"Buzz... Buzz... Buzz..."
An annoying vibration dragged Aveera out of his sleep.
He slowly opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for several seconds, hoping it would somehow explain why mornings existed.
It didn't.
With a tired sigh, he reached for his phone.
[6:05 AM]
Aveera dragged himself out of bed and turned on the lights. His sleepy eyes barely opened as he grabbed his toothbrush and wandered into the bathroom.
He stood in front of the mirror, brushing his teeth while staring at the reflection of a young man who looked like he had already given up on the day.
Or perhaps on life itself.
How do I get out of this?
The question had been bothering him for years.
What am I supposed to do with my life?
He had no real purpose.
No hobby.
No ambition.
Nothing he desperately wanted to achieve.
He simply existed.
Every now and then, Aveera would spend an entire hour thinking about what he could do with his life. He would imagine learning a new skill, starting a hobby, exercising, travelling, meeting people, or perhaps finding something he genuinely enjoyed.
And then?
Nothing.
He would eventually return to his room, lie down, pick up his phone, and waste another several hours.
It wasn't as though he had financial problems.
His parents were millionaires.
Money had never been the issue.
The problem was that there was simply nothing Aveera wanted badly enough to chase.
He didn't feel the need to become successful.
He didn't care about developing an impressive personality.
He didn't even particularly care about becoming better than his current state.
Time moved forward, and Aveera simply flowed along with it, waiting to see where the current would eventually carry him.
"Sigh..."
He spat out the toothpaste and stared at himself again.
His long, black hair had become messy enough to qualify as a separate ecosystem.
Maybe I should get a haircut.
His eyes travelled down toward his body.
He was thin and pale, with almost no muscle.
Maybe I should start working out too.
He paused.
Then shook his head.
I'll do it tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
The magical place where all human productivity apparently lived.
The problem wasn't that Aveera didn't know what he should do.
He knew.
He simply never did it.
And that was perhaps the most frustrating part.
There was no external force holding him back.
Only himself.
Aveera was currently living in Novaris on a student visa, far away from his family and birthplace, India.
His parents had sent him here hoping that a new environment might help him mature.
So far, it hadn't worked.
He was still Aveera.
And Aveera was still doing absolutely nothing with his life.
He picked up his phone again.
[7:08 AM]
His eyes widened.
"Wait, what?!"
He stared at the clock in disbelief.
An hour?!
"If I get late again, Ethan is going to kill me."
He suddenly remembered last time this happened.
Ethan had told him very clearly that he would come to Aveera's apartment at 7:50 AM and take him to college.
Aveera had approximately fourty minutes.
He panicked.
"Why did I spend an entire hour brushing my teeth?!"
He rushed into the shower.
Within minutes, he had thrown on his clothes, grabbed his bag, and hurried into the kitchen.
Breakfast consisted of whatever required the least amount of effort.
Halfway through eating a sandwich, the doorbell rang.
Ding-dong.
Aveera froze.
He's here.
He slowly walked toward the door and opened it.
Standing outside was a tall, handsome young man with blonde hair, an athletic build, and an annoyingly energetic smile.
"Ethan."
"Aveera !!! "
Ethan smiled brightly.
"How are you, my friend?"
It had been only a day since they had met, yet the enthusiasm between them could have belonged to two childhood friends who had been separated for years.
Ethan was a transfer student, just like Aveera.
Born and raised in Germany, he had later earned a scholarship to study in Novaris.
And unlike Aveera, Ethan seemed determined to squeeze every drop out of life.
He had excellent grades.
A strong personality.
A natural ability to talk to people.
He was good at nearly every sport he tried and had already become surprisingly popular at college.
Most importantly, Ethan actually seemed to enjoy living.
He was everything Aveera wasn't.
And somehow, the two had become friends almost immediately.
Ethan stepped into the apartment.
His eyes immediately landed on the half-eaten sandwich.
Then the bucket of fried chicken sitting on the table.
His smile disappeared.
"Aveera."
Aveera swallowed nervously.
"Yes?"
"You know how much I value time, don't you?"
"I do."
"And you know I told you I'd be here at 7:30?"
"Yes."
"And what time is it?"
Aveera glanced at the clock.
"Seven fourty-five."
Ethan's eyebrow twitched.
Aveera took one small step backward.
"I can explain."
"You'd better."
Ethan began walking toward him.
There was rage in his eyes.
Aveera knew that look.
It was the look of a man preparing to commit an act of disciplinary violence against his friend.
I'm going to die.
Aveera considered his options.
Running was impossible.
Fighting Ethan was suicide.
Begging for mercy had a survival probability of approximately zero.
Then his eyes landed on the bucket.
