Chapter 1: [The Fall]

My name is Park Ailiseu, and I live in Seoul, South Korea. I had a normal life with a loving family who always supported me. My parents, despite being of average wealth, provided me with everything I needed and gave me plenty of time and attention. I couldn't ask for anything more and felt incredibly happy having them in my life.

During my early years in school, I always achieved first place in both kindergarten and elementary school. I believed that my parents would be proud of my academic achievements. However, everything changed when a virus spread, causing a pandemic that led to two years of quarantine and online classes. Despite the challenges, I managed to maintain good grades, above average, and I was satisfied with my performance.

After the pandemic, when we returned to school, I enrolled in a scholarship program. It was there that I realized I was far behind my peers. My teacher scolded and embarrassed me in front of everyone, even though she knew I couldn't answer her questions. While I understood that this was a normal occurrence, it left a psychological impact on me. I became traumatized and would cry at the slightest hint of disappointment, especially from my parents.

My parents reassured me that they didn't expect anything from me except for my happiness. However, this only made me sadder because I saw them as perfect and felt unworthy of their love. I developed an inferiority complex and, at one point, even contemplated taking my own life, believing that I was a burden to them. Thankfully, I was too afraid to go through with it, as I couldn't bear the thought of not seeing my parents anymore. I sought help from a psychiatrist and, after a year, finally began to recover.

Just as my parents and I were about to go to the doctor together, we were in a car when suddenly, everything stopped. A crack-like rift appeared in the sky, and terrifying entities with distorted forms emerged, throwing everything into chaos. In that moment, my mind went blank, and I could only hear the sound of my heart pounding before everything went dark.

When I regained consciousness, I found myself in an enormous room, or what could barely be called a room. The surroundings were pitch black, and everyone, including people of high authority like the president, was gathered there. The most terrifying part was that my entire family was with me, as were the families of everyone else.

Then, a fairy-like entity with a human form appeared from the black ceiling. Although it had a familiar appearance, resembling the ones I had created in my novel, I knew it was something more. It was a Dokkaebi. My heart raced, and my lips trembled as I recognized the entity.

"Greetings, dear Earthlings," it spoke with elegance and majesty. "I am the host for this world, named 0-22289, and I am from the system called Starlette."

The entity continued, explaining that the Starlette system was responsible for everything that had happened to our world. It spoke with a wide grin, and none of us dared to challenge it. The president of the United States asked why the Starlette system had done this, but the entity simply replied that it couldn't answer that question. The only thing it revealed was that all of us were going to die.

The entity's sadistic laughter sent shivers down everyone's spines. We were all stunned and horrified by the revelation. I felt my chest tighten, and the air around me became suffocating. My parents, my family—I couldn't bear the thought of losing them.

"But! Fortunately, you can still be saved!" The Dokkaebi suddenly added, shocking everyone and causing them to pause their thoughts. The Dokkaebi smiled and said, "As you can see, families are gathered together, so in each family that has grandparents, children, or sons-in-law, one person needs to participate in the games. Only when that participant dies does another member of the family need to join in to replace the deceased one. It's simple, right?" The Dokkaebi said playfully and gently, but its words were cruel.

"This is absurd!" Everyone thought in their hearts, but the Dokkaebi did not give them time to think. It clapped its hands and said, "Alright, I'll give everyone 1 minute to think about it, starting now."

"What? Wait!" Everybody wanted to plead, but the Dokkaebi did not listen to any of them. It simply hummed a song while floating in the air. Suddenly, a large blue holographic screen appeared behind the Dokkaebi, showing 57 seconds left on the clock.

[00:00:00:57]

Everyone started to panic and began discussing with their families on who should participate. My family did the same, and I blankly looked at the time, the screen reflecting on my black irises. I don't know why, but I could only hear my heartbeat again. My mind went blank, and the only thing that came to my mind was a single sentence.

"I can't let them die."

The moment the timer went off, the Dokkaebi flicked its finger and said, "Time's up! Now, one person from each family shall say their full name, and you officially enter the game!"

"I'll give three seconds for each family, starting now. 3, 2-"

"Kevin Hart!"

