Thinking about the question, Daichi thought, 'If there were such an thing as a new life, if I could really restart everything from scratch then…'
'Why not?' he asked.
His sole wish was to live a good life, a life he could enjoy and be proud of. But, also one where he could find a meaning to his existence instead of wandering around aimlessly without purpose.
*Tap, tap, tap*
*******
[Yes]
> Send
*******
*Pop*
"Huh?"
Just after sending the message, a new one popped up.
*******
"Unknown"
[If you could decide anything regarding your next life, would you do it?]
*******
"Um, another strange question," said Daichi, perplexed.
Those questions were starting to get weird and suspiciously accurate to his situation and current state of mind.
'Is this some kind of quiz or maybe a survey?' he wondered.
His curiosity was increasing by the second and he wanted to see the end of it.
*Tap, tap, tap*
*******
[Yes]
*******
*Send*
Daichi was fixing the screen waiting for the next message and it only took a second for a new one to pop up.
*******
"Unknown"
[If you could possess something special that could help you throughout your life, would you use it?]
*******
'Something special, huh? What could it be?' he wondered.
If there were truly something like that in this world, it would surely be…
'Talent, genes, lineage, status or maybe luck?'
The kind of things one would find hard to possess. They were not just things one could acquire easily with money or hard work.
Something one has to be born with or inherit from their parents and ancestors.
Unless one is willing to sacrifice everything and pay the price intended.
'If I had all these, would my life be any better?' he doubted.
But, maybe deep inside, that's what he wished for.
*Sign*
'I'm thinking too much into this,' said Daichi, holding his head, 'It's not like it would happen anyway'
Leaving aside his lingering thoughts, he resumed with the question and gave the same answer as the previous ones.
*Tap, tap, tap*
*******
[Yes]
> Send
*******
*Pop*
Another message was sent again.
But this one was different.
*******
"Unknown"
[Congratulation! You have been selected as a first-time participant in our new program
ID: ISIS-777-7777777777
PASSWORD: 070707
Please click the link down below to sign up and start the program.]
> Link: xxx.xxxxxxx.xxx
*******
'Eh, this is it?' he frowned, 'A program?'
Daichi looked at the message he just read and signed deeply.
First, an unknown sender with a number he never saw, then, a series of odd questions that one would normally avoid, and now this so-called program that was generously proposed to him…
'Did I just waste my time?' he asked, annoyed 'Was it a scam all along?'
The pattern was similar to those scamming stories he heard on the internet.
It starts with people receiving random messages and calls and once they answer it, they would be proposed some kind of assurance or special services they need to pay for to solve their problems or have an easy life.
'Even the name is weird,' he thought. 'Program
But curiosity kills the cat.
Daichi couldn't get this idea out of his mind. He was glaring at his phone unable to decide what to do.
The more he thought about it, the more illogical it felt. Like there was some kind of hidden message behind all this.
A few moments later, he got tired and said, 'Let's just do it. I have already come this far.'
*Tap*
Daichi clicked the link and then,
*Crash!*
His phone black-out.
"Dawn it!" he cursed, palm on face, 'I'm such a dumbass.'
"If only I didn't…"
*Screech*
"Eh?"
before he could finish complaining, Daichi caught sight of a glitching light slowly disappearing, leaving place to what looked like a loading page.
******
"LOADING" (1%)
[Please wait…]
******
The background was dark but the loading circle and letters were glowing in bluish-purple colors.
Daichi tried interacting with the screen, tapping it multiple times but, alas.
'Tsk, still not working' He grumbled.
The frustration and panic of having the fate of his phone in the hands of a strange program he didn't even know about was alarming.
All he could do was wait and watch the tattered circular bar turning quickly like a clock, gradually filling up the gauge.
Then, after an insufferable amount of patience, a new page came out.
******
"RE: LIFE"
******
On-screen, was displayed the logo of the program, made with the same fancy typography, style, and colors as the loading circle.
'
Daichi was complaining again, cursing and regretting his impulsive choice and action until he heard it again.
