The room smelled of damp socks and despair.
Adrian sat slouched on the edge of his mattress — if you could even call it that. The springs poked through the thinning fabric, the sheet was stiff with old sweat, and the silence in the air pressed down like an iron weight.
He hadn't eaten properly in two days. His head throbbed, his stomach twisted, but worse than hunger was the hollowness inside him. That yawning pit of failure.
How did it come to this?
He dragged his hand down his face, staring at the cracked ceiling above. At twenty years old, he had nothing to show for himself except broken promises and overdue rent. The landlord had already threatened to kick him out by week's end. His mother was in a hospital bed across the city, the bills piling higher every day. And he? He couldn't even afford bus fare to go see her.
The thought came again. The dangerous one.
Maybe it would be easier… to just stop.
His gaze drifted to the half-open window. It was only four stories down. If he leaned far enough…
His chest tightened, breath shallow. The silence deepened. And for a moment, Adrian almost believed it was the only way out.
Then—
A sound.
No, not a sound exactly. More like… a voice echoing directly in his skull.
> [System Online.]
[Initializing…]
Adrian jerked upright, nearly tumbling off the bed. His eyes darted around the room. Nothing. Just peeling paint and a broken chair. He pressed his hands to his ears, shaking.
"What the hell—? Am I losing it now?"
> [Welcome, User: Adrian Holt.]
[Current Status: Critical — Depression, Malnutrition, Financial Instability.]
[Initiating Lifeline Quest.]
The words burned themselves into his mind as if someone was typing across the inside of his skull. Adrian's heart hammered.
He tried to laugh, but it came out dry and cracked. "Yeah. Perfect. I've gone insane. Talking voices in my head. Just great."
But the "voice" didn't stop.
> [Quest: Step outside and breathe fresh air.]
[Reward: $100.]
He froze.
"…What?"
This wasn't some hallucination. This was specific. Concrete. It was giving him a task. And money? Real money? He blinked at the words hovering in his vision. Even when he rubbed his eyes, they stayed.
His pulse quickened, not with despair this time, but confusion. Curiosity.
"Step outside and breathe fresh air?" He muttered, staring at the door like it was some kind of monster. "That's… it?"
> [Yes.]
Adrian sat there for a full minute, heart pounding, mind racing. He didn't believe it. Couldn't. But what did he have to lose?
Slowly, legs shaking, he pushed himself upright. His knees nearly buckled under his own weight. He shuffled toward the door, fingers brushing the chipped wood of the handle. His throat was dry, his palms sweaty.
He twisted the knob.
The hallway was dim, smelling faintly of mold. He hesitated, then stepped forward. One step. Two. He pushed the exit door open, and sunlight hit his face like a slap.
It wasn't warm — not really. Just pale morning light cutting through smog. But it was real. Clean air filled his lungs.
And then—
> [Quest Complete.]
[Reward: $100 has been transferred to your account.]
Adrian staggered back, nearly choking on the breath he'd just taken. His phone buzzed in his pocket.
Hands trembling, he yanked it out. His banking app blinked. Balance: $2.13… shifted, updated… Balance: $102.13.
His jaw dropped.
The phone slipped from his hand and clattered against the concrete.
"No way," he whispered, voice cracking. "This… this is real?"
The sunlight warmed his face, and for the first time in months, Adrian felt something strange.
Hope.