God did not create evil; He created depth, and man became lost within it.

An endless white expanse stretched beyond all limits—so vast it felt as though the very concept of edges had ceased to exist, as if the world itself had been erased and replaced by an infinite ocean of blinding white light.

And amidst that overwhelming whiteness, a tiny black speck could be seen descending from above, cutting through it like a drop of ink falling onto a blank canvas.

You’ll begin to make out a faint shape. A pair of hands. A pair of feet. He wore a gray hoodie and black pants, barefoot, his hair white as snow—so pale it nearly vanished into the world around him.

With features like that, it wasn’t hard to guess: he was human. More precisely, a young man, falling at terrifying speed in an inverted position, feet above and head plunging into the unknown.

At a glance, he looked like someone unconscious. His face was far too calm for someone in freefall. But a moment later, his eyelids slowly lifted, followed by a heavy breath escaping his lips, as though he were trying to quell the storm raging within him.

“Fuck!”

…Yeah. That’s me.

But before we go any further, I suppose a proper introduction is in order.

Hello. My name is Ainsel. I’m twenty-one years old… and, yeah, still single. Unfortunately.

I work in game development—a job people like to call cool. But if you ask me, try sitting in front of a screen for ten hours a day while being chased by deadlines and an endless swarm of bugs.

My life? Honestly, nothing special. I wake up at six, wash up, throw together something simple for breakfast—usually instant noodles or fried rice—then head to work at eight.

When do I get home? That depends. Sometimes six. Sometimes much later. Sometimes I don’t go home at all and sleep at the office. And when I do make it back, it’s the same routine—shower, eat whatever’s available, then straight to bed.

The same cycle, over and over again. Like being trapped in an endless loop.

I’m not the kind of person who goes looking for trouble. I try to be polite. If someone needs help, I help. If there’s conflict, I step in and try to smooth things over.

I used to think that living like that—being a good person, staying modest, being grateful—was enough, and the world would treat me fairly in return.

Turns out… I was wrong.

Because look at me now—through a white void that makes no sense at all. A place where even the sky and the ground don’t exist.

You’re probably wondering how I ended up here, right?

The answer is simple.

I don’t know.

The last thing I remember… I was playing a game. Almost finished. Just one quest left before completion. And then, everything went dark.

I couldn’t see. I couldn’t understand what was happening. It all happened too fast. But little by little, the darkness faded, and my eyes began to adjust.

I stood there, frozen like an idiot, in a place I didn’t recognize. No instructions. No information. I was simply there, without any clear reason.

So… yeah. That’s how all of this began.

I don’t even know how long I’ve been falling like this. I don’t know where this place is, why I’m here, or what the hell that bastard—whoever it is—actually wants by dragging me here!! 

…Ahem. Sorry. Got carried away.

When I first arrived—no, when I was thrown here—it felt like being cast into nothingness. Not metaphorically. Truly nothing.

Everywhere I looked, there was only white. Not snow. Not fog. Just… white. Like a blank page untouched by ink. No sky. No wind. No sound. No shadows. Not even an echo. There was ground beneath my feet, but it had no form, only an endless expanse stretching in every direction. The only things that remained were my own breaths, growing heavier, and the pounding of my heart—loud, relentless, like war drums in my ears.

At first, I thought it was a dream. A nightmare, maybe. One that felt far too real. But no matter what I tried—pinching myself, slapping my face, even attempting a stupid somersault. The result? Yeah, my ass hurt, and reality remained the same. 

I was still here.

As for why I’m falling like this now… well, that’s still a mystery. The last thing I remember, I was walking around, glancing here and there as I searched for something—anything, maybe a clue? Then I blinked. Just once, I swear! But when I opened my eyes, I was already upside down like this.

“For God’s sake, you bastard! At least give me a warning! A slap, a siren—anything! You don’t just drop someone into this kind of crap out of nowhere!” I raised my middle finger at the empty void above me. Not that there was anyone there to see it.

That was the situation I found myself in. I wanted to be angry, but at whom? I wanted to scream, but what for? And yet, strangely enough, the thing that scared me the most wasn’t starving to death or loneliness. No, not that. But—

“What if… I suddenly need to take a dump?”

Yeah. As stupid as it sounds, that became my greatest fear. Just imagine it, falling endlessly in a boundless void, falling upside down, unable to go anywhere, and suddenly your stomach goes, 'Time to take a shit, bro!' I’m sure you’d panic like hell.

But thankfully, for some reason, that never happened. I wasn’t hungry. I wasn’t thirsty. My body didn’t demand anything at all. It was as if my biological functions had simply stopped.

Honestly, though, that was a relief. I mean, at the very least, I didn’t have to take a dump while falling like this.

So, how about that? Pretty messed up, right? Whoever’s behind all this, I hope you have a hard time taking a shit!

Anyway, back to the present. I’ve been stuck like this for who knows how long. Four days? Six? I’ve lost count. To pass the time, I do stupid things. Strike cool poses like some anime character—yeah, even the embarrassing ones. Sometimes I sing. Sometimes I sleep. But no matter how much I fool around, my eyes never let their guard down. They keep scanning the surroundings. Keep hoping. Maybe I’ll find something. A crack. A shadow. Anything that isn’t white.

“Haah… just how long is this supposed to go on?”

