Chapter 1 Orbuculum

June 9th, 2021. Austin, 30 and unmarried, worked as a Pharmacist in one of the best Hospitals in the country, and was on his way to work when suddenly a deafening thunder-like sound struck his ears. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Before he could react, the surroundings turned pitch black.

Emptiness and silence embraced Austin.

"So dark, what happened? Did I become blind?" He asked himself.

After scanning the area, he discovered a tiny light from afar. That light gave his trembling soul the relief he had never felt for a long time.

"Huh!? there's a tiny light, at least this means I'm not blind. Okay, Austin relax yourself, analyze what is happening, don't panic. As far as I could remember, I was just walking on the sidewalk on my way to work before it suddenly went dark and quiet? I'm sure I'm not dreaming, but there's no other way to explain this circumstance I'm in. How could everything disappear so quickly? This is weird... that light... is it safe? Should I approach it?"

After weighing the pros and cons, Austin decided to approach the tiny light; however he discovered he couldn't move at all. He tried several times, but to no avail, he was helpless. To his surprise he noticed that he had no physical body.

"What the hell is happening? Am I hallucinating?" He exclaimed.

He only saw this kind of situation in manga or anime, but he never would have thought that he would also encounter the same situation personally. This time he was confused but not scared. As a matter of fact, he's a little bit excited. Luckily he's an otaku, and because of this, he is open minded to bizarre phenomena. If the same situation happens to someone else, they will for sure freak out.

Excitement aside, Austin thought that he still needed to figure out what was happening, and how he would get out of this situation. He tried to approach the light again, but unfortunately there's no progress. Suddenly an idea popped out of his mind.

"I don't have a physical body but I'm conscious. How about I control my mind?" He murmured to himself.

Without waiting any further, Austin tried to control his mind. He imagines himself slowly approaching the source of the light.

"It actually worked! The light is getting closer!" Austin exclaimed after knowing his idea worked.

An hour had passed, and finally, Austin could clearly see the source of the light. It was a translucent, fist-sized orbuculum, standing on the ground, illuminating the surrounding like a light bulb. Upon closer look, he discovered a familiar scene playing inside the crystal. "Wait, that's me!"