THE WORLD OF UNKNOWN chapter 1: The Door Behind Me
Author’s Note:
This chapter has been revised to improve pacing, clarity, character development, and the overall reading experience.
The main story, characters, relationships, and important events remain consistent.
Some names and details may be adjusted for consistency.
The city never seemed to sleep.
Cars moved beneath the streetlights.
Voices drifted from restaurants and crowded sidewalks.
Music played somewhere in the distance, mixing with the constant noise of the streets.
Normally, Evan Vale would have found the sound comforting.
Tonight, it only made him feel tired.
He stood on the rooftop of an unfinished building, his hands resting against the cold railing as he stared across the city.
Lights stretched as far as he could see.
Thousands of people were living their lives down there.
Yet Evan felt completely disconnected from all of them.
For months, things had been getting worse.
School had become exhausting.
His grades had fallen, and every mistake seemed to attract another criticism.
Friends he once talked to every day had slowly drifted away.
Even home no longer felt like somewhere he could relax.
Whenever someone asked if he was okay, Evan gave the same answer.
“I’m fine.”
He had said it so many times that the words barely meant anything anymore.
Evan exhaled slowly.
“I just… need a break.”
The wind carried his words away.
He closed his eyes for a moment.
He didn’t know what he wanted anymore.
He only knew that he wanted things to change.
Then—
CRACK.
Evan opened his eyes.
A strange sound had come from behind him.
He turned.
Nothing.
The rooftop was empty.
“What was that?”
He took a few steps toward the center of the rooftop.
Then he saw it.
A tiny blue light hovered in the darkness.
Evan stopped.
The light wasn’t coming from a lamp.
It wasn’t a phone.
It was simply floating there.
And it was growing brighter.
“What…?”
The light suddenly expanded.
WHOOM!
Blue energy spread across the rooftop.
Evan shielded his eyes as the air around him became strangely cold.
The light gathered into a single shape.
A frame appeared first.
Then two enormous pillars.
Finally, a glowing surface formed between them.
Evan slowly lowered his arm.
A door stood in front of him.
It hadn’t been there seconds ago.
The door was nearly three meters tall.
Its frame looked like black stone, covered with unfamiliar blue symbols.
The center resembled glass.
But there was no reflection.
Instead, Evan could see something on the other side.
A forest.
He stepped closer.
“What is this?”
The symbols on the frame suddenly brightened.
Evan stopped.
Beyond the door was a world that shouldn’t have existed.
Massive trees covered the landscape.
Strange blue lights floated between their branches.
Rocks drifted silently through the air.
And above the forest stretched a vast, dark sky filled with countless stars.
Two moons hung above the horizon.
Evan stared.
“There’s no way…”
Something enormous moved far beyond the trees.
Evan couldn’t make out its shape.
He instinctively stepped backward.
This wasn’t a dream.
He looked over his shoulder.
The city was still there.
His world.
Then he looked through the door again.
Another world.
For the first time in months, something other than exhaustion filled his mind.
Curiosity.
He wanted to know what was on the other side.
Evan reached toward the handle.
Then stopped.
“What if I can’t come back?”
He looked at the city one last time.
He still had problems waiting for him.
Nothing would magically disappear just because he walked through a strange door.
But maybe he didn’t need all the answers tonight.
Maybe he simply needed to move forward.
Evan took a breath.
“Just for a little while.”
He opened the door.
A powerful wind exploded from the other side.
WHOOOOSH!
Evan stumbled forward.
Blue light swallowed the rooftop.
For one impossible second, his body felt weightless.
Then—
THUD!
He landed on soft grass.
“Ow…”
Evan slowly pushed himself upright.
Silence surrounded him.
He looked around.
His breath caught.
The forest was even more incredible up close.
The enormous trees had glowing patterns running across their trunks.
Small stones floated several meters above the ground.
Nearby, a river flowed beneath the moonlight.
Something moved beneath its surface.
Evan stared at it.
“What is that?”
A strange creature suddenly flew overhead.
It looked almost like a bird— except it had four wings.
Evan jumped.
“What the heck?!”
The creature disappeared between the trees.
Evan slowly stood.
Then he remembered the door.
He turned around.
It was still there.
Relief washed over him.
“Okay. Good.”
He hurried toward it.
But before he could touch the handle—
FWOOSH!
The door vanished.
Evan froze.
“No.”
He stared at the empty space.
He reached forward.
Nothing.
He stepped around, searching for some sign that it had moved.
There was nothing.
The door was simply gone.
Evan’s heart began pounding.
“Come on…”
He looked around the forest.
“Open again.”
Nothing happened.
For several seconds, he stood completely still.
Then he slowly exhaled.
“Great.”
He was trapped.
Evan sat beneath a nearby tree and looked toward the river.
A small creature floated above the water.
It looked like a butterfly made from blue light.
Evan watched it cautiously.
Despite everything, he couldn’t help smiling.
“At least something here is friendly.”
The creature flew toward him.
Evan raised his hand.
It landed gently on his finger.
Warmth spread through his palm.
Then—
A voice echoed inside his mind.
“Foreign soul detected.”
Evan immediately pulled his hand away.
“What?!”
The creature disappeared.
A transparent blue screen appeared in front of him.
Evan stared.
WORLD SYSTEM
Welcome, Unknown Traveler.
