"I'm in pain... it really hurts," he said softly as he walked into the silent street at midnight.
Blood marked his clothes, and his steps were slow and shaky.
He held his side with his right hand, where the knife had hit him, trying to stay strong as the pain almost made him fall.
"Closer... I have to reach it," he whispered, moving one foot after the other.
His eyes fluttered, opening and shutting slowly, as blood kept flowing from his injury.
With each step and each drop of blood, he felt weaker and slower, but he pushed on.
"No, I... ne—" his voice trailed off as his knees gave out.
He fell, holding his bleeding side, the warm blood oozing through his fingers.
Darkness started to close in on his sight, and he couldn't hold on any longer.
His body hit the ground with a soft thud as he lost awareness.
A slight smile appeared on his face as one thought went through his tired mind: At least I helped someone... at least no one else got hurt.
When he finally accepted it, the fear of dying disappeared.
A strange peace came over him, stronger than the pain and deeper than the blood around him.
His breathing became slow, and his sight faded.
As his body stayed still, with red blood spreading around him, his eyes closed gently, giving in to the darkness.
...
A few seconds after he died, he suddenly woke up.
He was standing in a place he didn't know.
There were many unfamiliar people around him, whispering quietly, their faces blank and hard to read.
The large crowd made the air feel thick and heavy.
As he tried to understand where he was, he found only endless white all around him, plain and never-ending.
But when he looked down, the ground under his feet was a smooth, dark surface, shiny like glass, showing nothing at all.
There were no walls and no sky.
It was just white on top and black on the bottom, with a soft noise of lost souls trying to figure out where they were.
"Excuse me… where are we?" he said quietly but urgently, as he touched the stranger's shoulder.
The man turned around slowly to look at him.
Their eyes connected, one looked confused and the other wanted to know more.
But the look on the stranger's face gave no reassurance.
It was serious, hard to understand, and just as confused.
"I don't know either," the stranger said calmly.
"Take a look at the people around you," he waved his hand over the crowd, pointing at the puzzled faces.
"None of them know what's going on. Just like us, they all died... and then ended up here." His face grew serious, and he stared into the distance as if looking for answers that weren't there.
"So... is this what happens after we die?" he said softly, almost whispering.
He opened his mouth a little as he looked at the people around him.
Many stood close by, all sharing the same unspoken question in their eyes.
Some looked confused and scared, while others appeared calm and even smiled, as if they had understood something that the others hadn't.
"My name is Lukas," he said quietly, reaching out his hand.
"I know you passed away too… but recently, I've begun to think if this is heaven," he stood in front of Lucen, his gaze calm and searching, a slight smile on his face, more sad than happy, but genuine.
"My name is Lucen," he said calmly and kindly.
"I think others feel the same way, this place is truly wonderful," he offered his right hand with gentle honesty.
They shook hands tightly, sharing a quiet sense of relief and understanding with each other.
Suddenly, an odd noise filled the air, as if the world was twisting and changing.
The crowd glanced up.
In the bright white above them, something started to appear.
A large black head pushed through the white like it was ripping through cloth.
It had no eyes and no details.
Just a big, blank white mouth that stretched across its face, quiet yet very disturbing.
"Hi there. I work for the god," he said in a calm voice that wasn't too friendly or too cold, yet it filled the area easily.
"You're probably curious about why you're all here. You can call me Black because that's my color."
He took a moment.
"Welcome to Hell."
Even though he didn't yell, the crowd started to move.
Something unusual filled the air, their voices got louder, not because they were shouting, but as if his words brought out something inside them.
"Is he... for real?"
"What is this place? Is it hell?"
"No... I thought this was meant to be heaven..."
Whispers spread through the crowd like a wave of shock.
People's expressions changed from confusion to fear.
Some stood still, mouths open in surprise.
Others frowned hard, their brows furrowed in disbelief.
A few girls covered their mouths with shaky hands, trying to hold back gasps.
Lucen stood frozen in place.
His face showed complete shock.
His eyes were wide, and his mouth was open, as if he was about to scream or say nothing.
He couldn't move or even blink.
The truth hit him hard.
It was sudden, bright, and unchangeable.
"This place is split into one hundred sections," Black said, speaking quietly and without feeling.
"Each section has between 10 and 40 difficult mental tests. These are tough challenges meant to stretch your mind to its breaking point. You have to finish them all. Only after going through all of this will you get a choice. To be born again in the living world or to go to a peaceful heaven."
