It was a cloudy day, with sunlight peeking through the scattered clouds. Occasionally, the sun broke through, and it was time for lunch break. The café was crowded with workers from nearby offices, and a long line had formed to place their orders.
In the line stood a man in his early twenties. He was wearing a suit, like most of the people in the café, but it wasn't a proper suit. He wore a wrinkled white dress shirt with no tie, the first three buttons left open, exposing his bloodless, pale skin. Still, he caught the eyes of many people there—mostly women.
Although the man had huge dark circles under his eyes and a messy head of black hair that covered half his eyes and ears, one could still make out his handsome features: a small, high-bridged nose and dark, full lips. His already small face added to an almost outwardly painful expression.
Some onlookers stared with pity, relating to his tired, overworked appearance. They saw someone who looked like a mess because, at some point, they too had stopped caring about things like a tie. They couldn't even remember the last time they'd eaten and survived mostly on coffee and energy drinks.
Well, in Xerxes's case, he wasn't worried about work right now. As he anxiously awaited his turn, his hand, holding the black tie, was moist with sweat, and his throat was drying up the closer his turn came. He repeated in his mind:
Vanilla iced coffee with three shots of espresso... Vanilla iced coffee with three shots of espresso... One regular vanilla iced coffee with three shots of espresso?
"What can I get for you today?" the girl taking the orders asked, repeating her line for the nth time that day, her smile plastered on her face.
"Uh... um... one regular vanilla iced coffee with three shots of espresso, please," Xerxes nervously replied, speaking with a steady pace.
"The sweetness level? Would you like a higher sweetness level or medium?" she asked, tapping the touch screen in front of her.
"Medium, I think?"
"Will that be all?"
"Yes, thank you."
Xerxes grabbed his coffee cup and ran out of the café as quickly as he could. He walked along the sidewalk, slowly sipping the coffee. It was made just right. Actually, he didn't have many complaints—so long as it was coffee, it was alright. That's why he never had a favorite place to get his coffee from. But somehow it felt good to drink expensive coffee, especially when his last bit of money had gone into this cup.
He felt satisfied spending it on the coffee, and his mood instantly improved. Even though he had just bombed his job interview, he couldn't care less about it. But there was a problem now: he was completely broke, with just $2 in his bank account. He couldn't pay this month's rent or the bills.
Maybe I should just die after drinking this...
The road to his right was filled with rushing cars, all going in different directions to reach their destinations. Xerxes's attention was on the road when someone bumped into him from behind, hitting his right leg. The rough clash made him drop his cup of coffee. Xerxes paused in shock, staring down at the spilled coffee on the sidewalk.
I should just end it all today...
Xerxes wasn't mad. It had just ruined his day, that's all. He wasn't going to chase the person who bumped into him and ask for an apology or compensation. He just wanted to see who this person was—who thought they could run around like their father owned the sidewalk.
Xerxes tried to run after the person, who was now a little ahead of him. As he got closer, he saw a kid—probably no more than waist-high—running barefoot, his dirty feet slapping the pavement. The kid was hiding his face behind his little arms, as though he were crying. But that wasn't the issue. The kid was heading straight for the busy road ahead of them, packed with cars. Xerxes picked up his pace, running with all his might to catch up to the kid.
"HEY! STOP RUNNING!!"
Xerxes tried to call out, but it was futile. The kid only seemed to grow more frightened, likely afraid of being scolded for bumping into Xerxes. The kid started running even faster. He dashed right into the street, cars skidding to a stop, barely missing him. Then, a white car came speeding toward the child, threatening to hit him.
On the other side of the road, inside a black Mercedes-Benz V-Class, Nova had just placed the script for his new show down when he saw the kid in the middle of the road, about to be struck by the car. Just as the car was about to hit the child, a person from behind the child suddenly caught up with him and hugged him, turning the child away from the oncoming car. Nova's manager had stepped out of the car to pick up lunch from the street behind, so no one else was in the car at the moment. Without thinking much, Nova got out of the car.
The white car screeched to a halt just before hitting Xerxes. The woman in the driver's seat was clearly frightened. Her left hand gripped the steering wheel tightly, while her right hand was pressed in front of the baby sitting in the passenger seat. The baby was crying so loudly it could be heard outside the car. Cars on the left and right also stopped in shock, their drivers sighing in relief as they witnessed the near miss.
Suddenly, the ground began shaking with unimaginable force. In the blink of an eye, the ground seemed to collapse, sucking both the child and Xerxes into a dark hole. The three cars in front of them were swallowed up, along with Nova, who had stepped out of his vehicle to check on the situation. Leaving behind a black tie on the sidewalk and spilled coffee.
Passersby stopped in their tracks, staring at the dark hole in the road with pure terror. They silently thanked the heavens that they hadn't been the ones to fall in. But at the same time, they felt guilty for thinking that. They also felt sorry for the people who had been swallowed, knowing that only 1% of those who fell into a dungeon for the first time ever survived.