Zero’s senses returned in fragments.

  His fingers felt stiff, still gripping something solid—leather. The wheel? No. The back of Roland’s seat. His body pressed against the seatbelt, his mind sluggish as it tried to register what just happened.

  The blinding headlights.

  The portal.

  The old man stepping out.

  The brakes screaming against the pavement.

  The impact.

  But where was the impact?

  He took a slow, steady breath—and that’s when he noticed.

  There was no motion. No engine rumble. No city sounds.

  Only silence.

  Roland was the first to react, his fingers still locked around the steering wheel, his knuckles pale from gripping it too tightly. His chest rose and fell sharply, his body frozen in reflexive tension.

  Barbara, in the passenger seat, had one hand braced against the dashboard, her wide eyes darting around. “W-what the hell…?”

  Brock, in the middle row, jerked upright. “Did we—did we just die?”

  Millim, seated next to him, shook her head quickly, struggling to unbuckle her seatbelt. “I… I don’t think so.”

  Zero’s gaze shifted to the windows.

  Nothing.

  Just white.

  Not fog, not light—just endless white in all directions. No buildings, no streets, no sky, no ground. Just pure emptiness.

  Zero unclipped his seatbelt, his movements calm but deliberate. He reached for his phone, pressing the side button.

  No signal.

  His brow furrowed. Not weak signal. Not lost connection.

  Just nothing.

  That wasn’t possible. Even without service, there should be GPS coordinates—something. But the screen showed absolute zero data.

  Roland finally exhaled sharply, his grip loosening on the wheel. “Is everyone okay?”

  “I think so,” Barbara said, rubbing her temples.

  Millim nodded shakily. “Yeah. No injuries.”

  Brock, already leaning between the front seats, turned toward Zero. “You’re thinking something. Spill it.”

  Zero’s voice was flat. “We’re not on Earth anymore.”

  Silence.

  Then Brock barked out a nervous laugh. “Okay, sure. That makes sense. Maybe we just got isekai’d by our own hit-and-run incident.”

  Barbara ignored him, glancing at Roland. “We need to check on the old man. We—we hit him.”

  That snapped them all back to reality.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Zero turned his head. Through the windshield, sprawled across the endless white, lay the old man.

  He hadn’t moved.

  His silver hair pooled around him, his flowing white robes spread out like a celestial being struck down. His staff lay beside him.

  Millim’s breath hitched. “Oh my God.” She fumbled with the door handle, throwing it open.

  Brock followed immediately. “Shit, shit, shit—this is not how I thought my life would end.”

  Roland and Barbara were out next, hurrying around the front of the vehicle.

  Zero took a beat longer, exiting with measured steps.

  They weren’t panicking, not really—but there was a tension in the air.

  Millim dropped to her knees, hovering over the old man, pressing her fingers to his wrist.

  The others watched her in silence.

  Then she froze.

  “…He has no pulse.”

  Barbara’s hands flew to her mouth. “No, no, no—we killed him.”

  Brock stumbled back. “Oh, this is so beyond bad. What’s the legal process for vehicular manslaughter when you’re not even on a planet?!”

  Roland’s jaw tightened, his hands clenching at his sides.

  Zero didn’t speak. He was watching.

  Then—

  A low groan.

  The sound rippled through the empty space.

  Millim jerked backward.

  Barbara gasped.

  Brock screamed.

  “ZOMBIE!”

  The old man’s eyelids fluttered open, revealing silver eyes. He let out a deep, disgruntled sigh, then rubbed his forehead like someone waking up from a bad nap.

  “Ughhh… what in the hell just happened?”

  Silence.

  No one moved.

  Brock’s face paled. “No pulse. Dead guy. Now moving.”

  His expression shifted into sudden horror.

  “…VAMPIRE!”

  Barbara immediately smacked him upside the head.

  “SHUT UP, YOU MORON!”

  The old man snorted, sitting up. “Haha. This one’s an idiot.”

  Brock looked personally offended. “Excuse you—”

  The old man ignored him, rolling his shoulders, testing his joints. “Damn. Guess I’m still functional. That’s… unfortunate.”

  Roland crossed his arms. “Who are you?”

  The old man stood, dusting himself off. Then, with a knowing grin, he tapped his staff against the empty space beneath them.

  “I am a God. And you mortals just ruined my bingo night.”

  Silence.

  Barbara blinked. “…Your what?”

  The god let out a long, suffering sigh. “I had one free evening. One. And what happens? Some reckless mortals slam into me at full speed.”

  Zero, who had remained quietly observing, finally spoke.

  “You don’t look dead.”

  The god smirked. “Because I’m not.” He cracked his neck. “Not that it would’ve mattered. Your little metal death box couldn’t kill me.”

  Roland tensed slightly. “Then… what is this place?”

  The god gestured vaguely around them. “The Divine Realm. My realm. You lot got dragged in when your car hit me. Which, I’ll remind you, is extremely rude.”

  Brock let out a nervous laugh. “Okay, look, our bad. But, uh… does that mean we can go back?”

  The god’s expression darkened.

  “No.”

  Silence.

  Barbara stiffened. “What?”

  The god leaned on his staff, looking bored. “I should punish you.”

  Millim clenched her fists. “That’s not fair—we didn’t do it on purpose!”

  “Neither did the last idiot who spilled wine on my robes,” the god said flatly. “And guess what? He’s still in a hell dimension.”

  Brock swallowed. “That… sounds excessive.”

  The god rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine. I won’t send you to hell. Instead…” His silver gaze gleamed.

  “I’ll send you to Navaria.”

  Zero’s brow furrowed. “Navaria?”

  Brock tilted his head. “Wait… like the place with the talking lion?”

  The god’s patience snapped.

  “NO, NOT NARNIA, YOU MORON!”

  He whacked Brock over the head with his staff.

  Millim and Barbara burst into laughter.

  Brock groaned, rubbing his head. “Seriously?! That’s twice!”

  Roland’s expression darkened. “Wait—what kind of world is Navaria?”

  The god smirked.

  “A land of magic and war.” He tapped his staff. “And now, it’s your new home.”

  Barbara took a step forward. “Wait, but what about our families—”

  The god waved a hand. “Not my problem.”

  Zero’s fingers twitched slightly. This was too fast, too deliberate.

  Before anyone could argue further, the god raised his staff.

  A brilliant light surged forward.

  And they could see vanished.