The Smiling Coffin

In the year 2020, a mysterious event shook the entire globe. A strange mobile application forcefully installed itself on every existing phone—billions of devices—regardless of whether they had an internet connection or not. The most bizarre part, however, was the notification that appeared immediately after:

[Link successfully established. Fate successfully entwined. Each Player is linked to a single character. If the character dies, the Player dies.]

Jacob, a high school senior, sat at his desk, his body rigid. His fingers trembled slightly as they hovered over the strap of his bag, his nails digging into the fabric. His breathing was shallow, his heart pounding against his ribs like a war drum. A thick vein pulsed at his temple, his jaw locked so tight it ached. He had made his decision—this would be the day he ended it all. And he wouldn’t be going alone.

Just as his hand inched closer, the classroom was filled with a sharp vibration. Every phone buzzed at once, the notification chime slicing through the silence. Jacob froze. That shouldn’t be possible. His phone was on airplane mode.

Slowly, he pulled his hand from the bag and, like the rest of his classmates, checked his screen.

There it was—the bizarre notification.

A cold shiver ran down his spine, but deep down, he felt it. This wasn’t a prank. It was real. And as realization settled in, something twisted inside him. The corners of his lips curled into a creeping smile as he muttered under his breath:

"Guess I’ll be the first to see if this Link connection is really established or not."