The darkness held me captive, a cold, infinite void, broken only by the translucent panel floating before me, pulsing with a blood-red light. It was updating again:
[DS] [Progress: 15% out of 100%]
What the hell is this? I wondered, my heart pounding madly. It looked like a screen from a video game, like the ones I'd seen my classmates playing during breaks, when they gathered to play RPGs on their phones or handheld consoles. I had never played such a thing—my parents never gave me money for games, and I preferred books and manga. Still, I vaguely recognized the format: stats, levels, percentages. But what did it mean? And why was it here, in this nothingness?
I didn't truly know what "RPG" meant. I had heard the term from classmates—Kenji and Haruto often talked about "level-up" or "boss fights" while laughing at me behind the classroom. Maybe it was a role-playing game, but what role was I playing here? A loser, as always? The panel was the only clue, but it told me nothing clearly.
[DS] [Progress: 20% out of 100%]
The condition... what condition were they talking about? That strange voice, with male and female intonations superimposed, like the echo of an impossible entity, resonated in my mind. Was it a single being or two? They spoke in perfect synchrony, as if they were one, but the tones—one deep, like thunder, the other melodious, like a chant—disturbed me. Who are they? What do they want from me? Fear and excitement mixed in a tight knot in my chest. I didn't know where I was, what was happening, or what would come next. All I had was this panel and the slowly increasing percentages, like a countdown to something unknown.
My heart was beating so hard it felt like it would break through my ribs. I couldn't see anything around me—just the dense darkness and the panel floating like a beacon in the gloom. What happens at 100%? Part of me was curious, like when I was reading a manga and waiting for the next chapter. But the other part—the larger part—was terrified. Is this a new beginning, or my end?
[DS] [Progress: 25% out of 100%]
[DS] [Progress: 26% out of 100%]
The percentages grew slowly, each update amplifying the tension. I tried to recall what else I knew about games. In manga, isekai characters landed in new worlds with magic systems, complete with stats and abilities. But me? I was Kaito, the invisible boy, without talents, without courage. What was my purpose in a place like this? Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe I had been pulled here by accident, a glitch in the universe, just as I had always felt.
[DS] [Progress: 28% out of 100%]
Time seemed to stretch. Each percent took an eternity, and the darkness pressed down on me like an invisible weight. I remembered my classmates—Kenji, Aiko, Haruto, Daichi, Yuna. Where were they? Why had I been separated from them? In the rainbow tunnel, they seemed hypnotized, oblivious to my screams. Had they already arrived somewhere? Or had they also been swallowed by darkness, each in their own void? The thought of being alone terrified me, but a part of me—a small, hidden part—felt a strange relief. Maybe without them, without their mockery, I could be someone else.
[DS] [Progress: 97% out of 100%]
"Only 3% left," I murmured, my voice trembling. "Just a little more and I'll find out what's next. A new beginning... or the end."
[DS] [Progress: 98% out of 100%]
[DS] [Progress: 99% out of 100%]
What will it be? My heart leaped into my throat. The sensation of eternal falling suddenly ceased. Beneath my soles, I felt something solid—cold, smooth, like wet stone. I froze. I wasn't floating anymore. I moved one foot, then the other. The echo of my steps bounced off invisible walls, reverberating in an unknown space. I've arrived somewhere, I thought. I was no longer a lost consciousness in the void. I could feel. I could touch. I was.
[DS] [Progress: 100% out of 100%]
[Transfer concluded in the candidate's training area]
[Please wait. Analysis of your statistics is being performed. Duration: 60 seconds]
A faint light appeared on a wall to the left, coming from a torch burning with a pale, extinguished-charcoal flame. It was the only light source, apart from the panel floating in front of me. I looked around. In front and behind, only darkness. To the right, a stone wall, barely visible in the dim light. The air was cold, damp, with a strange smell—like wet earth mixed with something metallic that I had never smelled before. A tunnel? A labyrinth? I wondered. The temperature was numbing my fingers, and my mind was clouded, unable to think rationally.
I haven't died yet, I told myself. But where was I? The candidate's training area... What did that mean? Was I chosen for something? An experiment? A cosmic game? The term "candidate" troubled me. It suggested I had been selected, but for what? For something good... or for something terrible? I had no answers, just questions swirling in my mind like a vortex.
In the oppressive silence, a sharp sound broke the quiet.
[DS]
[BEEP!]
[Your statistics analysis has been finalized]
The panel lit up, displaying new information. The letters glowed as if written with fire ink:
[DS] – Status Panel B: Decay
Class: None
Name: Kaito
Level: 0
EXP: 0 / 50
HP: 10 / 10
MP: 1 / 1
STR: 2
AGI: 2
INT: 3
Abilities: No active abilities
Dominant Power: Non-existent
[Anomaly]: System defect. Progress causes instability.
[Notification]: This panel is not intended for human users. Access is considered an error.
I stared at the panel, wide-eyed, trying to understand. "Level 0," I murmured. Starting from zero. Like my life—empty, nothing there. Weak stats, no abilities, no power. Everything seemed to reflect who I was: a nobody, a failure. But what struck me the hardest were the last lines.
"System defect"? "Not intended for human users"? My heart tightened. Am I the defect? The thought hit me like a hammer. Maybe I was pulled here by mistake, an error in this strange system. Maybe I didn't deserve to be here, just as I didn't deserve to be in the real world. I sighed, in a weak voice:
"No abilities, no power... as always."
Fear gripped me again, a cold shiver running through my entire body. The panel, the tunnel, the mysterious voice—it was all a puzzle with missing pieces. Where was I? What did they want from me? And where were my classmates? Did they receive similar panels, with better stats, with abilities that reflected their popularity and confidence?
As I sank into my thoughts, I noticed a change. Other torches began to light up, one by one, on the left and right walls. Their weak flames cast long shadows, dancing on the cold stone. The light extended forward, revealing a long corridor, but stopped behind me—a solid wall blocked the way. The only path is forward, I told myself, my heart sinking. Towards the unknown.
I took one step, then another, fear pulsing with every movement. The torches continued to light up, as if responding to my steps. Will they ever stop? I wondered. And what will be at the end?
Suddenly, something caught my attention. Near the left wall, on the floor, lay a skull. I stopped, breathless. It wasn't human. It had horns—one sharp, the other broken, curved, about five centimeters long. The shape was strange, elongated, with large, empty eye sockets. I froze, not from fear, but from astonishment. What kind of creature is this?
My mind raced to a book I had read in the library, about demons and mythical creatures. Their descriptions spoke of horns, of shadows haunting dark realms. Could it be a demon? I thought. A nervous laugh escaped me, breaking the silence.
"Haha! What the hell? Did I end up in hell?" I said, my voice shaking. "Why me? What did I do to deserve this?"
But the laughter quickly died. If this was hell, what did that mean for me? Punishment? A test? I took a deep breath, trying to dispel the panic. I lifted my gaze from the skull and continued walking, with uncertain steps.
The torches kept lighting up, illuminating the seemingly infinite corridor. But, at some point, they stopped. In front of me, at the end of the tunnel, rose a massive stone door, four meters high and two meters wide. Its surface was covered in strange carvings—hands, many of them, arranged chaotically. They were not human hands. They had long, sharp nails, and only four fingers. I shuddered.
These hands... do they belong to the same creature as the skull? The thought paralyzed me. If so, what lay beyond the door? Hell? Another world? Or something even worse?
I stood there, my heart pounding, wondering if I had the courage to find out the truth.