Life was pulsing across the metropolis. Taxis were honking, sellers were yelling about new discounts, and people were hurrying to get to work. People were aimlessly browsing through their phones at coffee establishments.
Influencers streamed their morning routines, TV anchors reported stock changes, and billboards played repetitive ads. Then—it all came to a halt. The screens wavered.
The air was filled with a loud
TSSSSH,
a static sound that drowned out music and interrupted conversations. Every telephone, TV, and billboard went black simultaneously.
Silence for a minute. Then, in bold white writing, came a single statement. "Where is Void, Naught Shade? Come on, let's compete. You have my f*cking attention. The city went cold. Staring at their barren displays were commuters. Meetings for business were suspended. The same unsettling messages appeared on televisions in flats. A pause. Then a second line emerged beneath the first message. Void entered the conversation.
People let out a gasp. Instinctively, several glanced about, as though the enigmatic Void may be standing right next to them. Then came another message. "The most terrifying competition is won by the one who kills the most in three months.
Only the two of us. Let's have an open competition.
One last answer flashed up on the screen. "Ok."
Then—well, things were back to normal. Advertisements flashed back on the billboards. Home screens were reloaded on phones. As if it had never been there, the static vanished. However, something had changed. People exchanged puzzled stares.
Some chuckled uneasily, thinking it was a complex practical joke. As they typed theories for social media, others captured screenshots. Some just put their phones away in an attempt to get rid of the uneasy sensation in their stomachs. Then the news leaked out.
Panic in Society
Chaos had broken out by the time the broadcast had reached every country on the planet. The internet was inundated with the terms "Naught Shade" and "Void." On live television, analysts argued on their meaning.
Experts in cybersecurity rushed to find the source of the intrusion, but they were unable to find any digital evidence. The message seemed to have materialised out of thin air. Then the murmurs began.
"They are authentic." Reporters discovered terrifying rumours about two eerie characters who were ghosts in the criminal underworld. No formal documents. No faces are known. Only whispered stories of bodies discovered with no trace, of assassinations too exact to be accidents.
The world's two most feared murderers. They had recently declared war on one another. Officials from the government hurried to keep everything under control. A nationwide curfew was suggested, security was increased, and law enforcement was mobilised in all major cities.
However, nothing could have prepared the world for what was about to happen. Because, after a few hours— It was the first kill.
Additionally, it was broadcast live for the globe to watch.