The explosion shook the city.

  Windows rattled, alarms blared, and distant screams echoed through the streets. Kiran stood frozen in his hostel doorway, staring out at the chaos unfolding below.

  (Okay. Breathe. This might not be because of me.)

  A second explosion went off, this time closer.

  (…Nope. It’s definitely because of me.)

  He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to stay calm even as his brain went into full-blown panic mode.

  [What the hell is a “Cataclysm Magnet”?!]

  {Talent Explanation: Cataclysm Magnet – The user passively attracts large-scale disasters. The severity of disasters increases in proportion to the user’s growth.}

  [You’ve got to be kidding me.]

  His fingers twitched against the strap of his backpack.

  (So that’s why my life has been one long, unending nightmare. It was a damn **Talent?**)

  He barely had time to process that revelation before a new message appeared.

  Stolen story; please report.

  {Title Assigned: Harbinger of Misfortune}

  (That sounds **worse!**)

  Kiran’s eye twitched.

  This was fine. He could handle this. He had **lived through this curse his entire life.** This wasn’t new.

  What was new, however, was the **Akashic Record actively acknowledging his suffering.**

  And worse… increasing it.

  Another explosion rocked the street. Black smoke billowed into the air as flames licked the side of a nearby building. People were already running, some yelling into their phones, others blindly fleeing without understanding what had happened.

  Kiran took a single step forward.

  The ground caved beneath him.

  “—!”

  His reflexes kicked in, and he threw himself backward just in time to avoid falling into a gaping sinkhole that had swallowed half the road.

  [What kind of city-destroying disaster is this?!]

  {Minor Urban Cataclysm. Low-Casualty Probability. Estimated Duration: 2 Hours.}

  [Minor?!]

  Kiran stared at the message, aghast.

  Then, somewhere in the distance, a **bridge collapsed.**

  (…I need to leave. Right now.)

  He was already moving, weaving through panicked civilians as the city fell apart around him. His brain went into **crisis mode**, calculating escape routes, potential dangers, and supplies he might need.

  He had one goal.

  **Get out of the city before his luck made things worse.**

  But fate had other plans.

  {Title Assigned: The Unkillable}

  [What does that even mean—]

  Something **huge** slammed into the street ahead, sending debris flying. Kiran instinctively ducked, raising his arms to shield his face as concrete chunks rained around him.

  When the dust settled, he saw **what had fallen.**

  A **bus.**

  From a **skyscraper.**

  (…Excuse me?)

  It took his brain a full three seconds to process what he was looking at. The bus had crashed nose-first into the street like some kind of **modern art installation.**

  The windows were **empty.**

  No passengers. No driver.

  Just an entire city bus… **that had fallen from the sky.**

  {Calamity Luck in Effect. Anomalous Events Will Continue.}

  [Oh, for the love of—]

  Kiran turned and **ran.**

  A normal person would have stopped to ask **why a bus fell from a building.** A normal person might have tried to investigate.

  But Kiran was not normal. Kiran had learned a very important lesson in life:

  **Do not question disasters. Just get away from them.**

  His feet pounded against the pavement as he made a beeline for the outskirts of the city. Every instinct screamed at him that staying here was a **death sentence.**

  And, as if to prove him right, another message appeared.

  {Cataclysm Progression: Stage 2 Initiated.}

  The ground rumbled.

  Kiran didn’t look back.