Prologue ...

"brrring !!" "brrring!!"

The alarm rang like a relentless beast at 6 AM, echoing in the dimly lit room. A man lay sprawled on the bed. He groggily got out of bed, his joints were still aching from the previous restless night. He shuffled to the kitchen with his disheveled appearance, opening the fridge to find it nearly empty. A lone carton of milk and a few slices of bread remained.

He sighed, pouring himself a glass of water and nibbling on the stale bread. His thoughts drifted to better days before his life had spiraled into this monotonous hell. Once he had dreams, a loving wife, and a future full of possibilities. Now, all he had was a job he hated and a life devoid of meaning.

"Son, you forgot your wallet!" an old lady exclaimed, holding up a worn leather wallet and swinging it gently. A man about 35 years old rushed back to the lady, his face a mask of worry and fatigue.

"Sorry, Mom. I have to go now," the man mumbled as he grabbed the wallet and hurried toward the road.

This was a daily occurrence for Ben, a broken man whose life had unraveled after just a few months of marriage. He had discovered his wife cheating on him, and in a fit of rage, he had beaten the man and thrown her out of his home. The incident left him a hardened, solitary figure, living with his old mother and an average life with a mundane 9-to-5 job, barely making ends meet.

Office

Ben arrived at the office, a 10-floor building in the heart of the city. As he walked in, he could feel the stares and hear the whispers of his colleagues. They knew about his past, the scandal of his divorce, and they never let him forget it.

"Mr.Ben," one of his coworkers, Jake, sneered as Ben passed by. "How's the single life treating you?"

Ben ignored him, heading straight to his cubicle. The office was a dull, gray maze of desks and computers, each occupied by someone equally disillusioned with their life. He sat down and logged into his system, ready for another day of mind-numbing tasks.

Just before he could sigh trouble came looking for him.

"Ben, I need these reports done by noon," his boss, Mr. Thompson, barked as he dropped a thick stack of papers on Ben's desk. "And make sure you don't screw it up this time."

"Yes, sir," Ben replied meekly, knowing that any protest would be met with further humiliation. He buried himself in his work, the hours dragging by as he typed and retyped data into spreadsheets.

Lunch Break

Lunch was a lonely affair. Ben sat at his desk, eating a cold sandwich he had brought from the canteen of the office. He watched as his coworkers gathered in groups, laughing and chatting, oblivious to his existence. Occasionally, someone would glance his way, but their eyes would quickly dart away, as if afraid that his misery would get caught up to them.

As he ate, he checked his phone, hoping for a distraction. He found solace in the world of fantasy novels, where one triumphed over evil and found happiness despite their hardships. It was a stark contrast to his own life, and he longed for the escape it provided.

By the time 6 PM rolled around, Ben was exhausted. He packed up his things and left the office, the weight of the day pressing down on him. He walked to the bus stop, his shoulders slumped and his head down. The city around him was bustling with life, but he felt like an outsider, disconnected from the world.

Ben knew perfectly he couldn't run away from this even if he wanted to where would he run off to? perhaps he has to suffer his whole life.

The road was eerily silent as night fell; it was already past 8 PM when he finally caught his bus.

"HORN!!" The blaring sound of a bus horn snapped him out of his thoughts. Ben dashed to catch the bus, grabbing the back seat as he settled in. He put on his earbuds, opened his phone, and started reading the novel to escape his grim reality.

After losing his life's passion, Ben finds solace in the novel world, where he can explore and live vicariously through characters and stories. The novel he was reading was nearly finished.

"So this will be the last chapter," he muttered to himself. "I'm probably the only one reading this. I don't know why even the author bothers to finish it."

He continued reading, his interest waning as the story progressed. Suddenly, a loud cry startled everyone.

"What the FUCK! Is this the ending?" he shouted, frustration boiling over. The story, which had been bad enough, ended with the death of every character. A mysterious figure sacrificed the entire universe to bring forth an army.

Fuming, Ben typed out a scathing review filled with cuss words, his fingers flying across the screen. Once he was done, he noticed how quiet his surroundings had become. The bus had stopped, and he was alone.

"Ring!!" His phone rang, and a notification popped up. It was a reply to his review. "Dear reader, we are very thankful for your reading the novel to the end. As our thanks, you will be given a chance to change the ending which you don't like."

"WHAT?" Ben shouted, his frustration boiling over. He threw his phone aside, his anger turning to confusion as a shadow loomed in front of him. An old man holding a butcher knife appeared.

Before Ben could comprehend what was happening, the knife sliced through his neck. Sweat trickled down from his forehead his phone slid off his hand. His vision darkened, and a single thought crossed his mind: "So this is how my life ends..."

" Enjoy your New life hehehe "With a creepy smile pasted on his face the shadow disappeared leaving no trace of its presence.