Eine Andere Welt (Another World)

The operating room was bustling. Doctors were working hard to stop the severe bleeding on the back of Rei, a 13-year-old boy. He was one of the few victims still being saved after his parents died on the spot in a major accident last night. A massive pile-up occurred at a notorious curve on Sudirman Street, Surabaya, known for frequent accidents. A truck's brakes failed, causing it to speed uncontrollably and crash into numerous passing vehicles. Thirteen people died instantly, and five others were injured, including Rei, who was now in the ICU of Saint Laurent Hospital.

Aunt Laura, the younger sister of Rei's late mother, was sobbing uncontrollably. She couldn't believe her sister and brother-in-law had both passed away on the same day in such a tragic accident. To make things worse, her nephew, Reinhard Curt, a 13-year-old mixed Indonesian-German boy, was undergoing surgery in the ICU due to fractured scapula and ribs.

James, Aunt Laura's husband, hugged her tightly. He had been busy dealing with the police, hospital staff, and funeral arrangements. The couple had to endure a heavy day, grappling with the immense grief of their loss.

"We will adopt him," Aunt Laura said to her husband.

"Yes, darling. William and Anastasia were such good people; we must take care of Rei as our own," James agreed.

"But James, such a young child…!" Aunt Laura trailed off, unable to finish her sentence, overwhelmed by the thought of Rei becoming an orphan at such a young age.

"You have to be strong, Laura. The bodies will arrive this evening, and we need to stay composed for the funeral," James reminded her solemnly.

Aunt Laura continued to weep, blaming the cruel fate that had befallen them. James, also deeply saddened, held back his tears, trying to stay strong to support his wife during this difficult time. The surgery was finally over. The doctor exited the room and called for the family.

The doctor informed them that the surgery was a success and that Rei would likely wake up from his coma soon. As for his broken bones, there was a good chance they would heal completely since Rei was still young. Three days after the surgery, Rei began to regain consciousness. However, upon waking, the boy screamed hysterically as if possessed. The doctors immediately administered a sedative, and Rei fell back into a deep sleep. They checked his nerves and brain functions, finding no abnormalities.

That afternoon, as the sedative wore off, Rei opened his eyes groggily. He spotted strange creatures similar to those he had seen on his blanket earlier. Covering his mouth to keep quiet, he decided not to alert the doctors for fear of being injected again. Slowly, he pushed the blanket to the floor, unwilling to let the strange creatures crawl on him.

"Ridiculous!" he thought.

When Rei looked again, the strange creatures were gone. Perplexed, he kept watching the blanket now lying on the floor. A passing nurse noticed the fallen blanket and picked it up for him.

"You're awake, dear?" she asked kindly. "Does your head hurt?"

Rei shook his head because, truthfully, his head felt fine—only the area below his shoulder still throbbed in pain.

"Rest well, okay!" the nurse said, tucking the blanket over Rei, the same one he had deliberately thrown to the floor.

Rei examined the blanket again. It looked normal, with a clean blue color and fine threads. But as he concentrated on the fabric, the tiny pores and threads became clearer, revealing spider-like creatures in vibrant colors crawling around. Rei quickly shut his eyes, terrified, but curiosity compelled him to open them again. The blanket appeared normal once more. He squinted and focused intently, and once again, the strange creatures became visible.

"Wow!" he thought in amazement.

The boy, newly awakened from a coma, realized he now possessed vision akin to an electron microscope. Though frightened, his curiosity outweighed his fear. Rei examined his palm, hoping to spot bacteria or germs, but instead, he saw spider-like creatures in colors different from those on the blanket.

"Alright, I'll call you Alpha," Rei declared, pointing at his palm.

Lying down, Rei observed the Alphas on his pillow, sheets, and nearly every object around him. The creatures were everywhere, and each color displayed different behavior. Some appeared to destroy objects, while others worked busily to repair them.

Rei tried lying on his back despite the pain, as he was tired of staying on his side. Gazing at the hospital room ceiling, he squinted, hoping to see Alphas there too. However, the ceiling was too far to reveal anything. Then, at the corner of the room, he spotted something larger than the Alphas. It resembled a blob of silver jelly hanging from the ceiling, moving as though it were playing.

The jelly-like creature seemed unstable, and sure enough, it soon fell onto a patient's body. The heart monitor immediately showed erratic readings, prompting nurses and doctors to rush in and perform CPR using a defibrillator. Rei watched in shock, convinced the jelly creature was the culprit. The jelly-like blob leaped away, passing through everyone in its path, and exited the room. The patient's heart condition gradually stabilized, and the crisis passed.

After witnessing this, Rei understood he needed to avoid the strange, colorful jelly creatures if he wanted to recover quickly.

(At Aunt Laura's House on Seruni Street)

Rei's rapid recovery allowed him to be discharged. The doctors marveled at the miraculous healing of his scapula, unaware that Rei had been expelling the harmful black Alphas from his body and favoring the white Alphas for healing. Through his enhanced vision, Rei discerned that the black Alphas destroyed human tissue, while the white ones repaired it. His logic was simple: increase the number of white Alphas to heal faster. A practical solution for a 13-year-old with extraordinary sight.

At Aunt Laura's house, Rei noticed similar jelly-like creatures roaming around. However, when the house was clean, the jelly creatures were less frequent. He even spotted a yellow jelly clinging to Aunt Laura's head, which he suspected was the cause of her frequent headaches. But when Rei mentioned the jelly on her head, Aunt Laura dismissed him as hallucinating, leading to another round of brain scans and tests.

From that moment on, Rei became more withdrawn. He appeared as a quiet, brooding child, preferring to observe objects and smile to himself occasionally. Uncle James hired a psychiatrist to evaluate Rei, but the boy remained tight-lipped, refusing to open up. Rei knew that if he spoke about what he saw, his uncle might send him straight to a mental institution.