Chapter One: Dawn

“What is it you desire?”

“Control.”

“Why?”

“So I can show them. Show everyone that it’s all meaningless. That all of it means nothing.”

“Does that not defeat the purpose of power?”

“They need to learn that they’re nothing compared to me. To who I truly deserve to be. They must know that all of their lives are but specs compared to who I can be.”

“That is why you desire control? Or should I say… power.”

“…Yes.”

“Your human ego is so fragile.”

A hand reached out from the morning dusk, a hand from the darkness. An infinity that he could not see, could not hear, could not feel… could not imagine.

It touched his mind.

He gasped to life, opening his eyes.

“Why me?”

“There is only one thing I need in return.”

“…”

“The human, Katsumi Murakami. Must be annihilated. The very idea of him needs to be broken down until it has never existed in the first place.”

“Why did you choose me!?”

“I will bring him to you.”

It reached inwards, through the infinity, latching onto something with its fingers. A part of itself. Presented to him as a sword.

“This is your tool for your task.”

He gasped to life. He was lying on his raggedy, tattered bed. A sword in a sheathe lay next to

 him.

Who are you to speak to the face of creation?

“I… Am… God.”

“The plane is landing soon, I gotta go dude.”

“Alright, call me as soon as possible.”

“I will, bye.” Katsumi closed his flip-phone.

The plane touched down on the runway at Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei. The few hundred passengers exited the plane and into the airport terminal, collecting their bags and items. Most of them are here returning from vacation, some on business, and a few coming to live in the shining, modern city. One of those people is Katsumi Murakami.

It’s still so crazy to me… Someone at the national university just ‘caught wind’ of my work at the no name college I attend at home. I mean of course I accepted but it’s still like a dream… I never thought I’d be going to school in a place like Taipei…

Katsumi descended some steps into the metro station. Where he scanned his new metro-card to get in and boarded the next train to downtown Taipei.

The mid-afternoon light hit him like a wall when he left the metro station. The light bounced off the massive glass skyscrapers. Making them gleam and shimmer. This was going to be his home for the next four or more years.

He pulled out a small map of the city, it had a marker set on the university.

Katsumi sighed, “That’s too much walking.”

He waited for a minute at the edge of the sidewalk then hailed a taxi,, “Is the twenty dollars worth it? Probably not, but I really can’t be bothered.”

The university stuck out in the midst of the bustling city. Not in a bad way however. It was a place where massive brick buildings, one you think you’d find in Europe, met the modern design of the late twentieth century. It was really a place of grandeur almost. A place—

“That I don’t belong…” There’s no way some professor here wanted me to attend this school.

After a tedious check in due to his broken Mandarin he made it to his room.

“You know it’s a pretty nice room compared to where I was before,” He set his luggage down on the right-side bed.

He glanced over towards the one of the left and saw a weirdly shaped lump.

“What the hell?”

The lump shifted.

“Excuse me?” Is that my roommate?

The blanket that was covering the lump was thrown off, revealing a tall, young Taiwanese man. He looked to be about Katsumi’s age. With short black hair and a strong face.

“A Japanese kid? I was not expecting that,” He laughed.

Katsumi gave a smile back, “Yeah, I wasn’t really expecting to be in Taiwan a few months ago but I got a scholarship.”

“Ohh? That’s great, makes the whole thing a lot easier.”

“Yeah, forsure. Housing would’ve been a damn nightmare if it wasn’t for that.”

The young man sat up on his bed, “I’m Chia-Hao, nice to meet you.”

“I’m Katsumi, nice to meet you too.”

“Is this your first year in university?”

“Nah, back home I went for a year. I think it was my grades that caught the attention of the board here.”

“Really? Were they that good?”

“I wouldn’t say. I mean they were above average I guess… But yeah, even to me it’s weird that I got reached out to.”

“Maybe they saw something in you,” Chia-Hao gave a little laugh.

“Haha— I doubt it, but maybe.”

The flip-phone sitting on the bed next to Chia-Hao buzzed and the screen lit-up. He tapped on it a few times then looked back up at Katsumi.

“Hey, some of my friends are getting together later for drinks. Wanna come?”

“Shit, I’d like to but I can’t. I forgot some stuff and have to go out shopping. It’s kinda hard for me to read still, so I expect it’ll take me a bit to get around.

“Hah, that’s funny… Ya'know, it must be kinda weird. Just suddenly getting swept up into coming to a foreign country. Having to adjust and all.”

“Yeah, that’s been on my mind for a while. But it’s probably not gonna be as shocking as if I moved to America.”

“I can see it. People here probably act closer to Japanese than Americans.”

Chia-Hao got another alert on his phone, “Oh I gotta go,” He sprung up from his bed and rushed to the door, “Hope shopping isn’t too hard for ya.”

Katsumi grinned, “Yeah, thanks. I’ll see ya later.”

Seems like I got really lucky with my roommate.

With Chia-Hao gone, Katsumi was alone. In a foreign country, living with a man he had just met.

Katsumi spent the rest of his first day going out and buying some of the miscellaneous things that he’d forgotten back home. Struggling to understand street names and where he needed to go.