“Ren, your choice will change the world.”
He first heard the voice on a rainy afternoon, just after the skies had cleared.
The boy, Ren, awoke in bed and stared quietly at the ceiling. The voice that echoed in his mind was dignified, yet curiously gentle—it was not cold.
“You have the power to know the future. And depending on your decisions, the world will change.”
At first, he thought it was a dream.
But from that day on, Ren began to hear the “voice of God” in his head.
The first prophecy was trivial.
“In your next class, choose the third answer.”
Still half in doubt, Ren did as he was told. And he was right.
Next came something far more shocking.
“On your way home, take the path to the right.”
He obeyed—and moments later, a bicycle sped past on the left. Had he taken that road, he might’ve been hit.
From then on, the voice predicted small, everyday events with unerring accuracy.
Ren gradually grew used to following its guidance.
But one day, the voice said something different.
“In three days, a major accident will occur in this city.”
Ren caught his breath.
“…An accident?”
“If you act, it may be prevented.”
For the first time, Ren had doubts.
Why did the voice, which could predict everything, not act to prevent the accident itself?
“What should I do?”
There was no reply. Only silence, as if the voice were waiting.
So Ren thought for himself. He contacted the police anonymously. And the accident was averted.
“…Well done, Ren.”
At that moment, something changed inside him.
From then on, the voice began asking him to make even greater decisions.
“The future of this country rests in your hands.”
Ren’s choices now had the power to shape a nation’s destiny. But following the voice was no longer necessarily the right thing.
One quiet night, he asked:
“Are you really God?”
“…”
There was no answer.
Ren began to wonder—what if this voice wasn’t “God,” but the future itself?
And if so, wasn’t the future something to be chosen not by anyone else, but by one’s own will?
“From now on, you must choose your own path.”
That was the last thing the voice said before it faded away.
Ren looked up at the sky and began to walk.
Because it wasn’t God who would decide the world’s future—it was him.
