Before the skies split open, before blood soaked the earth and monsters took over, the world was thriving.
Some scholars later called it the Age of Curiosity. Technology had reached a pivotal moment. Diseases were almost extinct. The Earth was healing due to new climate technology. Humans were getting ready for something greater.
Dimensionaltravel.
Vireon Industries was at the forefront of it all. This global tech giant was founded by the trillionaire genius Dr. Silas Rauth. He was celebrated in the tech community and notorious in spiritual circles. He didn't believe in gods, only in finding answers.
"Reality is just a limitation of perception," he said at the 2045 Global Science Symposium. "And perception can be broken."
What started as theoretical papers and particle simulations quickly became reality. The Resonance Gate Project, their greatest achievement, was meant to be a bridge to discovery. It aimed to reach other realms, uncover other existences, and bring knowledge back home.
But no one really understood the consequences of what they were doing.
"Day One Log: Resonance Gate initialization complete. Subject Alpha test ready."
They powered the gate at 11:13 a.m. UTC. The pulse spread across the globe. It began quietly, then came the quake.
A worldwide tremor hit. It wasn't natural or tectonic. It felt as if the Earth itself screamed.
Then the sky split open.
This wasn't a metaphor. Cracks of violet lightning spiraled through the atmosphere, as if painted across glass. Reality broke.
At 11:14 a.m., the first rifts appeared.
At 11:17 a.m., chaos erupted.
From the Gate, creatures poured out. They resembled nothing from nature. Bone-woven giants. Insect-like monsters with chattering mouths. Winged serpents that screamed like banshees. Entire cities fell in minutes.
But there was more.
Soon, others emerged. Not beasts, but beings.
Elves with silver eyes. Dwarves who wielded metal and steam machines. Seraphim with glowing wings who whispered prophecies. Demons with red eyes who mocked the fragile world. Dragonkin. Mermaids with dark scales. Vampires from shadowy realms.
Worlds collided. Lands merged. Continents shifted.
And humans?
They became prey. But not for long.
Legends say a guardian watched over Earth—a spirit so old its name was forgotten. When the disaster started and the Gate's resonance threatened everything, the guardian made its final sacrifice.
The world pulsed. Something hidden in humanity awakened.
The System was born.
Every surviving human felt it. A clear window appeared before their eyes. A voice, neither male nor female, resonated in their minds:
"System Initialization Complete. World-Class Evolution Engaged."
Stats. Levels. Skills. A chance to fight back.
The first "players" were created.
But that's not the story here. Not yet.
Adrian Lock was not a hero.
He was twenty-three, introverted, and lived alone in a rundown apartment above a ramen shop. He worked part-time in a bookstore. He struggled with insomnia, rarely smiled, and did not have big dreams. He didn't believe in changing the world. He just wanted to survive.
He had gone out for groceries that day. He never got to pay.
The ground cracked beneath him. Screams filled the air. A tremor shook the world.
Then he saw it.
A tear in the air, like shattered glass, hovered above the parking lot. Through it crawled a monstrous creature—like a centipede with a lion's face and sword-like limbs. It tore through metal and flesh alike.
Adrian ran.
He ran like everyone else.
But that would soon change.
Because moments later, his System activated.
And so began the world's descent. Not into death, but into evolution.
System Interface Activated
Name: Adrian Lock
Level: 0
Exp: 0/100
Mana: 0/0
Health: 100/100
Strength: 1
Vitality: 5
Dexterity: 2
Endurance: 3
Magic: 0
Agility: 2
Wisdom: 1
Inventory: [Empty]
New Achievement Unlocked: "The First Spark" — Survive the initial breach.
Reward: +1 Stat Point
He stared at the screen, confused, breathless, and bleeding.
Then he heard a scream.
The scream of a child.
He turned back.
And so began Adrian Lock's first step into a shattered world, a world not made for the weak.
The apocalypse had started.