I can say that my last day in my old life was like any other, but with an unexpected ending. My superior at work did everything to make the lives of new employees, especially mine, a living hell. He started working at the company a year before me and seemed to feel superior to all of us. Moreover, he blamed me for all the problems that arose, which was very draining.

To make matters worse, the company's manager was going through a divorce and seemed to be taking out his frustration on the new employees. His gaze was severe and bothered me for a long time. I looked around, hoping someone would help me, but no one stood up or even gave me attention. It was as if I didn't exist.

However, one of my coworkers, who was sitting next to me, cheered me up a bit when the boss wasn't around. But he didn't have the courage to do more than that. I had already gotten used to this situation and considered it just another normal day at work.

But what happened after work was what changed everything. I had a date scheduled with my fiancée after work, but she sent me a suspicious message saying she was with an old childhood friend and needed to reschedule the date for another day. Additionally, I didn't have my car, which was in the shop, and would have to walk home.

That's when I saw my fiancée holding hands with another man at our favorite spot, where I had proposed to her. I stood still, frozen, watching the scene, while they hailed a taxi and drove away. Only after they disappeared did I pick up my phone and call her.

"Hello, dear, everything okay? I hope you're doing great, because now we're over. And your diamond engagement ring? It's fake, you can keep it!" before hanging up the phone.

After that, I started feeling a huge void, but I didn't feel like crying. Maybe I had already suspected her infidelity. My thoughts got lost when small drops of cold rain touched my hair and skin.

"Why am I not surprised?" I asked myself, lifting my face to the sky and feeling the taste of the rain on my face.

As my phone vibrated in my hand, I already knew who was calling. It would be my fiancée, asking why I was breaking up with her or what she had done wrong. But looking at my phone, to my surprise, it was an old college friend, someone I didn't expect to call me at that moment. Sighing, I answered the phone.

"Hello," He said, and I knew my life was about to change in an unexpected way.

I was standing in front of Kaio's house, my old college friend, while the rain fell harder. The neighborhood was dark and dangerous, and I didn't understand why he had asked me to come here, especially considering what I was going through. But I didn't want to be alone at home, thinking about my fiancée's infidelity.

Kaio was a genius, a brilliant scientist who had disappeared a few years ago. There were rumors that he had gone crazy, others said he had joined a secret government project. I didn't know what was true, but I knew he was a problematic friend.

As I approached the house, I noticed that the door was open, and I could hear the sound of classical music coming from inside. I could see that there was a mess of papers and food scraps on the floor, as well as technological equipment, cables, and computer parts scattered all over the place.

"Kaio?" I called out, trying to see if he was home.

He was sitting in a chair, wearing a white lab coat, with his hair big and messy. But there was a big problem: he was an otaku, with his reading glasses hanging from his neck and a manga book open on the table in front of him.

"Ah, Max!" He exclaimed, getting up from the chair and hugging me. "It's so great to see you again! I was starting to think you had forgotten about me."

"I was about to say the same!" I forced a smile while hugging him. It was strange and unsettling to see my friend again.

"So, Kaio, what's the big invention you've made now?" I asked, looking around the house. "Why did you ask me to come here?"

He smiled, with a glint in his eyes. "I have something to show you,"

He said. "Something you'll really like."

Max raised an eyebrow. "What's the news?"

Kaio smiled and started walking towards a door at the back of the house. "Come with me, Max. I want to show you something."

Max followed Kaio, noticing that the front door was open. "Kaio, don't you worry about security? The door is open and..."

Kaio interrupted. "Don't worry about that. The most important thing is in the room. Besides, I have unique security systems made by me!"

I hesitated for a moment, despite being old college friends, and we weren't exactly friends during college, but I needed help with my studies, so I didn't have many options at the time. But my curiosity led me to follow Kaio to the secret room.

As I entered, I saw that the room was just like his house, a mess. There were drawings and diagrams scattered all over the place, and in the center of the room, there was a large computer screen with a project in progress.

Max looked around, trying to understand what he was seeing. "Kaio, what is this? What kind of craziness are you doing?"

Kaio smiled. "I'm working on a project that will change the way we think about reality. If it works, we can finally leave this emotionless world behind."

Max stopped for a moment. "Reality... what the hell are you talking about?"

Kaio dragged me to one of the drawings on the wall. "My greatest creation: Neural Adimensional. It's a system that allows people to go to another parallel dimensional world through their minds, to a new body."

I looked at him skeptically, knowing he was crazy, but I didn't know he had reached this state. In college, he always said that this world had nothing interesting, that it was always war and greed. I wasn't completely against him, but who is? The world was already terrible in the past and only got worse. But he always said he wanted to go to another world.

"Listen, Kaio, your idea is completely crazy! How on earth is this going to work?"

Kaio nodded. "Remember the multiverse theory?"

"How could I forget? You always talked about it with me."

