The Last Hour

The world around Ren Takahara seemed to slow as the noose tightened around his neck. The rough rope bit into his skin, and the weight of his body pulled him down, but his mind was far from the cold, damp prison cell where he stood on the brink of death. His heart raced, pounding a desperate rhythm as memories flashed before his eyes: a life filled with cons, deceit, and the faces of those he had hurt. Regret clung to him, suffocating and undeniable. He inhaled deeply, accepting the inevitable, feeling the heavy, finality of his life waste away.

In another corner of the world, Sora Nishikawa fought to stay conscious. Blood trickled down his forehead, blurring his vision as he remained trapped inside a wrecked car. The metallic smell of gasoline filled the air, mixing with the acrid scent of burning rubber. His thoughts were chaotic, focusing on the experiment gone wrong, the one that had isolated him from everything he once knew. It wasn't supposed to end this way—alone, forgotten. But as darkness threatened to claim him, he couldn't fight the pull any longer.

Kaede Moriyama lay on a hospital bed, her pulse weak, as doctors worked frantically to revive her. The heart monitor next to her flatlined, the sharp tone cutting through the sterile air. The smell of smoke lingered in her nostrils, a phantom of the fire that had nearly consumed her. She had saved the children, pulled them from the flames—but in doing so, she had lost herself. The realization that she couldn't save everyone gnawed at her as the world faded to black.

Riku Kurosawa was cornered in a dark alley, his breathing ragged, eyes locked on the gun aimed at his chest. The click of the hammer being pulled back echoed in the narrow space. He had fought for his comrades, led them through countless battles, but now, at the end of his journey, all he could see were their faces—those who had fallen, those he couldn't protect. The bitter taste of failure filled his mouth as he braced for the shot that would finally take him down.

In a different realm entirely, Hana Shimizu clutched a bleeding wound, her vision blurring as she struggled to remain standing. The battlefield wasn't made of earth or stone, but of digital code and electrical circuits, a war fought in cyberspace. Her last thoughts were of the truth she had uncovered, the secrets she had hacked into—the truth she would never get to reveal. As the code around her glitched and fragmented, she knew she was out of time.

In the moments before death, everything became clear... except the why.

They all saw it—the flashes of lives not their own: prison bars, the screech of tires, a flatline monitor, gunfire, and explosions.

But death wasn't the end. It was only the beginning.

Ren's eyes snapped open to a dark, circular chamber. The walls pulsed with a faint, ominous glow, ancient symbols etched into the stone. He was seated in a chair, the cold, hard surface pressing against his back. Disoriented, he glanced around, seeing others—four figures seated in a circle, their faces pale with confusion and fear.

"Where... where am I?" Sora's whisper broke the silence, his voice trembling.

Kaede's eyes darted around the room, panic creeping into her expression. "Is this... the afterlife?"

A deep, resonant voice cut through the air, commanding their attention. A tall, imposing man sat on a throne-like chair at the center of the chamber, his back turned to them. His presence exuded an unsettling authority, a dread that settled into their bones.

"You have one hour..." The man's voice reverberated, sending a shiver down Ren's spine.

Ren's heart skipped a beat. This moment—it felt familiar, like a nightmare he had experienced over and over. Was this déjà vu... or something far worse?

The imposing man rose from his throne, moving slowly, deliberately. Shadows clung to his form, obscuring his features, leaving only his piercing eyes visible.

"One hour remains before this world collapses," he intoned. "You, who have escaped the chain of time, must find the crack in your timelines and seal it."

Without warning, tendrils of dark energy shot out from the man's hands, wrapping around each of them. Ren gasped as a surge of memories flooded his mind—moments of death, moments that weren't his, but felt all too real.

"What... what is this?" Riku choked out, struggling against the energy that bound him.

"You are the chosen," the man continued. "Each of you holds a fragment of the truth. Find each other in different times and lives. Seek out the faces of time... or be lost in the endless hour."

Ren jolted awake in his bed, drenched in sweat, his heart pounding as though he had just run a marathon. The room was dimly lit, the ticking of the clock on his nightstand unnervingly loud. For a moment, he thought it had all been a dream—until the holographic screen appeared before him, floating in the air.

59 minutes remaining to close the crack.

The words glowed ominously, the countdown ticking away. Ren's breath caught in his throat as he read the next line.

Penalty for failure: Entry into the endless hour...

His hands shook as the screen flickered, new text appearing in stark, unforgiving letters.

Mission Accepted.

Details: Suzy Nakanama, 24 years old, Death in 59 minutes, Cause: Truck Accident. Prevent this death.

Ren's eyes widened in horror. "Suzy Nakanama... She's going to die... today. No, within the hour!"

He threw off the covers, his mind racing. He didn't know who she was, but if saving her meant saving the world, he couldn't waste a single second. The countdown had already begun.