The bullet
(The Cosmos God is the primordial source of existence itself, an emotionless architect who values order and balance above love, freedom, or mercy.)
This is the present .
"Shawn… Shawn!"
These dreams again, "Shawn… Shawn!" I groaned inside my skull. What… happened to me? Was I asleep? Did I pass out drunk again? "Shawn… Shawn!"
The voice got Louder now ,,Who is that? Who the hell is calling me? My eyelids was really heavy I can't open my eyes it feels like it weighed a hundred kilos each I forced my eyes to open a crack then I saw I was at a couch with some heavy music at the background And a girl standing over me, one hand on my shoulder, the other holding a bottle of wine by the neck Her lips curved into a lazy smile I blinked harder "…Mia?" My voice cracked. "Little Mia?"She laughed softly. "Took you long enough."She leaned down and hooked an arm under my shoulder, helping me sit up. My head spun the moment I moved
"Easy," she said. "You're really weak, David. "You just took a little sip of Yamazaki 18," she continued, tilting the bottle slightly. "And you completely dozed off. Lightweight."
"…Now I remember," I muttered to myself. The private lounge of Nexus Tower the Leather couches the Citrus-scented candles the well Polished marble floors that reflected the red and blue LED strips running along the walls.
I, Shawn David, twenty-six, nobody from nowhere… had just won the impossible
A really expensive golden ticket Out of two million entrants in the global Aetherion closed-beta contest, the system had picked me. Not just early access with the game team I got a A full week at the headquarters All expenses are paid Inside Nexus Interactive's Tokyo headquarters. Their so-called "Special Guest Creator." I'd get to play the unreleased build before anyone else. Meet the devs. Stream it live. And the insane part They were turning me into an NPC in the final game. This is The kind of break through people fantasize about at three in the morning most Apparently, some people kill for it.
"To Shawn!" Liam repeated, clinking his glass against mine again, just to make sure everyone stayed focused on the moment. "To Shawn," Mia echoed, smiling wide I laughed, shaking my head. "You guys are acting like I cured cancer or something." "Please," Jess scoffed from the couch. "Curing cancer is normal-people impressive. This? This is gamer mythology." Cole leaned back in his chair, boots propped on the glass table like he owned the building. "Do you understand how many people would sell organs for this? Aetherion isn't just a game It's a cultural reset of teens." Ethan finally spoke without looking up from his phone. "Their procedural world engine alone is revolutionary and the Entire game cities are well evolve based on player ethics and the game placed the Economies well that it can crash if guilds get greedy." I blinked. "You've been reading the leaks again." "They weren't leaks," Ethan replied calmly. "They were oversights." Liam laughed. "See? This is why it had to be one of us At least you'll appreciate it." I raised my glass slightly. "You all entered too, though. Anyone here could've won." suddenly there was a silence in the room Then Mia waved it off. "Yeah, but luck likes you. Always has."Jess nodded quickly. "Seriously. You remember freshman year? That scholarship draw? You didn't even know you were eligible."
Cole smirked. "Meanwhile, I filled out twelve forms and got nothing."
I frowned. "I didn't mean—"
"We know," Liam cut in smoothly. "We're just saying. Fate's been flirting with you for a while." Something about the way he said fate made my shoulders tighten I shook it off and took another sip from my drink "Still," I said, "I'm not even sure I deserve this. There are content creators way bigger than me."
"That's exactly why you deserve it," Mia said, leaning closer. "You're not fake. You actually love games." Jess laughed softly. "You remember when Shawn refused to monetize his speedrun channel because he 'didn't want ads breaking immersion'?"
"That was a principle," I protested."That was stupid," Cole corrected Everyone laughed.Liam studied me over the rim of his glass. "So you are heading to Abuja airport to head to Tokyo tomorrow."
"Yeah," I said in excitement "They booked everything Flight, hotel, even a translator if I want one." I said. "Going alone?" Jess asked. I nodded. "That was part of the deal. No plus-ones" Mia's smile stiffened for half a second."Oh," she said lightly. "That's… intense."
"It's just for a week," I added quickly. "I'll be back before you miss me." Cole leaned forward. "You could've tried to negotiate."
"They were very clear," I replied. "no guest." Liam swirled his drink slowly. "And you didn't think of bringing one of us anyway? Just… unofficially?" I laughed. "And get blacklisted by the biggest studio on earth? I like you guys, but not that much."Jess giggled, but it sounded thin. "Wow. Okay." I didn't noticed the words I was saying from my mouth I was too busy imagining Tokyo streets, dev rooms filled with whiteboards, a controller in my hands before anyone else in the world.
