Inside a dimly lit room in the middle of the night, Eren, a young man with curly white hair and ocean-blue eyes, could be seen scrolling through a news website on his phone, a small frown resting on his face.
The headlines on his screen were more or less the same, each reporting similar cases of people suddenly disappearing from their homes without any trace.
There was even a trending report about a female celebrity who suddenly disappeared in the middle of her live show.
Though there was video evidence taken by fans present at the scene, many people still found it difficult to believe that it was truly happening.
To be honest, Eren was almost one of them.
The news of people disappearing had suddenly begun on New Year's Eve, 2100, and as of now, February 15 of the same year, there had been over 10,000 cases reported all over the world and up to a thousand in Blue Groove, the country he resided in.
At first, the internet dismissed it as artificial intelligence fabrications, since the AIs of the current year had grown so advanced that they could perform nearly all tasks with frightening perfection. One would have to inspect carefully for minutes to hours before realizing something was fake. Most of the time, one could not even decide which was fake and which was real, as there was barely any difference to the naked eye.
Nonetheless, different people soon began posting testimonies online, accompanied by detailed proof. As a result of the growing online uproar, the government and security forces stepped in and officially confirmed that it was indeed not a fuss.
The forces had been working tirelessly, according to the media, yet they had still not reached any conclusion about what was truly happening.
Online, rumors spread rapidly. Some believed it was merely a conspiracy created by higher-ups to invoke fear in citizens. Others suspected a coordinated group of serial killers, similar to those seen in dark psychological movies. Even more people believed it was religious in nature, proof that the end of the world was drawing near.
As for Eren, he simply could not believe news like this unless he had witnessed it himself.
That particular rule had saved him from countless scams and embarrassing situations throughout the twenty years he had been alive.
He worked a normal job as a cashier at a medium-level restaurant, where his days were often tormented by his potbellied boss attempting to bed him or by constant unfaithful women asking for his number, some even in the presence of their lovers without shame.
Aside from his work and his inconsistent visits to the gym, he was pretty much a shut-in with no friends. Despite being handsome and tall, with rare facial features that could easily get him a girlfriend in the current age, he had made up his mind not to date. The rate of unfaithfulness was so high that dating could even be considered a humiliation ritual for those who took it seriously.
He once had a girlfriend. Well, the rest was predictable.
Eren heaved a long sigh and returned his attention to his phone. Feeling bored, he decided to visit the volatile comment section on the webpage.
@bonnieblu: We've been looking for my neighbour since morning. I am scared now. She just celebrated her 20th birthday yesterday!
@youngcarrot: The government and security forces be acting like Avatar when the world needs them the most.
@Nerd2323: Everyone, I am taking it upon myself to announce this now. Start training as soon as you can. Learn all the survival tactics and basic martial arts you can find. I cannot share why you need it. It will be deleted if I do. But believe me, you'll need them.
—>@Iliterateking replying to @Nerd2323: The username checks out, go watch some cartoons, bro 🙏
—>>@73lordgc replying to @Iliterateking: It is anime, not cartoon, dumbfork.
Eren paid closer attention to the comment of the one being clowned as a nerd.
Somehow, the pattern felt familiar to a few web novels he had read, where anonymous comments revealed the chaos about to engulf their world early in an attempt to warn others, only to be taken lightly until everything finally began.
What if the nerd was speaking the truth? he wondered.
But he casually shook his head and cleared such thoughts away. There was no way something like that was happening.
Nonetheless, as he lingered on the idea, a question arose in his mind.
If he were to go missing today, who would remember him or even miss him?
Well, the answer was no one.
His entire family, his parents and his older brother, had left home and never returned when he was six. It was later revealed that they had died in a ghastly accident. Since then, he had been taken from one abusive foster home to another until he finally turned sixteen and ran away to a new city to begin surviving on his own.
His pretty unlucky past had made it difficult for him to make friends or trust people. He once tried dating, and his girl left him the moment she learned he was not from a rich family, as she had expected from his exquisite looks.
"My troublesome landlady would definitely remember me. I still owe her rent," he thought, smiling wryly as he recalled the funny face his landlady made each time she came to demand payment.
Nonetheless, just as those lighter thoughts were about to wash away the ones about his sad past, the phone in his hands suddenly began to misbehave.
The screen flickered on and off by itself.
The lamps in his room also began to malfunction, blinking unnaturally and resembling scenes he had seen in horror movies.
But just as he was about to process what was happening, a sharp migraine struck his head. He let go of his phone and clutched his head as he let out an anguished groan.
His body lost strength almost immediately, and his vision began to darken bit by bit.
Just then, he heard a masculine robotic voice in his head.
[Welcome, Survivor #11909]
[Your survival trial begins in 20 seconds. Afterwards, your body will be transferred to a new world.]
"What!"
Eren muttered with the little bit of strength he could muster.
Transferred to a new world? What was the voice even saying? he pondered in disbelief.
[Upon a successful survival, you will be allowed to spin the wheel of fate to obtain a talent that would guide you through your future survival missions]
[The countdown starts now.]
[20]
[19]
The robotic voice ignored his cries of anguish and continued without pause.
At that moment, Eren reached for his phone.
Something within him told him this was just like those people who had gone missing. Maybe that nerd had not been lying after all.
In such a moment, he wanted to inform all his loved ones, as he did not want anyone to worry about him.
Nonetheless, when he held the phone, he remembered he had no one and slowly let go of it.
[4]
[3]
He stared at the countdown with uneasy eyes, his breathing shallow.
[2]
[1]
[0]
As it reached zero, everything went blank.