keil's gaze snapped toward him.
---
"…You know this?"
---
Bruce's figure flickered.
---
"…No."
---
A faint pause.
---
"…But I've felt something similar before."
---
And then—
He was gone.
---
Completely.
---
Seraphine disappeared next.
---
Her eyes filled with confusion—
Then fear—
Then nothing.
---
Silence swallowed everything.
---
Within ten seconds—
The jungle was gone.
---
The world was gone.
---
And Keil Voss—
Was alone.
---
---
There was no ground.
No sky.
No direction.
No sound.
---
Only darkness.
---
Endless.
---
Absolute.
---
Keil's body floated in nothingness.
---
His breathing became unstable.
Not because he was afraid—
But because there was no air.
---
Yet—
He was still breathing.
---
"…What is this…?"
---
His voice echoed—
But there was no space for sound to travel.
---
That alone was wrong.
---
Everything here—
Was wrong.
---
"…Where am I…?"
---
No response.
---
No presence.
---
No existence beyond himself.
---
For the first time—
Keil Voss felt something unfamiliar.
---
Not fear.
---
Confusion.
---
"…What is happening…?"
---
His thoughts moved rapidly.
He tried to analyze.
To understand.
To find a pattern.
A cause.
A logic.
---
There was none.
---
No aura.
No energy.
No structure.
---
Nothing.
---
"…Why am I here…?"
---
His breathing grew heavier.
Not because he needed air—
But because his mind was reacting.
---
"…Where is the world…?"
---
His voice grew louder.
---
"…Where are they?!"
---
Silence answered him.
---
His vision began to blur.
---
The darkness deepened.
---
"…Is this… death…?"
---
He stopped resisting.
---
His breathing slowed.
---
His expression returned to calm.
---
"…How pitiful."
---
A faint pause.
---
"…To die without even understanding how."
---
There was no anger.
No rage.
No panic.
---
Only acceptance.
---
"…So this is the end."
---
His eyes began to close.
---
"…I failed."
---
A simple statement.
---
"…In the end… I still failed."
---
His consciousness began to sink.
---
At the last moment—
A thought surfaced.
---
Not regret.
---
Not sorrow.
---
Just—
---
Unfinished will.
---
I don't want to die.
---
A faint tremor passed through his fading consciousness.
---
How can I fail…?
---
Again.
---
How can I fail…?
---
Again.
---
How can I fail…?
---
Darkness swallowed him.
---
Completely.
---
---
Time lost meaning.
---
Then—
Light.
---
A sudden, sharp sensation.
---
Keil's eyes opened.
---
He was lying on a bed.
---
A ceiling above him.
---
Walls around him.
---
Air.
---
Real air.
---
His breathing stopped for a moment.
---
"…Where am I…?"
---
He sat up slowly.
---
His body felt… different.
---
Weaker.
---
Smaller.
---
"…This isn't…"
---
A sudden wave hit him.
---
Memories.
---
Not his.
---
Someone else's.
---
They flooded his mind violently.
---
A boy.
---
Nineteen years old.
---
Fear.
Pain.
Humiliation.
---
The scene unfolded.
---
A jungle.
---
Behind a school.
---
Laughter echoed.
---
Cruel.
---
Unrestrained.
---
A boy was kneeling on the ground.
---
Zayn Morel.
---
His body trembled.
---
Not from cold—
But from helplessness.
---
Several older boys stood around him.
---
Their expressions—
Amused.
---
One of them spoke.
---
"…It's not a big deal."
---
He handed a knife.
---
"…Just cut both of his little and middle finger."
---
A pause.
---
"…And we'll stop bullying you."
---
The one holding the knife—
Was Zayn's friend.
---
His hands trembled.
---
"…I…"
---
Fear.
---
Desperation.
---
Weakness.
---
He looked at Zayn.
---
Zayn said nothing.
---
He only watched.
---
Silently.
---
"…I'm sorry…"
---
The blade moved.
---
"AHHHHH—!"
---
Blood splashed onto the grass.
---
Bright.
---
Warm.
---
Real.
---
The sound of bone being cut echoed faintly.
---
The others laughed.
---
Loud.
---
Cruel.
---
"…Look at him!"
---
"…This is what happens when you disobey!"
---
Zayn's body shook violently.
---
He tried to scream—
---
But a hand grabbed his face.
---
A pin pierced his tongue.
---
Then another.
---
"…Too loud."
---
Blood filled his mouth.
---
His screams turned into muffled, broken sounds.
---
The knife moved again.
---
Another finger fell.
---
His friend's hands were covered in blood.
---
Trembling.
---
Broken.
---
The others—
Were enjoying it.
---
"…Hahahaha…!"
---
Zayn stopped struggling.
---
His body went still.
---
His eyes—
Empty.
---
Not unconscious.
---
Not dead.
---
Just…
Gone.
---
His friend dropped the knife.
---
"…Zayn… I…"
---
Zayn spoke.
---
Softly.
---
"…I know what you're going to say."
---
A pause.
---
"…You can go."
---
No anger.
No hatred.
No emotion.
---
His friend left.
---
The others followed.
---
Leaving him alone.
---
Bleeding.
---
Broken.
---
"…I should die."
---
His voice was hollow.
---
"…There's nothing left."
---
Silence surrounded him.
---
Then—
Footsteps.
---
A girl ran toward him.
---
Her breath uneven.
---
Her eyes filled with shock.
---
"…Are you alright?!"
---
She knelt beside him.
---
Her hands gently held his face.
---
"…Stay awake! I'll call an ambulance!"
---
Her voice trembled.
---
"…We'll go to the police! You'll be fine!"
---
Her name—
---
Lyra Valmont.
---
Zayn's vision blurred.
---
Not from blood loss—
But from exhaustion.
---
He looked at her.
---
For a moment—
Something flickered in his empty eyes.
---
Then—
Darkness.
---
---
Keil's eyes snapped open.
---
He was back.
---
In the hospital.
---
White walls.
Clean air.
---
A nurse stood nearby.
---
"…You're awake."
---
Keil remained silent for a moment.
---
"…The girl…"
---
The nurse tilted her head.
---
"…The one who brought you here?"
---
A pause.
---
"…She left."
---
Keil's gaze sharpened slightly.
---
"…Where?"
---
The nurse shrugged.
---
"…She said she had something important to do."
---
Silence.
---
Keil looked down at his hands.
---
Different.
---
Not his.
---
Zayn's.
---
A faint realization formed.
---
This was not his world.
---
Not his body.
---
Not his life.
---
But—
---
He was here.
---
Inside it.
---
"…An alternate reality."
---
His voice was calm.
---
But his mind—
---
Was already moving.
---
Because this was not random.
---
Nothing ever was.
---
And if he was here—
---
Then it meant only one thing.
---
This was not an end.
---
It was—
---
Another beginning.