The rain poured endlessly over the city.
A young man walked alone through the empty streets, his hands buried in his pockets as thunder echoed across the sky. At twenty-one years old, he had lived an ordinary life—no fame, no fortune, and no one waiting for him at home.
He often wondered...
"If I disappeared today... would anyone notice?"
As he crossed the road, a blinding light rushed toward him.
SCREEECH!
The sound of tires was followed by complete silence.
Everything turned black.
...
When he opened his eyes again, he wasn't in a hospital.
He floated in an endless white void where neither the ground nor the sky existed.
Before him stood twelve colossal beings of light, each radiating enough power to make the stars themselves seem insignificant.
One of them spoke.
> "Mortal... your death was not meant to happen."
Another continued,
> "The threads of fate have been broken."
The young man frowned.
"So... am I dead?"
"Yes."
"Then why am I here?"
The twelve gods looked at one another.
Finally, the tallest among them answered,
> "Because we need your help."
The gods explained that another world was on the verge of destruction. Heroes had failed. Demon Kings had risen and fallen. Even the gods could no longer interfere directly.
They needed someone from another world.
Someone outside destiny.
The young man laughed.
"So... you're asking a dead nobody to save another world?"
"Correct."
"What if I refuse?"
The entire void fell silent.
Then one god smiled.
> "You cannot."
Suddenly, the white void shattered like glass.
Countless glowing chains wrapped around his body.
"What is this?!"
The gods chanted in an ancient language.
A brilliant golden circle appeared beneath him.
Just before he vanished, one of the oldest gods whispered words that none of the others heard.
> "Forgive us... for awakening him."
A pulse of darkness rippled through the void.
The faces of the gods turned pale.
One by one, they stepped back.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
From beyond the broken void...
A voice echoed.
> "The Hidden Sovereign has awakened."
The gods froze.
One whispered in fear,
> "Impossible... that name should no longer exist..."
The light consumed everything.
And the young man disappeared into another world.