I was sitting inside something like a carriage—though it didn't quite feel like one.
The seats were soft, almost too comfortable, covered in smooth black material. Two were in front of me, facing inward, and a larger one stretched across the back. I sat in the far right corner, slightly apart from the rest.
Three others were seated with me, talking among themselves. Their voices rose and fell in a steady rhythm, and at times, I found myself joining in. Words left my mouth as if by habit.
Yet… I couldn't understand any of it.
Not what they were saying.
Not even what I was saying.
They wore strange clothes—clean, unfamiliar, nothing like anything I had seen before. Their faces, too, felt distant… unrecognizable, as if my mind refused to hold onto them.
Beside me, a window stretched along the side.
I kept my eyes fixed on it.
Outside, I saw towering structures rising high into the sky, far larger than anything I had ever known. People moved endlessly below, walking in every direction, their figures blending into a restless sea of motion.
And I just watched.
A sudden wave of exhaustion washed over me.
My eyelids grew heavy, and before I could resist, they slowly closed.
But even as my body gave in to sleep… my consciousness did not.
There was no rest.
No peace.
Just a strange awareness lingering in the dark.
After what felt like an eternity, my eyes opened again—
And I was somewhere else.
A vast, empty space stretched around me. At my feet lay a wide pond, its water pitch black. It looked deep… yet when I stepped forward, I found I could stand. The water barely reached above my ankles.
It felt wrong.
Unnatural.
There was nothing else around me.
No sky.
No land.
Only darkness… and that silent, black water.
And then
I saw it.
A massive door stood alone in the distance.
It was black, darker than anything else in that place, its surface covered in strange, intricate patterns carved deep into it. They twisted and curved in ways that made my eyes ache if I stared too long.
Even from afar… I could feel it.
This door
Was no ordinary thing.
I moved toward the door.
With every step, a heavy sense of anxiety crept into me. Fear followed close behind, tightening around my chest, whispering for me to stop.
But my body didn't listen.
It kept moving.
Before I knew it, I was standing right in front of it.
Slowly, I raised my hands and pressed them against the surface.
Then I pushed.
The door opened far too easily.
No resistance.
No weight.
It simply gave way.
Beyond it, I stepped into a vast chamber.
The space was enormous, lined with towering pillars that stretched upward into darkness. It resembled a throne room… yet it felt empty.
Hollow.
There was no furniture.
No decoration.
Nothing—except for one thing.
At the far end, atop a short flight of stairs, stood a throne.
Old.
Worn.
As if it had been abandoned for ages.
And resting upon it…
Was a crown.
Black.
Darker than the door. Darker than the water.
Its shape was strange—almost like a silhouette rather than something solid. It shifted subtly, as if it were made of liquid… or perhaps flame.
It didn't stay still.
It moved.
I couldn't look away.
And then—
A single word echoed inside my mind.
"The Crowned."
And the moment the word appeared—
Pain tore through me.
It wasn't physical.
It was deeper.
Sharper.
As if something was forcing its way into my mind.
My vision shattered.
Images flooded in—
Faces.
People.
Things I couldn't understand.
A baby crying… but instead of tears, blood streamed down its face.
A man crouched in the dark, tearing into raw flesh with his teeth, his eyes hollow and empty.
A butcher—eyes bloodshot, wide, unblinking—hacking relentlessly at a strange, unrecognizable creature. Again and again. Without pause.
Then—
War.
Endless war.
People clashing, screaming, killing. Steel against steel. Blood soaking the ground.
And then…
Something else.
Something wrong.
A being stood tall—its body like a man's, but where its head should have been, there was nothing.
Instead—
Six wings.
Each wing spread wide, and upon them… eyes.
Four… five… six on each.
All open.
All staring in different directions.
Watching everything.
Watching me.
Before I could even process it—
Another vision forced its way in.
A man.
Sitting atop that winged creature.
Punching it.
Again.
And again.
And again.
His fists slammed into it without pause, without hesitation, as if nothing else existed.
No anger.
No mercy.
Just… endless violence.
He didn't stop.
Not even for a moment.
And I—
I couldn't look away.
I stared at it.
Unblinking.
Frozen.
Time lost its meaning as I remained there, trapped in that vision—until, suddenly—
The pain struck again.
Sharper.
Deeper.
A wave of terror surged through me, and I shut my eyes tightly.
And when I opened them—
I was back inside the carriage.
Silence.
Complete silence.
The carriage moved as before, but I couldn't hear a thing. No voices. No sound. Not even my own breath.
Slowly, I turned my head.
The three people were still there.
But now—
They were staring at me.
Not speaking.
Not moving.
Just staring.
Their expressions were empty… lifeless.
A chill ran through me.
I quickly looked away and turned toward the window.
Outside—
Everyone had stopped.
Every single person.
And they were all staring at me.
No movement.
No sound.
Just countless eyes, fixed on me.
Something was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
My heart pounded violently against my chest as terror consumed me.
And then—
Another feeling rose within me.
Not fear.
Something heavier.
Deeper.
Pain.
Suffering.
It flooded my chest, crushing me from the inside.
I couldn't bear it.
"I—!"
My voice broke.
I screamed.
I cried.
And then—
Everything collapsed.
The world shattered, and I fell.
When I opened my eyes again, I was no longer in the carriage.
I was on my knees.
Inside a luxurious room.
The floor beneath me was cold and polished, reflecting faint light from above.
In front of me—
Ten people stood.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
My breath caught in my throat.
My parents.
And beside them—
My younger sister.
The people I knew best.
The people I had left behind.
But something was wrong.
Every single one of them…
Was staring at me.
And I broke.
Tears poured from my eyes as my body trembled.
There was only one thought in my mind—
Why am I so weak?
I shut my eyes tightly, my chest tightening as sobs escaped me again and again.
Why am I so weak…?
The words repeated, over and over, until they spilled from my lips.
"Why…?!"
My voice rose into a scream.
And then—
Everything shattered.
I gasped and opened my eyes.
This time… I was somewhere else.
A prison.
Cold, dark, and suffocating.
The air felt heavy, pressing down on me as pain suddenly surged through my entire body. Every muscle ached, every breath burned.
Around me, there were others—boys, about my age—but I couldn't focus on them.
My mind was still drowning.
The terror.
The visions.
The pain.
It was all too much.
I tried to remember—
I still recall—
But…
Nothing.
My thoughts slipped away the moment I tried to grasp them.
"What… did I recall…?"
A sharp pain shot through my head.
I clutched it, groaning as I rolled onto the ground, my vision spinning.
It hurt.
Everything hurt.
Then—
A voice.
"Are you fine?"
It cut through the chaos in my mind.
Clear.
Close.
And just like that…
The pain stopped.
Completely.
I froze.
Slowly, I lifted my head and looked up.
A boy stood in front of me, his hand extended.
Shaved head.
Thin frame.
About my age.
My breath caught.
I recognized him.
He was the one who beat me.