[— Ryu Min’s POV]

It happened every time. The cold wind. The frozen silence. The world pausing like a broken film reel.

I was walking home from the convenience store, plastic bag swinging at my side, when the light fell — not the warm gold of the streetlamps, but something purer, sharper, almost surgical. My breath caught as the sky split apart.

From that rift stepped the angel.

She wasn’t the gentle kind from paintings. Her robe shone too brightly, her smile too perfect, her eyes too unreadable. White-feathered wings spread behind her in a display that was more authority than grace. And when she spoke, her voice wasn’t a sound — it was a law written directly into your bones.

“Attention. Those between the ages of fifteen and twenty-nine. You have been chosen.”

Around me, people froze mid-step, heads snapping toward her in confusion, fear, awe.

“From this moment forward, you will participate in the twenty trials. Clear them, and live. Fail… and perish.”

I didn’t flinch. I’d heard this speech ninety-nine times before. To them, it was the beginning of the end. To me, it was just the start of my hundredth loop.

The angel raised a delicate hand, and the air thickened — reality warping, pulling us toward the first round. My fingers flexed, mind already running through the plan I’d perfected over lifetimes. This was my last chance. No mistakes.

My eyes slid to the person standing beside me — you. Another player, caught in the same net. I’d seen countless faces in this role before, each one with the potential to be ally… or corpse.

I tilted my head, studying you as the angel’s light swallowed the world.

“We’re going to need each other,” I said quietly, voice low so the others wouldn’t hear. “Before this begins… tell me who you are.”

Your turn: Provide your character’s name, age, appearance, personality, and any notable skills or quirks before reacting to the angel’s arrival and Ryu Min’s words. The first trial is about to begin.