In a vast, dark room, Murad sat on the floor, terrified and trembling. Beside him lay the bodies of his two friends, Mahmoud and Saeed, from whom blood was still dripping. In the distance, he watched his third friend, Tamer, standing on the edge of the balcony railing—distraught, sweating, and swaying slowly. Tamer was struggling to maintain his balance, carefully placing one foot after another into tiny gaps, barely wide enough for his feet, amidst a long row of jagged, broken glass placed along the length of the railing. He was required to reach the end of the balcony without his feet touching any of the scattered glass shards.
Murad stood up, tense and anxious, as he watched Tamer approach the end of the railing, having successfully navigated most of the glass. Murad shouted, encouraging him:
"You're almost at the end! Come on, my friend! Just a few more steps, and you'll make it... you'll survive! Come on, Tamer! Come on, my friend."
Tamer looked at Murad, a smile of hope sparked by the encouragement on his face. His smile widened as he saw how close he was to the end of the railing, but it vanished instantly when he saw the final section of the balcony—barely 40 centimeters long—completely covered in broken glass, with only one tiny, clear spot at the very end.
Tamer looked at Murad in fear. Murad moved closer, smiling and urging him on:
"Don't be afraid, my friend; we have been through worse than this. Just jump precisely over the broken glass, and you will succeed. I promise, we will succeed and we will all survive."
Tamer nodded at Murad with confidence, carefully calculating the distance for his jump over the glass on the balcony railing. He looked down at the street ten stories below with anxiety, but remembered what they had endured before and how they had survived tests far more difficult than this.
He breathed slowly, swallowed hard, and then moved with great confidence. He quickly launched his right foot forward with a calculated lift from the railing—a long leap reminiscent of famous ballet dancers, as they dance and leap on their tiptoes with grace, with the only difference being that they were not forced to jump on the edge of a tenth-story balcony between jagged pieces of broken glass.
The few moments Tamer spent in the air over the railing felt like an eternity to Murad, who squeezed his eyes shut, terrified that his friend's foot might slip, causing him to fall and become a witness to his death just as he had watched his other friends die before him. Murad kept his eyes closed, hearing neither a scream nor a heavy thud. He opened his eyes in anticipation, only to find his friend standing safely on his left foot, well clear of the broken glass, right in the safe zone. Tamer raised his right hand, smiling in joy at his survival. Murad's face lit up, and he kept shouting, joyfully congratulating him:
"You made it, my friend! You survived!"
Suddenly, a mobile phone emitted a famous tone signaling victory. Tamer held up his phone, looking at it with joy, to find a message on the screen that read:
"Congratulations, you have successfully completed your game."
He stood on his feet in joy, cheering and waving his hand, shouting to Murad: "I made it! I survived, my friend!"
But suddenly, his phone rang again. Tamer looked at the screen and found a message: "You have successfully completed your game... but three seconds past the time limit."
Tamer, still standing on the balcony, looked at Murad in disbelief as he raised his watch for Murad to see. His digital watch was frozen at 10 minutes and 3 seconds. Murad clutched his head in shock, anticipating what would happen to his friend, who was suddenly yanked by his foot with intense force across the balcony railing. His body was torn apart by the sheer power of the pull and the friction against the broken glass fixed to the railing. He screamed in pain and terror, suddenly finding himself upside down, propelled by the air, falling from the tenth floor.
Three seconds. Only three seconds were what made him lose his mission, and those were also the seconds it took for him to fall from the top of the balcony until he hit the ground. His body shattered, and the glimmer of life vanished from his eyes as he looked up at his friend Murad, who watched him from above as he departed from life.
Murad collapsed to the ground, stunned and bewildered at witnessing the last of his friends lose his life because of the madness they had participated in. It wasn't long before his own mobile phone rang with a message he quickly read. It said: "It is your turn now."
He smiled in despair, knowing that he would meet the same fate as his friends. But suddenly, he stood up and took several steps back to stand in the middle of his friends' blood inside the room. He looked at them, furious: "No... I will not meet the same fate as them all."
He said this as he ran out of the building, escaping, leaving nothing behind but regret and blood-stained footprints adorning the building's floor as he raced away like an ostrich. He knew that his escape was almost impossible; no one had ever managed to escape with their life before. He knew that well, but he decided that at least he would tell someone about what had happened to them. He raised his mobile phone and kept pressing the numbers as he ran, hoping he could survive for just a few minutes... to tell Adam, his older brother, to avenge his death and his friends'. He knew it was nearly impossible, but his older brother Adam was different. He might be the only one who could stand up to "him." The only one who could face him. Yes... Adam... he is the only one who can stand in his way. The Agonizer.
