Chapter 3: So it begins

The glow on Arya's computer lights up her dim room. She sat at her desk, headphones on, immersed in her fantasy RPG project. Lines of code scrolled past as she adjusted the NPC interaction system.

"Finally!" she muttered excitingly with her hands in the air, like celebrating a win. Her latest build loaded without errors. She leaned back, removing her headphones and stretching her arms and back.

The sound of a knock on her door startled her.

"It's me, Daniel. Can I come in?" her brother's voice came from the other side.

Arya sighed, saving her work. "Sure, come on in."

Daniel stepped into her room, a laptop tucked under his arm. His brow furrowed with frustration.

"You're my last hope. This stupid thing won't connect to Wi-Fi, and I've got a presentation tomorrow morning."

"Arya gestured for him to hand over the laptop. "What did you do this time?"

"Nothing!" he protested, sitting on the edge of her bed. "I was just reading an article about this asteroid destroyer. Multiple ads were popping up, and it suddenly froze."

Arya rolled her eyes, typing rapidly on the keyboard. "You're hopeless when it comes to tech. Maybe stop opening untrusted websites online, and this wouldn't happen."

"It's coming along," Arya added.

Daniel's tone softened. "I'm sorry about lashing out at you earlier…It's just that...I'm worried about you, you know...Any luck finding a job?"

Arya hesitated, her fingers pausing mid-typing. "Not really. I have a few freelance gigs, but nothing steady. I'm hoping this game will be my big break."

Daniel frowned. "You're talented, Arya. You could work anywhere. Why put all your eggs in one basket?"

She turned to face him, a mixture of determination and vulnerability in her eyes, while giving Daniel his laptop. "Because this is the only thing that feels like it's mine, Danny. This game… it's my way of proving I can do something amazing."

Daniel nodded slowly, understanding her frustration. "I get it. Just… don't shut out the world while chasing this dream, okay? You've got people who care about you. Even though mom and dad are not here anymore, I know they are proud of you. Plus, you've got me, and you can't get rid of me that easily," he smiled.

Arya's expression softened. "I know. Thanks, Danny."

Before Daniel could leave the room, the ground suddenly shook violently. The laptop slipped from his hands.

"What was that?!" Daniel asked, standing abruptly.

Before Arya could respond, another tremor rocked the building, stronger this time. A loud crash came from outside, followed by screams and the wailing car alarms.

Daniel ran to the window, pulling back the curtain. His face went pale. "Arya… you need to see this."

She joined him, her breath catching in her throat. Fiery streaks lit up the night sky, meteors hurtling toward the streets. One smashed into a nearby building, the shockwave shattering the window.

"Is this some kind of asteroid shower? Was the article real after all?" Daniel stammered, stepping away from the glass.

Arya's mind raced, panic setting in. "We need to leave. Now."

They grabbed their belongings in a frenzy. Arya throws her laptop and hard drive into her bag. As they made their way to the front door, another tremor hit, sending them to the floor.

"Danny!" Arya screamed, scrambling towards her brother. He was pinned under a fallen beam, blood trickling from his forehead.

"I'm…fine. Go! Get out of here. I'll catch up," he grunted, though his face was pale. He is scared for his life, but he cannot show Arya because it would just make her more worried.

"No, I'm not leaving you. I already lost Mom and Dad, and I couldn't afford to lose you, too. You said I wouldn't get rid of you easily, right?" Arya started crying, trying to lift the beam.

Before she could free him, a blinding light filled the room, and a strange voice echoed in her mind:

[Survivors identified. System Activation in progress.]

Darkness enveloped her as consciousness slipped away.

—

When Jake opened his eyes, the world he remembered was gone. The sound of the falling rocks, screams of his fellow soldiers…All of it was gone.

He was back in Northwood, his home. But it doesn't look like home anymore, it looks and feels different.

He was lying on a cold floor. He looked up to the sky; it was no longer the familiar ashen gray of Earth's final moment but a sky with shifting lights, glowing with patterns too perfect to be natural…Like an Aurora Borealis.

He tried to sit on the floor while rubbing his temple, still dizzy. He noticed his wounds and scratches were gone, but he was still in his camouflage uniform. Nothing hurts anymore; he doesn't feel any more pain.

"Is this what they call the afterlife?" he murmured while still checking his body. However, he felt a stitch behind his ear, almost like a scar. He touched and felt what it was but couldn't figure it out.

Suddenly, a strange symbol floated into his vision, projected directly from his eyes, almost like a hologram. He blinked to see if this was all just a hallucination from what had happened, but it was still there. Words he didn't understand flickered and rearranged themselves until they formed a single, chilling message in a language he could comprehend:

—

When Zack regained his consciousness, the sterile smell of antiseptic was replaced by something metallic and sharp. The hospital room was gone. Instead, he was lying on a smooth, cold surface that glimmered faintly under shifting lights above.

