Chapter 0 : Charlotte-I

The first thing I felt upon opening my eyes was the pitch-black darkness.

Blinking my eyes, I slowly began to make out the outlines of my surroundings.

It was a space unfamiliar and devoid of any light, yet an inexplicable sense of warmth lingered.

The space was so cramped that I could barely lie down comfortably.

Though I didn’t know why I had woken up in a place like this instead of on a bed, I felt only calm inside.

The reason I was able to remain so calm despite waking up in an unfamiliar place was probably because I perceived this situation as a dream.

A coffin—

Yes.

This space resembled the structure of a coffin.

I didn’t know why the thought of a coffin came to mind.

The word just unexpectedly and naturally appeared in my head.

As I thought about rising, the lid of the coffin began to open on its own.

With a creaking sound, the light began to filter in, and a cold breeze started to enter.

The first thing I noticed upon emerging from the coffin was the shattered window.

Glass shards lay scattered on the floor, and pale moonlight trickled down through the broken window.

Following the light, my field of vision expanded.

After emerging from the coffin, I found myself in a room of about five pyeong(1 pyeong = 3.31 square metres).

There were no intact pieces of furniture.

The chair was rolling on the floor with its legs broken, and what appeared to be a bookshelf was half-collapsed, as if it had rotted.

This wasn’t the house I remembered. It was clearly an unfamiliar space.

How many people would have the hobby of putting a grown man in a coffin and tossing him into an unknown space?

I chuckled at the small question that appeared in my mind.

“Ahh-“

The voice that slipped from my mouth felt something odd.

It was as if everything I knew had been denied.

A mixture of liberation and loss.

These two emotions tangled together, making my thoughts chaotic and created a confusion.

Despite the complicated feelings, my movements were light, almost weightless.

I stepped out of the coffin and walked slowly, my steps light as I approached the window.

Glass shards on the floor dug into the soles of my feet, but I felt no pain.

My field of vision, guided by the pale moonlight, began to recognize the world outside the window.

Collapsed buildings, an empty road, and the darkness that had settled over it all.

The cold moonlight from the sky was the only light illuminating this world.

Suddenly, at the edge of my sight, I noticed a silver thread fluttering gently.

I reached out to touch it, and its delicate dispersing shape was truly beautiful.