A young man sitting at the desk with a stack of documents in front of him was visible in the dimly lit room.

The black circle under his eye was a sign of lack of sleep, so he set his pen down and stretched as he yawned.

He added, groggily, "Finally done; now I can get a little bit of rest."

He moved out by slightly dragging the chair back. Since there was only one source of light in his room, he slouched up from the chair and turned off the study lamp. Since his bed wasn't too far from the study desk, getting there wasn't a problem.

He sat down on his plush mattress after making his way gently to bed.

(Bang!) The earth was shaken by a loud, thunderous sound heard from the sky.

This sparked outrage among those who witnessed the phenomenon.

A massive 24-hour countdown was boldly displayed in the sky.

Christopher, who was attempting to get a shot in the eye, awoke enraged.

"Who the hell was that?" In an irritated tone, he said

He got out of bed and went to his window to find out what was causing the commotion.

He was surprised to see a massive countdown in the sky.

Everyone was taken aback and intrigued to learn the significance of the moment.

When Christopher checked the internet right away, it was clear that posts, streams, and images of the countdown were pouring in from all over the world.

It was discussed in various chat rooms and places.

Hey, why is there a big countdown in the sky?|

This is happening all over the world.|

I'm curious to know what it means.|

If this is a sign that the world is ending, then perhaps we should all repent.|

(Yawn.) Christopher was too tired to care about what was going on right now.

He dropped his phone and took earpods, inserting them into his ear to drown out the outside noise.

Christopher then returned to his bed and fell asleep while the rest of the world was still in turmoil.

*** 

The following day...

Some people believed it to be a dream, only to awaken and still see the large countdown in the sky.

Even though people are naturally curious creatures, they tend to fear the unknown the most.

People tend to be afraid of the unknown, so residents were encouraged to stay inside until they learned what the massive countdown represented.

Regarding this matter, world leaders convened a meeting, and scientists started to investigate and monitor the situation.

When Christopher awoke from his sleep, he got out of bed, looked out the window, and noticed that the massive countdown was still going on in the sky.

Despite the fact that this was a strange occurrence, Christopher wasn't concerned.

He pulled the drapes closed and entered the living room. He took the remote, flipped on the TV, and sat down on the cushion.

The massive countdown and the results of the summit of world leaders were covered on the news.

Earlier this morning, the world leaders held a meeting to discuss the countdown.

The leaders of the world came to the conclusion that everyone could return to work because scientists are already investigating these peculiar phenomena and have found no abnormalities.

Everyone should stay indoors and not leave until there are just a few hours left in the countdown because we should be prepared for the unexpected|.

After turning off the TV, Christopher headed to the bathroom to take a bath.

He took a bath, then brushed his teeth before dressing after getting out of the shower.

Christopher left his residence and walked toward his place of employment.

People walking along the street joyfully chatting, cars going by, and workers making their way to their respective jobs all appear to be back to normal.

Even if it's still popular online, everyone is accustomed to the enormous time display in the sky.

Christopher, who works for a large corporation, put in a lot of effort, but he never received credit for it because of his greedy boss's daily ranting and insistence that he put in more hours.

He started working right away, returning to his duties while simultaneously handling numerous files and customer calls.

He came home from his hectic job at night, worn out.

Everyone starts to get antsy because they have no idea what will happen 30 minutes before the countdown ends.

The countdown was broadcast on the news, and people hid inside their homes to watch it. The brave ones watched it outside, and soldiers and the air force were on alert. They will take control of the situation if anything were to happen.

The entire planet was completely silent, including all animals, insects, and plants. Everyone kept a close eye on the countdown.

Everyone was reciting it mentally as the countdown continued to tick down to the final 30 seconds, while some people were silently praying.

(30…25…20….15….10…5...Boom!)

As the countdown concluded, the entire world heard a huge, thunderous sound that was much louder than the one from last night.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it felt like a massive volcano had exploded.

The earth shook violently and nearly split in two as everyone screamed in fear.

For about ten minutes, there was a great deal of shaking; mountains and oceans split; some individuals couldn't endure the shock; their ears bled; they passed out; there were several vehicle accidents; and some people with minor health conditions, such as the elderly, died.

Families started crying and hugging each other, couples started confessing their love and criminals started making amends.

When the ground eventually stopped shaking after ten minutes, it was so quiet that it seemed as though nothing had ever happened.

Then in various places and regions of the earth, portals of various sizes and hues appeared.

"Your world has been merged, now hunt or be hunted," emerged as a large luminous letter in the sky.