1 Ch 1 – Kaleido Mora

It was another peaceful day like no other. The soft chirping of birds faintly entered a sleeping boy's ears as they twitched in response. Their drooling saliva was cut off and fell to the floor as their mouth moved. Rays of sunlight penetrated through the white curtains of the room and hit the boy's eyes which caused his nice sleep to be disrupted.

Unable to endure the distractions any longer, the sleeping boy yawned softly. His belly inflated, they stretched their body as bones popped and cracked, and a soothing feeling of warmness greeted him. Tears lightly swelled around the corners of their eyes which they rubbed in response, all the while they continue to move around their bed and swish the blankets around.

Finally, the boy opened their eyes and a pair of black pupils greeted the white ceiling above. Moving his hand to his messy black hair, he lightly scratches his head and moves his gaze to the window beside him. There, he saw the blue sky and white fluffy clouds, and he muttered with a small smirk: "Huh… I'm late again, aren't I?"

'You might be wondering, who am I?' the boy thought out of the blue while pulling his blanket away and pushing himself into a sitting position. His long legs fell to the ground with a light thud, and he lazily stood up while continuing to stretch his body.

Fixing his bed with swift and efficient movements, he calmly walks towards his bedroom door and pulled it open. Staring at the empty hallway, he continues his train of thought with a blank face: 'My name is Kaleido Mora. I live in Seoul, Korea.'

He walked forward and found himself standing in front of stairs leading down to a lower floor. He took a step, and then another, walking down the stairs and arriving at what seems to be his house's living room.

'You can say that I'm an above-average guy.' He continued in his mind as he walks with soft steps towards his bathroom. He moved his stare towards the sofa in the distance and saw his father watching the news like usual.

'Since young, I was always a "good student." Good grades, good academic performances, joined clubs here and there, participated in events for those plus points, all the usual stuff a good student would be like.' He passed through the kitchen where he saw his mother already preparing breakfast. Greeting her, the boy continued to walk to his bathroom and continued his train of thought.

'But of course, that's a good student, not an above-average guy. No, I call myself an above-average guy is because, well…' He entered his bathroom, taking off his clothes and staring at his body in the mirror. 'The results speak for themselves.'

He had relatively long black hair reaching just below his neck. His pair of eyes twinkled with brilliance like shining stars. His pink lips perched into a smile, showing his pearly white teeth. But what he was smiling at wasn't his above-average face, but his 'above-average body.' His body was toned and slim, like that of an athlete. Veins popped all throughout his body as he flexed his muscles; pairing his body with his face, it's not a surprise that he is indeed an above-average guy.

'Unlike those brilliant minds from the prestigious school I am part of—Seoul High, I am more of a unique individual if you will.' He turned his body and turned on the shower. In the next moment, cold droplets of water fell onto his naked body and chilling coldness assaulted him.

'Since a few years ago, I realized that to be happy in life, I of course need to be better. Mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, I improved them all. I started training my body seriously when I became 13, and now 2 years later, here I am. Not only that, but I am a firm advocate that meditation is something everyone must do.' Bubbles started to form all around his body as he rubbed soap on his toned body.

'I don't play games that much because I think of them as only a waste of my time, but if it means I can spend more time with my friends, then I'll still do it. Though there is one "technically online game" I am invested in, chess. But I only started playing it seriously a few weeks ago so I'm still trash at it. Yes, I, a mega genius Seoul High student, the number one most prestigious school in the country, am somehow trash at chess. Geniuses aren't born my dear, they're made… Well, I guess they are born, I just made myself into a "genius" if you can even call me one because I did kind of work hard in life… maybe.' Kaleido continued to monologue to nobody in particular as the soap on his body was cleansed by the running water.

'Now that I think about it, I guess I am kind of talented because I never really worked hard when it comes to my academic achievements. I only needed to rely on my "stocks," a term me and my friends came up with long ago which is like a shortened version of stock knowledge, and stock knowledge is kind of like the thing you already know and don't want to review. It's a hard concept to explain, but you probably get the point. But huh, I guess I might actually have the potential to get pretty high grades if I really wanted to.' Shrugging his shoulders, he stopped the running water and grabbed his towel.

'But back to the topic at hand, I am indeed an above-average person. Or maybe this is just me being contemptuous of others and being proud of the different path I have undertaken in life compared to my peers. Well, I don't really care. Even if I'm a nice guy, I am still quite the cold person underneath.' Kaleido walked out of the shower with a new set of clothes already put on.

Staring at the mirror once more, he looks at his current outfit and nods with a small smile. Black pants and a long-sleeved button-up shirt that lies underneath a black blazer. It gave him an intellectual but also polite look which was advantageous for him in a lot of ways. 'All those talks about how looks don't matter, only dumb fools would actually believe such a lie. The world is crueler than people expect, and I need to get every bit of advantage I can get if I want to live a better life.'

He walks out of the bathroom and arrives at the dining room where he saw his family was already eating.

"Good morning!" he greeted with a smile and took his seat. In front of him, a simple breakfast was prepared and he grabbed his own bowl of rice to eat, added in the dishes he wanted, and took his chopsticks to eat with.

