The streets were emptier than usual as Alex walked back to his apartment, the familiar chill of the city biting at his skin. The rhythmic ticking of the clock around his neck continued, echoing louder in the silence. His mind raced with thoughts of **ALBEKO**. The virtual world that had been the subject of whispers, rumors, and endless announcements.

**"Escape the burden of time."**

That was the promise **ALBEKO** offered, broadcasted on every corner, on every flickering screen left standing in the decaying city. A place where you could live without the constant pressure of the clock, without the fear of running out of time. A place where you could be free.

Alex had ignored it, convinced it was just another distraction. Another way to trap people in a different kind of prison. But now, as his time dwindled and the weight of his grief crushed him, the idea of a world without time was beginning to feel like something more than just an empty promise.

He turned the corner to his building, his eyes drawn to the flashing lights of a billboard overhead. A family, smiling and laughing in a sun-drenched meadow, stood frozen in digital perfection. The bright green grass beneath their feet looked too real to be virtual, and their faces were filled with a kind of joy that Alex hadn't seen in years. **ALBEKO: A Life Beyond Time**, the caption read beneath them. The slogan was the same everywhere. But tonight, it felt different.

**Any wish can come true.**

That's what the voice from the loudspeaker had said earlier that day, and Alex couldn't shake it. A wish? He had plenty of those. But there was only one wish that really mattered to him now.

He pushed open the door to his apartment, the sound of it creaking on its hinges filling the empty silence. The room was colder than usual, but he barely noticed. His body moved on autopilot, his mind trapped between the memory of what he'd lost and the slim hope of what **ALBEKO** could offer.

He sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes tracing the cracks in the ceiling, just like he had done countless nights before. But this time, his thoughts didn't drift to the past. They stayed in the present, hovering over the possibility that **ALBEKO** presented.

Could it really offer an escape? Could it offer a life where time wasn't the only thing that mattered? Could it... bring her back?

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Mira.

His heart ached at the thought of her, the sister he had promised to protect. The sister whose clock had hit zero when he wasn't there to save her. He had failed her, and that failure had left a wound in him that never healed. It had been years, but the pain was still fresh, still raw.

Alex clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. He hated this world. He hated the system that had reduced their lives to numbers ticking away above their heads. And more than anything, he hated **K**, the godlike figure who watched over everything, who could have stopped all the death and injustice, but chose not to.

The people worshipped **K**. They spoke his name with reverence in both the real world and the virtual one, as if he were the ultimate protector. But to Alex, **K** was nothing more than a tyrant who allowed the world to burn while he watched from above.

**ALBEKO** was no different. K's presence loomed there too. He controlled it all. His symbols were everywhere in the game world, and his voice, calm and all-knowing, could be heard in the announcements that echoed across the city, constantly reminding everyone of his power.

Alex despised him. He had despised him the moment Mira died, the moment her clock had hit zero and **K** did nothing.

But what choice did he have now?

He glanced at the small clock hanging around his neck, watching the seconds melt away.

**10 hours, 7 minutes, 22 seconds**.

It was never enough. No matter how much time he earned, it always felt like it was slipping through his fingers, pulling him closer to the edge of nothingness. Alex had survived all this time by staying out of trouble, by keeping his head down and doing the work, but what was the point if it all just led to more of the same?

His eyes moved to the door. He could feel the weight of the decision pressing down on him. **ALBEKO** was a risk. He didn't trust it. He didn't trust the world, or the people who ruled it, and especially not **K**. But what else was there? This world was crumbling around him, and no matter how hard he fought, the clock was always ticking.

He stood up, his hands trembling as he pulled on his jacket. His breath came in shallow bursts as he stepped into the hallway, his legs carrying him forward on instinct.

The streets were eerily silent as he made his way to the nearest **ALBEKO Registration Center**. A sleek, modern building that stood in sharp contrast to the decaying city around it. The doors slid open automatically as Alex approached, the sterile white interior a stark contrast to the world outside.

The voice from the loudspeakers continued to echo through the streets, even here, urging people to join the virtual utopia.

"**ALBEKO: A Life Beyond Time. Enter a world where your dreams can become reality.**"

Alex's hands shook as he approached one of the registration terminals. The screen blinked to life as soon as his hand hovered over it, a soft voice welcoming him with the same phrase he had heard so many times before.

"**Welcome to ALBEKO. A new life awaits.**"

For a brief moment, Alex hesitated. The memory of Mira's lifeless body flashed before his eyes, and the familiar wave of guilt crashed over him. Could this really be the answer? Could he find some kind of redemption in a world where time wasn't a resource, where the clock didn't dictate everything?

He didn't know. But he had nothing left to lose.

His clock blinked in the corner of the screen as the registration process began.

**9 hours, 56 minutes, 12 seconds**.

Alex pressed the confirmation button.

The world around him flickered, and for a moment, everything went dark. Then, just as quickly, the blackness was replaced by a bright light, and Alex felt his body becoming weightless.

A new world was waiting for him.

**ALBEKO**.