The sky cracked at exactly 3:17 PM.
At first, people thought it was a strange reflection in the clouds.
Then the black panels appeared—rectangles floating silently above every city.
Cars stopped in the middle of the road. People stared upward in confusion.
Ethan Vale didn't notice immediately. He was sitting in a small repair shop, fixing a broken internet router for the third time that day.
"Why does nothing work anymore…" he muttered.
Then the lights flickered. The router died. His phone lost signal.
Outside, people started screaming.
Ethan stood up and walked toward the door.
"What now?"
When he stepped outside, he froze. Above the city floated a giant black rectangle, perfectly still in the sky.
"What… is that?"
Suddenly the panel flashed. A deep metallic sound echoed across the city. BOOM.
The panel shattered like glass. Something fell from the sky.
A massive creature crashed into the street two blocks away. People ran in panic. Some fell. Some screamed.
Ethan's heart pounded. "…That's not real."
But it was.
The monster slowly stood up, its body covered in dark scales and glowing red eyes. Then it roared. The sound shook the entire street. People scattered in every direction.
Ethan stepped back. "I need to get out of here."
But before he could move—a strange blue window appeared in front of his eyes. Floating in the air. Transparent. Impossible.
[SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
Ethan blinked. "What…?"
More text appeared:
User Detected
Name: Ethan Vale
Status: Human
Unique Condition: Observer
Ethan stared at the message. "…No way…"
Another line appeared:
First Quest Available
Survive the next 10 minutes
Reward: Unknown
Failure: Death
Ethan's throat went dry. "You've got to be kidding me…"
Behind him, the monster roared again. And this time—it started running straight toward him.
Ethan looked at the countdown appearing in the corner of the blue screen:
09:59… 09:58… 09:57…
He swallowed slowly. "…Guess I don't have a choice."
Then he ran.