Chapter 1: Pain and suffering

Under the dark sky, beneath the shade of a bridge near a quiet river, a young man with thick facial hair sat on the bed of his cardboard home.

‘Half past ten, noon,’ thought the young man, glancing at his wristwatch. The word 'Nova' was carved into it, its glass cracked.

‘It's too cold for daylight. But if it’s because of rain, I don’t hear any trickling.’

He checked his wristwatch again. ‘It’s still working... Did the whole continent move to the other side of the globe or something?’

Nova stood up and grabbed the fishing rod leaning against the small table beside his bed. He then opened his curtain door, which was close enough to touch just by extending his hand. As he stepped outside, he raised his head. It was his habit to look up at the sky whenever he came out of his house.

‘A red moon and a dark sky…’

Nova was greeted by a red moon hanging in the dark sky.

‘I see... Not the other side of the globe, but another planet.‘ Nova smiled then closed his eyes.

But, he opened it right away. ‘Like hell something like that will happen... but let’s check it.’

Nova pinched his cheek.

‘This is not a dream.’ He then looked around in reflex. ‘What... are... these?’

Nova was paralyzed by the crimson scene in front of him. Illuminated in red, large green vines—like wood, like flesh—grew over the concrete and ruined buildings. The buildings' fires raged, brightening the glistening blood scattered in a sporadic pattern across the ground.

It was clear that this was no ordinary matter; this was a catastrophe, which meant humanity was doomed. After all, even noon had turned to night.

A shiver ran down Nova’s spine as he envisaged heaven. He was certain he was heading to the afterlife. From the crimson scene, he imagined the blood was his, and the ruined was his body.

Following his heavy heart, Nova lowered his gaze. To his surprise, five meters away, two bodies that resembled corpses appeared in his sight.

One was a dog, its head bleeding. The other was a man lying face-down on the ground. He was slender yet muscular, but his limbs were strangely oversized, almost unnatural—like a disease, or drugs.

Looking at both the collapsing dog and the man, Nova thought,‘If I’m going to die… at least I must save someone who might survive.’

Nova thought the man had a higher chance of survival than him. Thus, without hesitation, he approached the bodies. In an instant, he closed the five-meter distance. The darkness faded, and the scene became clearer.

He reached out and touched both bodies simultaneously.

‘What!’

He was surprised by the man who wore nothing. But he was even more shocked when two black, eel-like creatures, each as thick as two fingers, burst out of the bodies’ chests and leaped onto his hands.

Nova flailed his hands in surprise, but the black creatures clung tightly. Even as he yanked one of them with his right hand, they didn’t flinch; instead, they continued to slither upward. His face turned pale, and sweat drenched his entire body.

Yet the creatures brought an even greater terror. They burrowed into Nova’s arm, slipping under his skin and rapidly moving upward.

Nova's body shook. In a panic, he struck at the creature with all his strength.

Strangely, despite the wound, he felt no pain. Even when a two-finger-sized black hole, with no blood spilled, was created where the creatures plunged.

“This doesn’t hurt… But what is going on?!” Nova thought.

No one would feel relieved with an unknown creature crawling under their skin. Thus, desperate, Nova pounded his shoulder hard. He attacked it relentlessly, certain that bruising his own flesh was better than letting the creature do as it pleased. But it was all in vain.

Nova gave up as the creatures advanced toward his chest. His breath came in gasps, his chest tightening in terror at the thought that if they reached his heart, it would kill him.

In the end, as the creatures reached his chest, Nova involuntarily held his breath in response to the ghastly sight.

But nothing happened, even after several seconds had passed.

Nova gasped in panic. He was suffocating—he had forgotten to breathe, his mind overwhelmed with frantic thoughts.

Even though he felt relieved that nothing had happened, his anxiety didn’t fade. The creatures were still wriggling, coiling tightly around his chest. Worse yet, the two creatures began to fight, stretching his skin even further like rubber. Even though it didn’t hurt, the nightmare felt real. They reared up and slammed their heads together like battling bulls at the end.

“Aaaaaaargh!”

Suddenly, a sharp pain struck. Nova collapsed to the ground. The intense pain followed the creatures’ path—from his forearms, up to his shoulders, and then to his chest. It felt as if his skin were being pierced and twisted over and over.

As the pain subsided a few seconds later, the two-finger-sized black hole in his forearm began to close. His stretched skin, which had extended up to his chest, also returned to normal.

‘What was all that? That was the most painful experience of my life. Did the eel secrete some kind of painkiller mucus that wears off after it heals its host? Is this some kind of biohazard parasite apocalypse?’ Nova thought, bewildered.