If I’m being honest… I’ve already gone past fear. I just don’t care anymore. Whether I live or die, it all feels the same now.

Maybe this is some kind of waiting room before reincarnation. Or maybe… It’s just the universe’s trash bin. A place where unwanted souls get thrown away.

Sometimes I wonder... could this be punishment for the sins I’ve committed?

But as far as I remember, the worst thing I’ve ever done was swapping sugar with salt while my grandmother was making tea.

Dear God, Grandma, if this is because of that, please forgive your grandson.

As I was still drowning in those ridiculous thoughts spinning inside my head.

Suddenly—

*BOOM!*

A deafening roar tore through the silence. The white world—so still until now—shuddered violently. It wasn’t the sound of something falling, nor was it a normal explosion. It was more like the world itself was coughing violently, and I was right inside its throat.

Instinctively, I shoved both of my index fingers deep into my ears as far as I could. I shut my eyes as tightly as possible, grinding my teeth until my jaw tensed along with it. I tried with all my strength to block out the deafening sound. But it was useless. The sound forced its way in, slipping through every gap I couldn’t block.

Slowly, my ears began to ache.

Then—

*BOOM!*

The second impact struck. I swear, it was far louder than the first. It roared inside my skull like thunder, as if this place wasn’t satisfied yet, as if it meant to tear me apart from the inside.

Panic surged through me. I yanked my index fingers out, replacing them with my pinkies, hoping they could go deeper and block out that damned sound completely. But all I got was pain. My nails scraped against the inside of my ears. Even as I felt the sting, I kept pushing them further in like a madman. Compared to that sound, this small pain was nothing.

And before I even realized it, blood had begun to seep out from the very places I was trying to seal.

Yet no matter how long I waited, the sound never stopped. It did not weaken. It did not fade. Seconds turned into minutes, yet its intensity remained unchanged. It kept crashing against me—without pause, without mercy. My head throbbed violently, as if it would split apart at any second.

Stop...! Please, stop this fucking sound!! I… I can’t take it anymore!!

But instead of stopping, the torment spread to my eyes.

I could feel it... the burning, the searing pain within them. As though invisible, blazing hands were gripping and crushing them.

“Ugh...!!”

I tried to endure the pain as best as I could. I clenched my teeth even harder. My body tensed. My veins bulged as if they would burst at any second.

Not long after, a warm liquid began to seep out, trailing down my cheeks. I opened my eyes, but my vision was already blurred by a thick shade of red.

"...Huh...?"

My hands trembled as they moved in front of me. I wiped my face—once, twice—and saw it.

"Blood!? F-from... from my eyes...?!"

Panic swallowed everything else. I rubbed them, desperately trying to stop it—but it wouldn’t stop. It kept flowing, as if I were crying, except these weren't tears... they were blood.

“What is this?! What’s happening to my eyes?!”

I wanted to cry. To scream at the top of my lungs. To pass out—anything to escape this.

But I couldn’t!

When I tried to cry, only more blood came. When I tried to faint, my consciousness refused to break. Screaming? It was useless.

"God... this hurts...!! Why…? Why is this happening to me...?!"

My breathing fell apart. My heart pounded wildly against my chest. My hands were drenched in blood. And yet... I felt cold. Not cold from the air, but from somewhere deep inside.

Is this… fear?

“Help me! Please, someone, save me…!! I... I don’t care who you are! Just save me! Please! Please! Please! Please…!!!”

I groaned in agony. I screamed, begging for mercy. This suffering… it truly defied reason. If I had to describe it... It felt like a red-hot iron rod being slowly driven through my ear, piercing my skull, destroying every inch of my brain, and then emerging through my eyes. And all of it is happening at the pace of a snail. What’s even more insane? It kept repeating over and over again—without end.

And to the bastard watching from wherever the hell you are, congratulations! The torment you’ve inflicted has finally driven me insane.

The last shred of hope I clung to, the one thing keeping my sanity intact, has been shattered to pieces. This damned pounding, this damned pain, this damned place—this endless misfortune has truly driven me mad.

Not long after, in the midst of that despair… I began to laugh. A broken laugh, like someone trying to mock his own fate. As though I wanted to deny the horrifying reality that had befallen me.

“N-no… no, no, no, no…! Th-this… this has to be a dream, right?! Y-yeah, that’s right! Th-this, this is just a dream! This is just a dream! This is just a dream! This is just a dream! This is just a dream!” I kept repeating those words like some kind of incantation, desperately trying to convince myself that all of this was nothing more than a fleeting nightmare.

“This is... just a dream…”

But the longer I said it, the harder reality struck me, as though it were trying to drag me back from the madness that was about to consume me. I looked at my hands—trembling, stiff, drenched in blood. And the laughter that once escaped my lips quickly turned into—

“A-aaAAARGHHH!!!”

I screamed like a madman. Fear seized me. Despair drowned me. The bitter reality I was forced to accept made me want to give up right then and there. The world felt like it was closing in, crushing me, sealing me inside this endless emptiness.

My body screamed louder than my voice ever could. Pain burned from within, tearing through my skull as though it would split apart. There was no escape. I didn’t know what to do. I… I truly wanted to give up.

And if this seemed like the peak of that suffering...

It wasn’t.