"Olivia!" he called out, his voice hoarse and cracking. He tried to stand, but his body felt strangely light, almost like the pain from his injuries had been erased.

Frantically, he searched the strange expanse for any signs of Olivia. The last thing he remembered was gripping her hand at the stairwell. Now, she was gone, and he was alone.

A faint beeping sound interrupted his thoughts, and a sharp sting behind his ear made him wince. He touched the spot, feeling a small ridge of raised skin—like something had been implanted.

"What the hell is this?"

Suddenly, a projection flashed before him, bright and unnervingly clear, like it was imprinted directly into his brain:

—

Arya's eyes fluttered open, her head throbbing with a dull ache. The first thing she noticed was the sound—a low, resonant hum that seemed to vibrate through her bones, like the heartbeat of some colossal machine. She blinked, her vision slowly adjusting to the dim light.

The ground beneath her was cold and smooth, its surface reflecting the shifting colors of the sky above. She pushed herself up, her fingers brushing against something metallic and unfamiliar on the back of her neck. A chill ran down her spine as she realized she wasn't in her apartment anymore.

"Daniel?" she called, her voice echoing strangely in the vast emptiness. There was no response, only the eerie hum and the faint rustle of wind—or something like wind—across the obsidian ground.

Her heart pounded as she scanned the horizon, her mind racing. "This can't be real," she muttered, her voice trembling. "It's just a dream. It has to be."

But the cold, metallic surface beneath her hands felt all too real. She clenched her fists, forcing herself to breathe. "Think, Arya. Think."

Then came the projection, the words burning into her vision, as well as from Jake and Zack's:

[Welcome to the System, Survivors.]

"Survivors?" she whispered, a chill running down her spine. "There are others?"

The following lines made her breath catch in her throat:

[Trial One Commencing: The Gauntlet of Instincts]

[Objective: Reach the designated safe zone within 30 minutes]

[Each participant will encounter obstacles, before reaching the safe zone.]

[Failure to reach the safe zone will result in immediate termination.]

[Goodluck.]

She stared at the words, her mind racing. "A trial? A system? This can't be real…"

The hologram vanished and a glowing timer appeared in the sky.

[30:00…29:59…29:58…]

"It's a timer," Zack said, his voice steady but laced with unease.

Arya's gaze darted around. She heard someone screaming from a distance. Maybe it was one of the survivors. She hesitated to run. She thought, was it another survivor or a trap? Her instincts screamed at her to stay still, to wait.

But then, she saw him.

—

Zack walked around. The strange, glowing sky above him felt surreal, as though the world itself was being warped. Then he saw a silhouette of a girl also running. "Someone's out there," he said to himself.

Zack slowed as he drew closer, noticing a woman running towards him. She was young, her clothes torn, her face a mask of worry. She wasn't in any uniform he recognized, yet the fear in her eyes mirrored his own.

They locked eyes for a moment, a silent understanding between them.

"You alright?" Zack asked, his voice rough from the tension.

"I think so," she replied, her voice shaky, though she still managed a small nod. "And you?"

"Not sure yet," Zack muttered. "But it looks like we're both stuck in this mess."

Before they could exchange another word, a scream rang out again, loud and desperate. Both of them turned sharply toward the source of the sound.

"It's coming from over there," Arya said, pointing to the edge of the clearing, her eyes scanning the terrain.

"Let's go," Zack urged, his determination rising. He moved toward the scream without hesitation.

Arya followed closely behind, matching his pace.

As they drew closer, they saw a figure in the distance—a man, possibly in his late twenties, standing with his arms raised, shouting into the sky.

[27:59…27:58..27:57…]

"What kind of sick game is this?" Jake muttered. "Hey!!! Whoever is listening, I don't want to be a part of this!!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

The stranger froze, his head snapping around to face them. For a moment, suspicion flickered across his features before it softened into cautious curiosity.

"Are you guys... real?" the man asked, his voice raw. "Is this some kind of hallucination?"

Zack shook his head, trying to steady his breath. "No idea. There's something bigger going on here, and we don't have much time."

Arya stepped forward, her voice steady despite the fear in her eyes. "We need to figure this out. That timer… it's counting down to something, and I don't think we want to be here when it hits zero."

The man hesitated, his gaze flicking between them. Finally, he nodded, albeit reluctantly.

"Fine. But I'm not trusting anyone blindly," he said, his voice low but determined.

"Fair enough…" Zack paused and looked at the guy as if asking him what his name was.

"Jake," he said.

"Fair enough, Jake. I'm Zack," he said.

"And this is?" Jake gestured to the woman behind Zack, but he also didn't know her name, since they had just met seconds ago. They both looked at her at the same time, waiting for her to answer.

"I'm Arya," she said.

"Enough with the pleasantries, we don't have enough time, let's go!" She added and ran quickly with Jake and Zack matching her pace.

The timer above them continued to count down.

[26:00…25:59…25:58… 25:57…]