The ring from the overhead plane speakers snapped me out of a light doze and my head lifted a little.

 

“Ladies and gentlemen, please return your seats to their upright position and restore your trays. We will be landing shortly.”

 

Blinking away the minimal sleep from my eyes, I realized that we were over Florida. I was very tired but anxious at the same time. I didn’t know who to talk to or where to go to pay for a ferry boat headed for Bermuda, but then I figured Taiji probably sent me the information when I was sleeping. I would get it once I landed at the airport.

 

Thirty minutes later, I was walking out of the airport and attacked with bright sunlight, many palm trees, and everyone around me speaking English. Once I was a good enough distance away from the entrances, I pulled out my phone and squinted at the screen. A notification came up as soon as I got a signal. I selected it and skimmed through the small text.

 

Miami Ferry Boat Rentals

 

Thank you for your transaction. Your receipt is attached to this email and your ferry will leave at 2:00 PM. Please arrive at least ten minutes before the ferry deports so you can sign in and collect your ticket.

 

I checked the time on my phone. It was 1:30. My heart stopped for a moment. I didn’t know where the docks were so I went back to the email and scrolled down. I found the address and breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, it was a ten minute walk from the airport. After glancing back at the airport, I stuffed my phone back into my pocket and started following the road until I could see the shores. The walk was good because I was able to get my strength back up from the very long flight and stretch out my legs while walking. In a matter of minutes, I came up on the docks where several large ferry boats were situated. One of them was lined up right in front of the longest dock and I could see some people walking onto it, chatting with each other excitedly. I spotted the cabin where people were handing out tickets and walked right over to it.

 

 

 

When I was sitting in the indoor area of the ferry, a voice came over the loud speaker announcing that the ferry was leaving and the entire boat moved forward. I stood up and walked toward the edge, watching as the ferry slowly moved away from the dock. I leaned over the rail and my gaze became lost in the distance toward the vast blue ocean. For a moment, I took all of it in, appreciating its beauty and forgetting about everything.

 

An hour or two went by and I had moved back into the indoor part of the ferry to close my eyes. I wanted to make up for the little amount of sleep I got on the plane. I fell into a bit of a meditative state where I wasn’t awake or asleep, but somewhere in the middle.

 

Then I heard a very soft but clear voice.

 

“You should brace yourself now.”

 

At that moment, the entire ferry shook violently, making me snap out of my state and shakily sit up.

 

Everyone on the ferry was staring and talking at each other panicked.

 

“Ladies and gentleman, we are experiencing some tidal turbulence and our navigation system has temporarily stopped working. We are working on the problem as we speak. Please remain in the indoor part of the ferry and stay seated.” The voice over the speakers rang.

 

This didn’t make anyone feel better, including me. My gaze turned toward the outdoor part of the ferry. The waves were indeed high and the ferry was shaking as a result.

 

But something else caught my eye. Something in the distance. Something that looked like a…large, metallic…spaceship?

 

I slowly stood up, keeping my widened gaze on the object. It was levitating in the air and looked just like a UFO in a science-fiction movie.

 

A part of me was very scared, but another part of me was awestruck. If I wasn’t hallucinating right now. Now that I think about it, I probably was. I needed to sleep, so I was probably so tired that I was seeing things.

 

But as I stared it down, the spaceship flew steadily closer and our ferry continued to shake and rumble violently. I could hear children crying and adults trying to calm them down around me.

 

Then I heard his voice clear in my head.

 

“Go to the top of the ferry.”

 

I blinked and shook my head a little. Before I could try to figure out why I could suddenly hear him while awake, my feet carried me toward the opening of the outside of the ferry and toward the stairs going up to the roof. I could hear some commotion but no one followed me or tried to stop me.

 

Hanging onto the railing, I made it to the roof and nearly fell onto my back from the rough jerks of the waves against the ferry. Water sprayed in my face and I quickly wiped my eyes.

