The dimly lit room felt frozen in time, unmoving, silent. The only source of light—a small desk lamp—cast a feeble glow, its warmth barely pushing back the heavy stillness. The light pooled weakly on the surface of the desk, struggling to reach beyond its confined space.
A man in his late twenties sat at the desk, his expression unreadable, his features carved in stone. His gaze was distant, unfocused, as if lost in some silent abyss within his own mind.
Resting on the desk before him was a UFC championship belt. He reached for it, fingertips brushing over the cold, metallic edges. The leather felt worn beneath his touch, yet the gold plating gleamed softly under the dim light. He stared at its polished surface, his focus slipping, drawn into the gleam of its reflection—until the past began to unspool in his mind, sharp and vivid.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The roar of the crowd surged around him, the arena lights glaring, hot and relentless, reflecting off the sweat beading on his forehead.
His opponent lunged—testing, probing. He moved effortlessly, deflecting each advance before delivering a brutal low kick to the man's calf.
The impact sent his opponent stumbling, off-balance. Seizing the opening, he drove a crushing hook into the side of his opponent's head. The man crumpled to the mat. Breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling, he kept his eyes locked on the referee as the count began.
"10…"
"4..."
"3..."
"2..."
"1..."
The referee grabbed his wrist and raised it high, declaring him the victor.
The crowd erupted, a deafening roar of cheers and applause. The UFC championship belt was handed to him, and he lifted it high above his head, the gold gleaming under the lights. He was the champion.
Recalling that moment, Ryan Carter sat at his desk, a faint smile flickering across his face—only to vanish in an instant, replaced by deep pain and frustration.
His hands clenched into fists, knuckles turning white, the veins on his forehead faintly visible.
"Why?" he muttered under his breath, his right fist slamming down onto his thigh. The memory of the moment that had changed his life forever surged back, dragging him into the inescapable past.
The roar of an engine. The wind howling past.
Ryan gripped the handlebars of his beloved motorcycle, tearing down the open highway. The deep, throaty rumble of the engine merged with the wind, a symphony of speed and freedom.
But then, out of nowhere, a car had shot out from a side road, moving impossibly fast.
There was no time to react.
The impact was brutal—his bike slammed into the car and he was flung into the air, weightless for a split second—before slamming onto the unforgiving pavement.
"Why!" Ryan growled, his fingers digging into the armrests of his chair. His hands trembled slightly, tension radiating up his arms.
Beneath his grip, smooth wheels rested against the floor.
A wheelchair.
Two years. Two years since the crash shattered his spine, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. The man who had once been so full of life and confidence now felt as though he had been cast into an endless abyss.
The life he had known—his confidence,his freedom, his strength—had been ripped away—left in ruins.
"Is this all my life will ever be?" Ryan thought bitterly, his mind swirling with frustration and despair. But then, with a heavy sigh, he forced himself to stop. The past was the past, and no amount of anger or regret could change it.
To distract himself, he grabbed his phone and started scrolling.
The past two years, confined to his home, had been a haze of aimless existence. His days were spent either holed up in his room playing mobile games or mindlessly scrolling through the internet—watching movies, binge-reading novels, anything to kill time.
Just as he was getting into it—the screen flickered—a bright, intrusive pop-up appeared.
[Register for 'Another World' and begin your second life! (Limited to 10,000 players)]
"...Huh?"
Ryan frowned, staring at the screen. The tagline was laughably cliché. 'What kind of scammy mobile game is this?' Yet, before he could think twice, his finger had already tapped 'Register'.
[Congratulations! You are the 8,752nd Explorer of Another World.]
The screen flickered again, and a new app icon appeared—a crystalline object resembling a walnut, gleaming with an unnatural glow. Beneath it, the words:
Another World.
Without thinking, Ryan tapped the icon. Instantly, the screen went black, as if his phone had crashed.
Then, blood-red text appeared:
[The game will begin after the countdown ends.]
[00:47:38]
[00:47:37]
A new game? Not even launched yet?
Ryan glanced at the time on his phone—11:13 PM.
"Midnight launch? Forget it..." he muttered, tapping the exit button without a second thought.
He was about to continue scrolling when—
suddenly,he noticed a string of numbers appearing on his left forearm, ticking down.
[00:47:34]
[00:47:33]
Black digits, glowing faintly, etched into his skin like a digital tattoo.
His breath hitched.
He rubbed at the numbers, hard. Nothing. They didn't smear, didn't fade. It was as if his forearm had become an LCD display.
Heart pounding, he grabbed his phone and snapped a photo of his forearm. But in the picture, it looked completely normal—no countdown in sight.
"What the hell...?"
A creeping unease settled in his chest.
"...Wait a minute.'"
He glanced at his phone, a thought striking him. Quickly, he opened the Another World app— To his shock, the countdown on the screen matched the one on his forearm perfectly.
[00:45:10]
[00:45:09]
Every second ticked down in perfect sync.
Ryan stared, unease coiling in his gut.
The countdown… the app… They were connected.
Was this some kind of augmented reality feature?
Ryan's breathing quickened, sweat slicking his forehead.
He had no idea what would happen when the clock struck midnight.
The unknown was always the most terrifying.
A crazier thought wormed into his mind, refusing to be ignored.
"Could I be transported to another world?"
Once, in his more confident days, he had watched fantasy adventure movies and imagined that if he were ever transported to another world, he would be the superhero—slaying monsters, saving the world, and becoming a legend revered by all.
But now? That confidence was gone. If he really ended up in another world, he'd probably be one of those unlucky side characters—the kind who gets obliterated by a monster within the first few minutes of the story.