The Countdown Begins

Ren stared at the glowing system panel, the words "Beginner Reward Activated!" burning into his retinas like an irreversible choice.

His breath came slow and measured, but beneath the surface, his heart pounded like a war drum. A high-quality viral song? A 60,000 rupee one-time-use set specifically for launching 'Eclipse'? It sounded almost too good to be true. But then again, what part of his situation wasn't absurd?

"Eclipse," he murmured, the name of his first song lingering on his tongue like a prophecy.

He leaned back against the cold concrete of the rooftop, staring up at the endless night sky. The city lights below flickered like distant stars, indifferent to his existence. Two years. One year before his body would start failing him. Five months before the first signs of deterioration.

The weight of it pressed down on his chest.

"So this is my life now."

The thought should have terrified him. Maybe a part of him was still screaming inside, but what good would it do? He had already lived one life in denial, wasted in an office under soulless fluorescent lights until he worked himself to death. He wasn't going to waste this one.

"If I'm dying," he whispered, voice barely audible over the city noise, "I'll make the world remember my name first."

The next morning, Ren found himself seated at their small dining table, his eight-year-old sister Airi staring at him with wide, expectant eyes. Their mother bustled around the cramped kitchen, preparing their meager breakfast. The scent of miso soup filled the air, a comforting aroma that felt strangely foreign despite the memories in his head.

"Onii-chan, you look different today!" Airi declared, poking at her rice bowl with her chopsticks.

Ren blinked, caught off guard. "Different how?"

"Hmm..." She squinted at him with a dramatic "I'm an expert at this" face. "Less gloomy?"

He chuckled despite himself. "Was I that bad before?"

"You looked like a kicked puppy all the time!" she announced proudly, as if she had cracked the greatest mystery of all time.

Their mother turned, exasperated. "Airi, don't say that about your brother."

Airi pouted but obediently returned to her breakfast. Ren just shook his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. It was strange. The old Ren must have been different, quieter, more withdrawn. But if Airi could tell the shift already, then maybe he really was changing.

Or maybe he had just finally decided to start living.

School was, as expected, the same monotonous cycle of lectures, assignments, and trying to avoid getting called on by teachers. Ren sat by the window, eyes half-lidded as he watched the sunlight spill through the glass.

"Dude, you're spacing out again."

He turned to find Kenta leaning over his desk, a lazy grin on his face. Beside him, Yuto was scrolling through his phone, likely searching for the latest cursed meme to bless their group chat with.

"Let me guess," Yuto drawled without looking up. "Existential crisis number fifty-seven?"

"Nah, that was last week," Kenta said. "This is clearly number seventy-three."

Ren sighed. "Do you guys ever do actual schoolwork?"

Kenta grinned. "Do you ever actually answer our questions?"

Ren didn't respond, just rolled his eyes as Yuto finally turned his phone around. "Okay, but look at this."

It was a picture of a cat sitting in front of a microphone, eyes closed as if delivering the performance of a lifetime.

"This is you in a few months," Yuto deadpanned. "Idol-kun."

Ren froze.

For a split second, the air around him felt too still.

"What?" he asked slowly.

"You've been humming lately," Kenta said, wagging his eyebrows. "Not that we mind, you have a decent voice. But you seem... I dunno, weirdly focused these days."

Ren felt a bead of sweat roll down his neck. He hadn't realized he had been humming.

"Dunno what you're talking about," he deflected.

"Uh-huh," Kenta smirked. "Sure."

Yuto, thankfully, got distracted by another meme and dropped the conversation. Ren let out a breath of relief. He had to be more careful. If even these two idiots were noticing something different about him, then hiding his secret was going to be trickier than he thought.

That night, Ren sat in his tiny bedroom, staring at the laptop screen. His fingers hovered over the track labeled "Eclipse."

The system had promised it would be a hit, but something in him hesitated. It wasn't about whether it would succeed. It was about whether he was ready to throw himself into this world.

But then he thought about the countdown. The slow, inevitable crawl toward his body betraying him. The clock that wouldn't stop ticking, no matter how much he wanted it to.

He clicked upload.

For better or worse, there was no turning back now.

The next morning, his phone screen greeted him with numbers that made his breath hitch.

[Views: 85,472]

A notification popped up.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations! You have gained 28,490 hours of additional lifespan.]

Ren felt his stomach drop.

Another message flashed.

[Ding!]

[Milestone Achieved: 24,000 Views!]

[Reward: Basic Singing Skill Unlocked - Your pitch, tone, and vocal stability have slightly improved.]

Ren exhaled sharply. A skill. It wasn't much, but it was proof that he could grow. That he could improve.

This was it. His life was now tied to his fame.

And he had just taken the first step into a world where failure meant death.