The fluorescent lights buzzed softly overhead, casting a sterile, pale glare over the linoleum-tiled floor of Room 3-C. A warm summer breeze slipped through an open window, causing the cheap plastic blinds to sway and clack against the frame in lazy rhythm. Laughter and idle chatter filled the air as students gathered in tight circles during the lunch break, their desks pushed together into makeshift islands of friendship.
In the back of the room, completely alone, sat Kael Ishiro.
His desk was pristine—neither stickers nor idle scratches marred its surface. No graffiti, no gum stuck beneath, no clutter. It stood isolated like an unclaimed tombstone among a graveyard of youthful exuberance.
Kael leaned forward, hunched over the soft glow of his phone screen. He swiped with a rhythmic flick of his thumb, reading panel after panel of a manhwa, expression unreadable. The screen's light illuminated his pale skin, casting faint shadows beneath his sharp jaw and narrow cheekbones.
His hair, a deep crimson red, fell messily over his forehead, feathered and wild like a slow-burning flame caught in motion. Strands shifted as he moved, catching the light and reflecting it in shades of blood and embers. But what truly caught attention—whenever someone bothered to look—were his eyes.
Not just red.
Clockwork red.
Fiery irises encircled with intricate golden rings, like the face of ancient timepieces. Minute tick marks traced the edges of his pupils, and sometimes—just sometimes—the gold rings shifted. As if some invisible mechanism inside his skull kept track of time not just in seconds, but in something far more vast.
No one knew they were real. Most assumed he wore fancy contact lenses—an edgy loner desperate for attention. But Kael never corrected them. He never explained that they were a curse of birth, or a miracle, or anything at all.
He just kept reading.
The classroom buzzed around him. Someone passed behind him and whispered to their friend, "He's such a freak. Who reads that stuff during break?" Another chuckled, "I bet he writes fanfics about himself. Look at that hair."
He didn't flinch. He didn't respond.
He was used to being invisible. Or worse—noticed only to be dismissed.
But then—
"Greetings, children of Earth."
The voice wasn't from the intercom.
It wasn't spoken by a person in the room.
It echoed everywhere. Loud, soft, distant, close—inside their skulls, around their spines, within the floorboards.
Everyone froze.
Kael's thumb stopped mid-swipe. The panels of his screen blurred.
"I am Elyassara, the Goddess of Heroes. My world is in peril—ravaged by darkness, crumbling beneath the weight of despair. And you... yes,you... have been chosen. Brave souls of Earth, we humbly beg for your strength. Come forth, and become the salvation of another world. Be the champions that turn the tide. Be the sword, the light, thehope."
The temperature in the room plummeted.
A low humming started beneath their feet, subtle at first, then louder—a vibration like a thousand whispering wings. The ground pulsed. Light flared from the center of the classroom in an intricate circle of radiant script. Glyphs and runes shifted like liquid gold, spreading outward from nothingness to form a summoning sigil so complex it seemed to bend space itself.
Someone screamed. Another dropped their bento box, the clatter echoing loud and hollow. Their teacher, Ms. Hayashi, a kind-eyed woman in her thirties, stepped forward, mouth agape.
"W-What is this?!"
Kael stood up slowly.
He wasn't confused. Not entirely.
The moment he heard "Goddess" and "another world," something cold settled in his gut. He knew what this was.
A few of the nerdier students gasped in awe.
"A real isekai?"
"Oh my god—this is real?!"
But Kael?
Kael turned and ran to the window.
No hesitation.
He didn't shout. He didn't warn anyone. He just booked it—legs moving faster than anyone thought he was capable of.
The summoning circle's light flared as the first student disappeared in a cascade of golden sparks. Ms. Hayashi vanished next, her cry cut off mid-breath.
Kael jumped.
Glass shattered around him as he dove through the open window, shards spinning like deadly snowflakes. His body twisted midair, coat flaring behind him like a cape. He hit the grass hard, rolled, and immediately sprang to his feet, lungs burning.
But the circle followed.
It spread through the air, warping space above the courtyard.
He looked around.
Nobody moved.
A bird hung in the sky, frozen mid-flap. Leaves stopped falling. The broken glass from the window hovered around him, suspended like glittering net.
"Time is halted," Kael muttered, breathing hard. "She's freezing everything but me. To trap me?"
He sprinted again, down the side alley of the school, leaping over fences, dodging dumpsters. The humming circle followed—silent, relentless. He ducked behind a wall, panting, heart hammering.
But then—light. Behind him.
He turned.
The circle had materialized in the alley with him, golden glyphs spinning.
"No, no, no—"
He reached for the wall—anywhere to go, anywhere but this—
The light consumed him.
"FUUUUUUUUUCK—!"
[White Void — The Divine Realm]
Silence.
Then white.
Infinite. Blinding. Sterile.
Kael stood, blinking, eyes adjusting to a realm with no floor, no sky—just an endless plane of soft light. Around him, his classmates materialized, dazed and frightened. Ms. Hayashi held her head, wincing.
And in front of them stood her.
The Goddess.
Elyassara, the Divine Star.
She was breathtaking–more idea than form. Her hair cascaded in silver waterfalls that floated rather than fell, braided with threads of starlight. Her skin was moonlit porcelain, untouched by time. Her eyes—six of them—glowed with galaxies, orbiting pupils like rotating constellations. Her body shimmered, wrapped in a gown woven of nebulae, the hems drifting like cosmic mist. Halos spun lazily behind her, concentric rings inscribed with language no mortal could read.
"Welcome, noble ones," she said, voice echoing in harmonies, too beautiful to bear. "I am sorry for the sudden summons, but I could no longer stand idle. My world is dying. You are our last hope. Before you begin your journey, I shall grant each of you a blessing... to help guide your path."
Kael raised a hand.
His voice cut through the divine hush.
"Can we go home?"
Murmurs. A few turned toward him. Elyassara tilted her head, confused.
"Return...? But why?"
"Because you kidnapped us," Kael said flatly. "Some of us have lives. Exams. Jobs. Maybe someone we actually cared about. Why not save your world yourself?"
She frowned, her radiance dimming slightly.
"I cannot interfere with the mortal realm."
"You just did."
"I did not summon you," she snapped. "The people of my world did. I merely... permitted it."
Kael scoffed. "Semantics."
"I offer salvation and glory, and you mock me?"
"No, I'm questioning you. That's different."
The goddess's eyes all blinked out of sync. She exhaled, composing herself.
"Whether you desire it or not, your journey has begun. Good luck, heroes."
Light engulfed them all.