Nova stood up.

‘They’re still at it,’ he thought, his brow furrowed. Beads of cold sweat continued to drip down his face.

The creatures were still coiled around his chest, relentlessly slamming into each other over and over. But then, in a sudden, with one final collision, one of them was sent flying backward with great force, stretching Nova’s chest even further upon impact.

The repelled creature seemed to lose its vigor; its movements grew sluggish. It grew still, then gradually slipped out of his body, leaving a black hole in Nova’s chest—painless in the moment, but not for long…

‘What the… wait, no! The pain will be…’

Nova was dumbfounded. His eyes widened, pupils shrinking—he knew what was coming.

His gaze shifted to the remaining creature. It stood, stretching his skin, then, in a flash, plunged into his heart. He felt his heart being squeezed for a moment—then the pain vanished.

However, just as Nova had predicted, all the accumulated pain from before came crashing down at once.

“Aaaaargh!”

The muscles around his chest twisted over and over, then stretched tight. In addition, a sharp, two-finger-sized pain shot through him.

The intense pain knocked Nova out.

…

An hour later, after waking up, Nova realized there was no irregularity in his body. However, his emotion was at it worst. He realized no one was there except him. The anxiety of being alone suffocated him. On top of that, his lack of understanding about the situation only amplified his unease.

At any rate, he decided to move. There was nothing left for him there except the bodies, which turned out to be a trap. Searching for survivors seemed like the best option. If he found someone, he planned to ask about the situation—and, if possible, about the condition of his body.

Nova had no clue where to go to find survivors. Almost all the buildings had been ruined by the vines. In a situation like this, people would have likely moved elsewhere. With no other choice, Nova picked a random direction and set off.

Not far from his starting point, in the middle of the city, Nova spotted gray flowers growing atop the vines. Some had blossomed, while others remained closed. Among the unblossomed flowers, illuminated by the raging fire of a nearby building, a silhouette appeared.

‘Was the naked man from before a monster? The same as the creature inside this flower?’

Nova spotted the silhouette of a slender yet muscular figure, its limbs unnaturally oversized.

“Wait, the man before didn’t even have a mouth, only eyes and nose. So he is a monster after all.”

Nova had briefly glanced at the naked man's face before, but when the black creature appeared, he was forced to focus on it in that moment.

‘Even if it’s a trapped human… after what happened before…’

The memory of the black eels resurfaced on Nova’s mind.

‘What if this time, I really died just from touching the flower?’

Nova clenched his fists. ‘It would be better to use my life to save someone else than to throw it away here.’

Tears welled up in Nova’s eyes and slid down his cheeks. ‘I’m sorry! I promise I’ll come back after gathering more information.’

Nova continued his journey.

As he searched for survivors, he stumbled upon something unexpected. Nova opened his eyes and mouth wide in shock.

Far in the distance, a long, blue, unsupported stairs floated in the sky. Beneath the stairs’ end, an oval-shaped blue vortex hovered, as if inviting anyone who climbed the stairs to take a leap into it.

‘It can’t be helped.' thought Nova. His expression returned to normal.

With no clue about any survivors, the floating stairs became his only lead. He had no choice but to believe that others would have the same idea.

‘Wait, wouldn’t people head to the mayor’s mansion, the city plaza, or the military in times like this? Why didn’t I think of that?’

The city where Nova lived had never faced a disaster, so there was no designated emergency shelter. He could only deduce where survivors might have gone. The city plaza was out of the question—it offered no protection. That left him with two options: the mayor’s mansion, which likely had some level of security, or the military.

Nova was in luck. He didn’t need to change direction to reach the mayor’s mansion—it was on the same path as the floating stairs. As for the military base, he would need to adjust his course by about thirty degrees after reaching the mansion.

A few minutes later, Nova arrived, only to find the mayor’s mansion reduced to rubble. Not a single living soul was in sight. Only the crackling of burning trees remained. His heart grew heavy. Anxiety swelled inside him, and the urgency of the situation became even more vivid.

He clenched his fists tightly and strode toward the military base, his heart full of worry.

A few minutes passed as Nova made his way toward the military base. Suddenly, the sound of shattered rock and twisted metal echoed. Without hesitation, he rushed to investigate it.

Hiding behind the corner of a building, Nova witnessed something unbelievable—something even more bizarre than the levitating stairs.

A young man was battling the creature Nova had previously mistaken for a naked man. As the creature swung its oversized hand forward, the young man vanished. Nova's eyes darted around in search of him—only to find the young man had reappeared behind the creature, slashing at its back with a knife.

‘Teleportation?’