"22 days, huh...already 13 days passed..." Haku tought..
Haku sat in the bus, head against the window, his little brother leaned against his side, humming a song only six-year-olds know how to hum.
Everyone was talking about the same thing.
The disappearances. The white rooms. The return.
The news was full of interviews. Conspiracies. Survivors breaking down on camera. People pretending they knew what was going on. No one actually did.
The world was talking about nothing else. It was everywhere—interviews, headlines, memes. Survivors, still shell-shocked, turned into walking legends overnight. People tried to piece together what the hell was going on.
Haku's thoughts drifted, detached but sharp: Millions vanished. Millions died. Millions came back. And somehow... I'm one of them.
From the seat behind him, two boys hunched over a phone, one whispering, "Yo, listen to this interview—this guy went feral."
"I was in a jungle... A tiger made of shadows attacked me and I had to solve a riddle to survive," the survivor on screen babbled. "Bro. I peed myself and it STILL chased me."
They both laughed.
Another voice came from the phone.
"I saw a guy punch through a frozen lake with his bare hands. He screamed 'Faster' like a maniac."
Haku's younger brother, sitting beside him, nudged him with a grin.
"Did you hear that?"
Haku blinked slowly. "Yeah that guy needs therapy... and probably a hug, too."
The bus screeched to a halt. They got off. Haku ruffled his little brother's hair and walked him to his best friend's place, standing at the doorway just long enough to see the smile before the door shut.
His phone buzzed.
Mey.
A stupid video. A cat wearing sunglasses trying to do a somersault and failing miserably.
He smirked. Replied: That's you.
Back home. Evening washed over the small apartment.
His mother was already at the sink, humming softly. The window above her was cracked open, letting in the last bit of orange daylight. She was pregnant. She moved slower than she used to.
"You're home early," she said without turning, her voice gentle but tired.
"Dropped off Kenta," Haku said, pulling off his shoes. "Thought I'd clean up."
He didn't wait for permission. The broom was in his hand within seconds.
In his head: Gotta keep it together. Gotta keep everything quiet. Calm.
His mother glanced over her shoulder. "You've changed, you know. Since… all that."
He shrugged, eyes on the floor. "Maybe."
What he didn't say: His older brother had come back too. From a different white room. And neither of them talked about it.
Ever.
Haku was half-asleep, lying on his back in bed, eyes barely open, staring at the ceiling like it might give him a refund on life.
"… even my older brother is gonna be teleported soon…"
The thought hit him like a bag of wet bricks. No drama. Just exhaustion.
Alright... I have nine days to figure out how to protect my family and not die.
Easy.
He grabbed his phone, thumb lazily swiping through TikTok.
White Room conspiracy.White Room survivor interview.White Room theory with spooky background music.White Room memes.White Room cooking hacks??
He groaned.
"Can y'all talk about something else finally?" he muttered.
Scroll. Scroll. Scroll. Looking for anything that wasn't that.
His phone buzzed.
Mey.
Another video.
This time it was a cat aggressively slapping a plastic cup off a counter while staring into the abyss.
He snorted. About to type back: "You."
But his screen flickered. Froze. Then—
Across the entire world, the system window appeared—suddenly, unmistakably—before the eyes of every human on Earth.
[Time Remaining: 222 Hours]
[Final Battle Royale Phase]
All qualified participants from the Tutorial Phase will be automatically teleported into the final stage in 222 hours.
[Battlefield Overview]• Copy of the World• Towers, Monster Zones• PvP: ENABLED• Death is PERMANENT
[Live Broadcast Enabled]• Every participant will be streamed 24/7• Stream can be paused for 30 minutes per day• Viewer Count and Follower Count now public
[Victory Condition]• Only one winner will remain• Final survivor will receive:[1x Wish – No Restrictions]
[Spectator System Unlocked]To access, say: "Open."• Browse live player feeds• Follow favorites• Spectate freely
[Player List Uploaded]• Name, Avatar, Viewer Count, Status• Scroll-enabled. Global display activated.
Prepare accordingly.This is your final phase.
[The Game continues...]
Haku blinked at the glowing text. The room was dead silent. His phone still buzzed with the cat video, now frozen mid-slap.
He stared at the message for a long second.
"…Huh?"