I''m back here again…my old bedroom.


    The sight felt oddly distant, like I was peering into a memory that didn’t belong to me anymore.


    It was strange—I could barely remember what I used to look like. Thank God I had a mirror in my closet.


    I walked over, hesitant, and pulled open the door.


    The reflection staring back at me felt foreign.


    “This stupid punk haircut… the ridiculous amount of piercings… damn, what was wrong with me back then?” I muttered under my breath.


    The longer I looked, the more unsettling it felt.


    Why was I here?


    The last thing I remembered was falling asleep in my new bedroom. Or… did that even happen?


    Had I imagined it?


    Was this some kind of afterlife? A hallucination?


    And if it was… then was that world even real?


    “It is real, Nero.”


    I turned sharply.


    Sitting on my bed was me—a younger version, flipping through an old poetry book.


    He didn’t look up as he recited, “Joy and woe are woven fine, / A clothing for the soul divine.” He ran his fingers along the pages.


    “We used to be such a bookworm back then. Shame we threw it all away.” He shut the book and finally met my gaze.


    I took a slow step forward, fists clenched, “Explain, what''s going?.”


    He tilted his head, smirking, “Explain what exactly.”


    Frustration burned in my chest, “I could never rely on myself for a straight answer. If that world is doomed, why send me there? Why not someone else? Why wasn’t I told in advance? ANSWER ME”


    He chuckled, tossing the book aside, “Because you’re the one who can change it.”


    A cold weight settled in my chest, “Why me?”


    “You’re an Anomaly, Nero.” His smirk widened. “Not just you—every human from Earth. You weren’t meant to be born. You were forced into existence. Earthlings aren’t tied to the Book of Fate. Instead, we rewrite it with our choices.”


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    I was completely stun after hearing what he said.


    "Not meant to be?"


    My mind spun with the implications.


    If I was never supposed to exist, then… what did that mean for Mom and Dad? Would they have had another child instead? Would Zero have grown up alone? Would Jade have—


    I swallowed hard.


    What would have happened without me?


    “The seal between the two worlds has been broken,” my younger self continued. “Meaning the Veils and their ruler, Dante are coming. They are monsters formed from human fears, given life. If they aren’t stopped, this world will become just like theirs.”


    I forced my thoughts back on track, “So what? That means I can stop Dante? Stop the Veils from destroying everything?”


    His smirk faded, “Maybe.”


    “Maybe?!” I took a step closer, anger rising in my voice.


    “You’re telling me I was born a complete anomaly, given a second chance in this world, just for a maybe?”


    For the first time, his expression turned… sad.


    “You still don’t get it, do you?” He stood, taking slow steps toward me.


    “You’re not some hero chosen by fate. You weren’t meant to save the world. That’s why you’re an anomaly—you weren’t supposed to be there at all. Your actions only change what happens. If you’re reckless, if you throw your life away—there’s no saving you.”


    My breath hitched.


    As I opened my mouth to argue, he raised a hand stopping whatever I was able to say.


    “Stay with Nicole and Jade for seven years,” he said.


    “Train yourself before heading to Nevercity. A method of defeating the Veils will be introduced, and it might make things easier for you.”


    My hands clenched, “Who the hell are you?”


    His gaze softened, “Your promise.”


    The world around us flickered. The walls cracked like shattered glass, the floor beneath me shifting as if reality itself was breaking apart.


    I stumbled back, but my younger self stood firm, unaffected.


    “You can doubt yourself all you want, Nero,” he said, his voice begun to echo.


    “You can question if that world is real, if you’re real—but that won’t change anything.”


    The walls shattered.


    The darkness returned.


    And as the void swallowed me whole, I heard his voice one last time.


    “This world needs saving.”


    ---


    I jolted upright, gasping for air.


    Sweat clung to my skin, my heart hammering against my ribs. The darkness of my room pressed around me, but it wasn’t the void from before.


    It was real.


    I was here.


    I ran a shaky hand through my hair, trying to steady my breathing. My old room… the dream… my younger self. It all felt too real.


    “This world needs saving.”


    The words refused to fade.


    I wasn’t supposed to be in this world. I wasn’t meant to exist here. And yet, for some reason, I had been given this life.


    A life that could change everything.


    I swallowed hard, forcing my breath to slow.


    There was no point in questioning it anymore.


    Whether I was supposed to be here or not—whether I was an anomaly—it didn’t change the fact that the world was in danger.


    And I couldn’t ignore that.


    I threw off the covers and slid out of bed, my legs unsteady.


    I havs seven years.


    Seven years to train, to prepare. Seven years before heading to Nevercity.


    I needed strength.


    I needed knowledge.


    I needed power.


    If I could get my summoning book back, I could start learning magic. Mom might be able to retrieve it with that teleportation spell she used. That was my first step.


    I don''t really care what fate has in store.


    When the time came, I would take whatever method existed to defeat the Veils.


    And then—


    I’d send those bastards right back to where they came from.