The sharp, repetitive sound of an alarm pierced through the silence, dragging me from the depths of unconsciousness. My eyes shot open, heart racing as my body jerked upright in bed. My surroundings were hazy, disorienting. The blaring alarm assaulted my senses like a physical force. I reached out blindly, slamming my hand down on what I thought was my nightstand, my fingers grasping for the source of the noise.
But as soon as my hand made contact, something felt wrong.
It wasn't my alarm.
It wasn't even my room.
I sat up fully, my breath coming in quick, shallow bursts. Panic flared inside me, but my body, sluggish and stiff, betrayed me as I stood unsteadily. My legs were like jelly. My mind tried to process what was happening, but nothing made sense. I glanced around in a daze, taking in my unfamiliar surroundings: a small, cramped room with plain white sheets on a single bed, a narrow desk cluttered with books and papers, and a tiny wardrobe squeezed into the corner.
Where the hell am I?
I rubbed my eyes, trying to shake off the last remnants of grogginess. But no matter how much I tried, the unease gnawed at my gut. Something about all of this felt wrong. It was like I had woken up in a different life, but I couldn't figure out why or how.
Then, the memories of yesterday crashed back into my mind in a dizzying flood. The train ride home. That strange text that popped up on my phone. The mysterious figure who turned out to be Mortis, of all people. A dream. A nightmare. Whatever it was, it couldn't be real.
Right?
But that unsettling feeling? It wouldn't go away. My body felt lighter, more nimble, like the stiffness had melted away. And then, I saw it the thing that made my blood run cold.
I turned toward the mirror hanging across the room.
What I saw made my heart stutter.
The face staring back at me wasn't mine not the one I knew. It was… a boy's face. A younger version of myself, staring back with wide, purple eyes. The features were more angular, sharper than they should be, and my hair was neat, almost too neat, though still dark and wavy. There was no stubble, no hint of the beard I'd had before just smooth, unblemished skin.
What the hell…?
My hand shot up to my face as if I could somehow rub the strange reflection away, but it was still there. It wasn't a trick. It wasn't a dream. This was my face now, but it didn't feel like me. I looked like I was sixteen.
A kid.
"No way," I whispered, my voice barely audible. The panic crept up again, stronger this time. "What the hell is going on?"
I stepped closer to the mirror, my trembling fingers brushing against my cheek. The skin was cold, solid. Real. This wasn't some weird dream, not some fevered illusion. This was real.
That's when the screen appeared.
A soft hum filled the air, and a glowing, translucent screen flickered into existence, hovering just in front of me. I stumbled back, my breath catching in my throat. I raised a hand instinctively, but the screen didn't react to my touch it just stayed there, glowing with strange numbers and text that looked too bizarre to make sense of.
==Status==
Name: Kai
Age: 16
Element: Space/Time (Dual Element)
Status: Catalyst
Strength: E-
Agility: E+
Will Power: E+
Mana: E-
Overall: E
I blinked, my eyes burning as I tried to take in the strange information. It didn't make sense. Stats? What? Was this some kind of game? My name, my age, my element Space/Time? Catalyst? Was this a joke?
I wiped my eyes, hoping it would go away, but the screen just stayed there, floating in the air, glowing faintly like it was mocking me.
I took a step back, trying to make sense of it all, but it was no use. There was no explanation, no context, just the blaring alarm in the background and the strange screen staring me down like some bizarre puzzle I had to solve. I was still in shock, but the panic rising in my chest was making it hard to think clearly.
And then, my gaze fell on something else a small, rectangular card resting on the desk.
I approached it slowly, hands still shaking. I picked it up, my heart thumping in my chest, and my eyes skimmed over the information printed on it.
Astrea Academy ID
User ID: Kai
Age: 16
Program: Year 1 Combat Program
School Rank: 117/2055
Talent: B+
Profession: Swordsman
Element: Space
Astrea Academy.
The name hit me like a ton of bricks.
I knew that name. I knew it all too well. Astrea Academy was the setting of the novel I had been reading before all this happened. The novel that had left me on edge, where the story spiraled into a brutal, violent mess, and where everyone and I mean everyone died no even the mc was spared. It was a world destined for doom at the hands of the seemingly all powerful gods of the outside.
"I'm inside the novel," I muttered, disbelief coloring my voice. The weight of the words hit me like a wave crashing over me. I wasn't just in some random world. I was stuck in a story that was already set to end in catastrophe. Where I Kai was going to die.
My pulse spiked as fear gripped me again. The thought of being trapped here, knowing the ending, knowing that nothing I did could stop the inevitable…
But then something clicked.
I knew how this story ended. I knew the betrayals, the twists, the power struggles that led to everyone's downfall. Most importantly, I knew where I had to avoid, the people I needed to manipulate. I wasn't a helpless character anymore. I could change the narrative. I could try to survive.
"I'm not dying here," I whispered to myself, as I stood taller. My fists clenched at my sides, determination flooding through me.
The screen flickered again, and a new message appeared in bold letters.
Welcome, Catalyst. Your story begins now.
I stared at the words for a moment, a chill running down my spine. Then, I took a deep breath and nodded, the fear slowly draining from me. If this was the world I was stuck in, then I would do whatever it took to survive.