The end of the world didn't come with fire or nuclear winter. It came with a loading screen.
One moment, Atlas was sitting in his apartment in Seattle, debugging code for a freelance project. The next, the sensation of gravity vanished. The air turned cold and sterile. His retina was burned with a blinding blue light that slowly resolved into text.
[System Initialization... 100%][Welcome to the Divine Galaxy.][Population Transferred: 8,043,102,991.]
Atlas blinked. The afterimage of the text faded, revealing his new reality.
He sat upon a rough, grey stone throne. He was on an island floating in a purple nebula. The island was small—maybe 500 square meters of wet, barren mud. Above him, the sky was filled with billions of distant stars. Atlas realized with a jolt of horror that those weren't stars.
They were other islands. Other players.
"A global isekai scenario," Atlas whispered. His voice sounded different—deeper, echoing with a strange authority. "Battle Royale rules? Or 4X Strategy?"
He stood up and looked at his "subjects." Huddled at the base of his throne were ten creatures. If you could call them that.
They were humanoid lumps of grey wet clay. No eyes. No mouths. No fingers. They stood perfectly still, shivering slightly in the cosmic wind. They looked like unfinished sculptures abandoned by a lazy artist.
[Civilization Scan][Race: Primal Clay Dolls (Rank F)]** [Potential: None]** [Intelligence: 0/10 (Mindless)]** [Trait: Soluble (Will dissolve in heavy rain)]**
Atlas felt a cold sweat break out on his back. "Rank F. Soluble." He looked at the distant islands. Some were glowing with golden light. Others had lush forests. He could faintly see winged creatures flying around a neighbor's island miles away. "I rolled the worst starter race in the game."
He opened the [Global Chat]. It was a waterfall of panic.
> User_882: WHERE AM I? WHY IS THE SKY PURPLE?> User_ChadKing: LETS GOOO! I got Minotaurs! They just punched a tree down!> User_Sarah_Medic: My race is 'High Humans'. They speak English. We are organizing a shelter. Anyone nearby?> User_Strategist_Zhuge: Everyone, listen. This is a resource management scenario. Check your 'Protection Bubble' timer. We have exactly 60 minutes before the environment becomes hostile. Do not waste food.
Atlas noted the name Zhuge. A smart one. Analyzing the HUD while others screamed.
Atlas checked his own timer. [Protection Ends: 58:20]. He looked at his Clay Dolls. They couldn't punch trees. They couldn't speak. They were mud. If a wolf attacked, they would just squish.
"I need a weapon," Atlas muttered, tapping the armrest of his throne. "Or a tool. Anything." He pulled up his [Attribute Panel].
[God Name: Atlas]** [Authority: Level 1]** [Talent: ...Loading...]**
"Loading?" Atlas frowned. He tapped the glitched text. Most people probably had "Fire Affinity" or "Swordsmanship." Atlas's screen flickered. Static noise whined in his ear.
[Error: Host Memory Database exceeds standard limit.][Conflict: Earth Pop-Culture Database detected.][System Adaptation: Converting Memory into Blueprints.]
[Unique Talent Unlocked: Fiction Realization.]Effect: The Host can overwrite the laws of reality using logic derived from fiction, provided the base materials are present.
Atlas stared at the text. He didn't smile. He analyzed. "Fiction Realization... It doesn't give me items. It gives me logic." He looked at the mud. "Material: Wet Earth. Properties: Malleable, heavy." He looked at his memories. What uses clay? Pottery? Too slow. Golems? Too expensive for mana. He needed something dangerous. Something that turned his weakness into a threat.
A specific memory surfaced. A blonde anime antagonist with mouths on his hands. Deidara from Naruto.Art is an Explosion.
"System," Atlas said, his voice steady. "Access concept: [Kibaku Nendo - Explosive Clay]."
[Analyzing Concept...][Material Check: Clay (Abundant). Chakra (Missing).][Substitution: Replacing 'Chakra' with 'Origin Energy' (Host's Mana Pool).][Cost: 50 Origin Points (100% of Starter Pool).][Success Rate: 100%.]
"Do it."
Atlas felt his energy drain instantly. He slumped back on the throne, gasping. A ripple of white light shot from his chest and washed over the ten Clay Dolls.
Squish. Crack. The dolls didn't grow in size. They turned a pale, bone-white color. Slowly, jagged slits opened on the palms of their handless stumps. Mouths. They flexed their new, strange limbs.
[Race Modified.][New Race: C4-Dolls]** [New Trait: Volatile. (Upon death or command, the unit converts its mass into thermal energy).]**
Just as the transformation finished, the sky turned red. [System Alert: Tutorial Phase Ended.][Event: The First Wave.]
The air at the edge of his island tore open. Three portal rifts appeared. Out crawled the Void Rats. They were the size of dogs, with chitinous black armor and teeth that dripped acid. Ten rats. Ten defenseless Clay Dolls.
The rats screeched and charged. Atlas didn't move. He watched the rats swarm his dolls. The dolls didn't fight back. They stood there, stoic and white, as the rats pounced, biting into the soft clay bodies.
"User Zhuge said to conserve resources," Atlas whispered to the empty air. One rat bit a Doll's head off. "But in my database..." Atlas raised two fingers. "...ammunition is meant to be spent."
"Katsu."
BOOM.