"Yamato Nakamura!"

Everyone who would participate for their family started speaking out their names, and just as my father, who was about to be the presenter for my family, was about to speak, I suddenly spoke out loud, "Park Ailiseu!"

"Ailiseu!" My family called out my name in astonishment and fear. My mother couldn't help tearing up immediately, and she grabbed my shoulders, asking why I did such a thing. Her face became distorted and flushed from crying. My father couldn't help but curse out loud and tried to speak with the Dokkaebi. The rest could only stare at me with red eyes as my nephews called out my name faintly.

The Dokkaebi hummed as if it found something interesting and said to my father, "Unfortunately, she already said her name before any of you. That automatically makes her the representative of your family."

"No! Ailiseu!" My parents called out my name, and my grandmother fell but was caught by my cousins.

"Alright, everyone, the time is up. Don't worry to those who are left. You won't starve and don't have to worry about death unless your representative dies. You can even watch them play the games and can also hear their thoughts," the Dokkaebi explained before narrowing its eyes and saying, "Although, it seems that there are still some who did not follow the rules and didn't give any representative."

Gasps could be heard, as well as curses, but the Dokkaebi shrugged it off and said, "Never mind, I can kill them and their entire family anyway." With a flick of its finger, suddenly, one by one, people started to have blood pouring out from their eyes and mouths before falling to the ground. Children, babies, elders, women—anyone who did not give a representative to participate in the so-called game died.

It was a horrifying scene, and screams could be heard everywhere. My eyes trembled, and I felt like vomiting. My heart pounded violently from fear. 'That could happen to my family... that could happen to me.'

"Urghk." I covered my mouth, trying to hold myself back from puking. My nephews and nieces cried from fear. My mother shed even more tears, holding onto me tightly that it hurt, but I did not push her away.

This was what it felt like to be helpless and powerless. I wondered, is this what they called 'despair' in the novels?

After a while, the Dokkaebi clapped its hands and said, "Well then, let's move on." Suddenly, people started disappearing into pixels, and my hands also turned into pixels.

"No! Ailiseu! No!" My family cried out, and I could only look at them sadly before I forced a smile and said with tears in my eyes, "Don't worry, I'll come back alive, I promise..." before disappearing.

The moment I disappeared, my mother cried out loudly, and my father punched the floor until his hand bled. Everyone left was crying.

The Dokkaebi sighed and said, "You can still watch them, so don't worry."

Another mother sniffed and asked, "What is the game they are playing exactly?"

The Dokkaebi widened its eyes as if realizing something and said, "Oh! Haven't I told you guys about it?"

"Well, the game they'll be playing is-" With a wicked and sadistic grin, it said, "Death games."

--

As I opened my eyes, I found myself and the others in an open field in a forest with large, thick trees. All of us were puzzled until another Dokkaebi appeared, this time wearing a butler suit. It said, "Greetings and welcome to the first game you'll be playing!"

This time, someone was bold enough to ask, "What game?"

The Dokkaebi grinned and motioned beside him, saying, "Here, let me show you."

Then, a familiar holographic blue screen appeared, showing details and information about the game we'll be playing.

[Game: ]

[Difficulty: F]

[Task: Reach the safety zone before the time runs out]

[Time Limit: 5 minutes]

[Reward: 1 year lifespan]

[Penalty: Death]

Reading this, people couldn't help but mutter, "This is insane."

"Death? W-We'll die?"

My eyes were shaking, and my heart was beating. At that moment, I knew that there was no turning back. But I did not regret my decision because I would rather let myself die than my family.

With that, I gritted my teeth as the Dokkaebi laughed and said, "Well then," making way for a wide path to be revealed. It said, "Only when you reach the safety zone can you be safe, but that is only if you reach it before the time limit."

"Anyway, you'll know that it is the safe zone once you get there," it said, which made everyone furious and dumbfounded at the same time. The Dokkaebi grinned and said, "Well then, dear players..."

"Shall we start the game?" Without waiting for our response, the Dokkaebi said, "3, 2, 1, let the game begin!"