Morning light slipped through the thin gap between the curtains, casting pale lines across the floor.
The room felt still, almost unnaturally so, except for the relentless beeping of an alarm.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
The sound burrowed into William's ears, dragging him up from a shallow, restless sleep. It felt like he had barely closed his eyes before morning arrived.
'I shouldn't be looking at Instagram until midnight.'
William reached out without opening his eyes and struck the alarm clock with the back of his hand. The noise stopped.
For a while, he remained lying there.
When he finally opened his eyes, he stared at the ceiling. Thin cracks branched across it in familiar patterns—ones he had traced with his gaze every morning for years.
On the wall next to the desk hung a school uniform. It was new, as though it had been placed there deliberately to remind him of what today was.
His chest rose and fell slowly as he waited for the lingering heaviness in his head to fade.
Today was the first day of enrollment at Westbridge High School.
The thought didn't spark excitement. Or nervousness. Or anticipation.
Only acknowledgment—like noting the weather. Something that would happen whether he cared or not.
His parents had talked endlessly about this school—how hard it was to get in, how impressive the faculty was, how much it would matter later in life.
A new beginning, they called it.
But William didn't see what was supposed to be different.
School was school—the same subjects, the same activities, the same schedules.
He had never understood why people expected it to feel different just because the building changed.
William felt he could excel regardless of where he went. Westbridge or any other school, it would all end the same way.
A job. Eventually.
With a quiet sigh, he pushed himself out of bed and headed to the bathroom attached to his room.
He showered, dressed, checked his backpack. Every motion came automatically, his mind barely present.
After combing his hair in front of the mirror, it took him a moment to realize something was off.
The house was quiet. Too quiet—not the peaceful kind, but the kind that meant everyone had already moved on without him.
Downstairs, breakfast was already on the table. Perfectly toasted bread, an egg cooked just enough, and a cup of coffee that had gone lukewarm long before William reached it.
Beside the cup lay a short note, reminding him to eat before heading out.
Then he remembered.
His parents had already said their goodbyes the night before—something about traffic and early meetings.
'...Right. They already left.'
It was the same as his middle school enrollment. There was no excited send-off, nor any awkward encouragement this morning.
William quietly sat down. He ate quickly, washing the toast and egg down with coffee.
After rinsing his plate and setting it in the sink, he slung his backpack over his left shoulder and stepped outside.
***
The morning air was cool. It brushed against William's face as he walked to the bus stop a few streets away.
When he arrived, the road was empty. The only sound there was the distant hum of cars and the occasional crow overhead.
The bus arrived on time.
William took a seat by the window. As the bus pulled away, he rested his forehead against the glass, watching the scenery blur past.
It wasn't long before the seats around him were filled with other students. Their conversations overlapped into a dull murmur.
Some laughed nervously. Others scrolled through their phones in silence.
When the bus finally stopped, Westbridge High School came into view.
The building was enormous—a sprawling brick structure that looked more like a university campus than a high school. Sunlight reflected off the tall windows, giving the place a clean, almost artificial glow.
Students gathered near the front entrance in small clusters. A pair of security guards stood near the gates, chatting casually as students filed past them.
Laughter and nervous chatter filled the air. Friends from middle school reunited while new groups formed awkwardly.
William followed the flow inside.
As he crossed the gates, a strange sensation brushed against him.
Not fear.
Just the faint awareness of being watched—like stepping into his father's office mid-conversation.
The hairs on his arms lifted slightly.
He slowed for half a step, then glanced around, but no one stared at him.
'Maybe it's just my imagination.'
He shook his head and continued forward.
***
The entrance ceremony was held in the auditorium. The room was vast, its ceiling high enough for sound to echo faintly.
Teachers sat calmly at the center of the stage as the front rows filled quickly with incoming students.
After some searching, William found a seat near the middle. His hands rested stiffly on his knees as he sat.
The lights dimmed slightly as the murmuring faded.
Soon, a tall man with graying hair stepped onto the podium.
The headmaster.
"Welcome to Westbridge High," he began, his voice carried easily through the room.
"Each student here was chosen because they showed potential—not just academically, but in their willingness to contribute."
He paused, letting his gaze sweep across the auditorium.
"Those who succeed at Westbridge are not the ones who wait to be carried. They are the ones who act, adapt, and compete."
"This school rewards participation. And for those who choose not to take part—"
A faint smile touched his lips.
"—Westbridge has no place for them."
William barely listened. His gaze drifted slowly from the stage to the banners, then to the endless rows of students beside him.
A strange thought flickered across his mind, almost like a memory that didn't belong.
'have I seen this exact scene before?'
Eventually, his gaze lifted to the high ceiling—and something materialized with a sudden pop before him.
A translucent window floated inches from his face, glowing softly like a hologram torn straight out of a game.
[Tutorial: Survive the selection.]
[Clear Condition: Selected as a participant.]
[Success Reward: 15 Purchase Points, Status Window unlocked]
A sound of surprise automatically slipped from William's lips.
'That shouldn't be there.'
He blinked and rubbed his eyes.
The window didn't disappear.
