The Last Call
Rain tapped gently against the office windows, a steady rhythm that matched the blinking cursor on Kael's screen. The graveyard shift was slow, as always. Rows of empty cubicles stretched before him like a maze of forgotten dreams. The glow of fluorescent lights bleached the world of color, leaving only gray.
Kael leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. Another customer had screamed at him five minutes ago. Something about a refund. Something about incompetence. He couldn't even remember anymore.
He glanced at the wall clock. 3:07 AM.
Just fifty-three more minutes.
Then the phone rang.
But this time, it wasn't from any customer in their system. The number was blank. No caller ID. No origin. Just a hollow chime that echoed far too deeply through the room.
Something in Kael's gut twisted.
Still, his hand moved on its own. He pressed the answer key.
"Hello, this is Kael from—"
"Do you seek purpose?"
The voice was neither male nor female. Neither human nor machine. It was layered, like whispers stacked upon whispers, each one calling from a different distance in space.
Kael's throat dried. "What…?"
"The wheel turns. The system awakens. You are chosen."
The world around him blinked.
Suddenly, the hum of electricity vanished. The lights dimmed. The floor cracked beneath his feet—not with sound, but with silence. It was as if reality itself was being erased.
Then came the pull.
Not gravity, not air pressure—something deeper. Something that didn't belong to this world. The very atoms around him thinned. The screen of his monitor shattered—not into glass, but into stars.
Kael tried to scream, but his voice never left his throat.
And then, there was nothing.
Only a soft chime.
[System Online. Welcome, Kael.]