*TLING!*
"What… This sound!" he exclaimed, 'It's the same one as back then!'
He couldn't be mistaken. After all, if weren't for that damn sound, he wouldn't have slipped up and almost die.
'But wait, wasn't I planning to jump anyway?' he realized, 'Then, did that sound actually save me?'
Daichi was starting to link the small pieces of the puzzle one by one, and slowly the fog was lifting on his head.
'If that's the case then, does it mean this is all real?' He questioned.
"…"
Staring at the panel that recently popped up, he was faced with another choice.
*******
"NOTIFICATION"
[Welcome to program
Would you like to sign up?]
> Sign Up
> Exit
*******
'Should I try it?' he wondered.
There were still doubts in his heart and so many things he couldn't figure out.
However, he was sure that all the answers he sought were hidden behind this program.
That day, Daichi made a decision, one that would alter the course of his life forever.
More than he could ever have imagined.
*Tap*
*******
> Sign up
*******
*TLING*
Once he hit the button, the page loaded and revealed the new one.
*******
"SIGN UP"
ID: ___ ___ __________
PASSWORD: _ _ _ _ _ _
> Register
> Cancel
*******
All he had to do now was to fill in the black spaces.
But there was a catch.
'What was it again?' Daichi couldn't remember.
He didn't really pay attention to the identification info when reading the message.
What was worse, he still couldn't access his phone's widgets and all the functionalities, thus making him uneasy.
Nonetheless, he was quite confident in his memory skills and immediately went for it.
*Tap, tap, tap…*
*******
"SIGN UP"
ID: ISOS-777-7777777777
PASSWORD: 070707
*******
'I think this should be it,' He thought while tapping.
Then, he quickly hit the
*TLING*
Thankfully, the familiar tingling sound came up with a notification confirming his successful registration.
*******
"NOTIFICATION"
[Congratulation! You have successfully signed up for the program
Please tap the screen to continue]
*******
It wasn't that hard to guess the [ID] since it was mostly the same digit.
As for the [PASSWORD] it was the easiest one for him because it was the exact same digits as his birth date.
'Another weird coincidence,' Daichi thought.
The more he was seeing the scarier it was getting, as if everything was planned beforehand.
He had this strange feeling of being watched or observed by something far away.
But there was no other choice. He had to keep going for the sake of finding the answers he sought and filly unraveling the truth behind all those events.
*Tap*
*******
"LOADING" (1%)
[Please wait…]
*******
After a short moment of waiting,
*TLING, TLING, TLING…*
Daichi was greeted by a bunch of notifications popping up.
*******
"NOTIFICATION" (5)
1- [Dear
A program specially designed to help its
> Next
*******
'Ha! That sounds ridiculous!' he laughed a little.
Those claims alone were bold enough to make even an avid fantasy reader like him burst into laughter.
'Who in their right mind could believe that?' he asked.
Still, he went with it.
*Tap*
*******
2- [For first-time participants, a one-time access to all our current
> Previous
> Next
*******
'Interesting…' he thought.
*Tap*
*******
3- [In our program, we offer a variety of
Each
We recommend the
]
> Previous
> Next
*******
'Um, seems good.' He thought.
*Tap*
*******
4- [Once all the
Then, after the
> Previous
> Next
*******
'Is this really possible?' Daichi wondered.
*Tap*
*******
5- [We will not be held accountable for any incident or mistakes occurring due to a
We reserve the right to retire the
Please think carefully before making any final decisions and follow the
For any questions or inquiries refer to the
> Previous
> Ok
*******
'Um, that's good to know,' he noted.
Before moving on, Daichi tried summarizing the information he got from reading the
'First, this program called
Then, there are many
Lastly, after completing all the procedures, they will able to start a new life…'
'I see now. That's what they meant in those questions,' he noticed.
The moment Daichi realized that his excitement rose to the top. Whether all these statements were true or not didn't matter anymore.
All he wanted at that time was to begin the program, just like a gamer who found a new game to play.
"Let's go!" he shouted.