i am so out of ideas i've resorted to writing isekai
To be honest, he wasn't surprised at all when the magic circle appeared under his feet.
Telltale signs had nagged at him all day - the softest tug of some unseen hand on his clothing, the phantom sensation of someone calling his name through distant fog. He'd confused one of his coworkers by responding What? to thin air this morning; now, the culprit yawned in front of him.
Intricate bands of glowing lavender light spun slowly at his feet, juxtaposed almost laughably against the grimy floor of the boba tea shop's bathroom. He stared at it for a long time, watching its inner glow fade and strengthen from one hue to another.
He thought about the tables in the foyer, yet to be wiped down; he thought about the sticky vat of leftover tapioca pearls, yet to be thrown out. He thought of his schedule for the next week and the hours his employer refused to give him, and of the remedial classes he needed to go back to school that he couldn't afford.
He thought of how the expectant pulse of the magic circle in front of him lined up perfectly with the drip of the bathroom faucet, and how ridiculous it - how ridiculous it all - was, and suddenly, as if the sun had emerged from behind a cloud, all these disparate ideas came together in sharp focus.
He stepped in. What else was there to do?
[The Front Gate - 1]