The Call Beyond Fate

1 / 9The alarm rang at 4:30 am, like it always did.
Shin Kurogami’s eyes opened to the cracked ceiling above his futon. He lay still for a moment, feeling the cold creeping up from the tatami floor beneath. Beyond the thin sliding door, he could hear his little sister breathing softly in her sleep.

Another day…
Sometimes, waking felt like clawing out of a dream he could never fully grasp – a dream of dying, over and over, in worlds he never knew.
Slowly, quietly, he sat up. His body felt heavy, like it carried centuries within its bones. But he stood anyway, folding his blanket with mechanical precision before stepping into the small kitchen.
The fluorescent light buzzed overhead. The sink dripped steadily. The calendar on the wall showed2 / 9dozens of dates circled in red – school deadlines, part-time shifts, scholarship applications.
Shin rinsed rice, chopped leftover radish, cracked two eggs into a pan. The smell of frying oil rose in the cramped room. He scooped rice into bowls, added miso soup and pickled cucumbers, and placed one tray beside his sister’s futon.
She stirred lightly, brown hair falling over her eyes. Shin brushed it back and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

> “Eat before going to school, okay? I’ll be back late tonight.”
He scribbled the words on a sticky note and pressed it to her cup of warm team.

By 5:00 am, he was out the door, schoolbag slung over one shoulder. The street outside was still dark, tinged with a navy-blue dawn. Cold weather, rows of vending machines flickered softly as he walked past closed storefronts and silent houses.
His first shift was at bakery near the station. He tied his apron, washed his hands until they turned red, as water was freezing cold and began kneading dough. Flour3 / 9dusted his hair and uniform sleeves. The smell of fresh bread calmed him. Here, at least, his hands could create something warm for others.
“Morning, Kurogami-Kun,” said Emi-San, the bakery owner’s wife, as she arrived to open the shutters.

“Good morning,” Shin replied, bowing deeply. His voice was quiet, but his movements precise and respectful.

“You’re working hard as always,” she smiled kindly. “You should focus on your exams too.”
“I will,” he lied softly.

At 7:30 am, he clocked out and ran to school. His classmates were gathered in groups, chatting about dramas and upcoming festivals. Shin walked past them silently to his seat by the window.
“Oi, bread boy,” a boy called out mockingly. “You smell like flour again. Didn’t even shower?”
Laughter erupted. Shin didn’t respond. He pulled out his math textbook and continued solving the equations he’d missed during morning work.
4 / 9At lunch break, he sat under the back staircase, unwrapping two onigiri he’d packed for himself. He read his biology notes between bites.

If I get into med school… if I can become a doctor… I can save mom. I can give Airi a better life…
But each year, tuition fees rose. Scholarships became more competitive. His father had left them years ago, and their mother’s medical bills piled higher every month.
Shin closed his eyes briefly, fighting the heaviness in his chest. Tears rolled up from his eyes.
That evening, after cram school, he rushed to his second shift at the ramen shop. He tied his hair back, took orders, cleaned tables, washed dishes until his fingers cracked under hot water. The manager scolded him twice for zoning out.
Finally, at 11:30 pm, he walked back to home under flickering streetlights. His phone buzzed with a reminder:
Scholarship Application Deadline: Tomorrow.

He stopped on the empty street, staring at the glowing screen. Snow began to fall lightly around him, melting5 / 9the moment it touched his skin. The cold seeped into his bones.
Am I really doing enough…? Will any of this change anything?
His knees felt weak. He slumped against a lamppost, exhaustion and hopelessness swirling within him like storm clouds. Far above, the moon hung pale in the endless black sky.
That’s when he heard it
A faint whisper, softer than snow

> “Chosen by no gods… and yet… you will be my salvation.
Shin spun around, heart pounding. The street was empty. No footsteps. No voices. Just the quiet drift of snowflakes illuminated by streetlight.
I’m imagining things… I need to go and sleep…

He took a shaky step forward – and the world folded inward.
Light exploded around him, molten gold swirling with violet shadows. His chest burned as if his soul was being torn apart and stitched back together in an instant.6 / 9A scream echoed inside his mind, but he didn’t know if it was his own. When his got cleared, he was kneeling on cold marble.
Dozens of people in ornate robes stood before him in a grand hall glittering with crystal chandeliers. At the far end sat a king upon a towering throne, golden crown gleaning under the lights.

He could smell burning incense drifting from giant bronze pots near each pillar. The floor beneath his palms felt impossibly smooth, reflecting his terrified eyes back at him like water. His heart pounded so loud he felt his ribs rattle with each beat. He looked up. Everywhere, robed men and armoured knights were watching him. Their eyes glimmered with a mixture of hope, calculation… and cold judgement.

Where… what is this place…?

A circle of blue magic glowed beneath Shin’s trembling knees Its patterns twisted and shifted like living veins, humming with a power that made his skin crawl. For an instant, black veins flickered through its glow – gone so fast he thought he imagined it.
7 / 9> “Another hero from the other world!”
Whispered a robed man excitedly.
“May he possess the strength to save us…”
Said another. Some smiled softly at him, others looked
At him like an object.
Shin’s chest heaved as he struggled to breathe. His ears rang with an eerie silence that seemed to swallow even the whispers around him.

“Step forward, Summoned One,” the king’s voice boomed across the hall, echoing off towering pillars. “Place your hand upon the Orb of Providence. Let us witness your blessing.” A priest approached, holding out a crystal orb glowing with faint white mist. Shin stared at it, numb with fear and confusion.
Slowly, he reached out. The hall fell silent in anticipation.

The moment his fingers touched the orb-
Nothing.
The mist flickered, dimmed, and died out completely. A long silence swallowed the chamber. Murmurs erupted like snakes hissing in dark corners:
8 / 9
> “No blessing…?
“Is he… unblessed?”
“Another failure. Worthless.”
But a witch watching from afar saw what none of them seen.
Shin felt the strength leave his legs. His mind spun with terror, confusion, humiliation. He wanted scream at them, I didn’t ask for this! I didn’t ask to be here!
The king’s eyes hardened, turning cold as obsidian.

“Throw him out.”
Guards seized Shin by both arms. His mind screamed in confusion as he was dragged backwards, past rows of staring nobles, past golden pillars, through enormous wooden doors into the freezing night.

He stumbled down stone steps, landing hard on his palms. Pain shot up his arms, but he barely felt it through the numbness swallowing him whole.
The gates slammed shut behind him with a final echo. For a moment, Shin couldn’t move. His breath misted in the frozen air. His entire body shook from exhaustion,9 / 9fear, and the biting cold seeping into his thin school uniform. He pressed his forehead to the cold stone steps, feeling tears burn down his cheeks, evaporating instantly in the icy wind.
Behind those walls, he heard their words echo:

> “A hero without power is nothing but a burden to the kingdom.”
He clenched his fists until his nails dug into his palms, drawing small drops of blood onto the snow below.

Why… Why is it always me… no matter which world…
He forced himself to stand, swaying slightly. Before him stretched a dark forest under the ghostly moonlight, branches twisting like skeletal hands into the sky.
And somewhere deep within that forest, something ancient stirred – something that had waited centuries for its true master’s return.