The multiverse represents a pseudoscientific hypothesis that remains in the realm of speculation, describing a theoretical set of potential universes, including the one we inhabit. In such universes, the totality of what exists involves space, time, matter, energy, as well as the laws and physical constants, as mentioned by Kaio. However, Kaio's "radical" proposal suggests that these worlds are not isolated by a robust physical barrier, but rather by a dense and invisible subtlety that can be overcome through the mind. The more he talked about his theory, the more I felt the need to switch rooms with someone, but I couldn't. I had to stay by his side until the end of college.

Max took a deep breath, fearing the answer Kaio would give. "And what's the world that... that might not be close?"

Kaio replied, his eyes shining. "A world of magic."

I was speechless, rubbing my hands on my face and looking at him.

"It's not being a great day, is it? First, my day at work was terrible, and it got even worse when my boss was taking out his frustration on me, just because of his divorce, as if I was responsible. Second, my fiancée cheats on me, and now you call me and tell me we can go to a world of magic? This is crazy, Kaio!"

Kaio laughed as if he was used to the situation. "I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth. And I'm here to show you that it's possible. You can choose to go to that world, or not. The choice is yours."

Max looked at Kaio.

"And what happens if I choose to go? What happens to my body here?"

Kaio explained. "Your body here will be in a state of suspended animation, as if you were sleeping. And your mind will be transferred to the other body. You'll be able to experience everything that world has to offer, and you can return to your body here!"

Max shook his head. "Don't lie to me, I know there's more to this story."

"Yes, there is," Kaio said, smiling, showing all his yellow teeth. "There's a 50% risk that your brain will explode."

"What do you mean explode?!"

"Actually, your brain won't completely explode, it will just have a stroke. It's not a big deal!"

Max started to sweat cold, wetting his back with sweat, and walked backward, looking for an exit, but it disappeared.

Kaio smiled. "I understand. But I'm here to show you that it's real. And I'm willing to take the risk to prove my theory."

Max looked at Kaio in silence. "I... Now I understand why you wanted to show me your invention."

"Yes, there's nothing better than my best friend being the pioneer of this great advancement. Think about it, Max."

"First, Kaio, I'm your only friend, and second, you only called me here to be your lab rat, because you don't want to test yourself!" Max said, indignant.

Kaio started to show his yellow teeth. "Correct, as expected from you, Max. After all, we're friends!"

"We were friends, now we're not, because I'm not going to be your lab rat!!"

"But Max, I wasn't asking, I don't need your permission. I just needed to bring you here!" Kaio said, with a sinister smile.

"Wait... what..." Max started to feel dizzy.

"Ah, it seems the effect is starting now..."

"How...?" Max was starting to pass out.

"Sweet dreams, my friend," Kaio said, waving at Max.

Max, unconscious, had flashbacks of his past since the beginning of his life. His memories of his cold, uninterested parents, who always preferred his younger brother, their favorite, were particularly painful. No matter what he did, he never received attention or approval from them. Even when he entered a prestigious company after much effort, bought a house, or helped his brother by paying for his college, his parents didn't show interest.

Max's memories became strong enough to wake him up, making him want to escape the nightmare his consciousness had created. As he regained his consciousness, he had difficulty due to his strong memories, which made him start to move. He felt something was wrong, couldn't move properly, and began to regain his vision, where he saw himself tied to a metal chair, with his arms and legs bound. Max felt panic as he realized his hands and feet were tied and he couldn't move.

"KAIIIIOOO!" He shouted, starting to breathe, but couldn't. He was too scared, looking around, and saw that he was in a white room, without visible windows or doors. He noticed that there was a strange helmet on his head, but couldn't see its shape.

Max tried to free himself, but the restraints that held him to the chair were extremely firm. He thought about calling for help, but who would be close enough to hear him. His heart was racing, and he started to sweat, while fear increased inside him.

"What are you doing, Kaio?" Max shouted, but didn't receive an answer. He was alone in the room, not knowing what would happen next.

Meanwhile, Kaio was in a safe room, observing his friend struggling in the chair through a transparent glass. The helmet on Max's head began to emit a soft humming noise.

Kaio looked at Max with a happy, emotional smile and turned on the intercom. "Ah, Max, you're awake! Excellent! Now we can start the experiment." His voice echoed in the room.

Max tried to free himself again, but the restraints were too strong. "Kaio, you've gone crazy! There's no way this invention will work, we're in the real world! Wake up to life!!!" Even though he was shouting and struggling in the chair with his hands tied, he had no chance of hope that Kaio would listen, because he was too excited to obey him and began to adjust the controls for the experiment.

"Test 00145 Neural Adimensional! First test subject shows great willingness to participate in the experiment."

Max changed his panic from fear to anger and looked at the mirror where Kaio was protected.

"What do you mean test subject!! I never said I agreed, you madman!!!" Max shouted, trying to free himself again.

Kaio smiled again. "Ah, but you already agreed, Max, the moment you entered my house. And now, finally, I'll be able to test my invention."