"Does that mean... there's still a chance?"
"We won't have to stay in this pain forever?"
"Is that really true?"
"What if we don't succeed?"
The group, who had been filled with fear and sadness, started to calm down.
A small spark of hope shone in their eyes.
But not everyone believed it.
"If you fail any challenge, you will be gone for good. Your soul will no longer be there," the voice said, cold and emotionless.
"You don't get another chance. You have to finish every task without fail."
A deep silence settled in.
The message hit hard like a heavy weight.
"Oh, and one more thing," the voice went on, ringing in the empty space and digging into the thoughts of those who had just passed.
"You're probably curious about why your bodies feel different, and why the older ones of you now look young again."
The voice paused for a moment, allowing discomfort to grow.
"We brought all of you back to your best and strongest selves. Everyone, except for kids under eighteen and those who were disabled in life. They get to rebirth right away. But don't think of it as kindness, if they die again, they'll come back here, just like the rest of you."
Black's cold words hung in the air, each one adding to the burden on their hearts.
Then, without warning, Black vanished.
In the next instant, everything was different.
They were suddenly taken to a never-ending place, all white, going on forever in all directions.
All 5,001,248,037 human souls had been moved to a new location.
Lucen looked up, then down, and saw only white stretching endlessly around him.
Ahead, Lukas stood quietly.
Lucen slowly turned, his heart racing.
People were around him, standing exactly two meters apart.
Then, out of nowhere, a green door appeared in front of each person.
It stood tall and quiet, shining softly.
When the doors started to open, a crowd of people rushed in quickly, moving past the entrance without thinking.
But Lucen didn't move.
He kept his eyes on one person: Lukas.
In the middle of all the movement and sound, Lukas lifted his hand in a soft invitation.
It was a small signal that only Lucen appeared to see.
Without saying anything, Lucen moved closer.
While everyone else hurried toward what was ahead, Lucen went towards Lukas.
Then, a loud, clear bell rang from above, breaking through the tension sharply.
People who hadn't gone through the green door stopped moving, their eyes naturally looking up.
Suddenly, bright words appeared in the air above them:
Section 1 — 1st Challenge
Objective: Step through the door that has appeared before you and survive.
Time Limit: 20 minutes.
A lot of people were still standing hesitantly by the door, including Lucen and Lukas.
When they saw the instructions, they exchanged confused looks.
The message didn't explain anything, it just had a countdown and a mysterious command.
Even Lucen, who is usually calm and quick to make decisions, felt stuck in doubt.
""Lukas... do you remember what he said about those tough mind challenges?" Lucen's voice was quiet and tense.
He stared at Lukas with a seriousness that made Lukas uneasy.
"Something about this doesn't seem right."
Without waiting for Lukas to answer, Lucen grabbed his wrists tightly.
"I think you're right. We should not go through that door," Lukas said firmly.
Lucen nodded in agreement, his eyes looking over the crowd.
All around them, many people were waiting at the entrance, their faces showing quiet fear.
When Lucen looked at them, he noticed their worry and the same understanding he and Lukas had come to.
They could all sense it, something was not right on the other side.
Then, a loud and urgent voice broke the silence.
"I don't think we should go through that door for at least twenty minutes!"
The shout pierced the air like a warning, coming from instinct rather than authority.
A quiet talk started and moved fast among those who were unsure at the entrance.
Soft whispers became nods of agreement.
One after another, people nodded.
Whether it was fear, reasoning, or something more, they all came to the same thought: It was a trick.
Lucen stood with the few who decided not to go with the others.
He didn't have to say anything.
The quiet around him spoke volumes.
They all sensed it was wrong.
Unlike those who hurried on, Lucen and the others paid attention.
They stayed, watched, and waited.
After twenty long minutes of silence, the air felt heavy.
They sat still on the cold ground by the door, on edge, their eyes darting between each other and the steady, unchanging door.
Then suddenly, new words appeared above them:
Well done to everyone who didn't give in and stayed away from the door. You have completed the challenge! Those who went through the door didn't make it.
The impact of the news hit them gradually, like poison moving through an injury.
They looked at the message, trying to understand how harsh it was.
Survivors Remaining: 4,986,244,292
Total Participants: 5,001,248,037
Confirmed Deaths: 15,003,745
Fifteen million people lost in just a moment.
There was no warning and no second chances.
It was only a test of trust, strength, uncertainty, and the results of one step forward.