It was late in the night, Saki was only one step away to finish his work, which he did expect everyone to copy from him once it's done. His friend Pablo was the first person to ask him to send it to him via WhatsApp once he's done.
As the alarm clock chimed past midnight, Saki finally put his pen down.
"Phew," he sighed. "That was a lot."
He rolled over, a faint smile on his face as he stared up at the ceiling. He loved studying and doing his schoolwork on the bed, even though his chemistry teacher always called it lazy.
Unknowingly, her favouritee student did exactly that everything single.
He was getting drowsy now.
But, still, there was one thing left to be done.
He unlocked his phone with a zigzag pattern and clicked the WhatsApp icon on the homescreen.
The class group chat blinked with unread messages without thinking much. He sent his work through so others could adjust it with AI before they all submitted it.
A second later, messages started popping up.
"Yo, thanks, Saki."
"You're a lifesaver, man."
"Bro carrying the whole class again."
"Keep being a nerd. We need you."
He was done, and he didn't need to respond to them anyway. He was famous to them only when they needed something but it's not like they really cared.
He was about to put his phone away and switch off the light when his finger slipped… brushing against the screen.
A voice blared from the phone:
"Wanna jerk off, click the link below and horny milfs—"
He slammed the Home button and tapped the screen off. He couldn't believe he'd actually jumped into a porn ad. Everything about it made him recoil—these were not his things at all.
"Whew," he breathed, startled, as a sudden voice echoed in his ear.
"Hacking in… successful."
"What the—?" His eyes darted around the room, but there was nothing.
He shivered because when he checked, the phone was off, silent.
Then, a voice—calm, almost clinical—echoed inside his skull. Not from the phone. Not from anywhere in the room.
"…Analyzing… metrics… 72%…"
He froze. What the hell…?
"Focus… Saki Oryan… observation complete."
He spun around. Nothing. Just the bed, the ceiling, his scattered notebooks.
And yet… the voice continued.
"Curiosity detected… resistance minimal… potential identified."
A chill ran down his spine. It wasn't coming from outside. It felt like it rang inside his head—but that was impossible. A mechanical voice inside his skull? No way.
He clenched his fists. "Who… who's there?"
"…Do not resist. You are ready."
"Ready?" he repeated, trembling. "Ready for what?"
"…To begin your journey as… Lifestyle Solo."
"A… what?"
"Your… new existential character. Metrics assessed. Compliance probability high. Resistance minimal. Initiating program."
Saki's stomach lurched. Metrics? Compliance? Program? He had no idea what any of this meant—but the voice sounded certain, cold, and all-knowing.
He thought maybe he should cry—so someone could come, prove he wasn't losing it. But his aunt and cousins would kill him the moment they realized he'd done something to ruin their comfortable sleep.
"…Do not resist," the voice whispered again, softer this time, threading through his thoughts.
He flinched. Resist? Resist what?
"I am inside you, Saki Oryan," it said, calm, almost intimate. "Watching. Learning. Calculating. Your thoughts, your desires, your habits—they are now mine to observe and control for your own good."
Saki's breath caught. He slammed his fists into his bed, trying to make it stop. This isn't real. This can't be real.
"Reality is whatever we negotiate," the voice continued. "You will not see me, yet I am here. You will not hear me aloud, yet I speak. I'm your guide towards your new golden age; I am your Taboo Lifestyle System."
The words pierced him. System? Lifestyle? Taboo?
Then, a holographic screen almost surreal flickered to life in front of him.
"What's the -"
WELCOME SAKI ORYAN.
The words showed up on the floating screen.
There was nothing to it but the words alone.
Saki put his hand in the air if he could touch whatever that was, but there was nothing. Whatever it is, it wasn't standing where he was seeing it.
"Don't worry, you're not getting mad," the mechanical voice spoke to him again.
"No, I think I am," answered Saki, desperation creeping into his voice. "What's this, and why do I keep hearing your voice but can't see you?"
"You can call me Ogy," the mechanical voice replied, smooth but cold. "As I said, I am the system itself. I located this name in your personal data—it seemed easiest to recall since it's the same name you gave to your dead dog. Ogy."
Saki's stomach twisted. "That… that's impossible!" he whispered, voice shaking.
"You were the first suitable host I found in centuries," the system explained. "Optimal compatibility. I can integrate fully, observe without detection, and influence without resistance… eventually. And you, Saki Oryan, will become my conduit. Your life, your decisions, your desires… all will feed into the program."
There was a brief pause, and the holographic screen before him glitched, the symbols flickering in erratic patterns. Then, as if it had been waiting for the perfect moment, words appeared in stark, glowing letters:
Tasks loading…
"Cogratulation Saki Oryan, your first task begins this very night." Came the mechanic voice of Ogy again.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Blurted Saki.
"You should take serious of your task because of the rewards -"
"Forget the rewards! Forget you—whoever you are! Just leave me alone!"
Ogy continued, completely ignoring Saki's outburst.
"I'll upload the subject of your first task… in three—two—one…"
Saki jaw dropped. Not when the visual screen appeared before him with the video playing - that too was fascinating - but his heart leapt more because of the person on the screen.
It was his aunt Maya in her bathroom, naked.
And that wasn't the worst part of it. What intrigued him more was what she was doing to herself in the bathtub. This reminded him of the pornographic ad about the jerk mate that he saw earlier of a girl rubbing her clitoris.
"Your aunt is horny tonight," Ogy spoke out bluntly. "And as his nephew, you should be there to help her out and obtain a reward from your bravery."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Saki snapped, his voice trembling with disbelief. "You mean… you actually want me to go and… is that what you mean by 'helping her'?"
"That's what is expected of you," said Ogy, shortly.
"No, i can't - she's my aunt, my father's sister!"
"We expected resistance," Ogy spoke, voice cold and unyielding. "But the system isn't here to serve life—it is here to change it. To do so, it is authorized to take any initiative necessary, no matter how risky."
A tense pause hung in the air. Then, without warning, the holographic interface reappeared, panels glowing with graphs labelled: restraint, lust, hormones, mental clarity.
"What… what's happening?" Saki stammered, eyes widening.
"I'm going to push your lust higher," Ogy said smoothly, "charge your libido chemicals, lower your restraint, and reduce your mental clarity… permanently, if necessary."
Saki's mind screamed in disbelief. That's impossible… Yet as the bars on the interface jumped erratically—Lust: rising… Restraint: dropping… Hormones: spiking… Mental Clarity: fading…
He felt a strange heat pooling in his chest. Unfamiliar, intrusive thoughts stirred within him—desires he didn't recognize, almost whispering their presence to let go.