The city was alive with noise, yet I felt completely alone. Fireworks burst in the sky, their colors reflecting in the glass windows of towering buildings. People cheered, hugging their loved ones, shouting as the countdown neared its end.
I stood there, watching, hands buried in my coat pockets.
Ten… Nine… Eight…
All of them were celebrating the new year, yet none of them even knew today was my birthday. Not that I expected them to. I was just another face in the crowd.
Seven… Six… Five…
As I looked at the crowd around me, a memory surfaced—my family's small but warm home, the scent of my mother's cooking filling the air, my father's slightly off-key singing as he led the birthday song. My siblings laughing as they fought over who would get the first slice of cake. That was years ago, but it still felt real.
Four… Three…
Then the memory faded, and I was back in the present. Alone.
Two… One…
The city exploded with noise. Fireworks erupted, people screamed "Happy New Year!" and glasses clinked. I exhaled a cloud of white breath, turned on my heel, and walked away.
———————————————————
The convenience store's fluorescent lights hummed softly, an eerie contrast to the lively world outside. The place was mostly empty, except for a cashier who looked half-asleep behind the counter.
I grabbed a cup of noodles and a bottle of water, paid without a word, and made my way back home.
My apartment was as lifeless as I expected. The heater barely worked, the walls were bare, and the only sound came from the distant fireworks outside. I set my things down, poured hot water into the cup noodles, and sat on the edge of my bed, waiting.
Minutes later, I slurped the last of the broth, tossed the empty container aside, and lay back on my bed, staring at the ceiling. Another year gone. Another birthday passed.
I sighed. What now?
I was a college dropout with no degree, no stable job, and no real plan for the future. I couldn't exactly apply for a corporate job without qualifications. Maybe I could try freelancing? Or go back to school?
Before I could spiral further into my thoughts, my phone buzzed. I reached for it, expecting another spam notification, but instead saw a message from my group chat with Ned, Michael, and Stan.
Ned: Yo, Happy New Year, boys!
Michael: Happy New Year! Also, happy birthday, Dan!
Stan: Happy birthday, man. Hope you're doing something fun.
A small smile tugged at my lips. At least someone remembered.
Me: Thanks. Not really doing much, just chilling.
Michael: Sucks we couldn't celebrate with you. We owe you one.
Stan: Yeah, I got dragged into my cousin's party. You know how it is.
Ned: Same, my folks are throwing a big thing. But hey, next time, drinks on us.
Me: Sounds good. Enjoy your parties.
They sent a few more messages, joking around before the chat died down. I stared at the screen for a moment before locking my phone and placing it on my bedside table.
It was nice to talk to them, even for a little while.
Still, that didn't change the fact that I had nothing going for me right now. With a sigh, I sat up and decided to browse the internet for job listings. Maybe I'd get lucky.
I scrolled past a few generic job postings—customer service, warehouse jobs, part-time delivery gigs—when something weird caught my eye.
A post titled "Mysterious Black Orb Spotted in Manila—What Is It?"
I clicked it, mostly out of boredom. The post included a short video. The shaky camera footage showed a strange, pitch-black sphere hovering in the outskirts of the city. It wasn't large—maybe the size of a car—but what made it terrifying was that everything around it seemed to be… collapsing.
Trees, street signs, even chunks of concrete were being sucked into it, as if gravity itself was bending around the orb. It moved slowly, but anything that got too close was pulled in and disappeared without a trace.
The video ended abruptly.
I scrolled down to the comments.
CoolCGI1: Lol, this is so fake. Who even made this?
EndTimesProphet: The world is ending, fools! This is the sign!
JustHere4Memes: Bruh, that's the worst VFX I've ever seen.
User_Unknown: This is real. I saw it too. It's getting bigger.
I raised an eyebrow. Yeah, sure. It was probably some hoax made to go viral. These kinds of things always popped up online.
Shaking my head, I closed the tab. I was supposed to be looking for a job, not watching random doomsday videos.
Yawning, I grabbed my earpods, put on some music, and lay back down.
Maybe tomorrow would be different. Maybe I'd actually do something useful.
As I closed my eyes, outside the city, the black orb pulsed.
It had been small before. But now, it was growing.
Slowly.
Silently.
And soon, the city wouldn't be able to ignore it anymore.
———————————————————
I woke up to the sound of sirens in the distance. Not the usual city noise, but a low, droning wail that carried an unsettling urgency. My room was dim, even though it should've been bright by now.
