The black void hung in the sky, unmoving, swallowing all light.
Then, golden letters burned across it — slow, deliberate, and in every language at once.
[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]
"To all successors… your true trial begins now."
"Slay fifty beings from the other worlds to awaken your Level System."
"From that moment forward, your strength will grow with each kill and each experience earned."
"Survive. Evolve. Or perish."
The screen faded, but its presence lingered like a weight on every soul.
Aarav's eyes narrowed — he was already halfway there.
The World Reacts
Somewhere in Tokyo, Renji Takahashi wiped monster blood from his jaw and grinned.
"Fifty kills? Hah… I'll be first."
In Delhi, Arjun Mehra adjusted his grip on a glowing spear, his brow furrowed.
"Half the world just became my competition."
Across the ocean, Daniel Carter reloaded his rifle with mechanical precision.
"No matter who you are… if you're on that list, you're in my sights."
In a smoldering ruin in Shanghai, Li Wei let the flames curl around her fists.
"This game… is already mine."
And in the middle of Kathmandu's battered streets, Aarav tightened his hold on the dark blade.
The white in his hair seemed sharper, the symbol on his arm pulsing faintly.
Twenty-five kills already.
Twenty-five more, and the real fight would begin.
The Fall
Aarav's grip on the dark blade trembled.
The heat in his veins — that burning rush of power — suddenly flickered, then went cold.
His knees buckled.
The world blurred. The roars of monsters grew distant, drowned by a low hum in his head.
He collapsed onto the cracked pavement, the blade vanishing into smoke before it hit the ground.
Darkness.
When his eyes opened again, the sky above was pale gray, clouds drifting lazily as if nothing had happened.
He slowly pushed himself up, wincing at the ache in his muscles.
A shard of broken glass beside him caught his reflection.
His hair… black again.
No trace of the white that had crowned his head moments ago.
The symbol on his arm still remained, but it was faint now, like a dying ember.
"What… was that?" he muttered, touching it.
[GLOBAL KILL LEADERBOARD]
Renji Takahashi (Japan) — 58 kills ✅ Level System Activated
Aarav (Nepal) — 53 kills ✅ Level System Activated
Arjun Mehra (India) — 41 kills
Daniel Carter (USA) — 37 kills
Li Wei (China) — 29 kills
As the black board faded from sight, another golden message appeared:
[ADDITIONAL NOTICE]
"The entities attacking Earth are survivors of worlds already destroyed."
"Their gods have also granted them powers."
"Defeat them… or Earth will share their fate."
Aarav stood in the middle of the street, breath ragged, his dark blade still dripping monsterblood.
The mark on his arm burned — not painfully, but with an overwhelming heat that surged through his veins.
A notification flickered before his eyes:
[LEVEL SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
[Current Level: 1]
[Stats Unlocked]
The power inside him roared like a storm. His hair bleached into white strands in seconds, eyes glowing faintly under the shadow of his bangs. His blade felt weightless, his movements sharper — faster.
He charged forward without thinking, cutting through the last wave of monsters in a blur of steel and black mist.
Each strike was faster than the last, each kill feeding the strange energy inside him.
Then… it ended.
The rush faded. The strength drained from his body like water spilling from a cracked jar.
The blade dissolved into smoke.
His knees buckled. The gray sky spun above him.
Darkness took him.
The Morning After
When his eyes opened again, the city was eerily quiet. The sun filtered through thin clouds, casting pale light on broken streets.
A shard of glass nearby reflected his face — his hair was black again.
The mark on his arm was still there, but faint, as though it had gone to sleep.
"What… was that?" Aarav whispered, his fingers brushing the symbol.
A faint hum pulsed from the mark.
[LEVEL 1 STATS AVAILABLE — VIEW?]
Aarav froze. The voice wasn't in the air… it was in his head.
His fingers twitched toward the symbol. Curiosity clawed at him.
If this was real, if those numbers could make him stronger…
Maybe he could fight his way back to Janakpur.
Maybe he could protect what was left of his family.
He took a deep breath and whispered,
"Show me."
The world around him shimmered—
and reality itself began to change.
To be continued…