His beloved fried chicken.
A terrible sacrifice.
But sometimes survival demanded difficult choices.
Aveera grabbed the bucket.
"You can have it all as compensation!"
He threw it toward Ethan.
The bucket flew through the air.
Ethan caught it.
Silence.
He stared at the chicken.
Then at Aveera.
A grin slowly appeared on his face.
"Accepted."
Aveera stared at him in disbelief.
He sold his dignity for fried chicken.
Aveera sighed.
The first rule of survival was simple.
Protect yourself at all costs.
Even if it meant sacrificing the thing you loved most.
His only regret was that it had been the last piece of fried chicken in the apartment.
He slowly approached Ethan.
"Can I at least have one piece?"
Ethan stared at him for several seconds.
Then sighed and handed him half the bucket.
"Fine."
Aveera's eyes lit up.
"You're a good man."
"Eat."
The two sat down and began devouring the chicken as if they hadn't eaten in days.
By the time they finished, their stomachs were painfully full.
Aveera looked at the clock.
[7:55 AM]
His expression changed.
"We have to hurry."
Ethan stood up immediately.
"Let's go!!!"
They rushed out of the apartment.
A few minutes later, they reached the parking area and climbed onto Ethan's bike.
The engine roared.
Ethan accelerated.
The two sped through the streets, ignoring the speed limit whenever possible.
Cars passed them.
Buildings blurred.
The morning wind slammed against their faces.
For once, Aveera wasn't thinking about his meaningless existence.
He was simply enjoying the ride.
They eventually reached the highway.
The road stretched ahead of them, crowded with morning traffic.
The wind grew stronger.
Then—
Something appeared.
At the very edge of Ethan's vision.
A red box.
It wasn't on the road.
It wasn't on his phone.
It wasn't physically there.
It simply existed.
Floating in his field of vision.
Numbers were already counting down.
[SYSTEM INITIALISED]
CAUTION
Event commencing in...
00:30
00:29
00:28
Ethan's eyes widened.
"What the—"
His hand slipped.
The motorcycle suddenly swerved.
"Aah!"
The bike veered toward the side of the road.
A concrete pole rushed toward them.
"Ethan!"
The impact came before either of them could react.
CRASH!
The motorcycle slammed into the pole and toppled over.
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then Aveera groaned.
"Argh..."
He tried to move.
Pain exploded through his leg.
His eyes widened.
His leg was trapped beneath the motorcycle.
"Ethan!"
"I'm okay!"
Ethan pushed himself up.
Aside from a few scratches, he seemed unharmed.
He immediately rushed to help Aveera.
"What happened to you?"
"My leg..."
Aveera gritted his teeth.
"It's stuck."
Ethan grabbed the motorcycle and pulled it away with all his strength.
Aveera slowly dragged himself out from underneath it.
His leg trembled as he tried to stand.
"Can you walk?"
"Probably."
Aveera took one step.
Pain shot through his ankle.
"Never mind."
Ethan looked concerned.
"Did you twist it?"
"Probably."
Then Ethan suddenly looked toward the road.
His expression changed.
"You saw it too, right?"
Aveera looked at him.
"The red box?"
"Yes."
Aveera stared toward the empty space in front of him.
It was still there.
00:19
00:18
00:17
"You can see it?"
Ethan looked at him as if the question were ridiculous.
"Of course I can see it."
"Then what is it?"
"I don't know."
Aveera frowned.
"But it's definitely counting down."
"That's what I figured."
"I wasn't asking whether you could read numbers."
"Then what were you asking?"
"Why we can see it."
Ethan stared at the countdown.
Neither of them had an answer.
Aveera pulled out his phone.
[7:59 AM]
His eyes narrowed.
"I think it's counting down to eight."
Ethan looked at the clock.
Then at the red box.
"Why eight?"
"I don't know."
The countdown continued.
00:10
00:09
00:08
The traffic around them continued as normal.
Cars moved.
People walked.
Nobody seemed to notice anything unusual.
Aveera's heart began beating faster.
Something was wrong.
Deeply wrong.
"Whatever happens..." Aveera said quietly, "I don't think we have a choice."
Ethan looked at him.
"You're right."
They stood there, staring at the countdown.
00:05
00:04
00:03
The world seemed strangely quiet.
00:02
00:01
00:00
The countdown disappeared.
For one brief moment, nothing happened.
Then—
[8:00 AM]
The red box expanded.
A message appeared.
[EVENT BEGINS]
Aveera's pupils contracted.
Another message appeared beneath it.
[SYSTEM NAME: GOD'S HAND]
The world changed.
And Aveera's meaningless life—
was about to become anything but meaningless.