In a near-future dystopia eroding under a dying sun, follow photo-journalist Paris Ray as she investigates the mystery of unemployment certificates, during the two weeks on Earth. She works seven days a week in one of the last sanctuary domes to earn passkeys for her adopted family, lest they all die in inferno. The price is only five hundred thousand dollars per person. However, earning enough for passkeys isn't her main prerogative. She wants answers, and she'll use all her free time to get them. She wants to know why she hasn't seen her parents in six years, since they sacrificed themselves in the life payout program. She wants to know why she hasn't seen her older brother since he ran off to the Institute shortly after. And above all, she wants to know why they all have to work so tirelessly to be saved.

**"Every reality is a shard of a broken mirror. If you stare long enough, the mirror stares back."** Beneath the fabric of our mundane existence lies the **Great Multiverse-a chaotic, breathtaking tapestry of worlds where the impossible is merely a Tuesday.** From cities built on the backs of dying stars to forests that breathe in echoes of the past, the boundaries are thinning. *Short Universal Fantastic Stories* is not just a collection; it is a portal. Within these 200 chapters, you will traverse the bleeding edges of time and space. You will meet gods who have forgotten their names, machines that have learned to cry, and shadows that long to be human. **But be warned:** In the world of the Fantastic, every gift has a price, every light casts a lethal shadow, and the truth is often more terrifying than the lie. **200 Journeys. 200 Realities. One Ultimate Truth.** *Step inside. The shards are calling.* ---