Chapter One ,The Day That Should’ve Been Normal

  Feizui woke up choking.

  Not literally though it felt close ,but on the suffocating weight of reality pressing against his chest.

  Sunlight stabbed through the crooked blinds of his apartment, illuminating the chaotic disaster he called a room: empty ramen cups, towers of unwashed laundry, and a desk that hadn’t seen its surface in months. His phone vibrated violently beside his head.

  7:41 AM.

  He shot upright.

  “—Final!”

  His algorithms final.

  Today.

  “Why… why do I always do this…?” he groaned, scrubbing his face. His hair was a mess, his eyes were half-dead, and his brain felt like it had been replaced with animal inteints.

  His heart pounded.

  If I fail this… I’m actually finished. Student loans, no job, no future…

  The pressure was unbearable. His room, as always, smelled faintly of stale coffee and quiet desperation.

  He stood up too fast, nearly tripping over a stack of textbooks, and grabbed a hoodie.

  “I need air,” he muttered. “If I don’t move, I’m going to actually lose my mind.”

  Without even brushing his teeth, Feizui left his apartment and started jogging.

  ---

  The morning air was cold and sharp, biting into his lungs. The campus park was quiet , way too quiet. Most students were probably cramming or sleeping in.

  Just one run, he told himself. Clear your head. Then suffer.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  His footsteps echoed against the pavement.

  That was when he felt it.

  That sensation.

  Like… being watched.

  He glanced behind him.

  Nothing.

  He kept running.

  Then he saw them.

  Three figures.

  All in black.

  They stood too still. Too quiet. Their faces were hidden beneath hoods.

  His pace slowed.

  …Probably just my imagination.

  He turned a corner.

  They turned too.

  His stomach sank.

  He sped up.

  So did they.

  “Okay,” he whispered, “nope. Definitely not normal.”

  He ran until his lungs burned and finally collapsed onto a bench near the park pond, bending over and gasping.

  “They’re not following me… they’re not following me…”

  He looked up.

  They were standing at the edge of the path.

  Too close.

  One of them took a step forward.

  Feizui’s blood turned to ice.

  “Uh..h-hey,” he said, forcing a nervous laugh. “If you’re trying to sell me something, I’m broke.”

  They didn’t answer.

  They rushed him.

  “WHAT THE..?!”

  He jumped up and ran.

  Full sprint.

  His heart slammed in his chest. His legs screamed. The world blurred.

  Why is this happening to me?!

  He didn’t see the crack in the pavement.

  His foot caught.

  His body flew forward.

  The sky spun.

  Then—

  Darkness.

  ---

  He landed face-first on cold dirt.

  “…Huh?”

  Feizui pushed himself up.

  Trees.

  Tall and Massive.

  Birds he didn’t recognize.

  No city sounds.

  No buildings.

  No park.

  “…Where,” he said slowly, “…am I?”

  His heart started racing.

  “This… this isn’t a dream, right?”

  He stumbled forward, calling out. “Hello?! Is anyone there?!”

  No answer.

  After walking for what felt like an hour, he saw smoke in the distance.

  People.

  Relief flooded him.

  He ran toward them,And froze.

  They were being attacked.

  Men in crude armor, wielding swords and axes, were slaughtering them.

  “B-bandits?!”

  He backed away slowly.

  Too slowly.

  One of the bandits turned and saw him.

  “Oi! Another one!”

  “…Oh no.”

  Three of them charged.

  “I’m not built for this world!” Feizui shouted and grabbed a fallen stick like it would somehow save him.

  It didn’t.

  A blade cut across his chest.

  Pain exploded.

  He fell.

  The sky faded.

  So this is how I die…?

  ---

  He gasped.

  Sat up.

  “…Huh?”

  Forest.

  Same trees.

  Same birds.

  Same position.

  “…I’m… alive?”

  He looked down.

  No wound.

  “…Did I just… respawn?”

  He turned.

  In the distance, he could still see smoke.

  And the same bandits.

  The same people.

  “…Nope. Nope nope nope.”

  He turned and ran the other way.

  ---

  He wandered deeper into the forest until he found a cave.

  Inside, an old man slept beside a fire.

  Feizui froze.

  An NPC? , or was he like those bandits form earlier.

  He quietly backed away.

  A voice spoke.

  “You’ve got terrible footsteps.”

  Feizui screamed and ran.

  He didn’t get far.

  The old man appeared in front of him in a blink.

  “…What… are you?” Feizui whispered.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” the old man said, and flicked his finger.

  Everything went dark.

  ---

  He woke up again.

  Same forest.

  Same spot.

  Same sky.

  He stared at his hands.

  “…I can’t die?”

  A slow, terrified smile crept onto his face.

  “…What kind of world did I fall into?”

  And somewhere, far away—

  Something had noticed him.