Am I seeing multiverse!? Chapter 01: Darkness

Silence enveloped like the eye of the abyss.

However, it disintegrated into nothingness like a final spark…

[Cough...]

...

...

[Cough...]

A hoarse voice echoed through the void.

"Hmm...?"

"Wh...er...e?"

Where am I...?

...Still, darkness.

Who is coughing?

...No answers.

And...

Why is this place so damn dark?

It's a struggle to even open my eyes.

After exerting considerable effort, I finally managed to open my eyes, though everything remained a blur.

It might take a few moments for my eyes to adapt to the light here, even though there is no light.

Feeling frustrated, I sighed.

As my eyes adapted to the surroundings, I desperately searched for any semblance of existence, even if it was just a blade of grass. Yet, reality contradicted my hopes.

The entire place was nothing—yes, you heard me right—nothing but darkness.

Even deserts have dusty air compared to this place. However, this place is empty, literally.

That's what I thought.

In this world filled with darkness, barely perceptible to my eyes, a blurred silhouette of an entity emerged at the end of the abyss.

Upon closer inspection, a faint trace of breath and occasional coughs emanated from the silhouette.

Who the hell is that!?

Have I stumbled into some murder scenario?

The last thing I remember is...

Mmh...

Yeah... I was dying...

Yup, that's the case.

And the reason is... huh!?

Ahhh, my head... my head hurts!

Huuuu...

I can recall a few details.

My name... It's Gab... Gabriel.

GABRIEL... Phew, at least I know my name.

Oh right, the world war 3 began...

!!?

I'm not kidding; it's the long-anticipated World War 3!

The war didn't start due to some measly political struggles. It was...

It might sound hilarious, but it's the truth.

Everyone received a sudden notification in their heads.

The content was something like, "Earth is entering the evolution process."

["Hiberantum, aka Antarctica, and Arcenum, aka the Arctic, will be the temporary sanctuary for all living beings on the planet. Serial no: g4i4."

Time until hibernation commences: 5840.01 hours.]

The message was unclear, but governments worldwide appointed researchers and scholars to analyze its meaning.

After numerous trials and errors, a researcher anonymously leaked a shocking revelation on social media, causing thousands to commit suicide.

Yeah, suicide...

[Cough...] These are what you call lunatics.

I don't want to waste my brain cells on them.

The information that caused such commotion was this:

"The world we live in has a consciousness of its own. The eradication of dinosaurs was not an accident; it was an incident created by the world itself. Earth enters this protocol after certain conditions are met. Now, it's time for another catastrophe."

This is all the information the media recovered.

Some religious fanatics started to spread their faith, naming this rumored catastrophe as the end of time, judgment day, Armageddon, the day of the lord, etc.

This was also one of the reasons for the massive suicides.

Phew...

Let's not dwell on them.

After receiving the green signal from their respective countries, governments worldwide launched their warheads into the sky as an intimidation tactic.

Weak countries allied with the strong ones in their regions, and the balance of world power shifted until there were only 7 countries:

Ursus - North part of Eurasia

Alliance of Sea - Alliance of India, China, Japan, and South Korea

Union of Mediterranean

U.S. of Guardians - North America, including Canada

U.S. of Light - South America

Sanctuaries - Antarctica and the Arctic

Abyss - A region made up of all the lawless criminals and organizations

Now, each of those countries is waging wars to demonstrate their might and occupy a majority of the sanctuaries.

That's how it all started, I think?

Now, back to the current situation.

Hmm?

Whenever I try to remember, I get a splitting headache!

And who the hell is this guy!?

As my mind struggled to piece together the fragments of memory, a surge of pain pulsed through my head. Faces and places flickered like a broken hologram. I grasped at the elusive memories, trying to anchor myself in the sea of confusion.

The darkness seemed to intensify, swallowing every thought, every recollection. It wasn't just an absence of light; it was a void, a vacuum that threatened to consume even the echoes of my past.

Yet, amid the chaos, one memory lingered—my name, Gabriel. A reassuring anchor in the storm of forgetfulness.

Oh right, the world war...

The revelation hit me with a sharp pang. World War 3—the cataclysm that brought nations to their knees. The war wasn't born from political discord; it was a response to an enigmatic message etched in the collective consciousness.

Earth, entering an evolution process, sought refuge in the icy embrace of Antarctica and the Arctic. A countdown ticking toward hibernation, leaving the world in a state of anticipation, fear, and ultimately, despair.

Theories and conspiracies circulated like wildfire, pushing some to the brink of suicide. The idea that the world itself had a consciousness, orchestrating catastrophes for its own evolution, sounded like a dystopian nightmare.

My attempts to recall the details were met with resistance, as if my mind veiled the truth to shield me from unbearable knowledge.

And now, in this desolate darkness, a blurred silhouette loomed—a spectral figure with labored breaths and intermittent coughs. A mystery within a mystery.

As my consciousness grappled with fragments of the past, questions echoed in the void. Who am I in this fractured world? What role do I play in the grand narrative unfolding in the shadows?

The headache persisted, but so did my determination to unravel the enigma surrounding me. With each heartbeat, a faint whisper of purpose urged me forward, propelling me into the abyss of the unknown.