Leo sat at the table, still in shock, his fork untouched as his thoughts spun wildly. He couldn't reconcile the familiar warmth of supper with the impossible changes staring back at him.
It was his father who finally cut through the silence. Samuel's deep voice carried a weight that instantly grounded the room.
"We'll talk after eating."
There was no arguing with that tone.
The meal passed in uneasy quiet—only the clinking of cutlery and Samantha's occasional humming filling the air. Leo barely tasted the food, each bite a mechanical effort, his mind racing ahead to the questions he needed answers to.
When the last dish was cleared, Samuel leaned back in his chair.
"As you've already seen for yourself," he began,"the world has changed."
Leo straightened unconsciously, his chest tightening.
Samuel paused, letting the words hang before continuing.
"Our world, which was once called Earth, is no longer the same. As of last night, it ceased to be Earth. From now on… this planet is called Tera."
The name rang in Leo's ears, alien yet final.
Samuel's jaw tightened. "The scholars have decided to record it down as The System Descent."Samuel's voice deepened as he spoke, his words heavy with memory.
"Last night, at exactly 8:00 p.m., the world began to quake."
Leo took a sharp breath—not because of what his father said, but because of the thought that suddenly clawed at his mind. His pulse quickened as he remembered the moment in the library.
The book had pricked his hand. He'd flinched, his eyes fell in passing on his wristwatch.
The time had flashed back at him, cold and undeniable.
7:59 p.m.
His chest tightened. Could it be…? Was all of this—his hair, his body, even the world itself—initiated by him?
The thought terrified him. Excited him. Drowned him.
But Samuel went on, unaware of the storm brewing in his son's head.
"After the quake came the pain. A pounding headache swept across the globe. Some fainted, some screamed, others clutched their heads and prayed it would end. And then…" He paused, eyes narrowing.
"Everyone… every single living being on this planet… was given a panel. What it called itself was the System."
Samuel's gaze shifted from Leo to Sarah, then to Samantha, as if to remind him that it hadn't spared a single soul.
Leo swallowed hard. He already knew his System wasn't like theirs. The smug, narcissistic voice in his head wasn't some silent panel.
It was alive.
And it was talking to him.
Leo's fingers tightened against the edge of the table, knuckles white. His father's words echoed in his ears, but the storm in his head only grew louder.
The System.
Everyone had one now. His father. His mother. Samantha. The entire world. But none of them seemed to hear it, to feel it breathing inside their minds the way he did.
{Why so tense, Host?}
The voice slithered into his consciousness like a smug whisper. {You should be honored. While the rest of these mortals received bland, silent panels… you awakened me. The Primo System. Unique. Singular. Absolute.}
Leo stiffened. He glanced around, but no one else reacted. Not his mother. Not his father. Not Samantha, who was busy licking honey from her fingers.
"I…" He swallowed, lowering his gaze to the table. "Why me?"
{Because, child, destiny chose you. Or perhaps you chose it when your blood touched the Book of Primordials. Either way, you are no longer bound by the chains of ordinary men. You stand at the threshold of ascension.}
Leo's heart hammered against his ribs. Threshold of ascension. The words stirred something primal inside him, something that both thrilled and terrified him.
But before he could press for more, his father's voice cut in.
"Leo." Samuel's sharp tone pulled him back to reality. His father's eyes bore into him with a weight that made him feel small. "You need to be ready. The world we knew is gone. Dungeons have already begun appearing outside the cities. Strange abilities have been awoken overnight. Kingdoms will rise, wars will break out. And you…"
He hesitated, his gaze narrowing slightly, as if he saw something in Leo that even Leo hadn't realized yet.
"…you need to be stronger than ever before."
Leo clenched his fists under the table, his mind torn between his father's grave warning and the system's arrogant promises.
The question clawed at him.
Was he the answer to this new world—or the cause of it?