Damian Quell woke to silence.
Not the peaceful kind. Not birdsong or early city hush. But something unnatural. The kind of silence that choked you, that made the air feel thick. He sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes, and instinctively reached for his phone. No bars. No Wi-Fi. The screen read 6:59 AM.
He checked the power. Still fully charged.
"Weird," he mumbled.
Outside, the neighborhood was still. Not just quiet. Frozen.
Damian stood and walked barefoot to the window. His breath caught. No cars. No neighbors walking their dogs. No morning joggers. Just rows of houses, still and empty, like a diorama.
Then the sky lit up.
A single line of glowing white text burned across the heavens, stretching horizon to horizon:
[EARTH SELECTED: SYSTEM INITIALIZING]
Damian stumbled back. He blinked hard. Still there. No hallucination.
Another line appeared, flickering into place below the first:
[WELCOME, PLAYER 000000001: DAMIAN QUELL]
[BEGINNING SEED INTEGRATION]
Pain. Sudden. Searing. A bolt of heat shot down Damian's spine, buckling his knees. His vision blurred. He gasped, hitting the floor.
Something embedded in him. Something foreign.
System Core Installed: RewritePrimary Directive: Evolve or PerishSecondary Function: Assimilation - Echo Memory Retrieval ENABLED
Then, silence again.
Damian lay on the hardwood, shaking. His room looked the same. The clothes on his floor. The computer desk with the dual monitors. But everything felt off, wrong — like the whole world had just taken one step to the left.
A mechanical chime rang in his ears:
[Day 0 | Cycle 1 Begins in 12 Hours]Objective: Survive First Cycle
He stumbled to his feet and ran outside.
The street was empty. Not a soul. Doors hung open. Cars were abandoned mid-turn, driver seats vacant. Damian walked down the road like a ghost in his own life.
He made it three blocks before seeing the first person.
A woman in a business suit, staring at the sky. Her mouth was open, like she'd been mid-sentence.
"Hey!" Damian shouted, running toward her. "Do you know what's going on? Are you okay?"
She didn't move. Didn't blink.
Damian slowed, inching forward. Then he saw her eyes.
Grey. Flat. Like frosted glass.
"Oh my God..."
He reached out a hand. The second his fingers brushed her arm, her body collapsed like ash caught in wind. Blown away into nothing.
A system window popped into the air before him.
Non-Player Entity: RemovedPopulation Remaining: 0.01%
His hands trembled.
"What the fuck is this?"
System Note: All non-Players have been Recycled.
Players Remaining: 37,982 Worldwide
Planetary Candidate Rank: F-
Another notification appeared, larger this time:
[TUTORIAL ECHO AVAILABLE][ACTIVATE MEMORY TRACE? Y/N]
Damian hesitated. But he needed answers. He tapped Y.
The world went black.
When it returned, he was standing in a ruined city. Buildings broken like toys. Fires in the distance. Corpses, but not human. Insectoid, armored, and twisted. Alien.
A young woman stood in front of him, wearing black armor and holding a cracked blade. Her face was bloodied, her breathing ragged.
"...If you're seeing this, then Earth has been seeded. My name is Alira Tren. I was the Player of a world ranked E+. We failed."
She coughed violently.
"They don't tell you the truth. The 'System' isn't your guide. It's your warden. You think you're leveling up? No. You're adapting. Evolving. For them. For their entertainment or experimentation, I don't know. But we're not contestants. We're test subjects."
A screech echoed in the background. Something huge. Her eyes widened.
"Listen. Survive your first cycle. That's the real tutorial. Don't trust others too quickly. And if you find a Core like mine—"
She reached into her chest and pulled out a pulsing red crystal.
"Rewrite it. Change its function. That's the only way to break free. Good luck."
The Echo faded.
Damian collapsed to his knees. His breath hitched. This wasn't a game. It wasn't a dream. This was real, and he was alone.
Then, a ping.
You have absorbed 1 Echo MemorySystem Ability Unlocked: Echo ArchiveSystem Message: You are the final Player on your continent.
Damian stood slowly, staring down the empty road.
His life was gone. His world was changed.
But for the first time in years, he felt something spark inside his chest. Not fear. Not depression.
Purpose.
He clenched his fists.
"Then let's begin."
[12 HOURS UNTIL CYCLE ONE]