Being in a rush, Adrian didn't close his door, so the sound of his head slamming into the desk was heard through the house. His dad rushed to check on him.
"ADRIAN?!"
Pushing the door with a kick, his dad rushed inside the room, only to find his son on the desk, without any reaction to his actions or the loud noise. The sight alone terrified him. He moved his hand to Adrian's neck to check his pulse, but—
'No… His pulse! Where is it?!'
Trying to escape reality, the man switched to his wrist, hoping to find it there, but it was futile. His son was no longer alive.
Taking a step back, hyperventilating, and looking around in a hurry, nothing seemed out of place. The computer now seemed closed, the screen completely black.
"Why… why?!?!"
The man fell to his knees and shouted while looking towards the ceiling, before lowering his gaze and punching the floor as tears streamed down his face. Still, he needed to remain sane… after letting his emotions go astray, he pulled out his phone and called the emergency line.
"…"
After making a call he could not even dream of making, the man moved towards his son's body and held it in an embrace, shedding more tears than ever before, unable to accept it. After his wife's death, he had his last reason to live.
"I'm… sorry, son."
The man always blamed himself for the accident that killed his wife. They were arguing while returning home, and in a moment of carelessness, a car hit the side where his wife was. It was fatal… instant death. He never told Adrian about this, perhaps because he feared it would destroy their relationship. He wanted to tell him when he reached adulthood.
"…"
But it seemed like another regret was now on his back, as he could no longer tell his son the truth. Even for a man who was in the army and killed his nation's enemies, it seemed like mistakes were still possible.
knock knock
"Police! Open up!"
"!!"
The man looked at the clock in Adrian's room and saw that 25 minutes had already passed. He hurried to open the door and let the police and the ambulance medics in.
creak
Opening the door, a police car and an ambulance were parked outside, with three officers and two medics ready to enter.
"Please, come upstairs. Fast."
nod
They made their way upstairs, flinching slightly at the sight of a dead teenager without any blood or signs of a fight, while the officers looked around. The medic checked his body and ran some tests, while the father waited on his son's bed, hopeless.
"I'm sorry… he's gone. We have to take him to the hospital."
"I see… very well."
The two men left the house with Adrian's body, while his father looked through the window and saw them placing it into the ambulance before leaving.
"Jane, Michael, go downstairs."
"Yes, sir."
The man called Michael responded, while Jane followed him downstairs to search for clues, leaving Adrian's father alone with a higher-ranking officer.
"Want one? I'm Officer David, by the way."
The man held out a cigarette while walking to the window and opening it.
"Yeah… the name's Dorian."
The two started smoking, each with a different expression.
The father had a broken face.
While the policeman looked confused.
"I'm sorry for your loss. I saw your uniform downstairs."
"I served for two years."
"Yet this is the sharpest pain."
"… His mother died. It was an argument. I looked away for a moment, and a car hit us… she had no chance."
Officer David placed his hand on his shoulder and reached into his pocket, pulling out a card.
"This is a program… turning veterans into policemen."
"A program?"
"Dorian, I've seen a lot of criminals. Some end their lives before being caught."
"Hey? What are you even saying?"
"I can tell you don't have anything to live for anymore. So find a reason."
"…"
He saw through him.
Right now, Dorian had no more will to live. He lost his wife because of his mistake and swore to help his son achieve anything he wished for… but now he was gone as well. So why should he live anymore?
"Help other people. Protect them. So others won't lose their loved ones."
"I… will think about it." Dorian said, looking at the card.
"Then I hope to see you in uniform soon."
Finishing his cigarette, the man left the room. Dorian heard voices downstairs, then the door opening and closing. Looking outside, he saw the officers getting into their car and leaving on the same road the ambulance took his son.
"…"
Alone, Dorian took a seat on his son's bed and looked at the card again. After what felt like an eternity, he took his phone and dialed the number. A familiar voice answered—it was Officer David.
"It's me."
"… Tomorrow. Local police station."
The call ended. The man stood up and went to the bathroom, cleaning his face after crying. Losing Adrian was the sharpest pain he had ever felt, and he knew he would grieve him for a long time. But he wanted to use this now meaningless life… to help others, and make sure they wouldn't become like him.
Someone who lost everything.
[Nathan POV]
"Haha! Easy, you are so bad, bro."
"Alright, go to sleep, brat."
After playing with his brother, he went back to his room, closed the laptop, and sat on the bed while scrolling through his phone. He needed to find another novel.
'I lost 10 matches… how is that brat so damn good?'
His brother was so good that he didn't win a single match. He even wondered if his brother could play FIFA at an esports level, but the truth was simple—he was just bad.
'Alright, let's check X, maybe the author replied.'
While his brother was in the bathroom, he had made multiple posts trying to find the author and question him directly. He only had half a chapter left—he would rather die than not see the ending.
'… These bastards.'
Opening his posts, he only saw people insulting him or calling it ragebait. It seemed like he really had no luck left. Going back to his main page, a post caught his attention.
'A teenager in the UK dies without any obvious signs…'
The article explained that he came home from training, ate with his dad, went back to gaming, and suddenly died on the spot without any symptoms.
'… The f*ck?'
Nathan double-checked, searching across multiple sources. There was no way someone could die without a reason, but it seemed real.
'So I could drop dead right now?'
Maybe a new type of virus…
'Nah… I've read too many novels.'
He dismissed the thought. It sounded ridiculous.
'?'
Suddenly, his phone screen turned black and white. Fragments formed into words.
Fate's Outcast.
Seeing this, he dropped his phone onto his chest and brought his hands together.
'Please don't be some isekai sh*t.'
Drowsiness took over as his body sank into the bed, and silence filled the room.
Five minutes later, his brother opened the door, trying to prank him, thinking he had fallen asleep. He wet his finger and pushed it into Nathan's ear—but there was no reaction.
"Br-brother?!"
Worried, he rushed over to him. At the same time, headlights flashed downstairs—their parents had arrived.
The boy ran downstairs, screaming.
"Mother! Father! Nathan is acting strange! Help!"
A chaotic night followed as fear filled the house. The police and medics arrived, just like in the UK case.
Another death.
Another country.
Another continent.
The world began to panic.
A virus.
A silent killer.
They prepared.
They researched.
But unknowingly…
Nothing was coming their way.