Fuck.

I dropped the chair, trembling as I stared wide-eyed at the screen. My mind raced as I tried to make sense of what the heck was going on. None of this makes any sense!

I backed away from the screen, my hand trailing through my hair as I yanked at it. The pain told me this was not a dream. My heart pounded in my ears, and my eyes stung as I yelled. ‘What the actual fucking shit is this?!

Are you fucking kidding me here?! Goddamnit!’

The screen started flickering, alternating between the text and the video. I blinked hard as my eyes strained from the flashes. The looming shadow appeared to be drawing closer to the man. The text gradually zoomed in, changing to red.

A tremor ran down my hand as my mind raced. It's just a prank, a scam. It can’t be real. No way is this real!

Despite all logic screaming at it being fake, in the back of my mind, a voice insisted against it. The man groaned, coughing up blood, his body convulsed as he choked on it. My breath hitched at the sight. What if it is? What if this is some messed up dark web crap and this dude’s life really does depend on me?!

I rubbed my face, my skin clammy, looking around frantically as if I’d find a way out of this. I shakily looked at my hands. If I walked away from this today, would his blood be on my hands?

My chest felt like it was squeezing. I took a deep breath, coming to a decision I’d regret. Now that I know the truth I’d make the same decision even if I went back in time. But if I was still in blissful ignorance…if I could’ve convinced myself it was fake…no, I shouldn’t think this way.

The worst that could happen is a virus, but if this is true I might save this guy’s life…if that’s still possible.

I straightened, hesitantly walking toward the computer. My pulse raced, cold sweat dripping down my face as I inched toward the mouse. I held it shakily, sliding the cursor. As soon as I did two options popped up.

* Save Him

* Let him die

Those seemingly simple words were crushing down on me. If this was all real, they held the power to control the life and death of this man. And at this moment, that control was in my hands. I hope it’s all fake.

A small window showed him struggling, his pale face seeming to be moments away from death. The shadow now covered his body like a shroud. He closed his eyes, his brows furrowing together.

My eyebrows raised as I frantically moved the cursor to ‘Save Him’. My instincts screamed at me to stop, that this was a trap, but I couldn’t ignore the sound of the man’s fading breath. Should I do it?

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The cursor hovered over the option when I heard a low chuckle. My eyes darted back to the video—a blade was now hovering over the man's chest, held by rough hands.

I stopped hesitating. I clicked 'Save Him,' my breath hitching as the screen went black. I blinked, the sound of my heavy breathing echoed in the silence. ‘What? Was it fake after all?’

But before I could breathe a sigh of relief, the screen flickered again once, then twice before going dark. I leaned in, cautiously tapping on the screen.

Suddenly, thunder boomed outside. The sound jolted me so violently that I jumped, bumping my head against the screen. Pain shot through my skull. But before I could back away, a bloody hand burst out of the unresponsive screen. The fingers were cold and sticky as they latched onto my neck. My eyes widened as a shiver ran down my spine. What…

Its grip tightened, yanking me forward.

I gasped, feeling myself being pulled in as the world around me turned into a blur. The hell?

I felt myself falling, plummeting unstoppably into the unknown abyss. Before I could even process what was happening, everything went black.

I was unable to move as a sharp pain pierced through my head. Cold air filled my lungs, I couldn’t understand what was happening. I heard a loud beep as a line of white text floated in the darkness.

THANK YOU FOR ACCEPTING THE SUMMONS AND VOLUNTEERING TO HELP THE CHOSEN STORY REACH COMPLETION.

This is a dream right…? Can’t be real, no way…

YOUR INFORMATION IS BEING LOADED INTO THE SYSTEM.

Wait, what information?

ESTABLISHING LINK…

Huh? What link?

A searing pain spread from my brain, down my spine. I couldn’t move, I wanted to scream but no sound would come out. It was a pain that would make me breathless, except…I wasn’t breathing. I was panicking. I wanted to cry, to beg, anything to stop this torture.

PLEASE WAIT…

I don’t know how much time passed by like this. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold on.

LOADING…

I…wanted to die. Anything to make it stop.

SUCCESS!

The word floated over my head. Maybe someone had mercy on me, because as soon as the word appeared the pain slowly began to fade away.

CONGRATULATIONS, THE LINK HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED.

Eh? What does that mean?

OBJECTIVE

What objective?

HELP THE CHOSEN STORY REACH THE ENDING DESIRED BY THE SYSTEM.

Why is it this line again?!

REWARD: RETURN TO YOUR WORLD

My world? What do you mean, my world?! Where am I?!

FAILURE: DEATH. EVEN YOUR SOUL WILL BE IMPRISONED BY THE SYSTEM AND USED AS NUTRITION~

Okay, this is an elaborate prank of sorts or maybe I’m on some weird acid trip without knowing it! Yeah, that makes sense!

YOUR FIRST TASK IS TO SAVE THE PROTAGONIST FROM IMMINENT DEATH!

Prota-What! What does this mean?! Huh?!

YOU WILL NOW BE SENT WITHIN 10 METERS OF THE TARGET.

GOOD LUCK~

Motherfu-

CURSING IS NOT PERMITTED WITHIN THE SYSTEM’s ZONE. SO BE A GOOD BOY, OKAY~

That was the beginning of this nightmare.

To be continued…