Tower of The Fated Star

Year 2025 — Seoul, South Korea Mirae Industries, 5th Floor – Central Office Tower

The air conditioner hummed like white noise, barely louder than the rhythmic typing that echoed through the cubicle walls.

Sung Jun Young sat in his private cabin, back straight, eyes half-lidded. His crisp black shirt clung to him neatly, not a wrinkle out of place. White hair, sharp contrast against his formal dress code, framed his quiet expression.

To others, he might've looked like a new intern or a young department head — neat, sharp, but unbothered by the world.

In truth, he wasn't thinking about anything at all.

Click. Click. Submit.

[Data Packet #1427 confirmed. Task Complete.]

He stared at the glowing screen for a few seconds longer than necessary before standing.

The time: 12:02 p.m.

Lunch break.

The company cafeteria buzzed with chatter, clinking metal trays, and the artificial warmth of a clean, air-conditioned lunch hour. White ceiling lights shone down on long rows of sterile tables. Digital menu boards cycled through options in robotic cheerfulness.

Jun Young moved through the line, picked up a tray — rice, fried egg, soup, and kimchi — and made his way to the far edge of the room. A corner seat.

As usual.

He sat down, alone.

But not for long.

"Hey, Jun Young... you're having lunch alone today too."

He didn't even need to look up.

Kang Haejin.

Hair tied back in a black ribbon. Long sleeves rolled up slightly. She carried a tray and a smile, already pulling back the chair across from him as she spoke.

Jun finally lifted his gaze. "Oh... Miss Haejin. It's not that people don't want to eat with me. I just like to eat alone."

She took a bite, mid-sentence. "Oh? Then should I go elsewhere?"

She asked that but didn't move an inch.

Jun blinked. "You misunderstood, Miss Haejin. I didn't mean that."

She smiled with a mouthful of food. "How many times do I have to tell you? Drop the formalities. Talk like a friend."

He hesitated. "But in the office, you're my senior."

She frowned slightly. "So what?"

Still chewing. "I order you to talk with me like a friend. Even in the office."

Jun sighed softly and looked away for a moment.

Then—

Everything changed.

The temperature dropped.

Ten degrees. At least.

The cafeteria lights flickered violently. The air grew heavy, thick with static. Shadows bled across the floor, stretching and warping far beyond their natural reach.

And then—a tear split open in the middle of the cafeteria.

It didn't make a sound.

It just appeared — like someone had sliced through the air with a cosmic blade.

Through that tear, a figure stepped out.

He wore a robe that writhed like a living night sky, stitched with galaxies and spinning stars. No face — only a void filled with pinpricks of starlight. And yet, everyone in the room could feel his gaze, clawing at their minds.

The cafeteria fell into dead silence.

"Hello everyone...!" the figure said cheerfully. "Did I interrupt your lunchtime?"

No one replied.

They couldn't.

Aura. That's what it was. Unfathomable pressure pushing down on their souls.

The figure laughed.

"Yes, yes… I see it now. The fear. The disbelief. Good. That's the right reaction!"

He grinned — a twitchy, inhuman thing.

"Let me introduce myself! I am Kaelrith. A certified Scene Weaver under the jurisdiction of the Vaelith Association."

He opened his arms wide, his cloak stretching like wings of the cosmos.

"From now on, this area is under my stage management."

He twitched. Laughed. Then bared his teeth in a deranged grin.

"Now then..."

His voice shifted — softer, darker, as if he was reciting a sacred line.

"WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF ENTERTAINMENT!"

He began laughing — loud, teeth-grinding, maniacal laughter that echoed off the walls, vibrating through every bone in the room.

And everyone collapsed.

The air grew too thick. Knees buckled. Hands hit the ground. Dozens of workers fell under the weight of Kaelrith's presence.

"W-What's going on?!"

"Who are you?! What the hell is this?!"

"Call the police! Call—!"

Jun Young stayed on his feet.

Not calm.

But calculating.

Kaelrith tilted his head.

"The First Scenario of the Tower of the Fated Star... BEGINS NOW."

[DING]

A mechanical sound rang through everyone's minds.

Suddenly, glowing screens appeared before every person — floating in the air, translucent and cold.

Each person could see only their own.

[You have entered the Tower of the Fated Star.]

[The First Scenario has begun.]

——————

[Scenario #1: SURVIVE]

Time Limit: 20 minutes

Objective: Earn at least 100 Coins to survive.(Coins are earned by killing living beings. The stronger the being, the more coins you receive.)

Penalty for Failure: Death

——————

And then—panic.

"W-What?! Kill…? Are they serious?!"

"What kind of twisted game is this?!"

Kaelrith laughed again. "Ha… Ha… Give the audience a good show. I'll be back after the scenario ends."

He vanished into the rift.

[DING]

[The First Scenario will begin in 10 seconds.]

The countdown appeared over everyone's screens.

And one more display appeared—in front of everyone.

[Status Window – Sung Jun Young]

[Name: Sung Jun Young]

[Constellation Contract: None]

[Available Skill Slots: 0]

[Current Scenario: #1 – Survive]

Kang Haejin's voice trembled beside him.

"Jun Young... What's going on? What should we do?"

[10]

Jun's eyes narrowed.

People screamed. Some ran. Some fought.

[9]

One man grabbed another and slammed his head into a table.

[8]

Someone cried as they choked a coworker with a tray strap.

[7]

Jun grabbed Haejin's hand. "We have to leave. Now."

[6]

She didn't question it. She followed him.

[5]

The stairs. They ran down together.

[4]

Screams echoed from below.

[3]

Chaos.

[2]

Blood. Footsteps. Sobbing.

[1]

They reached the lower floor—

Just in time to see a boy, about Jun's age, pummeling another man into the marble floor with bare fists.

Over. And over. And over.

Blood smeared the tiles like paint.

The boy's fists were soaked in red.

He turned slowly toward them.

His grin was twisted.

"Ho… Ho… Look who came."

He stood. His eyes were wild. His face covered in someone else's blood.

He pointed toward them.

"Welcome… Welcome here, Miss Kang Haejin."

To be continue...