 

“Well done, Shinwoo.” Taiji said.

 

I slowly looked up. The large spaceship was situated directly above me. I could see a symbol on the bottom. It looked like a blue infinite symbol. Then the entire part slide to the side, revealing a bright light that made me cover my eyes and look away.

 

“Hey! Get off of there! Are you crazy!?” A voice called from my side.

 

I shot him a glance, but before I could register who he was, my entire vision flashed white and my body felt very light. It felt like my feet were lifted off the ground and I was suspended in air. A relaxing feeling swept through my body and my eyes slowly closed…

 

 

 

 

 

A soft breeze. A slightly moderate temperature.

 

I slowly moved my fingers. I felt gravel below them. I slowly opened my eyes. I was met with a light red sky. I took in a breath and slowly let it out, coughing a little. Grimacing a little, I pushed myself up and took in my surroundings.

 

The land was all barren. No vegetation and no lakes. Just red-shaded rocks and ground.

 

I blinked slowly and tried to stand up. It was a bit hard.

 

Then I got a better look at the area around me simply by turning around. Behind me was a very tall metallic building, its highest point almost touching the light red sky.

 

I looked the building up and down and stared at the entrance a few feet in front of me.

 

I felt like I was in a daze. My body seemed to move on its own. I approached the entrance and slowly pressed my hand against it. The door opened immediately and collided with the inside wall with a loud sound.

 

Flinching a little, I stepped inside. The room was very dark with small amounts of light illuminating a single hallway in front of me. After taking another deep breath, my feet carried me forward. As I walked down the hall, the light behind me got dimmer and dimmer until the only light I could see was coming from the room I was approaching. It was a steady green light.

 

Once I step foot inside the room, the roof was very tall and the walls were lined with thousands of human-sized cubicles. I turned to my left and walked up to one of the cubicles.

 

Then my blood ran cold. There was a human inside it, unconscious with many tubes injected all around its body.

 

“W-who are you?” A familiar voice stuttered from behind me.

 

I gasped a little, snapping my head around.

 

Taiji was standing behind me on the other side of the room looking very confused and afraid. He was wearing a black long sleeve shirt and black pants.

 

My eyes widened. “Taiji.”

 

He blinked. “Who is that? How did you find this place?” The anxiety in his voice didn’t go away.

 

I stared at him. “You’re joking, right?”

 

He slowly reached behind his back as if he were about to grab something. “Answer my questions. Right now.”

 

I was taken aback by the sudden threatening tone of his voice. “Y-you sent me here, didn’t you? Just now? Was that your spaceship?”

 

Taiji shook his head a little. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

 

My mouth dropped a little. What is going on!?

 

“Wait…spaceship?” His eyes narrowed in confusion.

 

“Yes! I mean, I figured that was your spaceship! Didn’t you pick me up from the ferry boat? Why are you acting so strange all of a sudden?” I took a step forward.

 

He backed away further. “I’ve never met you before.”

 

“But…” I seriously didn’t know what to say. Either I was missing something or he was just playing a really unfunny prank on me.

 

“But…perhaps you’ve met my brother.” Taiji said quietly.

 

My eyes widened again. “E-excuse me?”

 

“My brother. My…twin.” A twinge of distain clouded his voice. “Has he manipulated you?”

 

“Manipulated? What are you talking about?” My heart jumped. “W-wait…you are his brother? The human twin?”

 

He didn’t respond for a moment, then seemed to relax a little. “Why don’t you tell me everything that has happened to you until meeting me. Then I think we can both understand this situation better.”

 

I silently agreed and told him everything.

 

“I see.” He slowly nodded. “So you are his reincarnation.”

 

I nodded too. “So he says.”

 

“You don’t believe him?”

 

“It’s…extremely difficult for me to accept.” I lowered my head.

 

“I understand. Why don’t you come with me for a moment.” He turned around and motioned me to follow him.