Groggily, I reached for my phone. 11:47 AM.
Damn. I slept in.
The group chat with Ned, Michael, and Stan was buzzing.
Ned: Yo, anyone seen the news? Some crazy shit's happening.
Michael: That black orb thing?
Stan: You guys seriously believe that? It's gotta be fake.
Ned: No, bro. I live near Fairview, and they blocked off the entire area. Soldiers, hazmat suits, everything.
Me: Wait, what? Are you serious?
Ned: Deadass. It's not just one orb anymore. There are multiple now. And they're getting bigger.
I frowned, my stomach twisting slightly.
Multiple?
Switching to my browser, I checked the news. Every major outlet was covering it now.
"Mysterious Anomaly Expands Overnight—Residents Evacuated in Manila's Outskirts!"
"Local Authorities Warn Citizens to Stay Indoors—'Do Not Approach the Black Sphere.'"
"Mass Disappearances Reported Near Quarantine Zones."
I clicked on a video. The footage was shaky, clearly taken from someone's phone. The camera zoomed in on a massive black void floating over an empty street.
At first, it looked like a normal shadow—until I noticed what was happening beneath it. The asphalt cracked and lifted into the air, bending unnaturally before vanishing entirely. Streetlights warped toward it like stretched rubber, flickering before snapping off like twigs.
The person recording whispered in Tagalog, "What is this? What the hell is this thing—"
The video cut off abruptly.
I swallowed.
No way. This has to be fake… right?
I scrolled through the comments, but they didn't help ease my nerves.
This is CGI. No way this is real.
Bro, my cousin went missing near that area. This is NOT fake.
What happens if this thing keeps growing?
I exhaled sharply and rubbed my temples.
I wanted to believe it was a hoax. I really did. But Ned wouldn't lie about something like this, and if the government was blocking off entire neighborhoods…
What if this is real?
Then, as if to answer me, the lights flickered.
A brief blackout—less than a second. But long enough to make my heart skip a beat.
Then came the sound.
A deep humming noise, low and vibrating, almost like a massive engine idling in the distance.
I sat up straight.
The noise wasn't coming from inside my apartment. It was coming from outside.
I stood and peeked through the window.
The streets below looked normal—cars, pedestrians, nothing out of the ordinary. But in the far distance, past the high-rises and over the rooftops, the sky looked… wrong.
A faint distortion, like heatwaves on pavement, shimmered in the horizon. And within it, I could barely make out a dark, shifting mass.
The black orb.
And it was bigger.
A pit formed in my stomach.
This wasn't just some internet hoax. This wasn't a joke.
Something was happening to this city.
And I had a feeling it was only going to get worse.
———————————————————
As the day dragged on, the reports became worse. The orbs weren't staying still—they were moving. Slowly, silently, like a creeping death swallowing the city one block at a time.
More places were being evacuated. Entire neighborhoods were cut off. The government urged everyone to remain indoors.
But something else was happening.
Something I couldn't explain.
I started seeing things.
Flashes of places I didn't recognize. Structures made of black stone, twisting and shifting like living creatures. A red sky, swirling with shadows. And a voice—a womans voice whispering in a language I didn't understand, yet felt like I should.
I snapped out of it, gasping.
"What the hell was that?"
I was in my room. The lights were still on. My phone buzzed—another message from the group chat.
> Stan: Bro, Ned's not answering. He said he was gonna check outside, but he hasn't replied since.
> Michael: Maybe his signal's just bad?
> Me: Did he say where he was?
> Stan: Near the quarantine zone. I told him it was a dumb idea.
I stared at the message, my heartbeat picking up.
Ned was missing.
———————————————————
That evening, a nationwide emergency alert blared across every device in the city.
> ⚠️ ALERT: ANOMALY EXPANSION IMMINENT. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR HOMES. POWER OUTAGES EXPECTED. AVOID CONTACT WITH UNIDENTIFIED PHENOMENA.
I gripped my phone tightly. This wasn't just a viral event anymore.
Something big was about to happen.
Outside, the city was eerily quiet. No fireworks. No cars. Just the distant hum of the growing orbs.
Then, at exactly midnight—
The power went out.
My apartment plunged into darkness.
And from outside, for the first time, I heard something else.
A sound that made my blood run cold.
Hummmmm~~
A deep, inhuman hum.
Something was out there.
And it was getting closer.