I've been thinking about something lately. What if everything we imagine is somehow connected to the universe? If someone out there imagined us into existence, wouldn't that mean what we're imagining could also come to life somewhere?
It's a silly thought, I know. But sometimes, I can't stop myself from wondering. This world feels so dull, so suffocating. I just want to escape it—like those isekai anime protagonists.
I was lost in my thoughts, completely oblivious to my surroundings, when something hit me hard on the back. The force almost sent me stumbling into the path of an oncoming truck.
"Who's the bastard who kicked me?!" I yelled, turning around furiously.
Standing behind me was a burly guy, towering like a gorilla.
"Hehe! Why are you walking on the road with your eyes closed, hands folded like some monk? It's been two hours since school ended, and you're still in your uniform. Didn't even bother to change. Skipping tuition, huh? Come with me—you'll be working as a slave in my father's shop today!"
Before I could snap back, he grabbed me by the collar and started dragging me along.
This little bitch! How dare he put his filthy hands on me? I had important things to think about, and now this gorilla is ruining everything.
"Hey, Gorilla! Leave me alone!" I shouted, wrenching his hand away.
"Markie, how could you talk to your best friend like that?" he said, feigning hurt.
"Best friend?" I scoffed, crossing my arms. "When did you become my friend?"
The gorilla guy looked at me with exaggerated sadness. "Didn't you give me your food? Your money? Didn't you let me use you as my punching bag when I was mad? Did you forget all that?"
This guy... Stealing my money, bullying me, and eating my lunch—he has no shame! If anything, he should be grateful I've let him do all these despicable things. Otherwise, my crimson eyes would awaken, and I'd swallow him into my deadly dream.
I placed one hand dramatically over my left eye and struck a pose. "You son of a lowly paramecium! Spawn of microbacteria! You lowly being!"
We kept bickering as we walked along the railway tracks. Neither of us realized how dangerous the place was until I heard it.
The horn of an approaching train.
The wind picked up, howling against my face. My heart pounded as I saw the train speeding toward us. Without thinking, I kicked Faty—my supposed "best friend"—off the tracks.
"Get out of the way, you idiot!" I shouted.
I wasn't expecting to survive. The train was coming too fast. My time was up.
As I stood there, accepting my fate, I turned toward Faty and gave him a mock salute. "Faty, I'll get a new world! Datebayo! Sayonara!"
But then, something unexpected happened.
A crimson-red circle appeared beneath my feet, glowing with strange, shifting patterns I couldn't understand. The air around me shimmered and distorted, as though the world itself was folding in on me.
"What… what is this?" I whispered, my voice trembling.
The patterns grew brighter, the light blinding. The roar of the train faded away, replaced by an eerie silence. My body felt weightless as the ground disappeared beneath me.
I had no idea what was happening, but one thought kept running through my mind.
"Is this it? Is this… another world?".