It happened at exactly noon.
No warning.
No countdown.
One second, the sky above the city was clear and blue. The next, it shattered.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
A sound like glass breaking echoed across the world, deep and endless, as if reality itself had been struck by something far too large to comprehend. People froze mid-step. Cars screeched to a halt. Conversations died in an instant.
Aiden felt it before he saw it.
A pressure. Heavy. Absolute. It pressed down on his shoulders, his chest, his thoughts, as if the world had suddenly remembered how small humanity really was.
Then he looked up.
The sky was cracked.
Jagged fractures spread from a single invisible point, glowing lines tearing across the blue like lightning frozen in place. Blinding white light leaked through the gaps, pouring down in slow, terrifying waves.
Someone screamed.
Another person dropped to their knees.
Phones slipped from trembling hands and shattered on the pavement, completely forgotten.
"W-What is that…?"
"It's real… Awakening Day is real!"
Panic spread instantly.
People ran without knowing where they were going. Some prayed. Some cried. Some stood frozen, staring upward as if their eyes might burn out from the brightness.
Aiden didn't move.
He stood in the middle of the street, backpack hanging loosely from one shoulder, eyes fixed on the fractured sky. His heart beat steadily. His breathing stayed even.
Right on time, he thought.
The pressure intensified.
A ringing filled the air, low and resonant, vibrating directly inside the skull. It wasn't sound so much as a command—something ancient and indifferent asserting its authority.
Then the world stopped.
Cars froze mid-motion. Falling objects hung in the air. People were locked in place like statues, expressions of terror permanently etched on their faces.
Time had halted.
Aiden felt his body go numb as something pulled at his consciousness. Not violently. Not roughly.
Firmly.
Like a hand closing around his mind.
The street vanished.
Light swallowed everything.
When Aiden opened his eyes again, he wasn't standing anywhere.
He wasn't standing at all.
There was no ground beneath his feet, no sky above his head, no sense of direction. He floated in a vast, endless darkness filled with drifting points of light.
Each light pulsed softly.
Each one felt… different.
Aiden recognized this place instantly.
The Selection Space.
Around him, silhouettes of other people floated in silence. Some were crying. Some were shouting, though no sound came out. Some curled in on themselves, overwhelmed by fear.
Aiden remained still.
In front of him, the lights began to move.
They stretched, expanded, and unfolded into visions—entire universes compressed into floating fragments of reality.
Flames.Storms.Castles floating in the void.Gods watching from thrones of light.
Power radiated from many of them so intensely it made weaker minds recoil. Even without touching them, Aiden could feel the difference.
These were the high-tier universes.
The ones everyone dreamed of.
He watched as people around him were instinctively drawn toward the brightest lights, faces filled with awe and desperation. Some reached out immediately, afraid that hesitation would cost them everything.
Aiden didn't move.
His gaze slid past the glowing legends, past the violent storms of magic and divine systems, toward the quieter edges of the void.
That was where it was.
A dull, blocky light.
Unimpressive. Plain. Almost crude compared to the others.
Minecraft.
It didn't radiate power.
It didn't try to tempt him.
It simply existed.
Aiden felt something shift in his chest—not excitement, not fear, but a deep, steady certainty.
There you are.
A cold, emotionless presence brushed against his mind.
Universe Selection Initiated.
The words didn't echo. They imprinted themselves directly into his consciousness.
Aiden took a slow breath.
This was the moment that had defined his entire previous life.
And this time—
He wouldn't hesitate.