Jay woke up in a dreary orphanage bed with the painful realization that he was no longer in the familiar home of his parents. The cold morning reflected the emptiness in his heart. Two weeks ago, Jay had lost his parents and this lay like a leaden shadow over him. The silence of the orphanage was broken by the muffled sounds of everyday life, making Jay feel even more lost in his new surroundings. The blanket pulled over him was the only comfort in this new reality.
Whenever Jay closed his eyes, he could still see the outlines of the memory of his parents in front of him. He could also still hear his father's voice and his mother's laughter, although they were now only echoes of his thoughts. This only intensified the pain of the loss all the more.
Slowly, he struggled out of bed, threw on some clothes and made his way to the common room. After poking listlessly at his food, he left the orphanage and wandered the streets of the village without a clear direction. Lost in thought, he only realized where he was when he stood in front of his parent’s old house.
The lights were out and the house looked so lifeless from the outside. Only when dusk enveloped him and it started to rain was Jay able to think clearly again. The drops of rain mixed with his tears and Jay finally found the strength to turn away from his parent’s house. He had to get back to the orphanage. He and the others were not allowed to stay out this late.
The rain pelted down on Jay incessantly, soaking his clothes and leaving dark stains on the pavement as he hurried back to the orphanage. The streetlights cast diffuse shadows on the ground as the darkness slowly swallowed the surroundings.
His path led him through narrow alleyways, past lonely house entrances and deserted squares, until he suddenly came across a group of boys from the orphanage. The leader of the group was called Marc, and he had caused Jay problems before. So far it had only been insults and minor shoves, but Jay sensed that something was different today.
The group of boys standing in front of him had long been well known in this small town and wherever there was trouble, they weren't far away. Marc was nicknamed "Gun", which he had earned through his impulsive and aggressive nature. From one moment to the next, he could flip a switch and a situation could degenerate into violence.
The other two in the group were Max and Luca. Max was tall and muscular and intimidated others with brute strength. He constantly built himself up in front of others and humiliated anyone he was physically superior to. This, among other things, earned him the nickname "Rock".
The last member of the group, Luca, also known as "Shadow", usually stayed in the background of the other two. From there, he watched the action with a calculating gaze, stirred up the atmosphere and cleverly wriggled out of punishments in the event of later consequences.
Marc took a step forward and his eyes seemed to sparkle in the darkness as he looked at Jay with a mocking grin. "Well, who's hobbling along in the pouring rain? The little orphanage prince is probably late again."
Jay was nicknamed "Prince" by the other children on his very first day at the orphanage. In the small town where Jay lived with his parents, everyone knew each other.
Even though he didn't go to the same school as the children in the orphanage and didn't have any other points of contact with them in everyday life, he had already crossed paths with them a few times in the 15 years of his life.
It also didn't help Jay in this situation that his parents had been wealthy, which only encouraged the others to make Jay suffer even more.
The other boys laughed derisively as Jay tried to get past them. He ignored their provocative remarks and stubbornly looked straight ahead, but Marc stood in his way again. "Didn't you hear me? You don't belong here."
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Luca, the silent observer of the group, seemed to be enjoying himself. Max, who had remained in the background until now, whispered something to Marc. The tension in the air was palpable.
Jay took a deep breath, he had to think of something to defuse the situation. "Why are you doing this? What have I done to you?" he asked in a calm voice, which nevertheless concealed a trace of uncertainty.
Max laughed derisively and suddenly stepped forward and pushed Jay roughly against the wall of the house. "Shut up and listen to us carefully now. No one is interested in you anymore. We're going to teach you a lesson so that you finally understand your new place in life."
Jay felt a throbbing pain in his back as he tried to gather himself and somehow escape the impending danger. "Don't try to run away!" sneered Marc as he moved towards Jay.
Luca followed him and the boys began to surround him. The rain amplified the sound of their footsteps, which bounced on the pavement like an ominous melody. Panic flashed through Jay as he searched for an escape route. The alleyways seemed narrower, and the danger of being cornered by the three increased with every passing moment.
Jay gathered his strength and jumped away, trying to escape through a gap in the closing semi-circle. At the last second, just as he thought he had escaped the boy’s grasp, he was hit in the head with a powerful blow.
Stars danced before his eyes as he sank to the ground. The cold, rain-soaked asphalt greeted him unkindly as the rain soaked further into his clothes.
The three boys were now standing over Jay as he tried to pick himself up. "You'll learn you're standing down here," Marc spat out, kicking Jay's side with his boot. Pain shot through his body, but Jay gritted his teeth to keep from making a sound of weakness.
Max and Luca followed Marc's example and inflicted more punches and kicks on Jay. The cold of the rain mingled with the burning pain on his skin. Each blow seemed to be a reminder of his loss; of the emptiness his parents had left behind.
The rain became a relentless witness to the brutal scene, while Jay desperately tried to protect himself. But the superiority of the group of boys was overwhelming. He couldn't escape their angry voices and the sound of their kicks hitting his body.
Amidst the pattering of the rain and Jay's cries of pain, darkness engulfed the scene. Marc, Max and Luca, driven by their own bitterness and violence, continued their attack. For Jay, the line between raindrops and tears, between physical pain and the infinite sadness that clutched his heart, became blurred.
When the blows stopped for a moment, Marc leaned over him and whispered something incomprehensible in his ear with a malicious grin. Then he lashed out and gave Jay a brutal kick right in the face. The impact was so violent that the rain seemed to pause for a moment.
Jay caught off guard by the force of the kick, lost consciousness. The darkness swallowed him up, while his battered body lay motionless on the wet asphalt.
But in that last moment before losing consciousness, the night was pierced by an inexplicable beeping, as if every person in the world had an invisible alarm inside their consciousness.
The sound was so intense that even Marc, Max and Luca paused and scanned their surroundings in irritation. At the same time as the beeping, a mysterious voice penetrated people's thoughts and a text message appeared before their inner eye:
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Global system notification
Congratulations inhabitants of Earth!
It is now possible to integrate Earth into the system as part of sector 14 - 08.
In order to start the integration with the system, all inhabitants will participate in a tutorial to familiarize themselves with the new conditions and possibilities of the new reality.
Tutorial starts in 3,2,1...
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The beeping and the eerie message seemed to unite in a synchronized rhythm, as if they were creating a secret melody in the collective consciousness of mankind. Even Jay, lying unconscious on the asphalt, seemed to perceive the beeping and the message on the same level.
The group of boys, Marc, Max and Luca, stared at each other as they collectively witnessed this supernatural phenomenon. The beeping continued to echo as the raindrops pelted the ground, as if nature itself was about to witness this mysterious proclamation.
The collective beeping created an inexplicable connection between people that stretched across the entire planet, welcoming humanity to the tutorial…