Mia topped off my glass again "Careful," I said. "You're trying to get me drunk."She tilted her head. "Maybe I just want you relaxed." I smiled a little bit "Shawn," Cole said suddenly, "what are you gonna do after this? Like, long-term." I shrugged. "Stream it. Build my platform. Maybe finally go full-time."
"Leave us behind?" Jess teased. "Come on," I said. "You know I'd still be around."
Ethan finally locked his phone and looked straight at me. "Fame changes trajectories." The room went quiet
"Damn," Cole muttered. "Did you download a philosophy patch or something?" Ethan didn't smile. "I'm serious Systems correct anomalies."
I frowned. "What does that even mean?" Liam stood, stretching. "It means you're drunk." Mia laughed quickly. "Yeah, ignore him."She poured me a drink again.
This time, the taste was different, I felt a little bit dizzy "I think…" I started, but the words slid away from me. Jess stood up too fast. "Shawn, sit. You're pale."
"I'm fine," I lied but My legs disagreed.I stumbled, hitting the table The golden ticket slipped from my hand. Ethan's eyes followed the ticket as it landed but Cole picked it up and Turned it over Slowly.
"This thing," he said, "caused a lot of arguments." My heart thudded painfully "What arguments?" I asked.Liam crouched in front of me. "You weren't supposed to win," he said. And suddenly, everything made terrible sense. That was the first thing I understood No hands reaching out to help me Just five people standing still, watching me struggle to stay upright with my life Liam straightened slowly, adjusting his jacket"You always did that," he said. "Win without trying."
"What… are you talking about?" I asked.
Cole let out a short laugh "You really don't get it, do you?" Mia crouched beside me again Her fingers pressed into my shoulder, holding me down "Do you know how many nights we stayed up," she said quietly, "watching you succeed by accident?" Jess folded her arms "You never studied harder. You never planned better. You just… existed, and things worked out."
"That's not—" My voice cracked. "I worked for this." Ethan finally stepped forward."For once," he said, "stop lying to yourself." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, tapping the screen before turning it toward me. Lines of code scrolled past. "I wrote bots," he continued calmly. "Hundreds of entries. Alternate IPs. Probability manipulation. I bent the system until it screamed." "And still," Ethan said, "it chose you." Liam sighed. "Do you know how humiliating that is? To lose to randomness wearing your face?". Mia picked up my glass from the table. "You're wondering what you drank," she said. My eyes locked on the amber liquid sloshing inside. She tilted it slightly. "Yamazaki 18 is a very Expensive drink but Smooth and Easy to hide things in." My stomach twisted violently "Just a little," Cole added. "A fast-acting sedative and a little Dissociative too. You'd fall asleep, your heart gets slow, and suddenly it would stop beating but I don't want a dear friend of mine suffer such a pitiful way, I will use the fast way to end your life, Shawn ." Jess looked away. "You wouldn't feel it much." I tried to push myself up but My arms failed "Why?" I whispered. Liam crouched again, close enough that I could smell his cologne. "Because you never see us."
"That's not true." I said in my dying face
"You don't have to mean harm to cause it," he replied. "You talk about destiny always. Like the rest of us didn't bleed trying to get noticed." Mia's voice trembled. "Every time you said 'I can't believe it,' it felt like you were laughing at us." Cole held up the golden ticket again."This was supposed to change everything," he said. "For all of us." He tore it once Ethan stepped back. "There's no undoing this."I looked at Jess. She hadn't said much and Her hands were shaking "Jess," I whispered. "You don't want this." She met my eyes, tears spilling over. "We voted." "It had to be someone," she said. "And it couldn't be all of us."Her hand went into her hoodie pocket I saw the shape before my brain accepted it A small, matte-black pistol "No," I breathed.Jess raised it, her arms were really trembling, "I'm sorry, Shawn," she said. "I really am." The others didn't stop her neither Did they look away, they stared at him with the eyes of hatred The trigger was pulled and the bullet move slowly and hit me on The chest I finally saw my life in slow Mo .
So this is it That was the thought that drifted through my mind I can't feel my legs I can't move so Is this how the end feels? I guess I really was lucky Lucky enough to die for it My friends Or at least, the people I'd called that Did they hate me that much?Or did they just love themselves more? So this is how I'm remembered. If this is death…Then it's lonely.and it's disappointingly quiet.
I never even got to play the game.