The ground was cold yet my skin burned as if I had been facing the sun for days. Even after I opened my eyes, all I could see was darkness, my heart racing in response to the fear of the unknown that already awaited for me.

Where is this place?

As I raised myself, the first thing I did was to touch my chest as a desperate thought popped into my head. I let out a sigh, joy and relief spreading within my body as I felt my hard, flat chest.

Whatever had spoken to me before, it didn't mess up—that should count for something.

I tried to spread my arms, but walls surrounded me in every direction. If they were trying to scare or traumatize me, they quite missed their mark. I wasn't claustrophobic.

[State your name]

I get to choose my name as well?

Well, that opened up some doors.

The purple glow irradiating from the letters gave me a good notion of the space I was in; it was quite small. I could stand without problems, but it was quite constricting. Something was not really fond of me moving in the space, apparently.

[State your name]

The words pulsed, as if crying for my attention. What an impatient little thing.

"Yeah, yeah, working on it."

I couldn’t waste this opportunity—I hated my old name. Whatever that thing was, it was giving me more freedom than I've had in my entire life.

The words were spoken in a soft voice, almost reluctant. As if deep down I was scared of waking up from that dream. A dream where I could be someone new—someone better.

“Park Eun-Woo.”

The name appeared in front of me, a warmth spreading within my chest. Filling me with pride. Joy.

That’s the new me.

My new name.

A white screen appeared on one of the walls. It took almost ten seconds for the screen to change, a static noise echoing in the tiny space before sentences began to pop up.

[You have the chance to start anew. A chance to become someone to shape a new World]
[But for now—]
[Your Destiny shall be molded by you alone]
[To survive and see the new Creation, abide by the rules and win your Trials]
[Remember: Your new life is not guaranteed. From now on, prove you deserve this new life]

I wanted to hit a pause button—have some time to process what I was reading. I forced my mind to focus.

If that was a dream, I would've woken up by that point—I was no stranger to lucid dreams. Yet the more time passed, the more I realized what was happening in front of me was real. Whatever those letters were, there had to be some force or being behind them. Like a system from a video game, an algorithm determining who passed and who failed.

I could remember my previous life—who I was before—but not how I had ended up here. And in that moment, what I wanted to know the most was where ‘here’ was.

[This is an evaluation to test your heart]
[Remember these words: There is no right answer]

Great, because I just adored evasive and interpretative questions.

[Abide by the following rules:]
1. You must make a choice
2. Points will be based on the morality and ethics of your choices
3. You only have 30 seconds to answer each question
4. If by the end of the evaluation you have not reached a minimum amount of points, you lose
5. New rules will be added in later stages

I took a deep breath, my head starting to hurt. I managed to read the rules a couple more times before the letters disappeared, my mind racing as it tried to guess what would come next. So far, I was certain of one thing.

If I wished to protect my life as Park Eun-Woo, I had to choose right.

I had to make the choices that would not only guarantee my future, but my new reality. The meaning of this new Creation, the shape of a new World, I would think about those later; for now, I had to focus on this test.

[New Self Park Eun-Woo, you shall be the sole bearer of the consequences created through your actions. Do you accept the rules?]

A shiver ran down my spine. "Yes."

The screen's glow intensified, a warmth spreading through my skin. Somewhere around my chest, I could feel something binding me, as if I had just signed a contract with my heart and soul.

I heard bells and low whistles as the screen turned dark purple for a few seconds before clearing again, letters appearing alongside a small clock on the top right corner. It was frozen at '00:30'.

[Stage 1#]

When the final texts filled the screen, I began to laugh.

Because it felt like I was on a prank show.

[A train is heading toward two tracks.]
[On the right track you see your sister Hana and your best friend Hyeon]
[On the left track is a family with two small children]
[Will you save the family?]

The moment I finished reading, the countdown started.

'There is no right answer', what a joke.

[28]
[27]
[26]

If I chose to adhere to logic, my choice was obvious. I should save the family. Not only they were four people, but there were children—both Hana and Hyeon were grown adults, and Hyeon was almost thirty.

Yet to follow my heart…it was Hana and Hyeon. The only people in the world who had listened to me when I needed it, the ones who helped me when I was at my lowest point. I could never condemn them.

[23]
[22]
[21]

However, this was nothing but a made-up scenario. A test. It wasn't part of 'reality'.

[19]
[18]
[17]

If they wanted to make things more dramatic—if that system wanted to push me to the edge—it would've shown me the tracks, or perhaps pictures and videos of them. So it was only a hypothetical, ethical question.

One that had a right answer.

"Yes, I will save the family."

The letters faded into the white screen, yet the clock continued the countdown until it hit zero. Soon enough, new letters began to appear, the new scenario almost identical to the previous one. A chuckle escaped my lips.

If this was the structure of the evaluation, I was confident. It was almost too easy.

[Stage 2#]

[A train is heading toward three tracks. On the right track are all of your life savings and possessions]
[On the left track there are five strangers]
[In the middle, there is one old woman]
[Will you sacrifice your possessions to save the old woman's life?]

A smile appeared on my lips—that system was quite the snob one. It didn't even consider the chance of someone taking the left track, as if that option should not even exist. It was all about the old woman and ‘my money’.

"Yes." The clock was not even at twenty-seven seconds when I answered, the text disappearing almost instantly. Once again, I had to wait for the countdown to reach zero to move to the next stage.

Stage 3#, Stage 4#, Stage 6#—although there were some situations quite controversial, as I progressed, most cases were obvious. Yet what kept pulling my attention was the clock, and how long I had to wait to go to the next stage. Sometimes I would have to wait until all the time had run out, and others would clear out before the clock reached 00:20. It was almost too random.

As if I was waiting for someone.

In a way, it made sense. Whatever that situation was, it didn't look like a simple operation. Wouldn't it be unusual if I was the only person transported to this place? I knew myself well enough to be certain; I was not that special.

After high school, I took the CSAT.

I graduated from an average college, in a major I couldn't recall. Then I got a boring office job, in a company I didn't remember the name of.

At some point, Hana left to study abroad. I cannot remember our last day together—maybe there wasn't one. When Hana left… Things stopped being bearable. They stopped being all right.

I stayed for three years in that company until I got fired. After that, I did not search for another job.

I started working as a part-timer in a convenience store, months later. It was bad most days, but I loved it when it rained. The world got quieter, somehow. I could be free and alone with my thoughts on those days.

My very existence was bland and unimportant to the world. So why had I been chosen? Why give me a chance to become Park Eun-Woo? Had someone been listening to my prayers and pleas all those years and finally took pity on me? Or had I been simply too lucky for my own good?

Whatever the reason was, I would not complain.

As Park Eun-Woo, I would live happily. I would become someone who could create a mark in the world, someone who could change things. Perhaps even shape a “new World” for me, like that system suggested.

Then, the new stage began.

[Stage 13#]

As the new phrases appeared, I cursed my own stupidity for forgetting one of the most important rules.

[A new rule has been added]
[The time limit has been reduced to 20 seconds]

The implied rule where "winning and losing" equaled "life and death".

Another screen lit up on my side, showing a panoramic view from above. There was this giant arena filled with small cubicles, side by side. I did not even have to guess what each cubicle meant.

I was not choosing based on what was ethical to me anymore.

I was choosing what was the most acceptable choice, by all those people's standards.