Name: Evan Vale
Age: 18
Origin: Earth
Status: Outsider
Class: None
Level: 1
Special Trait Detected: UNKNOWN
Evan blinked.
“Is this some kind of game?”
The screen changed.
WARNING
This world is not Earth.
Available information is limited.
Survival probability: Unknown.
Evan stared at the final line.
“Survival probability?”
The screen disappeared.
The forest suddenly felt different.
Too quiet.
Evan slowly stood.
Something was watching him.
He could feel it.
A branch snapped somewhere behind him.
CRACK.
Evan turned.
Nothing.
Another branch broke.
CRACK.
He backed away.
Then two yellow eyes appeared between the trees.
Evan froze.
A massive wolf-like creature stepped into the moonlight.
Its dark-gray fur was covered with strange black markings.
Its claws dug into the earth.
Evan swallowed.
“That’s definitely not a dog.”
The creature growled.
Evan ran.
“AAAAH!”
Branches struck his arms as he sprinted through the forest.
Behind him, the creature followed.
Evan had no idea where he was going.
He only knew he couldn’t stop.
“I JUST GOT HERE!”
The creature suddenly leapt.
Evan threw himself to the side.
The beast landed heavily behind him.
Evan scrambled backward and grabbed a fallen branch.
He held it with both hands.
It was barely a weapon.
“Stay back!”
The creature growled.
Evan’s hands trembled.
He couldn’t fight something like this.
The wolf charged.
Then something changed.
A faint blue light appeared around Evan’s body.
The branch in his hands began glowing.
Evan stared at it.
“What…?”
The creature was almost upon him.
Evan instinctively raised the branch.
BOOM!
A burst of energy exploded outward.
The creature was thrown backward and crashed into the ground.
Evan stared at his hands.
“I did that?”
The creature slowly rose.
Evan’s confidence vanished.
“Oh, come on.”
It charged again.
Evan raised the branch.
But before the creature could reach him—
SHING!
A flash of silver cut through the darkness.
The wolf stopped.
Then it turned and fled into the forest.
Evan remained frozen.
Someone stood on a large rock nearby.
A figure wearing a dark cloak.
A long silver weapon rested in their hand.
Evan stared at the stranger.
“Who are you?”
The stranger didn’t answer immediately.
Their eyes moved from Evan to the glowing branch.
Then to Evan’s hand.
The stranger’s expression changed.
“You’re not from this world.”
Evan looked down.
A faint blue symbol had appeared on his palm.
“How did you know?”
The stranger stepped down from the rock.
“People from this world don’t carry the mark of Earth.”
Evan looked at the symbol.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know.”
Evan frowned.
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
The stranger looked toward the distant mountains.
“But I’ve seen that symbol before.”
Evan’s attention sharpened.
“Where?”
The stranger was silent for a moment.
“In stories.”
“What kind of stories?”
“Stories about travelers.”
Evan stared at them.
“Travelers?”
“People who appeared from another world.”
Evan’s voice became quieter.
“So I’m not the first?”
The stranger didn’t answer.
Evan looked toward the dark sky.
Two moons illuminated the forest.
“Then what happened to the others?”
The stranger’s expression became unreadable.
“That’s a question you shouldn’t ask until you’re ready for the answer.”
Evan frowned.
That wasn’t an answer.
But somehow, it frightened him more than one would have.
He looked around.
A strange world.
A disappearing door.
A mysterious system.
A strange mark on his hand.
And now someone was telling him that others from Earth had come here before.
Evan looked at the stranger.
“Can you help me?”
“Perhaps.”
“Can you take me home?”
The stranger shook their head.
“No.”
Evan’s expression fell.
“But I can take you somewhere safe.”
Evan looked back at the forest.
He didn’t know what awaited him.
He didn’t know how to return home.
But standing here wasn’t going to solve anything.
He tightened his grip around the branch.
“Okay.”
The stranger raised an eyebrow.
“Okay?”
Evan nodded.
“I’ll go with you.”
The stranger turned toward the forest.
“Then follow me.”
Evan followed.
Neither of them noticed the enormous shadow watching from the distant mountain.
Two golden eyes opened beneath the star-filled sky.
A deep voice echoed through the valley.
“So…”
The voice seemed almost amused.
“The Unknown Traveler has finally arrived.”
Far away—
BOOOOOOM!
Lightning struck the mountain.
Evan stopped walking.
“What was that?”
The stranger turned toward the mountain.
For the first time, their calm expression disappeared.
“That…”
They stared into the darkness.
“…is something you don’t want to meet.”
Evan swallowed.
“How bad is it?”
The stranger looked at him.
“Bad enough that entire kingdoms fear it.”
Evan sighed.
“Fantastic.”
He continued walking.
Behind him, the forest slowly swallowed the path.
Ahead waited a world he knew nothing about.
But somewhere beyond those mountains, something ancient had awakened.
Something had been waiting.
And somehow… it knew Evan’s name.
His arrival was not an accident.
It was the beginning of something far larger than Evan could imagine.
The beginning of the World of Unknown.
Volume 1 has been revised to improve pacing, clarity, character introductions, and story continuity.
The core story, major events, characters, and mysteries remain unchanged.
Some names and details have been updated for consistency.
Thank you for reading The World of Unknown..