When I opened my eyes, all I could see was darkness.

  No matter where I looked, my vision was completely engulfed in bckness.

  "What the hell is this!? Everything is pitch bck! What's going on!?"

  I tried to move, testing if my body would respond—and it did. As I reached out, my hands touched a surface. I ran my fingers along it, trying to figure out what it was.

  "What is this...? Am I inside a cage or something?"

  As I carefully examined my surroundings, I began to grasp the reality of my situation—I was indeed trapped in a cage, completely devoid of light.

  "What the hell!? Is this some kind of prank!? Those idiots better be ready for what I'll do to them when I get out of here!"

  It wouldn't be the first time my cssmates or friends pulled a prank on me. They had a habit of messing around, whether after css or whenever we met up.

  I inhale a deep breath and..

  “Heeeeyy!! someoneee!! Anyone thereee???“

  I shouted at the top of my lungs, but no one responded. At first, I waited, hoping for an answer—but silence was my only reply. Refusing to give up, I kept shouting over and over, my voice echoing into the void. Yet, no matter how much I called out, I heard nothing in return, nor did I sense anyone nearby.

  Still, I persisted, screaming until my throat grew hoarse and exhaustion set in. Eventually, I realized it was pointless.

  Frustration boiled inside me. Clenching my fists, I swung a punch at the surface of the cage, hoping it might be brittle enough to break.

  Bang

  My hand struck the surface, but to my surprise, I felt no pain. Maybe it was my anger dulling the sensation, or perhaps my mind refused to register it. It was as if I felt nothing at all.

  Determined, I threw another punch, then another—striking like a wild beast.

  Who wouldn’t be furious? If this was really a prank, my friends had taken things way too far. Locking me inside a cage? That was crossing the line.

  My situation remained unchanged. No matter how hard I struck the surface, nothing happened. I had hoped that someone might hear the noise and come to my aid, but there was no sign of anyone. Then, a chilling thought crept into my mind.

  “Arrrghhh!!! Open this cage, you motherf*ckers!!”

  Panic began to take hold as a buried memory suddenly resurfaced—I had been in an accident.

  “No way… There’s no f*cking way!!”

  I desperately tried to reject the horrifying realization cwing at my mind, but the more I pounded against the wall, the more that thought tched onto me like a parasite.

  “No way!! I’m dead!? I’m right here!! Somebody!! Anyone!!”

  That’s right—when someone dies, there's only one logical expnation for where they end up. A coffin. Buried beneath the earth.

  My mind spiraled out of control, completely consumed by panic. I smmed my fists against the surface like a madman, refusing to accept reality.

  Crack

  A faint noise reached my ears.

  “Oh…!”

  I froze, snapping back to my senses.

  “A… crack!?”

  I ran my fingers over the fractured surface, feeling its jagged lines beneath my touch.

  “Hehe…”

  A grin stretched across my face as the truth settled in—the wall was breaking. Fueled by newfound determination, I resumed smashing it with reckless desperation, like a crazed beast.

  Crack… Crack…

  The fractures spread like vines, slowly weakening the surface. Piece by piece, it began to crumble.

  Bang

  My hand broke through the surface wall. I stretched my fingers, and a chilling breeze brushed against my outstretched hand. That’s when I noticed something strange—my skin was slick with moisture. But that detail barely registered in my mind, overshadowed by the overwhelming relief that my fear of being trapped in a coffin was nothing more than paranoia.

  "It went through… Hehe."

  A hole had now formed in the cage around me.

  "Hahaha… I’m not in a coffin…"

  I muttered, exhaling deeply as the weight of that terrifying thought lifted from my chest.

  Without hesitation, I resumed pounding against the surface. Excitement surged through me, coursing through my veins like an electric current—just like a child unwrapping the toy they had longed for the most.

  As time passed, the hole widened until it was rge enough for my entire body to squeeze through. Overcome with joy, I eagerly pushed myself forward, brushing aside the debris that obstructed my path until I finally emerged.

  Thud

  I colpsed onto the hard ground, my body curling up like a newborn breaking free from its shell.

  “Haa… Haa…”

  I gasped for air, my chest rising and falling rapidly as exhaustion washed over me. The struggle had drained me completely, leaving me with no choice but to let my body rest.

  After dozing off for a few minutes, I felt some of my strength return—though not completely. Gathering what little energy I had, I attempted to stand.

  Thud

  My body colpsed back onto the ground. Now that my mind had calmed, I finally realized something—my entire body was numb. While my arms moved normally, standing required an immense amount of effort.

  “What’s going on…? Why don’t I have the strength to stand? I feel completely drained…”

  I grumbled in frustration, puzzled by how exhausted I felt—like I had just run for miles without stopping.

  “No! I have to get up… I need to find someone… They might think I’m dead!”

  Determined, I mustered every ounce of strength and forced myself up. Just that simple action drained what little energy I had recovered.

  “Haa… Haa… What the hell!? Just standing takes this much effort!?”

  I compined—but before I could dwell on my exhaustion, an absurd sight greeted me.

  “…What… is… this!?”

  I stood in complete shock, unable to process what I was seeing.

  “Where… am I?”

  Rocks.

  Everywhere I looked, there was nothing but rocks. If I had woken up in a hospital morgue, I wouldn’t have been surprised—after all, I remembered being in an accident. But this… this wasn’t a morgue.

  I stood there, speechless, my mind going bnk. If I had seen a scene like this on social media—a traveler sharing an incredible discovery—I might have been amazed. But right now, all I felt was confusion.

  “Where… is this?”

  The words left my mouth in a quiet mutter as I blinked, trying to confirm that my eyes weren’t deceiving me. But no matter how many times I scanned the area, all I saw were rocks.

  “I must be dreaming…”

  That was the only conclusion I could reach. My mind wasn’t functioning properly, and the only logical expnation was that this was all a hallucination. So, I scanned my surroundings once more.

  And then—

  “…Eh?”

  My eyes locked onto something.

  A shattered egg.

  "An… egg!?"

  Right before me y the remains of a massive egg, cracked and broken. In the center of the shell was a gaping hole—one that looked as if something had just crawled out of it. But the real question was… what had hatched from it?

  As I stared at the broken shell, a chilling thought crept into my mind. The cracked opening was facing me. I looked down, following a trail of crumpled dirt leading from the egg… straight to where I was standing.

  “…!”

  My breath caught in my throat as my gaze lowered further—only to see two short legs. Thick, scaly legs. A long, heavy tail rested at my side, also covered in scales.

  I willed my left leg to move—and to my horror, the leg I was staring at moved in perfect sync. Slowly, I raised my hands.

  What I saw sent my mind spiraling into shock.

  Plump, scaly hands—small, yet powerful. And at the tips of my fingers, nails sharp as knives.

  "What… is this…?"

  My entire body trembled as I took in my bizarre state. A whirlwind of emotions crashed over me—confusion, fear, disbelief. My mind spiraled into chaos, struggling to process what was happening.

  Maybe it was the exhaustion. Or maybe the shock was simply too much for me to handle.

  The world around me spun. My vision blurred.

  And then—darkness.

  I fainted.