The city lights blurred past as Alex gripped the steering wheel, humming along to the faint music from his car's speakers. It was just another ordinary night.
Then, out of nowhere—
SCREECH!
Blinding headlights slammed into view.
Metal crunched. Glass shattered. His chest crushed against the seatbelt as the world spun upside down. Pain flared white-hot, ripping the breath from his lungs.
"No—!" His scream was swallowed by the roar of twisting steel.
And then… silence.
No sound.
No pain.
Nothing but a heavy, suffocating blackness.
When Alex opened his eyes, he was no longer in the car.
He floated weightlessly, surrounded by endless, unbroken blue—no sky, no ground, just infinity stretching in every direction. His heart pounded, though he couldn't feel his body.
"W-where… am I?"
His voice echoed softly, swallowed by the void. There was no answer. No sign of life. Only the quiet hum of emptiness.
A cold realization crept through him.
Am I… dead?
The silence stretched on, broken only by the thundering of Alex's own heartbeat. He floated, turning slowly in the endless, suffocating blue.
"...Alex..."
His entire body went cold.
"H-Hello?" His voice cracked as he spun in place, searching for the source. There was no one there—only the same unending emptiness.
"Do you want to live?"
The voice was everywhere and nowhere, echoing deep inside his skull. It wasn't loud, but each word pressed against his mind like invisible hands.
"Live?" Alex swallowed hard. "Are… are you saying I'm dead?"
The voice didn't answer. Instead, a panel of glowing light flickered into existence before him. Its sharp, white text floated in midair.
[Would you like to live?]
YesNo
Alex stared, his mouth dry.
This has to be a trick. No one just offered life for free. Not without wanting something in return.
He licked his lips. "What do you want in exchange?"
For a moment, there was only silence. Then the voice came again, calm and almost… amused.
"It is not time for you to know that."
Alex's gut twisted. His instincts screamed at him to stay away from this deal. Whatever this was, it wasn't benevolent.
"Then my answer is no," he said firmly.
His finger hovered over the glowing No option, then pressed it.
The panel flickered.
[Error: Invalid Selection]
[Overriding choice…]
[Selection: YES]
Alex's eyes went wide. "What?! No, I said no!" He jabbed at the option again, frantic, but the panel ignored him.
[Confirmed: YES]
[Preparing transfer…]
The blue world began to ripple and crack like glass. Blinding light poured through the fractures, swallowing everything.
"Wait! Stop! I didn't agree to this!" Alex screamed, but his voice was drowned by a rushing roar.
The last thing he heard before the light consumed him was the voice, soft and cold:
"Welcome to your new life, Alex."
And then—
Darkness.