There was nothing special about that night.
And that was exactly what made it dangerous.
Adam sat on the edge of his bed, his back slightly hunched, his eyes fixed on the dim glow of his phone screen reflecting off his pale face. He wasn't doing anything in particular—just scrolling aimlessly, moving from one app to another, from one image to the next, from one video to another… never stopping long enough to truly care.
Time passed, but he didn't feel it.
As if days were no longer units of time, but empty gaps stretched endlessly without meaning.
He exhaled slowly, then tossed the phone beside him and lay back, staring at the ceiling. Small cracks ran across the paint—he had noticed them years ago, but never bothered fixing them. In fact, he hadn't tried fixing anything.
"Tomorrow…"
He whispered the word like a promise.
But there was no conviction in his voice.
"Tomorrow I'll start over."
A faint, bitter smile formed on his lips.
How many times had he said that?
Ten? A hundred?
He couldn't remember.
He closed his eyes, trying to escape that heavy feeling pressing on his chest every night—the suffocating sense of being stuck in a life he didn't belong to, one he didn't know how to change.
But sleep didn't come.
It never did.
Buzz.
His eyes opened slowly.
The sound was sharp, clear—cutting through the silence of the room like a blade.
"A message?"
he muttered, lazily reaching for his phone. He expected nothing important—probably an ad, or some useless notification.
But when he unlocked the screen…
He froze.
There was no sender.
No number.
No app icon.
Just a white screen with a single line of black text:
[Welcome to the System of Fate]
For a moment, he stared.
Then he laughed.
A dry, hollow laugh.
"…Funny."
He tried to swipe it away.
Nothing happened.
He tried exiting.
Nothing.
It was as if his phone… was no longer under his control.
A faint unease crept into his chest.
"What is this…?"
Buzz.
A new message appeared.
[You have been selected]
This time, he didn't laugh.
"Selected… for what?"
he muttered, quickly typing:
Who are you?
He pressed send.
The message appeared for a second—
Then vanished.
As if it had never existed.
A chill ran down his spine.
"…This isn't normal."
Buzz.
[First Mission: Get out of bed within 10 seconds]
Silence.
Then he glanced at his bed.
Then back at the message.
"…Seriously?"
He tossed the phone aside and turned over.
"I don't have time for this."
He closed his eyes.
10
The number appeared.
Large.
Red.
Pulsing.
9
His eyes opened.
"…Wait."
8
He lifted his head slightly.
7
"Is that… a countdown?"
6
He sat up.
5
His heart began to race.
4
"It's just a bug…"
3
But he didn't believe himself.
2
Suddenly—
He stood up.
Without thinking.
1
Silence.
Then—
[Mission Complete]
Time seemed to stop.
Then resume.
But not the same.
Adam stood there, breathing slowly, staring at the screen.
He didn't know why he obeyed.
There had been no real danger.
Or so he thought.
Buzz.
[Reward: +1 Focus]
"…Focus?"
But before he could dismiss it—
He felt it.
Not pain.
Not shock.
Clarity.
As if a fog inside his mind had suddenly lifted.
His breathing steadied.
The world sharpened.
Sounds clearer.
Thoughts… organized.
"…Impossible."