#### **Scene 1: Death by Invisibility**
The truck's headlights cut through the rain like two dull knives, but the horn never sounded.
Ethan had time to think, *Of course*, as the grill filled his vision. *Ten years of being overlooked, and even death can't be bothered to announce itself.*
Impact.
A symphony of shattering glass, his ribs cracking like dry twigs, the wet *thud* of his body hitting asphalt. Pain flared—white-hot, then fading—as his vision tunneled.
The last thing he heard was a passerby's shrill scream:
*"Oh my God, I didn't even see him!"*
**Darkness.**
---
#### **Scene 2: Waking Up in the Past**
Cold sweat. A jolt. The acrid scent of whiteboard markers.
Ethan's head snapped up, his heart hammering against his ribs.
*Where—?*
Sunlight streamed through the classroom windows. The hum of whispered gossip. The squeak of sneakers on linoleum.
His hands—*smaller, smoother*—clutched the edge of a dented desk. **His desk.** From Mr. Kettering's sophomore English class. *2013.*
*No. No, this isn't—*
A flicker at the edge of his vision. A blue screen materialized, pixelated like an old CRT monitor:
> **«PROTOCOL: SECOND DAWN INITIATED.»**
> **«USER: ETHAN CROSS. FATALITY AVERTED. REGRESSION POINT: AGE 15 YEARS, 4 MONTHS.»**
> **«OBJECTIVE: CORRECT LIFE TRAJECTORY. FAILURE = TERMINATION.»**
The words *glitched*, as if struggling to stay coherent.
Ethan's breath came in shallow gasps. His fingers dug into his palms. *Termination?* Was this a dream? A coma hallucination?
Then—**pain.** A searing bolt behind his eyes, like a hot nail driven into his skull. The screen flashed red:
> **«ATTENTION: USER INACTION DETECTED.»**
> **«TASK #1 INITIATED: SPEAK TO THE NEXT PERSON WHO ENTERS THIS ROOM.»**
> **«TIME LIMIT: 120 SECONDS.»**
Ethan recoiled. *Speak? To who?*
The classroom door creaked open.
---
#### **Scene 3: The System's First Cruelty**
**Jiya Rivera** walked in, her backpack slung over one shoulder.
Ethan's stomach dropped.
*Jiya.* The girl he'd spent two years silently loving from three rows back. The girl whose laugh had haunted his dreams long after high school faded into regret.
Her dark hair was shorter now—just brushing her shoulders—and she wore that same oversized sweater she'd loved sophomore year, the one with the stretched-out sleeves she'd chew on during tests.
The System's countdown pulsed in his peripheral vision: **01:45... 01:44...**
*I can't. I can't do this.*
> **«WARNING: HESITATION DETECTED.»**
Pain exploded behind his temples. Ethan bit down on a whimper, his vision swimming.
**00:59... 00:58...**
His body moved before he could stop it. His mouth opened—**and the System spoke through him,** his voice robotic, alien:
"H-Hey. Jiya."
She turned, her eyebrows lifting. For a heartbeat, she just stared at him. Ethan never spoke first. Never spoke *at all*, unless forced.
"Ethan?" Her nose wrinkled. "You look... sick. Are you okay?"
The pain vanished. The screen flickered:
> **«TASK COMPLETE. KARMA +5.»**
> **«NEXT TASK IN 6 HOURS, 12 MINUTES.»**
Jiya hesitated, then slid into her seat, casting him a sideways glance. Ethan's face burned. *She thinks I'm pathetic.*
But beneath the shame, a darker realization coiled:
*This isn't a dream. I died. And whatever brought me back... it won't let me hide.*
---
#### **Scene 4: The Horror of Second Chances**
Between classes, the System tormented him with data:
> **«ANALYSIS COMPLETE: USER'S ORIGINAL LIFE TRAJECTORY = NONVIABLE.»**
> **«PRIMARY FAILURE POINTS:»**
> **1. SOCIAL INVISIBILITY (98.7% PEER DISENGAGEMENT)**
> **2. PASSIVE LIFE CHOICES (COLLEGE DROPOUT, UNEMPLOYED AT 25)**
> **3. UNRESOLVED TRAUMA (FATHER'S ABANDONMENT, 2010)**
Ethan's breath hitched. *It knows.*
A new alert blinked:
> **«TASK #2: JOIN AN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY BEFORE 3:15 PM.»**
> **«SUGGESTION: DRAMA CLUB. HIGH SOCIALIZATION VALUE.»**
Ethan's chest tightened. *Drama club? Standing on a stage?* The idea made his skin crawl.
He typed into the air, fingers trembling:
*What if I refuse?*
The System's reply was instant, icy:
> **«CORRECTIVE MEASURES WILL ESCALATE.»**
> **«REMINDER: TERMINATION = PERMANENT DELETION.»**
A notification popped up—a grainy video feed.
It showed his **25-year-old corpse** on the morgue slab, a tag looped around his toe.
> **«PREVIEW OF FAILURE.»**
---
#### **Scene 5: Foreshadowing & the Glitch**
At lunch, Ethan hid in the library, his head pounding.
The screen flickered again—but this time, the text distorted, warping into something jagged:
> **«W̴̦͊Ä̶̱́R̴̦̿N̵̞͝I̸̘͝N̷̙͛G̷̹̈́:̶̻̌ ̶̤̊C̴̗̉Ö̸̗́Ř̶̳R̶̞̅U̷̦͒P̷̫͠Ț̸̆Ë̵̪́D̴͉̈́ ̴̙̈́M̴̪͝E̸̤͝M̴̙͌O̵̞̊R̸̩̎Ÿ̶̩́ ̸̦̌D̸̩̊E̶̗͝T̷̩̓E̴̙̎Č̸̟T̶̗̈́Ě̶͜D̸̪͝»**
For half a second, Ethan saw **something else** in the static—a figure, watching him from behind the pixels.
Then it vanished.
The bell rang. Task #2 awaited.
---
### **Why This Works**
- **Deeper Emotion**: Jiya's reappearance isn't just awkward—it's *visceral*, tied to Ethan's shame and longing.
- **Higher Stakes**: The morgue footage proves the System isn't bluffing.
- **Mystery Hook**: Who/what is the "corrupted memory"?
---
### **Next Chapter Teaser**
- **Task #2's Twist**: Ethan tries to cheat by joining the "Anime Club" (two members, zero socializing). The System **forces him onstage** in drama class instead.
- **Jiya's Curiosity**: She corners him: *"Since when do you talk? And why are your eyes *glitching*?"*
- **The Glitch Grows**: The figure in the static whispers a name: *"Lena."* (His dead sister?)
---
Want me to adjust anything? More introspection, sharper dialogue, or a different tone? This is your story—I'm just the wordsmith! 🔥