For several seconds after the message appeared, nobody reacted. The words floated silently in front of everyone's eyes.
[The main scenario has started.]
At first, people simply stared at it. Some blinked repeatedly as if they expected the message to disappear at any moment. Others waved their hands through the air, trying to touch the strange window floating before them.
"What is this supposed to be?"
"Is this some kind of advertisement?"
Voices slowly filled the subway carriage as confusion spread among the passengers. A few people even laughed nervously, assuming this was some strange marketing stunt.
Beside me, Shia asked me while pointing at the screen..
"Arin… do you see this too?"
"Yes," I answered quietly. The message was still there.
It wasn't fading or glitching. It remained perfectly clear, floating before my eyes like a transparent screen.
My chest tightened a bit. Something about this scene felt horribly familiar. Something that I was trying to deny but I was failing.
The stopped subway.
The dark tunnel.
The strange message appearing out of nowhere.
It felt like deja vu. I had seen something like this before. Not in reality but in my dreams.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, a sharp sound echoed through the subway.
Clap!
It wasn't loud, but it was heard through the entire carriage. Everyone turned toward the source of the sound.
Something was floating near the center of the subway car.
At first, my brain struggled to understand what I was looking at. The shape was small and round, hovering in the air several feet above the floor.
Then the flickering lights of the subway stabilized for a moment and I saw it clearly.
It was a pig.
Not an ordinary pig, but a strange pink pig standing upright in midair. It was wearing a perfectly fitted red suit with a small black tie, and its round belly stretched the buttons of the jacket slightly.
Its arms were folded neatly behind its back like a businessman observing a meeting room.
(Image:)
The pig slowly looked around the subway carriage and smiled, which looked deeply wrong on the face of an animal.
{Well now.}
Its voice echoed through the subway.
{What a lively group.}
The passengers froze when they heard a literal animal speaking and for a moment nobody spoke. Then someone near the back shouted loudly.
"What the hell is that thing?"
"Is this some kind of prank?"
"Who brought a pig here?"
The pig calmly adjusted its tie with one arm.
{Please relax. There is no need to panic.}
The creature then placed an arm against its chest and bowed slightly in the air.
{Allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Spectre.}
[You may think of me as your host.}
The word host only confused people further. A middle-aged man standing near the subway doors frowned deeply.
"A host? What nonsense are you talking about?"
Several passengers nodded in agreement. The tension in the carriage was slowly turning into irritation.
"If this is a prank, you should stop it now."
"Yes," another voice added. "Move the train already."
Spectre looked around the subway slowly, its small eyes observing the restless passengers.
{Humans really are interesting creatures. You spend your entire lives wishing something exciting would happen. Your routines are boring, your days repeat endlessly, and you constantly complain about how dull life is.}
{But when something truly interesting finally appears in front of you… You become angry.}
No one laughed. The atmosphere in the subway had become tense. A tall man wearing a grey suit finally stepped forward, clearly losing his patience.
"Enough of this nonsense. Turn off whatever device is projecting this thing and let the train move."
Spectre looked at him quietly.
{You are very loud.}
"What did you say?"
{I said, you are loud.}
The pig's eyes then suddenly glowed faint red as I closed my eyes. I already knew what was going to happen.
POP!
A small popping sound echoed in the carriage as a beam released from the pig's eyes. For a moment nothing seemed to happen. Then the man in the gray suit collapsed to the floor.
A round hole had appeared in the center of his forehead as blood slowly spread across the subway floor.
For several seconds nobody reacted. The human brain sometimes refuses to accept things that make no sense.
Then someone screamed and it brought everyone back to reality.
"AAAAAH!"
The subway exploded into chaos. People rushed toward the doors, pushing and shouting in panic.
"Open the doors!"
"Someone call the driver!"
"This thing is killing people!"
Specter sighed heavily.
{Please remain calm.}
But nobody listened. A woman near the emergency panel began pressing the door release button repeatedly, her hands shaking violently.
POP!
Another small popping sound echoed through the subway. The screams of the people stopped as the woman dropped dead on the ground.
Silence spread through the carriage like a cold wave. Now everyone understood this wasn't a prank. Specter slowly floated higher into the air while looking down at the terrified passengers.
{Let me explain something clearly. This is not a television show, and it certainly isn't a joke.}
{This is also not a dream.}
{This is your new reality.}
With a small snap of its hoof, a bright window appeared before everyone's eyes.
[Channel SP-123 has opened.]
[Constellations have entered the channel.]
[The main scenario has arrived.]
The passengers stared at the glowing window in front of them as a second panel appeared beneath the first.
+
Main Scenario #1 – Escape The Beast
Difficulty: F
Clear Condition:
For Hunters: Kill three runners
For Runners: Survive until the end of time limit
Time Limit: 20 minutes
Reward: 300 coins
Failure: Death
+
For a moment, the subway remained completely silent as someone whispered in disbelief.
"KILL…?"
Another person shook their head.
"This can't be real."
"We're not doing that."
{I believe you misunderstand something.}
[This is not a request.}
{It is a rule.}
Beside me, I felt Shia's hand grip my arm tightly.
"Arin… what do we do?"
My mind was racing.
Everything unfolding in front of me matched the fragments of the world I had been watching in my dreams for the past ten years.
I looked around the subway.
Dozens of terrified faces stared helplessly at the floating windows before them. Some people were shaking. Others were whispering prayers. A few simply sat frozen in their seats, unable to move.
None of them understood what was happening.
But I did.
Because I had already seen a world like this. A world where survival came with a price.
Spectre slowly faded into the air, its body becoming transparent as it flew away, phasing through the ceiling.
{Good luck, participants. I look forward to watching your story.}
A timer appeared in front of everyone's eyes.
Time Remaining: 19:59
The first scenario had begun.