Collins and James ran for nearly twenty minutes before finally reaching their dorm. Their lungs burned, legs trembling, but neither dared to slow down. The moment they stumbled inside, they slammed the door shut, locked it, and shoved their beds against it for extra barricade.
Neither of them truly understood what was coming, but the words of that mocking angel still echoed in their heads, humans were nothing more than toys for the gods.
Collins snatched up his phone again, desperately trying to call his parents. He pressed the call button again and again, but the device refused to connect. No bars. No service. The world itself had gone silent. His hands shook as frustration and fear collided in his chest.
Across the room, James sat staring at his own phone. The seconds ticked by. The hopelessness settled in. With a sudden roar, James hurled the phone against the wall.
"What the hell is going on?!" he screamed, his voice cracking. "Didn't those pastors always say during the Rapture the good people would ascend to heaven? That we'd be safe? And now, we're supposed to be playthings?!"
The weight of the moment broke him. James's knees buckled, and he collapsed to the floor, sobbing. "I haven't even slept with a girl yet… I'm really going to die a virgin, aren't I?" His voice shook with despair.
Collins stared at him, disgusted. "The entire world is collapsing, James. Families are being torn apart, and this is what you're worried about?"
James lifted his red, tear-filled eyes and shot back, his tone bitter and hollow. "What does the world have to do with me? This is my life. Except for my family, who really cares about me? No one. So why should I care about anyone else?"
Collins shook his head. "Your way of thinking is too shallow."
He wanted to argue further, but what was the point? He knew James. For all his selfishness and immaturity, he had always been loyal when it mattered most. That was why Collins couldn't bring himself to hate him.
The next thirty minutes crawled by in suffocating silence. Then, without warning, the ground beneath them trembled violently. The walls rattled. Their barricade shook. Outside, a blinding flash filled the skies as blazing meteors streaked down like divine fire, crashing into cities and plains alike.
The earth convulsed. Mountains split. Oceans roared. In mere moments, entire stretches of land were wiped clean, humans, animals, plants, nothing was spared.
Against such devastation, the weapons of mankind were meaningless. Missiles, tanks, and fighter jets fired desperately into the skies, only to be swallowed by the overwhelming radiance.
And then came the portals.
One after another, massive rifts tore open in the air across the globe. A torrent of unknown energy poured out, spreading like an invisible tide, warping reality itself. As the energy settled, the portals stabilized and horrors began to emerge.
From within those glowing maws crawled monsters of every conceivable shape, towering beasts with scales like iron, grotesque creatures with too many eyes, shadows that slithered across the ground with claws dripping malice.
When humanity saw this, their fragile courage shattered. Many simply dropped dead, their hearts bursting from sheer terror.
The streets became rivers of blood. Monsters tore into the powerless humans, devouring them without pause. Families screamed in vain, their voices drowned by roars and the wet sound of tearing flesh.
Desperate survivors tried hiding in their homes, pressing furniture against doors, whispering prayers. But even their shelters turned against them. Ordinary animals, dogs, cats, birds, even the tiniest cockroaches, mutated under the surge of supernatural energy. Domestic pets sprouted fangs and claws. Insects swelled to monstrous proportions, their mandibles clicking as they broke through walls and devoured the very people who once squashed them without a thought.
Some who fled back into the streets only found themselves trapped between the monstrous swarm outside and the predators their own homes had become.
Collins and James were no different. Kitchen knives clutched in their trembling hands, they burst from the dorm, sprinting aimlessly through the chaos.
"What the hell is happening?!" James wailed, slashing weakly at the air as if he could cut away the nightmare itself. "This morning we were celebrating graduation! Now, now we're being chased by bugs we could kill with a slap yesterday!"
The predator had become the prey.
But there was nowhere left to run. The streets boiled with monsters. The forests beyond the city churned with newly evolved wildlife. Every direction promised only death.
Then, suddenly, everything stopped.
The air froze mid-scream. Beasts halted mid-slash. Cars hung in the air like toys, debris suspended as if time itself had been shackled. Only humans remained able to move.
Collins and James staggered to a halt, their chests heaving, and looked around in disbelief.
The sky tore open again. From the dome of heaven descended another angel. But unlike the sneering, mocking messenger from before, this one radiated solemnity. His voice was calm, yet heavy, echoing in every mind at once.
"Denizens of this world," the angel declared, "the Supreme Gods have granted you access to the Cosmic Stream System. Through it, you may grow stronger. This is your only path to survive… and your only means of entertaining the gods. Perform well, and you may one day ascend to become their followers."
For the first time, there was no sarcasm. No mockery. Just cold truth.
Hope flickered in some hearts. At least now they had a weapon, a chance to fight back against the nightmares. Others cursed bitterly, what use was power when their lives had already been reduced to playthings for cruel gods?
The angel's gaze swept the frozen world. "There are rules. I will reveal only one for now: whenever a main quest is issued in a location, all present must participate. That is the most important law. The rest, you will discover yourselves. After all…" A faint smile curved his lips. "…it would be no fun otherwise. Do your best."
With that, the angel vanished.
A sharp chime rang in every human's ears.
«DING!»
A glowing blue screen appeared before Collins's eyes.
« YOU ARE NOW A PLAYER OF THE COSMIC STREAM SYSTEM»
Another chime followed.
«DING… STATUS WINDOW
Name: Adam Collins
Level: 0
Attribute: ???
Title: ???
Saga: —
Weapons: —
HP: 100/100
MP: 0/0
Strength: 5
Agility: 8
Sense: 0
Health: 10
Intelligence: 0
Available Points: 0
Skill: —»
Collins's breath caught. The glowing words were sharp, undeniable, etched into his very soul. A system, just as the angel said. A leash disguised as salvation.
His fists clenched until his knuckles whitened. This is nothing but a game to them… to the gods, all these deaths, all this suffering, it's just entertainment.
A tidal wave of hatred surged inside him. He swore silently that one day, somehow, he would make the gods pay for their cruelty.
Time lurched forward again. The monsters roared, the carnage resumed. But this time, things were different.
A new fire burned in the eyes of humankind. With the system empowering them, ordinary people discovered bursts of strength and speed they had never known. Some banded together, charging at the beasts with weapons in hand. Others fought like cornered animals, determined to survive no matter the cost.
Collins and James tightened their grip on their knives. The fear was still there, but it no longer chained them. Side by side, they dove into the fray, targeting the weaker monsters while steering clear of the towering abominations.
The apocalypse had begun. And humanity's desperate struggle for survival had only just started.