His heart skipped. He glanced around, his eyes darting from face to face.
No one reacted.
Everyone continued listening to the headmaster.
Some nodded. Others yawned discreetly. A few checked their phones when they thought no one was watching.
'Only me?'
William raised his left hand slowly and swiped at the window.
His fingers passed straight through it.
'Am I hallucinating? Did my parents put something in my coffee this morning?'
Before he could think any further, the lights flickered and the headmaster's voice cut off mid-sentence.
The window vanished—without explanation, without sound.
An oppressive pressure filled the room, heavy enough to make William's chest tighten.
A few students shifted in their seats, the quiet stretching just a little too long.
Then something suddenly appeared beside the headmaster.
It was a tall, dark figure with long, slender limbs. Its body was smooth, as if molded from the shadow itself.
It had no eyes.
No mouth.
No features at all.
And yet—
Everyone could feel it looking at them.
When the thing suddenly moved, the sound lagged behind it slightly.
The headmaster stumbled back, his composed expression cracking.
"W-What is—"
His voice stopped.
In less than a second, a dull, wet sound echoed through the room.
The headmaster's body hit the floor with a dull thud.
For a heartbeat, the auditorium froze—students, teachers, everyone locked in shock.
William opened his mouth slightly, then closed it. He tilted his head, frowning, as if that could explain what he was seeing.
Then reality snapped.
Screams tore through the air.
"KYAAAA—!"
"What the hell is that?!"
"S-Someone call the police!"
Panic exploded through the crowd. Students leapt to their feet, screaming, tripping over chairs. Some still froze, their faces pale with terror.
Those seated at the end of the row surged toward the exits.
"Open the doors!"
A few reached the exit doors and slammed against them—
They didn't open.
"Why won't it open!?"
"Let us out!"
Some teachers rushed forward, shouting instructions, but that faceless entity moved again with a horrifying blur of movement.
Thud.
Another body hit the floor.
No struggle. No mercy.
Just brief movements and lifeless bodies collapsing onto the stage.
One after another, they fell.
Blood spread across the floor.
When the last teacher collapsed, that thing finally stopped.
Silence returned as everyone watched the faceless entity standing motionless at the center of the stage.
Then a mechanical voice echoed throughout the auditorium.
It was childlike in pitch, yet stripped of any emotion.
『Attention everyone. Participant selection will now begin.』
Two glowing circles flared into existence on the floor near the stage.
One green. One red.
『You may choose to participate in the survival game or not. Green means you agree to participate in the game. Red means you refuse.』
Above the stage, an hourglass materialized. Blue sand poured downward at an unnervingly fast pace.
『Please choose quickly. The consequences are yours alone.』
The voice cut out.
For a few moments, no one dared to move. They only stared at the circles like statues, doubt written clearly on their faces.
Then two blonde students stepped forward, laughing nervously as they headed for the red circle.
"T-This is ridiculous. I'm not playing this!"
"This has to be illegal. M-My father will hear about this!"
Their voices shattered the hesitation.
Chaos erupted again.
Everyone screamed, cried, and shoved each other aside. Some ran toward the circles without thinking, desperation written across their faces.
Soon, the red circle was crowded. Nearly half the auditorium stood within it, drawn by the comfort of numbers.
Only a handful hesitantly stepped into the green circle.
But William didn't move. His feet felt rooted to the floor, heavy and slow.
His mind still struggled to comprehend what just happened, it felt distant as if this were happening to someone else.
'This doesn't make sense. What is happening...?'
The noise in the room blurred together, voices losing their shape as if he were underwater.
He was only jolted back to reality when someone suddenly shoved past him toward the red circle.
His eyes locked onto it.
The red circle was crowded, packed tightly with many people.
A sudden thought surfaced in William's mind.
Refuse—that's what a normal person would choose. And William had always believed normal was another word for safety.
If this was real, choosing green felt like signing his life away, while choosing red seems safe—everyone chooses it.
William exhaled and made up his mind. He stepped forward, joining the crowd in the red circle.
As he crossed the boundary, relief came first.
Then something colder followed—an uncomfortable awareness that he had chosen the wrong answer.
'What if the other circle is the correct choice?'
When he tried to step back, the hourglass vanished, along with the faceless entity.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Relief washed over him and other students.
But it didn't last long.
"Ack!"
A sudden, sharp pain ripped through William's chest—as if something had clenched his heart from the inside.
The edges of his vision darkened as his body collapsed.
He couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Couldn't move.
'Why...?'
The thought surfaced weakly, then dissolved into nothing.
The last thing he saw before everything went dark was other students around him lying on the floor.
***
A faint shimmer rippled through empty space before William's eyes.
[You have died.]
The words were cold and detached.
[Restarting from the checkpoint.]
[Loading...]
***
William gasped and bolted upright in bed. His heart hammered violently as he clawed at the sheets, breath tearing in and out of his lungs.
"…Hah… hah…"
He stared around the room.
The familiar cracks in the ceiling.
The school uniform hanging neatly on the wall.
Nothing had changed.
'...Was that a nightmare?'