A pitch-black night, set ablaze by the city's neon glow. A familiar sight to many—only now, it's being watched from above, from the rooftop of the Dedeman Hotel. On one side, the vast sea stretched into the horizon; on the other, the city shimmered like fireflies in the dark.
"Hello, Antalya!" a voice shouted.
The voice belonged to a man standing at the edge of the rooftop. He was about 1.80 meters tall. His dark skin, slick with days of sweat and neglect, was buried beneath an unkempt, tangled beard. His once-white shirt was now so filthy its original color was barely visible. His fabric trousers were tattered with small tears scattered across them. Around his neck, a rope was tied, secured to a metal protrusion on the rooftop's edge.
A wide grin stretched across his face. But just beneath it, his brown eyes were filled with tears. The dark circles under them were almost bruised-looking.
"Tonight's game... is Hangman!"
"And our word... has four letters!"
His voice echoed into the night, but no one heard him. A grand celebration was unfolding right in front of the hotel. Hundreds of people were gathered, dancing and enjoying the night to the rhythm of the music.
"This is a journey! Sometimes beautiful, sometimes ugly. Sometimes long, sometimes short. But no matter what… it always ends badly!" He scratched at his neck as he spoke. Whether it was the tightness of the rope or the grime irritating him, it was unclear.
_ _ _ E
As the music below grew livelier, the celebration intensified. The crowd roared with excitement.
"This is a feeling! Sometimes happy, sometimes sad. Sometimes full of rage, sometimes calm. But no matter what… it always brings tears!"
He never once looked down. He acted as if he weren't standing on the edge of a hundred-story building, but rather on an ordinary stage.
_ İ_E
Performers joined the celebration, their dance energizing the crowd even further.
"This is a relationship! Sometimes fleeting, sometimes lasting. Sometimes lonely, sometimes crowded. But in the end… always alone!"
He gestured theatrically, as if he were in the middle of a grand performance.
_ iFE
As the dancers reached the peak of their performance, small fireworks were launched into the sky. The crowd erupted into cheers.
Then, an accident. A firework misfired, crashing into the stage and setting the banners ablaze. The fire spread quickly. Panic rippled through the crowd, and in their frantic attempts to flee, they knocked over more fireworks, sending them shooting in all directions.
Yet none of this made the man glance downward.
"This is a state of being! Sometimes orderly, sometimes turbulent. Sometimes stable, sometimes erratic. But in the end… it's always… CHAOS!"
LIFE
"Yes! The word is LIFE!" he cackled, a wild, uncontrollable laughter bursting from his chest. He laughed like a madman. The chaos unfolding below didn't faze him. The fact that he was standing atop a towering building didn't faze him. The noose around his neck didn't faze him.
The fact that he was a shattered man, abandoned by his friends, blocked by his lover on every platform, and ignored even by his own family—none of it mattered anymore.
Then, suddenly, the laughter stopped. The grin vanished.
His face collapsed into pure despair.
"And now," he murmured, taking a step forward, "mine ends."
He let himself fall.
As he plummeted past the edge of the rooftop, the rope snapped tight around his neck.
Yet, he didn't blink. Even as the moment of death approached, even as the final breath was stolen from his lungs, his gaze remained locked onto the glowing city lights, staring as if searching for a missing puzzle piece.
Then, he felt it—the tightening around his throat. His instincts kicked in. His eyes clenched shut. His body, gripped by the raw terror of death, reacted on its own. His mind wanted to die, but his body resisted.
But there was nothing he could do.
No neck, no matter how strong, could withstand the force of a body plummeting from such a height.
But then—something unexpected happened.
Perhaps it was fate playing a cruel joke. Perhaps it was just his own incompetence.
Whatever the reason… the rope came loose.
Instead of snapping his neck, it slipped from its anchor. Now, instead of a clean death, it merely tightened around his throat—choking him as he continued plummeting toward the ground.
His hands clawed at his neck, trying desperately to loosen the rope.
This left him completely unable to control his fall. He wasn't falling straight—he was tumbling chaotically.
Not only was he suffocating, but in just a few seconds, his body would be smashed to pieces upon impact.
"Fuck my luck."
He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the agony.
A man whose luck had been spiraling downward all year. A man who had failed at everything he touched. Now, even his attempt to die had failed.
As he fell into the abyss, a thousand thoughts raced through his mind. Thoughts he had tried to suppress but could never truly silence.
His name was Arda. He had worked at his father's business for as long as he could remember. At first, he handled small errands, content with the modest weekly allowance he received.
He was social, yet he had never had a girlfriend. Perhaps that was why his simple life had been enough—until he turned 21.
Loneliness finally caught up to him. That's when he met her—through a friend.
Her name was Selin. She was 1.60 meters tall, with blonde hair and green eyes. She had an impeccable fashion sense and a talent for makeup that made her strikingly beautiful.
Arda was attractive too, but he lacked style. To this day, he didn't know how he had managed to win her over.
After meeting her, his days became brighter. He finally had someone to talk to. She even helped him improve his style—his clothes, his haircut.
He was more confident. More charismatic.
For the first time in his life, everything was going well.
And then, it all fell apart.
Selin convinced him to invest in the stock market. Because it was her idea, he didn't question it.
At first, he made small investments and saw minor gains. Then, he went bigger and made even more. It felt incredible. He felt successful.
But then… he started losing.
When the money was gone, so were his friends.
His family, realizing he had become a reckless addict, distanced themselves. His father fired him.
Still, he had Selin.
But then… she left too.
Now, as Arda plummeted through the abyss, he realized something.
"Time really does slow down when you're dying… So why haven't I hit the ground yet?"
He opened his eyes.
No lights. No sound. No city. Just... endless void.
Then, out of the darkness, words began to glow.
[Welcome to Araf.]