Chapter 1: The Emergence of Torre

Jin Oh had always been an early riser. His apartment, a small but well-kept space on the outskirts of Seoul, felt silent as he padded through it, his footsteps muffled by the worn wooden floor. The sun had barely begun to rise, casting a faint golden hue over the city skyline in the distance. It was an ordinary morning, or so he thought.

With his kettle humming softly, Jin absently switched on the television, his mind still groggy from sleep. He wasn't prepared for the chaos that greeted him.

"Breaking news!"

The anchor's voice cut through the air, filled with a tension that immediately grabbed his attention. Jin blinked at the screen. A live feed showed a massive structure towering over the heart of New York City. It stretched impossibly high, disappearing into the low clouds, casting a menacing shadow over the streets below.

"What…?" Jin muttered to himself, moving closer to the screen, his coffee forgotten on the kitchen counter.

"This mysterious structure, now being referred to as a Torre, appeared overnight," the anchor continued, her voice trembling slightly. "We have reports of similar towers emerging in major cities around the world. No one knows what they are or where they've come from."

Jin's stomach churned as the camera panned out, showing the full extent of the damage. People were running in every direction, their faces pale with terror. The streets of New York, always busy and filled with life, now seemed alien under the shadow of the Torre. Buildings that had once dominated the skyline now looked insignificant, dwarfed by the immense black monolith.

The screen shifted again, this time to footage from Tokyo. A second tower had appeared there as well, this one even larger, looming over the skyline with the same eerie presence. Helicopters circled both structures, but there was an unsettling emptiness about it all—no sound, no movement from the towers themselves.

"The military is already mobilizing forces to investigate," the anchor went on, her tone somber. "But so far, no one who has approached the structures has returned."

Jin felt a cold sweat forming on his brow. He flipped through the channels, but it was the same everywhere. Paris. London. Rio de Janeiro. Every major city across the globe now had a Torre standing tall, as if the earth itself had given birth to these monstrous creations overnight.

"What the hell is going on?" Jin whispered to no one in particular.

His phone buzzed on the table, jolting him from his daze. He grabbed it quickly, half-expecting another news alert. Instead, it was a message from his sister, Ha-Yoon. She lived in New York, not far from where the first tower had appeared.

Ha-Yoon: Jin, are you seeing this?! The tower is right outside! People are losing their minds here!

Jin's fingers hovered over the screen, unsure how to respond. What could he possibly say? He stared at the blinking cursor, feeling the weight of helplessness settle on his shoulders. Before he could type a response, the TV blared again with more breaking news.

"We're now receiving live updates from Seoul, where a third Torre has just appeared."

Jin's blood ran cold. He rushed to the window, his heart pounding in his chest. There, far in the distance, barely visible through the early morning mist, stood a tower—no, the tower. It was the same as the others: a massive black obelisk, its surface smooth and featureless, as though carved from pure shadow. It stretched upward, impossibly high, blending into the sky until it was impossible to tell where the tower ended and the clouds began.

Jin's hand gripped the windowsill, his knuckles turning white. This was real. The towers weren't just some distant catastrophe. One had appeared right here in his own city.

For a long moment, he just stared. The streets below seemed calm for now, but he knew it wouldn't last. Panic always followed fear, and the city was already holding its breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

His phone buzzed again. Another message from Ha-Yoon.

Ha-Yoon: They're saying to stay inside. The military is coming, but I don't know if they can do anything. People are freaking out. I'm scared.

Jin ran a hand through his hair, forcing himself to stay calm. He had to be strong for her, even though he had no idea what to do.

Jin: Stay safe. Don't go outside. Just wait until things calm down.

He stared at the message for a moment, wondering if things would ever calm down again.

Hours passed, and the world seemed to tilt further into madness. Jin spent the rest of the day glued to the television, watching as more information trickled in—though it was hardly enough to make sense of the situation. The towers stood in eerie silence, their purpose still unknown. The governments were scrambling, trying to make sense of it all, but there were no answers. Every military unit sent to investigate the towers failed to return.

It was as if the towers were absorbing them, devouring any who dared come close.

Jin barely noticed the sunset, the golden hues of the evening lost behind the towering silhouette of the Torre. His apartment had grown dark, save for the flickering light of the television. His mind raced, but he couldn't settle on any rational explanation for what was happening.

The reports from other countries were growing more frantic. Riots were breaking out as people began to panic. Looting, fires, violence—it was as if the entire world had lost its collective mind. There were even whispers that the towers were alive, that they were waiting for something.

Then, without warning, the ground beneath Jin's feet began to shake.

He grabbed the edge of his couch, steadying himself as the tremor rippled through his apartment. Books toppled from the shelf, his coffee cup shattered on the floor. The shaking wasn't violent, but it was enough to make his heart race.

Outside, the city was in chaos. Alarms blared, and people poured into the streets, shouting in confusion. Jin rushed back to the window and stared at the distant tower. It was vibrating, the air around it shimmering as if reality itself was bending.

His phone buzzed with another news alert: "Reports of seismic activity around all Torre locations."

Jin's pulse quickened. The towers weren't just standing there—they were doing something. The question was, what?

And then, as quickly as it had started, the tremor stopped. Silence fell over the city once more, but it wasn't the calm of relief. It was the quiet before a storm.

Jin stood frozen by the window, eyes locked on the towering monolith in the distance. He could feel it in his bones—this was only the beginning. Something far worse was coming.