A faint humming sound filled the room.
Darkness. All we saw was darkness.
Gradually, the blackness faded, revealing a desaturated image of a person's back.
From that darkness, a light emerged, illuminating a small desk.
The air was still, as though time itself was frozen.
For minutes, nothing happened.
Only one thing moved: a white glow, flickering like candle flame.
Dust drifted past the monitor, veiling the screen.
Silence. The kind that makes anyone disengage.
However, before that could have happened, something changed.
Stagnation—Gone.
Everything moved again as a static voice ripped through the atmosphere.
[The world will end in 1 hour!]
A surge of urgency welled up. People reacted.
Some fled, severing the connection.
Some stayed, attempting to finish what they started.
But there were those who didn't move or react, as though the end was nothing of importance.
They gazed at the monitor. Eyes hollow.
Most had already left, leaving only two behind. Both sat at their desks, playing.
Clack, clack, clack.
They kept playing.
Score even. The next kill wins.
A title screen was shown.
DEFEAT
On the bottom, two buttons were displayed.
Try again
Exit
The cursor moved down, stopping right between the two.
No movement.
Then, the mouse moved towards the left side where the 'Try again' lay.
When the cursor hovered above it, the text lit up, increasing its size.
Index finger on the left mouse button, a slight pressure was created.
The plastic nearly clicked.
Before it could, the finger was lifted, no longer pressing the mouse.
Instead, it was swiped across a red mouse pad, reaching the other button.
It lit up like the other.
No click.
The mouse moved back in the middle.
Nothing happened.
Then, it moved again.
The button lit up.
A breath of cold air was expelled.
Click.
The left mouse button was pushed down, creating an invasive, sharp sound.
The two buttons vanished, leaving only a fading black screen behind.