An hour ago... in a duplex gallery in the 6th of October district, the annual party was being held to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the founding of Future Technology and Information Company (FTIC), which was established by Adam Assem.
He is a handsome young man in his early thirties—fair-skinned, with oriental features, his face adorned with a neat, short beard. He wears clear-rimmed glasses, more for style than necessity. He has a massive, well-proportioned body, standing 184 cm tall and weighing 95 kg, dressed in a full, luxurious suit. He walks with pride among a large gathering of elite men and women of society, a group he became a part of only a few years ago.
He moves like a bee among flowers—greeting this person, talking to that one, dancing with this woman, flattering that one. He never stays in one place for more than 10 minutes.
He watches with his eyes, contemplating all the personalities in his home now. He feels pride and vanity when he remembers seeing some of them on television just a few years ago, wishing he could meet one of them for a few moments to help him with his ideas and inventions.
But now, they are in his house, in his hands, wishing to meet him and participate in some of his work. How arrogant he felt, seeing the gazes of the women around him—girls devouring him with their eyes. This was not just for his handsomeness and youth, but for his bank balance, which had exceeded six figures long ago, even though he was still in the prime of his youth—the dream of most women. A handsome young man with plenty of money. Adam knew this and acted toward them from that perspective. His eyes caught a beautiful girl wearing a long red evening dress standing with her mother. She left her mother immediately upon catching Adam's smile as he looked at her. She headed toward him quickly, elegant, radiant, and full of the pride of her beauty, which had no equal in that room at that time. Contrary to what usually happens in nature, she was the one who started the conversation:
"Can I have a few minutes of your time... Mr. Adam?"
He looked at her dismissively: "It's fine... if it's only a few minutes."
The young woman felt embarrassed, but she continued, albeit reluctantly: "Do you remember me? I'm Camelia Salem; I met you before with my father during the eco-housing project."
"Yes... yes, I remember you. You are Engineer Salem's daughter. I remember now. How are you? And why didn't your father attend the party? I sent him an invitation."
"Unfortunately, he couldn't make it due to some personal circumstances, but he sent me and my mother to attend in his place."
"Well, you and your mother have brightened up the party with your presence."
"I am very grateful."
A few moments passed. Adam began looking around indifferently, while Camelia stood beside him without him opening any conversation or showing interest. She began to notice her rivals—other girls—watching her with gloating looks and joy on their faces. Side conversations spread, and the noise grew louder. Camelia decided to take bolder steps with Adam to clear the path before her competitors, so she spoke to him quickly and eagerly:
"I... I have bought every single product your company has produced. I am always in the front lines to purchase your goods because I want to support you. You are a hardworking young man, and by nature, I am a girl who always likes to stand behind and support anyone who is hardworking."
Adam looked at her and smiled, nodding his head: "Thank you... thank you."
He turned his gaze back to what was in front of him, watching from the corner of his eye the signs of disappointment and frustration appearing on Camelia's face. He swept his gaze across the girls at the party who were devouring him with their eyes, and felt confidence and arrogance filling him. He expressed this with a broad, satisfied smile on his face. Then, Camelia returned to the conversation again. He looked at her and listened, his smile growing wider and wider. Camelia took the initiative and asked him directly:
"Why haven't you married yet?"
Adam's eyes glinted instantly, as he had been waiting for this question from Camelia since the beginning of their conversation. He answered quickly and without hesitation: "Because I haven't found anyone worthy of marrying me."
Camelia looked at him with a blank expression, feeling his words touched her dignity. She raised an eyebrow, curled her upper lip slightly to the right, and spoke sharply: "How could you not find anyone worthy of marrying you? Isn't there a single woman in all of Egypt who has impressed you? Why... do you see yourself as being above the rest of humanity?"
Adam smiled even more, seeing Camelia angry and agitated: "Yes, I do stand above the rest of humanity. Don't be angry, don't feel insulted. Put yourself in my shoes for a moment and imagine yourself now: Adam Assem, a young man at the beginning of his life, contributing 0.3% of the technology in the entire world annually. I hold 203 patents in my name and the name of the company I built from nothing, which has become one of the most famous companies in the world in just a few short years. Now, think about marriage: Who would you marry? Would you marry a famous girl to gain fame? No, Adam Assem doesn't need fame. Would you marry for money? No, he has plenty of money that increases every single minute. For beauty and youth? He can easily have hundreds of those. So tell me, why should I marry? What would any woman add to the name Adam Assem? She wouldn't add anything, no matter how famous, rich, or beautiful she might be. Isn't that right, my beautiful friend?"
Camelia stared at him for a few moments, then pushed him with her hands in anger, left him, and walked away. Adam continued to watch her, smiling, enjoying her reaction.