In Japan, inside a quiet house—
A one-month-old baby lay in a small crib, gently waving his tiny hands in the air.
The room was silent.
Click.
The door slowly opened, and a man stepped inside. He walked toward the crib and looked down at the baby.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"I hope your fate will be brighter than I expect," the man said softly.
The baby stared up at him with innocent eyes.
The baby's name was Haruto.
Five Years Later
Children were running and laughing in a playground.
Some were playing tag. Others shouted excitedly as they climbed the slides.
But one boy stood quietly near the fence, watching them with an uninterested expression.
"This is so stupid… and boring," Haruto muttered.
Unlike the other kids, he didn't feel excited about playing.
He turned around and began walking home.
Not long after, he saw his father waiting near the house.
His father, Haruno, crossed his arms and sighed.
"Why don't you act like a normal kid?" Haruno said. "You always act too mature. I never see any emotion on your face."
Haruto shrugged.
"Playing is boring. Tell me something interesting instead."
Haruno chuckled.
"Alright then."
He handed Haruto a science book.
Haruto glanced at it briefly.
"I already read this."
Haruno looked surprised for a moment before laughing.
"Then come here," he said. "I'll tell you an amazing story."
Haruto's eyes sharpened with curiosity.
And that day, Haruno began telling him a story.
A story about a mysterious fantasy world.
A world called Tenzu.
From that day on, every night, Haruno told Haruto new stories about that strange world.
And Haruto listened to every word.
One Day
Haruno packed his things near the door.
"I have an important job," he said. "It may take years."
Haruto looked up at him.
"When will you come back, Father?"
Haruno paused.
"I don't know when," he admitted. "But we will meet again someday."
He then handed Haruto a small pendant.
"Keep this with you."
Haruto held the pendant tightly.
"When we meet again," Haruno said with a faint smile,
"I'll tell you more stories about Tenzu."
Then he turned and walked out the door.
That was the last time Haruto saw his father.
Ten Years Later
Haruto was walking to school as usual. After about ten minutes, he arrived at the school building.
He opened his locker.
"Today is Valentine's Day… so I got fifty chocolates," Haruto muttered.
"Some from girls my age… some even younger… and even some older."
He sighed.
"I guess I should go to class."
He stepped into the classroom and sat in his seat.
Suddenly—
Several girls rushed toward him.
"Haruto! Happy Valentine's Day!"
They surrounded him and handed him more chocolates. Haruto was used to this. Being both handsome and extremely intelligent made him very popular at school.
A boy walked up to him.
"So, you got a lot of chocolates again, huh?" the boy said.
It was Kusakabe, Haruto's only real friend.
"You know I don't care about that stuff," Haruto replied calmly.
Kusakabe laughed.
"At least you have one friend like me," he said. "With that personality of yours, it's hard for people to get close to you."
Before Haruto could reply—
Tung! Tung!
The class bell rang.
The teacher entered the classroom.
"Before we start today's lesson," the teacher said, "I want to mention something."
The students looked up.
"In the last science exam, Haruto Tabata ranked first in the entire school."
The classroom burst into applause.
Haruto remained calm.
"I already won the Most Genius Teenager of Asia award," he said casually. "So that was easy."
The teacher smiled awkwardly and began the lesson.
But Haruto wasn't paying attention.
He looked out the window.
He had already finished the entire school syllabus months ago.
Then the teacher said something during the lesson—
"A father leaving his son behind can sometimes change a child's life forever."
That sentence made Haruto freeze for a moment.
His thoughts drifted away.
Father…
He wondered where his father might be now.
Later That Day
A few hours later, school ended.
Haruto returned home.
Inside the house, his mother and little brother greeted him.
"How was your day?" his mother asked.
Haruto looked at her for a moment.
"Mother… do you know where Father is right now?"
She shook her head.
"I don't know. I haven't been able to contact him," she said. "Your father is a space scientist. He might be on a very important mission."
"Brother!" his little brother shouted.
His name was Aokiji.
"I have a math problem. Can you help me?"
"Sure," Haruto replied. "But later."
Haruto walked into his room and sat down quietly.
If I know my father… he must have left some kind of hint.
He stood up.
Then he walked to his father's old storage room.
Inside, dust covered the shelves.
Haruto searched through the room carefully.
Then he noticed something—
A note on the wall.
It listed three items:
Camera
Diary
Red Stone
Haruto started searching the room again.
After some time, he found all three.
He returned to his room.
First, he opened the diary.
But every page was empty.
"Nothing…"
Then he looked at the camera.
It contained many photographs of astronomical events.
Stars. Nebulas. Galaxies.
But none of them seemed important.
Finally, he looked at the red stone.
It looked ordinary.
But then Haruto noticed something strange.
Some page numbers in the diary were circled with a red marker.
Numbers like:
2
7
18
23
Haruto suddenly got an idea.
He checked the photo numbers on the camera that matched those pages.
Then he wrote down the astronomical names of those pictures.
After arranging them in order…
He noticed a pattern.
The letters formed a name.
Dr. Heraluk.
Haruto quickly searched for the name.
Dr. Heraluk was a famous astronomy scientist.
And surprisingly—
He lived in Japan.
Very close to Haruto's house.
"I should visit him."
Dr. Heraluk's Laboratory
After walking for about twenty minutes, Haruto reached the laboratory.
He rang the bell.
Ring. Ring.
A voice came from inside.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Haruno's elder son," Haruto replied.
The door immediately opened.
Hearing the name Haruno, the man allowed him inside.
Haruto entered the laboratory.
Soon, Dr. Heraluk appeared.
"Haruno was my friend," he said. "We used to work together."
Haruto looked straight at him.
"Do you know where my father is?"
Dr. Heraluk shook his head.
"I last saw him ten years ago," he said. "But he left something for you."
He brought out a strange machine.
It had a small hole in the center.
"I tried to activate it many times," Dr. Heraluk said, pressing the switch.
Nothing happened.
"I don't understand why it doesn't work."
Haruto stepped forward.
Then he slowly placed the red stone into the hole.
Suddenly—
The machine began to glow.
A wormhole appeared in the air.
Small—
but extremely powerful.
Light and darkness twisted together.
Everything nearby started getting pulled toward it.
Even Haruto.
Dr. Heraluk quickly shut down the machine.
The wormhole disappeared.
Haruto stood there, shocked.
What the hell was that…?
"Are you okay?" Dr. Heraluk asked.
"I'm fine… but what was that?"
"I'm not sure," the scientist said nervously. "Maybe a machine malfunction. You should go home for now."
"Thank you for your time," Haruto said politely.
The Incident
Haruto walked home.
Soon, he reached a zebra crossing.
Suddenly—
His pendant fell to the ground.
Haruto picked it up.
He stared at it.
The pendant his father had given him.
Then—
HONK!
A truck rushed toward him.
But Haruto was still looking at the pendant.
The truck was almost in front of him.
Then—
A bright flash of light appeared.
A portal opened.
Haruto disappeared.
Another World
Inside the portal—
Everything was dark.
Haruto was falling from the sky.
Wind roared around him.
Then—
BOOM!
He crashed onto the ground of a mountain.
Haruto slowly stood up and looked around.
Strange landscapes.
Unknown skies.
A world that felt both mysterious and terrifying.
It looked exactly like the world from his father's stories.
Haruto whispered—
"Is this…"
He looked at the endless land around him.
"…Tenzu?"