"3... 2... 1... 0!"
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Fireworks burst across the midnight sky. Cities lit up. People cheered, hugged, kissed.
The new year had begun.
Then the sky cracked.
A jagged line — like glass fracturing — split open above the world.
"What's that?"
"Is that part of the show?"
It widened. It twisted. Then, something pushed through. A massive, grotesque head — no eyes, no mouth — just runes, veins, and writhing limbs coiling around it like worms. Symbols danced on its flesh, alive.
Down below, a young man no older than 20 years old muttered as he stared at the sky.
"...Again."
ROAAAAAR.
Screams. Panic. The creature dropped from the rift, crashing into a crowded street — flattening bodies without resistance. Limbs, blood, metal — all crushed in an instant.
It moved. Fast. Too fast.
People scattered. It chased.
Then — everything stopped.
Not just motion. Not just sound. Everything.
A screen appeared in the air, glowing faint white. All humans could see it.
---
> System Stabilizing...
System Loaded.
Welcome to the Ascension Trial.
You have been selected as a member of the Ruler Species of the world "Earth."
Initiating Starter Trials...
Teleporting...
---
One by one — people vanished.
Earth became silent.
And the planet began to grow. Physically. Geographically. From the size of a small orb to something hundreds of times larger. Lands stretched. Oceans multiplied. Forests twisted into unfamiliar shapes.
Earth had changed.
---
"Where...?"
"What happened?"
Confused voices echoed through unfamiliar terrain. Then — silence.
A new pressure descended. One not even the bravest could ignore. Every single person — weak or strong — looked up.
Hovering in the sky was a tall, pale figure. Skin white like chalk. Horns like roots. No pupils, just black voids for eyes.
When it spoke, its voice wasn't loud. It simply was. As if the world carried its words directly into everyone's bones.
---
[Greetings, humans of Earth
I will be your host for the Starter Trial
Pass, and you return home
Fail, and you die.]
---
No one could move. No one could speak. Their mouths worked, but their throats betrayed them.
---
[Without further ado... Let the trial begin.]
---
Trial of the Zone: EA4809
> Objective: Survive in a monster-infested land for 30 days.
All humans have been scattered randomly across a 1000km x 1000km area.
Terrain varies by sector.
Forced Quest
• Type: Survival
• Timer: 0 / 30 Days
• Reward: (???)
• Penalty Upon Failure: Death.
---
Earth was no longer Earth.
And this was only the beginning.