The sky tore open at exactly 3:47 PM, Greenwich Mean Time.
Damien was halfway through a particularly boring economics lecture when reality fractured. One moment Professor Chen was droning about supply curves. The next, the entire auditorium, professor and students vanished simply not existing on earth anymore.
There was no warning or dramatic countdown. Just instantaneous displacement.
"What the hell?" someone screamed.
Damien's stomach lurched as his surroundings materialized into focus. The sterile white walls of Berkley Hall were gone Instead, he stood in an impossibly vast marble plaza that stretched to the horizon in every direction. Above, twin moons hung in a purple-tinged sky, with their light casting strange shadows across the crowd.
And what a crowd it was.
Thousands or probably millions of people appeared around him in waves of light, their screams and shouts creating a deafening roar. Businessmen in suits. mothers clutching children. Teenagers still in pajamas. An old man with a walker. A bride in a wedding dress, mascara running down her face. Every nationality, every age, every walk of life, all dumped into this alien space without ceremony or explanation.
"Is this a dream?" muttered Sarah Emerald, Damien's classmate, gripping his arm hard enough to bruise. "Tell me this is a dream."
Before Damien could respond a deep defending the voice sounded.
It didn't speak through sound but directly into his mind and everyone else's simultaneously. The sounded utterly terrifying making Damien feel a shiver in his spine.
[WELCOME, LORDS OF EARTH]
The marble beneath their feet lit up with glowing blue circuits, forming intricate patterns that pulsed with otherworldly energy.
[4,127,493,582 INDIVIDUALS HAVE BEEN SELECTED FOR INTEGRATION]
"Four billion?" someone whispered nearby. "That's... that's half of everyone."
[YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ETERNAL WAR. EACH LORD WILL RECEIVE A TERRITORY, A STARTING POPULATION, AND A LORD CARD THAT WILL DETERMINE YOUR PATH TO SUPREMACY]
A translucent screen materialized before Damien's eyes, visible only to him. Instinctively, he understood it was real, as real as the ground beneath his feet.
[DRAWING LORD CARDS IN: 10... 9... 8...]
"This is insane!" A man in a business suit shoved past Damien, running toward the edge of the plaza. He made it perhaps twenty feet before an invisible barrier sent him sprawling backward. "Let us out! I have a meeting! I have a family!"
[7... 6... 5...]
Damien's heart hammered against his ribs. Around him everyone reactions varied wildly from ithers. Some people prayed. Others wept. A few laughed with the manic edge of broken minds. Sarah had released his arm and stood frozen, her face as pale as death.
[4... 3... 2... 1...]
[DRAW YOUR FATE]
A card materialized in Damien's hand. An ornate, heavy card that was thrumming with power. All around him, billions of others received the same. The plaza erupted in light as people instinctively activated their cards.
"I got Knight Commander! A-rank!"
"Flame Elementalist! B-rank! Yes!"
"Storm Caller! S-rank! Holy shit, S-rank!"
The air filled with excited shouts as people compared their draws. Damien looked down at his own card. The back was decorated with intricate blood-red patterns that seemed to move when he wasn't looking directly at them. His hand trembled slightly as he channeled his intent into it.
The card flipped.
On its face, rendered in exquisite detail, was the image of a hauntingly beautiful woman with crimson eyes and midnight-black hair. She wore an elegant black dress and a crown of thorns. Behind her loomed a gothic castle silhouetted against a blood moon. At the bottom, flowing script announced:
[VAMPIRE SOVEREIGN WAIFU LORD]
[Rank: ???]
Damien stared. Then read it again.
"Waifu lord?" he said aloud. "What the actual—"
"Dude, let me see!" His classmate Marcus leaned over, then burst out laughing. "Oh man! You got a waifu card! That's hilarious! What is this, some kind of dating sim?"
Sarah glanced at Damien's card and winced sympathetically. "That's... unfortunate."
Around them, the comparisons continued. Most people seemed to have drawn combat-oriented cards—Warriors, Mages and Rangers. All with clear rank designations from F to SSS.
Damien noticed that higher ranks were exceedingly rare. Most people clutched B or C-rank cards. An A-rank drew jealous stares. The few S-ranks were already being surrounded by people seeking alliances.
And then there was him, holding what appeared to be a joke card with no visible rank.
"At least you'll have a hot wife in whatever hell we're in," Marcus said, clapping Damien on the shoulder before moving away to show off his own B-rank Beast Tamer card.
Damien barely heard him. Because as everyone else celebrated or despaired over their cards, a second notification appeared, a message visible only to him.
[UNIQUE TALENTS DETECTED]
[TALENT 1: INFINITE COMPREHENSION]
[Effect: Instantly and perfectly comprehend any skill, technique, knowledge, or concept upon observation or study. No limits to complexity or quantity.]
[TALENT 2: INFINITE UPGRADE]
[Effect: Upgrade any entity, structure, or item indefinitely. Each upgrade enhances all aspects. Cost increases with each tier, but no maximum ceiling exists.]
[WARNING: THESE TALENTS ARE NOT DERIVED FROM YOUR LORD CARD. THEY ARE INNATE TO YOUR SOUL. DISCLOSURE IS NOT RECOMMENDED.]
Damien's breath caught in his throat as he read the descriptions three times, his mind racing with fear. These talents... they weren't normal, it was clear that they weren't part of the system everyone else was operating under. And the warning was clear: telling anyone would be a mistake.
He dismissed the notification with a thought and looked down at his "Vampire Sovereign Waifu Lord" card again. Suddenly, the gimmicky exterior seemed like the perfect disguise.
Let them laugh. Let them think he had drawn the worst card possible.
[PREPARATION PHASE BEGINNING. YOU WILL BE TRANSPORTED TO YOUR TERRITORIES IN: 24 HOURS]
[USE THIS TIME WISELY. FORM ALLIANCES. GATHER INFORMATION. PREPARE FOR SURVIVAL]
[THE ETERNAL WAR HAS NO MERCY FOR THE WEAK]
The plaza erupted into chaos as people scrambled to form groups, desperately seeking anyone from their home countries, cities, or families. Damien heard dozens of languages shouted simultaneously as four billion displaced humans tried to make sense of their new reality.
Sarah grabbed his arm again. "Damien, we should stick together. Maybe find others from campus, there's safety in numbers, right?"
He nodded slowly, but his mind was elsewhere. While everyone around him panicked or celebrated or planned based on their card draws, Damien understood something they didn't.
This wasn't just about the card you drew.
And his "joke" card came with two gifts that defied the system itself.
Twenty-four hours until they would be dropped into a death trap. Twenty-four hours to observe, to comprehend, to prepare.
Damien Ashford looked at the crimson-eyed woman on his card and smiled grimly.
Maybe this wasn't bad after all.