NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 1: A mysterious watch
The forest at night should have been peaceful — crickets chirping among endless shades of green, the occasional rustling of nocturnal creatures.
Instead, something had torn through that serenity.
In the woodland's heart, a patch of forest floor vanished, replaced by a smoking crater. At its center sat a metallic sphere, its surface without bumps despite the violent landing. The impact had kicked up a cloud of debris — leaves, dirt, and plastic trash from visitors swirling through the air like flies.
Cough Cough
A teenager stood at the crater's edge, waving away the filth-filled air. His gaze was locked onto the mysterious object that had so dramatically transformed the landscape. Suddenly, the ground beneath him crumbled, sending him sliding down the slope toward it.
'This day can't get any worse.' He pushed himself up, brushing dirt from his clothes and running his fingers through his brown hair in frustration.
His green t-shirt, marked by a distinctive black vertical stripe running down to its collar, had collected most of the debris. With his eyes as green as the rest of the t-shirt, he studied the crash site with growing curiosity.
'Where did this come from?' His eyes followed a smoke trail cutting through the starlit sky, tracking its path to the distant mountains. 'A plane crash, maybe?' He glanced at the intact spherical object again, doubt creeping in.
'But what kind of cargo survives a fall without a scratch? No… This wasn't a fall at all — it was like propelled at the ground! …and I'm certain it changed course to land near me!'
A sudden click broke the silence. The sphere split open with mechanical precision, bathing the crater in emerald light. As his eyes adjusted to the glow, he saw what lay within.
'A watch?' He studied the strange device. 'More like some advanced tool resembling one or a toy. Though at this point, anything would make this summer less boring.' Ignoring the dirt he forgot to remove off his black shoes, he stepped closer for a better look.
The watch's surface featured a green and black dial about five centimeters across, displaying a strange symbol ( 〉〈 ) where watch hands should be. Its base, a mix of black and dark gray, had four green cable-like structures embedded in its edges and a single green button beside the dial.
Cautiously extending his less dominant arm, he reached for the watch. Before he could touch it, the thing sprang to life, leaping onto his left wrist. 'What the—?! It's sentient?!'
There was no visible way to remove it — the watch seemed welded to fit his wrist perfectly, with no belt, button, or even a scratch to show how it attached.
'This is impossible…'
Even after shaking his arm vigorously, the device remained firmly attached. When he tried prying it off with his other hand, it felt like he was trying to tear away his own skin. After a few more futile attempts, he gave up.
'Might as well see how it works.' He kept a nonchalant expression, however sweat ran down his face.
The watch's single button made a satisfying click when he pressed it. The dial rose smoothly, revealing a black humanoid silhouette contained within a green, four-sided diamond display. Upon closer inspection, the green background seemed like water moving in random patterns, flowing independently of any movement as he tilted and turned his wrist to test it.
He noticed that the dial was made of two parts — a center display screen and an outer ring that could turn. The ring was black with small green buttons on all four sides, though they seemed to be just decoration.
Different figures appeared with each rotation, their shapes not always humanoid. The dial's rotating part had exactly ten positions, and if left between two positions, it would automatically snap to the closest one.
'Ten different monster-like shapes…' After turning it several times and seeing the same sequence repeat, he looked at the raised dial again.
'Since it popped up…' He pressed down on the dial with his right hand. The watch reacted instantly, glowing green, the emerald light engulfing him.
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Transformation sequence — Duration: 0.00 seconds
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In a flash, his skin transformed into dark red volcanic rock. Cracks spread instantly across his body, bursting into living flames. His clothes vanished as a blaze erupted from his head, rising about twenty centimeters high like a wild, dancing crown.
His eyes disappeared, leaving behind fiery sockets that glowed with intense heat. The watch melted away from his wrist, a new dial with the same symbol ( 〉〈 ) materialized in the center of his burning chest.
The green light that triggered this change faded, leaving only the fierce orange glow of his flaming body.
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The transformation, though complex, happened faster than a blink. Where a 16-year-old boy had stood moments ago, a flaming humanoid now illuminated the forest. From a distance, anyone would mistake him for the start of a forest fire.
The burning being stared at his hands in wonder.
Everything felt wrong — no, not wrong, different. Not like putting on a costume or gaining weight. This ran deeper. His whole body, mind, everything that made him had shifted. Old senses vanished while new ones flared to life, transforming his perception of reality. The fire dancing on his skin felt natural, like an old friend.
His heart thundered at impossible speeds, yet this new rhythm felt right, as if his usual heartbeat had only crawled along before. The transformation hadn't just changed his surface — it had rewritten him. The strangest part? His mind accepted it all as if he'd always existed this way.
'I must be dreaming… No, my thoughts are too clear for that.' Yet nothing about this made sense for him. Sure, Earth had its geniuses, but transforming into a monster? In the early 21st century? And all from a simple watch? Impossible.
Following pure instinct, he extended a flaming hand. A fireball shot forth, striking one of the few untouched trees nearby. The tree burst into flames.
'This… this is… this is AWESOME!'
Energized by the result, he channeled more power, sending a wave of fire in all directions. Everything in its path caught fire — trees, plants, grass, insects and scattered plastic trash. The air filled with the sour stench of burning materials, but without a sense of smell in this form, he remained unaware of the destruction he was causing, even as he watched it unfold.
The forest fire he had started was visible from far away.
"IT'S SO COOL!"
His wild laughter echoed through the forest, barely audible over the roaring flames, as he danced around wildly with his burning hands in every direction, throwing waves of fire, completely caught up in the moment. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this free.
After a minute of pure joy, reality started to sink in.
"Wait… I just started a fire in a public forest… and I'm some kind of fire monster… How long will I stay like this? Where did this watch even come from? Did the smoke trail really come from a plane?"
He stood still as his mind raced, then tried to think practically.
'Okay, stay calm. Grandpa Max's a plumber — he'll know what to do about the fire. I'll figure out… whatever I am… later.'
"You, human! That device is far beyond your understanding. Come with me quickly!"
The transformed human spun around, flames flickering wildly with his sudden movement. There, just a few meters away, stood a strange humanoid creature — its body like a white and black skeleton but with skin, with an ominous fin jutting from its head.
He jumped back slightly, his fiery form casting light on the creature's bone-like surface.
'A monster?! Where does he come from?! Is he the owner of the watch? Wait… monster? Let's think rationally. Monster is a vague term… The watch came from the sky…'
He looked at the star-filled night sky. 'He is… and I transformed… into an alien? Aliens exist?!'