Chapter 1: The Crack in the Sky
Han Seong-jin thought it would be just another quiet shift at the convenience store. The same dull hum of fluorescent lights, the same routine of stocking shelves, and the same uneventful hours ticking by. But that night—fate had other plans.
"Seong-jin, look at that!" Min-jae, his coworker, shouted from the store entrance.
Seong-jin glanced up from the counter and froze.
The sky was breaking.
At first, he thought it was some kind of optical illusion, a trick of light or perhaps a new display for an upcoming festival. But no, this was real. A jagged crack split the sky open, its edges glowing with an unnatural light, like a wound in reality itself. The very air seemed to thicken, pressing down on Seong-jin's chest, and a deep hum vibrated through the ground beneath his feet, unsettling in its intensity.
The crack pulsed—once, twice—and then, from within it, something began to emerge.
It was like a nightmare made real.
From the crack, a massive, swirling form coiled outward. Tentacles, massive as trees, lashed at the air. The dark, glistening body of the creature twisted and writhed, defying all logic as it slithered forth. Its single, unblinking eye—wide as a mountain—scanned the world below, burning with a malevolent crimson light. The air around it shimmered with unnatural heat, warping the space itself as if the creature's presence was tearing the fabric of reality.
Seong-jin froze in place, his breath catching in his throat. He had seen monsters in movies, played video games with absurd creatures, but this... this was no fantasy. This was something from the deepest depths of nightmare.
"Seong-jin! What is that?!" Min-jae shouted from behind him, his voice trembling with fear.
Before Seong-jin could respond, the monster's roar echoed across the street. The sound wasn't just loud—it shook the very ground beneath them. The air felt wrong, like it was being sucked into the creature's maw, distorting everything around it. The glass of the nearby store windows cracked, sending shards scattering to the ground.
People on the streets screamed, rushing to get away, but it was too late. In a blink, the creature unleashed a wave of destructive force. Buildings groaned, and entire sections of the street collapsed under the weight of its presence. Seong-jin didn't know if they were in some kind of dream or if this was real—but either way, it was pure terror.
"Seong-jin! MOVE!" Min-jae yelled again, his grip on Seong-jin's arm like a vice.
Seong-jin snapped back to reality as Min-jae tugged him toward the back of the store. The ground shook beneath their feet, and the air became thick with the metallic tang of destruction. The store's automatic doors slammed open as they rushed through, but Seong-jin's eyes never left the horror unfolding outside.
The creature was still coming, and nothing was stopping it.
"Seong-jin, what's going on? This is crazy!" Min-jae was panting now, his breath coming in sharp bursts.
Before Seong-jin could answer, the ground cracked open beneath their feet. It split like a mouth opening wide, and in an instant, the earth swallowed them whole.
Everything went dark.
When Seong-jin woke up, it was to an eerie silence.
He blinked, his vision fuzzy at first, as his body lay sprawled on a soft, rubbery surface. He could feel a strange, palpable heaviness in the air, something that made it hard to take a deep breath. He tried to move, but his limbs felt sluggish, as though gravity had increased tenfold. His stomach churned. This wasn't right.
"Where…?" His voice was hoarse, barely a whisper, and the sound of it seemed to be swallowed by the crushing quiet around him.
Seong-jin staggered to his feet, his movements unsteady. The ground beneath him was uneven, a shifting, dark surface that seemed to pulse and breathe, stretching far into an abyss of unending blackness. He reached out with trembling hands, feeling nothing but a thick, viscous atmosphere. There was no sky above—only swirling clouds of darkness. No horizon. No moon. Nothing. Just the void.
The Void.
He didn't know why he understood it, but it was there in his mind—an ancient truth, like a memory he hadn't lived. This place wasn't meant for human beings. It was wrong in ways he couldn't fully comprehend. It was alive, and it was hungry.
A growl echoed through the emptiness.
Seong-jin's blood ran cold as a ripple of movement disturbed the darkness in front of him. He turned, instinctively stepping back, his heart hammering in his chest.
It was coming.
The first thing he saw was the mass of undulating tentacles—colossal, like enormous serpents thrashing through the air. Each limb was coated in slimy, black scales that gleamed like oil. Then came the body—a twisted, grotesque fusion of shifting appendages, its surface crawling with pulsating, twisted veins. But the most unsettling feature was the creature's eye—a single, massive orb that seemed to swallow the surrounding darkness, glowing an unearthly crimson.
Seong-jin took a step back, his legs shaking, but he knew it wouldn't matter. This thing wasn't just some random monster. It was a world killer, something that didn't belong in his world. Its gaze flickered toward him, and the very air around him seemed to distort, warping and bending as if the world itself was being twisted by the creature's presence.
The creature lunged forward, a blur of motion. Seong-jin barely had time to react as the beast's tendril whipped through the air, crashing toward him. He dove to the side just in time, the monstrous appendage missing him by inches. The ground where he had been standing cracked open, sending debris flying into the abyss.
His instincts screamed at him to run.
But where?
The Void had no direction, no boundaries. Every step he took only seemed to drag him deeper into its nightmare.
Seong-jin forced himself to his feet, his hands shaking as he wiped away the sweat that had formed on his forehead. He couldn't keep running. He couldn't keep dodging forever. He had to fight.
Something deep inside him stirred—a dormant power, old and primal. His heartbeat accelerated, and a strange warmth began to seep through his body, spreading like fire. He reached out, instinctively channeling the force that surged within him. The air around him thickened, and an impossible power began to coalesce in his palm.
A blinding light exploded from his hand, brighter than the sun, and shot toward the creature with a deafening crack. The monster screeched as the blast tore through its form, sending it sprawling backward. The force of the energy shattered the Void around it, causing the creature to reel in agony.
Seong-jin panted, his body trembling, but his mind was clear. He was not just an ordinary man anymore. He had powers he didn't understand, but they were his. The moment the creature had attacked him, it had awakened something deep within.
And this wasn't the end. This was only the beginning.
To be continued…