"Your... wait, what do you mean finally!! How can I be the first!!! You didn't find another madman to be your test subject," Max shouted, desperate.

"Well, I tried, but no one wanted to take this great leap of science, even when I offered to pay. It's hard to believe! Even people on the streets said no to me, that not even all the money in the world would make them do the tests."

".... Are you kidding me!! You choose your best friend!!"

Kaio ignored Max's pleas and began to type on a computer console. "Let's start the experiment. The process of transferring consciousness will take a few minutes. During this time, you'll feel a strange sensation, like you're being pulled out of your body."

Max felt a chill down his spine as he heard Kaio's words.

Kaio continued to speak, his voice calm and secure. "Don't worry, Max. You'll be fine. And when you wake up in the other world, you'll be able to experience great things.!! And when you return, I'll want a complete report of your experience, but seriously... If it doesn't work... well... it was nice knowing you."

Max looked at Kaio with anger, wanting to beat him up, but Kaio just smiled.

"It's too late, Max. The experiment has already started. Now, Max, cross your fingers."

And with that, Kaio pressed a button on the computer console, and the helmet on Max's head began to emit a louder humming noise. Max felt a great headache, his mind was burning.

Kaio was observing the experiment when he heard an explosion coming from the door of the room. He turned around and saw a squad of men entering the room, with serious expressions on their faces, armed and pointing at Kaio.

"Dr. Kaio, you're under arrest for stealing our technology and betraying our organization," a woman dressed in a black suit and coat said, emerging from behind the armed men.

Kaio didn't seem surprised and raised his hands. "I didn't think you'd find me so soon.

He pressed a hidden button on his hand, and one of the armed men noticed what he did, but Kaio was determined.

The remote-controlled guns emerged in the room, activated and pointing at the intruders, who had previously been confident but began to retreat slowly, directing their attention to the new targets in front of them, with their fingers on the trigger.

The squad now had to remain on high alert, but was interrupted by the noise of the machines in operation. Especially Max, who felt intense pain in his mind, couldn't contain his screams of pain, causing a slip-up among one of the armed men, who pulled the trigger by instinct and hit the control panel. This resulted in the activation of Kaio's guns and the malfunction of Kaio's machine, which was worse for Max, as the pain only increased.

"No, no, no! What have you done!!!"

The guns began to fire. The armed men ducked to protect themselves, but Kaio's guns were too precise and began to hit their targets. The woman who led them realized this and gave her order.

"Retreat! Retreat now!"

But the armed men couldn't retreat. They were trapped in the room, surrounded by Kaio's guns with no choice but to start shooting. The room turned into a shootout, with the armed men firing to find a way out of the room.

Max, who was still tied to the chair with latent pain starting to cry out in pain, but could hear the gunfire and screams.

"KAIO, STOP! HELP!! PLEASE!! STOP THIS!"

The woman, tired of the situation she was in, changed her plans.

"SQUAD, ELIMINATE THE TARGET!!"

"BUT MA'AM...!"

"DO AS I SAY!!"

The group stood up with the leadership of their leader and began to shoot at Kaio, but he was prepared and activated a plasma shield on his watch, covering and protecting his entire body.

"You can't stop me!" Kaio shouted triumphantly as the guns continued to fire.

The fight continued, with the armed men trying to find a way to disable Kaio's guns. But the damaged panel showed signs of failure, showing smoke and circuits that were about to explode, however, Kaio didn't care because he hadn't come so close.

"Max, you're almost there!", Kaio shouted, while the helmet on Max's head continued to emit a louder humming noise.

"KAIO!!!"

He was writhing in pain every second, increasing the level of pain in the chair, with the helmet now showing signs of smoke. But he could see Kaio jumping and shouting triumphantly, while the guns continued to fire.

But it was the last thing he saw when an explosion darkened his vision, throwing flames and debris in all directions, including his.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a completely dark place, and in the midst of the darkness, he looked around, trying to understand where he was and what had happened.

"Where... where am I? ...wait what...?"

But the only thing he saw was a man floating injured, with unknown battle gear and bleeding in front of him.

"I... I know you?" He was trying to communicate with the person, but instead of responding, the injured man just opened his eyes.

".....?" The injured man just looked at Max.

"Do you need help?"

"Help...?" The injured man asked, with a weak and painful voice.

Max tried to remember who the man was, but his memory was confused.

"If you want to help me... then take my place... I'm tired of this world..."

He simply appeared in front and touched Max's forehead with his own.

"Fortunately, I have a power that remains... maybe your choices will be different from mine..."

"What... what are you... ahh!"

Yes, it was at that moment that this was my last day on my earth, when I closed my eyes and opened them again, I soon realized that Kaio's invention had worked, who would have thought. But instead of being a simple person, I wanted to be a supervillain. How is it possible that my bad luck came with me, and to make matters worse, I have to put up with proud hero protagonists, seriously, how did life get to this point.