"Good morning, Kaleido," his father greeted him with a smile.

'My family is a normal family of four. My father works a pretty well-off job, and my mother is the same. Back then, I had to take care of my little brother all alone, so that resulted in me being pretty skilled at housework from a young age. Of course, I don't resent my parents leaving me all alone to take care of my little brother. Resentment is vile poison I avoid like the plague in most cases, and that's an epiphany I learned in life long ago.' Kaleido munched and ate his breakfast quickly.

Before he knew it, he already devoured his food and drank his glass of water. Standing up quickly, he walks to the door and squatted down to put on his pair of black leather shoes which complements well with the black and white color scheme of his outfit.

"Are you going to school already, bro?" he turned his head and looked to the side. He saw his little brother, his sibling that was only a few years younger than him, and was about to enter high school the next year, staring at him curiously.

He smiled amicably as he finished putting on his shoes, "Yeah, I'm running a little late right now, and today's exam day."

"Then good luck on your exams!" his little brother encouraged with a thumbs up causing Kaleido to chuckle in response.

"I will," standing up, he patted his little brother's head and opened the door. Without further ado, he walked through his house's entrance and arrived into the outside world.

A single glance at the sky made him deeply aware that even if he were to run, he would inevitably be late for school. Accepting that fact, he takes a deep breath and took his first step onto the long road toward Seoul High.

'Seoul High, the most prestigious school in all of South Korea, where geniuses from all over the country want to enter and become its student. Not gonna lie, the only reason I enrolled in Seoul High was that it was both close to my house and that it has no tuition fee, so the money spent on the tuition fee would instead be added to my savings, meaning I will have more money to spend. '

He absentmindedly walked forward with slow steps. He calmly observed the surrounding area where other people also walked, with each living their own lives and story. For Kaleido, he was the main character of his own story, so why would he want the main character to be a depressed loser? If he were to write a story, he would of course make the main character, the protagonist whom the entire multiverse revolves around be an awesome motherfucker.

'Sigh, I wish I have the time to become a writer. Seoul High, I knew I should have just picked an okay-ish school instead of that prestigious glory hole of a mess. Once I get out of high school, I'll finally have the time to start one of my "passions" and publish my own story online, who knows, maybe I'll even become a legendary author of sorts with millions of fans down the line.' Kaleido chuckled to himself and continued to walk.

He stared at the blue sky, observing the drifting clouds that flew away. He looked at the bark of trees and the insects that roamed the park. He gazed at the people all around him, each having their own story to tell. He also had his own story to tell, a fictional story he wants to write, but unfortunately for Kaleido Mora, this above-average guy with above-average looks and above-average achievements, he doesn't have the time to fulfill his dreams as a writer.

Instead, he has to do the daily grind each and every day. Destroying his body by working out consistently, numbing his mind as he does intense bouts of chess, reading books, and meditating for tens of minutes before bed. His daily schedule was strict and planned out, and it was maximized for the efficiency of his own self-improvement.

But it seems like his daily schedule is now facing a sudden twist.

It was indeed another normal day… until it wasn't.

"Eh?" Kaleido looked ahead in front of him, and he saw a sight that made his eyes widen with surprise and shock. After meditating for years, he developed the ability to stay calm in most strenuous situations. Even when he was chased by a dog or had to desperately hold in a shit, with his immense foundation, he can still keep himself calm and think clearly.

But now, that mental barrier of his broke down upon seeing a strange supernatural sight.

Right in front of him, it was as if reality itself had a crack. A fissure formed from the direct fabrics of space and time, and within it, he saw a sight that his human mind couldn't comprehend. Colors and shapes of all kinds constantly warped and refracted, twisting and turning, mixing and swirling like liquid goo. The sight felt like chaos incarnate, but also deeply profound and held abstract secrets. Even though less than a second has passed, it felt like an eternity for Kaleido.

Before he can even respond and move, a suction force erupted from the space-time fracture, sucking him into it directly. The next moment, the crack closed, and reality returned to normal. It was as if the crack never existed, and everybody else went on their own ways, not knowing that an above-average guy has disappeared from the face of not just the planet, but the entire universe into the unknown.

Now gone from his home universe, what would the protagonist of our story face? Will he find himself in another world? A different universe? In the afterlife? In heaven? In hell? We would only know as we watch his story unfold, and follow him in his journey to traverse the infinite realities!

AN: This chapter has 2169 words.

I sincerely apologize for dropping yet again another novel, alas, I yearn for fame and glory. This led me to finally taking down another leap of faith and finally went back to one of my favorite works, Traversing the Infinite Realities.

Anyways, this chapter should have been written in 1st Person but I fucking hate that POV, so I forcefully made it 3rd Person so it's kind of awkward to read, but don't worry, future chapters would be more smooth in terms of writing.

Now that's over, be sure to smash that power stone, press that save to library something, and follow me on Twitter @NoNameDeityWN so bla bla bla. Sayonara~

(December 18, 2022 – 388th day of writing)