The Sun had vanished.
For a brief moment, the world fell into silence.
But that silence did not last.
The darkness above them suddenly began to distort.
Then—
BOOM!
The skies trembled once more.
Something was coming.
The people watched in horror as figures began emerging from the darkness.
They were not monsters.
They were intruders.
And they were powerful.
Extremely powerful.
Their presence alone was enough to make even the strongest warriors tremble.
They descended upon the Earth with only one intention—
to kill.
The kings immediately reacted.
They turned toward their Divine Beasts.
"Attack!"
The command echoed across the battlefield.
Yet—
Nothing happened.
The Divine Beasts remained where they were.
The kings' expressions changed.
"Attack them!"
Still, nothing.
Then, suddenly, voices entered their minds.
The voices of their Divine Beasts.
"We will not attack."
The kings were stunned.
"What do you mean?"
The response came calmly.
"As long as they do not threaten the world as a whole, we will not interfere."
"Our power must be preserved."
"We must protect the world."
"And we must protect the towers."
The kings clenched their fists.
They understood.
Their Divine Beasts were refusing to waste their strength on a battle that did not threaten the entire world.
But that left humanity with only one choice.
Retreat.
"Everyone!"
The kings' voices echoed across the battlefield.
"Retreat to the towers!"
The people did not hesitate.
They abandoned the battlefield and rushed toward the towers.
Soldiers.
Civilians.
The elderly.
Children.
Everyone.
The towers became humanity's final refuge.
Meanwhile, the intruders watched.
They did not pursue them.
Instead, one of them stepped forward.
Its voice echoed across the land.
"You have no chance of defeating us."
"But you do not have to die."
The people stopped.
"Join us."
"Abandon your weak human bodies and become one of our races."
"Anyone willing to join us will be spared."
Silence filled the towers.
Then—
A familiar sound echoed throughout the world.
DING!
A System window appeared before every human.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
AN ALTERNATIVE HAS BEEN PRESENTED.
SELECT THE RACE YOU WISH TO BECOME.
WARNING: ONCE YOUR RACE IS CHANGED, THIS DECISION CANNOT BE REVERSED.
A list of races appeared before them.
The people stared at the choices.
Some trembled.
Some cried.
Some refused to even look.
But others...
gave up.
They had seen the strength of the intruders.
They knew they could not win.
One after another, humans began making their choices.
The moment a person selected a new race—
DING!
Their body began to change.
But before they could even comprehend what was happening, another notification appeared.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
RACE CHANGE DETECTED.
HUMAN STATUS: REVOKED.
THE TOWERS ARE SANCTUARIES FOR HUMANITY.
NON-HUMAN BEINGS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO REMAIN WITHIN.
INITIATING FORCED EJECTION.
The newly transformed beings vanished from the towers and reappeared outside.
They had survived.
But they were no longer human.
And, more importantly—
They could never return.