Kaelen had always considered his life. ordinary. Perhaps that was the most appropriate word. There was nothing really special about his days, other than the tedium of going to a job he despised, just to get through the day and back home to an empty apartment. Days blended into weeks, weeks into months, until the whole idea of living itself became an impersonal chore.

It was a Thursday like any other. The clock on the wall was ticking away, relentless and without feeling, simply counting down seconds. The soft buzz of fluorescent lights hummed in the background from overhead, with fingers tapping against keyboards filling the otherwise silent office. He glanced at the screen in front of him, his eyes heavy from hours of staring at the same spreadsheets, but his mind barely registered what was in front of him. He'd long given up on the idea that anything exciting would happen.

That was, until the first flicker of the lights.

First, Kaelen thought it was just another malfunction. The fluorescent lights above him flickered their usual irritating hum dying for a second. Then the power surged, and the whole room plunged into darkness before the lights buzzed back to life, even brighter than before.

Something was wrong. Kaelen froze, his hand hovering over his mouse, eyes wide.

Then the hum came again-this time deeper, more resonant. It was as if the air vibrated, the very space around him distorting. Kaelen blinked, confused. Had anyone else noticed?

He looked around. No one else seemed to react—his coworkers kept typing, talking, or looking at their phones. But Kaelen's heart started racing. The room felt off, as if a distant tremor beneath the surface of reality was steadily growing.

The floor beneath his feet creaked with a low, unnatural sound; and before he could fathom it, the world seemed to fold in on itself. His breath caught in his throat as the ground shook with incredible violence. The walls of the office ballooned and distorted, as if the building itself was straining to reach a breaking point.

"Wh—what in hell's name is happening?" Kaelen muttered, his voice barely a whisper, his hand instinctively clenching on the edge of his desk as the sensation of motion intensified.

Then, without warning, there was light. Blinding, searing light.

Kaelen gasped, shielding his eyes, but it was too late. The light was everywhere. It poured through every crack, through the walls, as if the very world itself was being replaced by this alien glow. He felt himself being lifted from the floor, as if gravity itself had been switched off.

No, no, this can't be happening!

His line of sight blurred and wrenched down into nonexistence. His mind reeling, unable to even process what was going on, he closed his eyes. And just as suddenly as it started, the light vanished.

When Kaelen opened his eyes again, he wasn't in the office anymore.

Kaelen's eyes fluttered open, the sharp sting of cold biting at his skin. His breath came out in quick, visible puffs, and for a moment, all he could do was blink, trying to make sense of the strange new world around him. The last thing he remembered was his ordinary life-the dull, monotonous hum of his daily routine. But now? The vast, empty expanse before him was anything but ordinary.

There lay a bare plain before him, the kind of limitless, empty land that seemed to stretch on forever. Above, the sky was gray, heavy and lifeless, and the air had an unsettling chill that seemed to seep into his bones. Off in the distance, a dark forest loomed like a silent observer, its thick canopy shifting unnervingly in the wind.

His chest tightened. His heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his throat. This wasn't his city. This was nowhere he recognized. Unsteadily, he pushed himself to his feet, his body shaking as the disorientation hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Where… where am I?" Kaelen whispered, staring at his hands. They looked the same-perfectly normal-but everything else felt so wrong.

He took a few stumbling steps forward, hoping for something—anything—that would make sense of this bizarre place. He called out, his voice cracked and weak, but the words felt hollow. There was no response, no sign of life anywhere. Not even the faintest trace of civilization. Just a sprawling, empty wilderness stretching as far as he could see.

What is going on? Is this some kind of… hallucination?" he muttered to himself, but the words felt ridiculous even as he spoke them. This was no dream. His surroundings were too vivid, too real. The biting cold, the weight of the air, the eerie silence—they all felt like they were pressing down on him, suffocating him in the absence of any explanation.

He breathed in sharply, trying to clear his racing mind. Something was going on. Something huge. But what?

There was suddenly an unsettling change in the air. A low rumble, a tremor that shook beneath his feet. The ground vibrated once, then again, more profoundly this time. Something huge was coming, something far too heavy to ignore. The sound grew louder, a low roar in the distance. His body went stiff with fear.

And then, it was there. A tower.

The silhouette of the tower rose from the earth like a jagged spire, impossibly tall and reaching into the gray sky. It shimmered unnaturally, like it didn't quite belong, like it was both real and something… else. The sight of it struck Kaelen with a sense of unease that settled deep in his chest.

"What the hell is that?" he breathed, instinctively taking a step back. His gut twisted with dread.

Just as his mind started racing with questions, another sensation washed over him—a sudden pressure in the air. He wasn't alone anymore.

The world around him seemed to flicker, and then, in a blink, he found himself surrounded. Hundreds of people—thousands, maybe—appeared around him as though they had materialized from thin air. Their faces were just as confused as his own, their eyes wide with panic, murmuring amongst themselves as they scrambled to understand what had just happened.

Kaelen took a step back, his breath catching in his throat as he scanned the group. They were all as lost as he was, as confused. Nobody seemed to have any clue about what was happening. He saw all ages and races of people. Some were dressed in street clothes, while others wore uniforms or work attire, but they all shared one thing in common: the bewildered, wide-eyed expression of someone who had just been torn from everything they knew.

A young woman near the front screamed, her voice high and frantic. "Where are we? What is this place?!"

Someone else shouted back, "We're not alone! There are others here!"

Kaelen's eyes snapped out to the horizon, and he realized the truth. It wasn't just some dream he was in. He was somewhere—somewhere a long way from home. And there were thousands of others with him.

A voice, deep and resonant, echoed through the air, its source impossible to pinpoint. "Welcome to the Tower. You have been summoned to this world. Your trials begin now. Survive, and you may find your way home."

The words were like a physical blow, reverberating deep within Kaelen's chest; his head spun with the weight of the sheer words. Survive? The word seemed to ring in his ears now as some kind of cruel joke, but there was nothing humorous here. His mind started racing as the weight of reality began to settle in: he wasn't just lost; he was being tested.

The crowd around him murmured; people shouted at the sky; others looked around, as if trying to make sense of the impossible. And yet, the questions and confusion only multiplied.

He turns to face the tower, Kaelen's eyes narrow as he thinks, try to make sense of all this before panic can kick in. The others-thousands of people around him-are just as oblivious as he is. It's survival in this world that counts.

There was no time to think. No time to waste. Kaelen swallowed, pushing aside the rising tide of fear and confusion. He had to focus. This was real. The tower was real. And if he wanted to get out of here…

He would have to climb.

But the voice came again, sharper now: "You will not be alone in your trials. There are many groups scattered across this world. You will find allies, and enemies, as you climb the Tower's many floors. Survive long enough, and you may find your way home. But beware—many will fall along the way. Choose wisely who you trust."

It was like someone slapped him with the words. Kaelen's stomach churned. Other groups, across other parts of the world? Unease washed over him like a wave. What that meant for the others, he had no idea. Were they in danger? Were they… fighting to survive as well?

He turned back to the people around him. They were as lost as he was, as frightened. Some were already beginning to form small groups, while others just stood there, motionless.

Kaelen's eyes scanned the horizon once more. The world felt too big. Too vast. And the tower in the distance? It wasn't just some structure. It was the beginning of something much larger—something far darker than he could have imagined.

And he was caught in the middle of it.