Space Bio

Dear diary,

I don't have much to tell you, but I am in my... well, most probably 51st trial. I have failed many times to leave that horrible place and haven't found a way. I could only go past Raid 17, but I died due to unfavorable circumstances. I could feel my soul ripping, telling me to end this nightmare... but I don't know how to end this.

Lisha

"What are you writing~?" said Hana, looking at Lisha's paper.

She’s funny, sassy, and kind to the people she loves. She has curly, medium-length black hair and a strong sense of justice.

"It's nothing, believe me," Lisha says while ripping the paper into shreds.

"Okay... anyway, I am here to inform you that... Mei has invited us to dine together," Hana announces in a dramatic voice.

"What’s with the dramatic voice?" Lisha sighs. "Okay… I’ll grab my lunch bag. Hold on."

Lisha turns, snatching her bag off the hook. Mei, who appears rough on the outside but is responsible and kind underneath, is five benches away. She shouts loud enough for Lisha to hear.

"What’s with the mood swings? Normally you’d be the one to invite us," Mei says with a rough, worried tone. But the answer is not what she expects.

"Hm."

What’s wrong with her? Hana wonders.

I don’t know, she mouths back to Mei.

"You should all know we have ten minutes left before the bell—wait, why on Earth is he running? Isn't that our P.E. teacher?" says Ivy. She’s beautiful but suppresses her emotions.

They see the P.E. teacher gripping the doorframe, pointing toward the stairs.

"ALL STUDENTS EVACUATE! LEAVE YOUR BELONGINGS! WE DON’T HAVE MUCH TIME!"

Some students try to understand what’s going on, but the atmosphere is too intense.

They reach the road just outside the school, which is filled with people. Fear grows in them as they look up. A massive, circle-shaped landmass floats in the sky. Some cry into phones, believing it's the last time they’ll speak to loved ones. The students just want to see their parents.

The incident spreads across the globe. Many wonder: is this the end of the world?

Police across Chennai evacuate half the city. By nightfall, the rest of the people—and animals—are also gone. Some sleep, others try to stay awake, but all fall unconscious eventually. By midnight, people start fainting. Students try waking them but get no response.

Lisha isn’t fazed. She simply stares up at the circle above.

Screams erupt as people look down and see their own bodies lying on the ground—though they’re clearly standing.

Mei, Hana, Ivy, and a few others notice Lisha’s calmness.

"Take this seriously!" Mei snaps.

Jina, a bright student, steps forward. "Calm down. We’ll figure this out."

She notices her twin sister Nina—brilliant and quiet—examining her body.

"It’s still breathing. Pulse and heartbeat are normal," Nina says.

"Why are we like this? The soul’s left the body. It’s like... something’s controlling it," says Arjun. He’s sharp, and half the girls have a crush on him.

"This doesn’t make sense... unless we’re in an anime or something. Sora, are we in a fantasy book? Or—"

"Geez, Rosette," Sora interrupts with an irritated tone. "Stop it with your delulu thoughts. At this rate, we might as well be isekai’d into Demon Slayer."

Suddenly, the ground shakes. A void opens beneath each person.

They fall, screaming and calling each other’s names. Some manage to grab hands mid-fall. They hit the bottom—it’s pitch black.

"It’s too damn DARK in here. Some lights would be nice."

A light appears in the center.

"Oh—I... since when did I have magic?"

As they gather, Lia appears. But Lisha and a few others are missing.

"The last I heard her, she fell over there!" says Ava, a confident Gen Alpha extrovert, pointing.

"Maybe we wait. A few still aren’t here," she suggests. The group agrees. Some fall asleep while others call out names.

Time passes. A dark figure approaches.

"Good thing you guys didn’t move! We kept running toward you but you just kept going!" says Nina.

"Ah, it’s our fault," Jina adds. "Now that we’re all gathered... you can sleep." She herself falls asleep.

Lisha, the only one awake, ponders their next move.

"To my right is our world. To the left is the world we’re heading to."

She walks east. The space around her lights up—revealing two solar systems.

"We have twenty hours left. That’s plenty."

She smirks and lies down to sleep. A system screen appears:

[20 hours left before trials begin.]

The players awaken. Murmurs fill the air. They look up at the solar system and a blue plane in the north.

"Arjun! ARJUN! Get up, you have to see this!" shouts Varun.

"Can’t you see I’m sleeping? What’s with the fuss an—where ARE we?" Arjun bolts upright.

"Crazy, right? Where even are we?" Varun echoes.

"Mei, shouldn’t we feel cold by now?" Sora asks, touching her skin.

"Feels like a barrier’s keeping us alive," Nina replies, spreading her hands.

"Nina, how did you sleep?"

"Good."

"That’s it?" Sora is cut off as the panel speaks:

[2 hours left. Here are your blessings. Use this time to understand how it works. Say 'Status' to view your blessings.]

It reverts to a clock.

Shocked, they each try it.

"What do you think’s happening, Rosette?" asks Claire.

"A trial. Or maybe a practice zone. Normally we’d be dropped into a forest or something. I’ve never seen this in anime—maybe we meet a god or end up in our favorite manhwa or whatever," says Sora.

They start exploring, but one notices a second crowd approaching. They get tense—some hide, others freeze.

"What?! This didn’t happen before... then again, I never trust my past regressions. Everything keeps changing," Lisha thinks.

As the other group gets closer, it becomes clear: they’re trapped here too. And they’re following the same command.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***