Then Blake received his message.
[System Notice]
You do not bow. You never have. You've walked your own path, even when it meant standing alone. Authority doesn't scare you—weakness does. You desire strength not for pride, but to dominate. You were never meant to follow.
You have the potential to become an Ascendant.
But the time has yet to come.
Congratulations. You have awakened as a Primordial Supreme. (A rank between Primordial and Ascendant.)
The air shifted around Blake. The wind howled louder, swirling in sharp circles. Lightning cracked above him, bright and sudden, followed by deep rumbles of thunder. The ground beneath him trembled slightly as if the earth itself had acknowledged his power.
Thunder and lightning became one. It slammed down on him like divine judgement. The ground beneath him was scorched black but no cracks were visible.
"Hey! What the hell is going on up there?" one soldier shouted, shielding his eyes as the winds picked up dust.
"I don't know, man!" another replied, squinting at the glowing lights in the sky.
"Should we go check it out?"
But before they could move, it began.
Screams echoed through the walls.
People all across the zone started convulsing, falling to their knees as streams of light fell from the heavens. Some shouted in fear. Others cried in pain. Awakening had begun all over the world.
"Ahhh! What's happening to me?! I don't wanna die!" a young soldier cried, gripping his chest as his body glowed faintly.
Some were overtaken by light. Others by shadows. Some awakened in silence, others with violent bursts of energy.
In the middle of it all, Ariel turned toward her father.
"Are you okay, father?" she asked with concern in her wide eyes. Blake's face was blank, his eyes locked onto the screen floating in front of him, though only he could see it. The Player Status screen were only private to Primordial ranks and above, but public to Alpha and below.
Blake let out a small breath and smiled at Ariel.
"Don't worry, Ariel. I've never felt better in my life." He looked at her.
"What about you? What did you get?"
Ariel hesitated, then looked down at her glowing screen.
[Player Status]
Player Name: Ariel Walker
Species: Human
Username: [Not chosen]
Rank: Primordial
Title: First Guardian of Earth
Abilities:
-Copy
-Submission
-Second Life(Cooldown: 7 days)Note: This skill is an effect of the title [First Guardian of the Earth.]
As a Primordial, no one may view your status without your permission.
Ariel closed the screen, looking away. "It's not that great, Father... but at least now... we can finally fight those monsters."
Blake chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Haha, damn right we can."
"That's right, Ariel," Jason added, stepping forward with a grin. His screen flashed in front of him. They didn't just awaken, they awakened with the instincts of a predator.
"You should stay here with the old man, the rest are with me." Even though he just had his awakening, it felt like he already knew how to use his abilities.
He dashed toward the edge of the wall, leaping off with terrifying speed as he ran down the massive wall like it was a flat surface.
He leapt a few meters away from the ground and landed with a loud thud, sliding across the field with his fists clenched and his eyes burning with purpose.
While the world had found a flicker of hope in the sudden awakening of its people, Zane was about to face a nightmare of his own.
***
After the portal created by the Whisperkin engulfed him—he landed in a world completely alien to him.
Then...
[System Notice]
Player Zane Walker has died.
Zane didn't even know what had killed him. He knew he was bleeding and was about to die, but it felt like something else had killed him.
Moments later, he woke up again. But this time, he lasted a few seconds before death claimed him once more.
In those brief seconds, he managed to piece together a few things.
His right limb had regenerated, as though it was never cut off in the first place. Secondly, his wounds were all healed.
To test this, he bit his tongue slightly. Almost immediately, the sharp pain he felt as it he bit it vanished. He rubbed his tongue against his teeth and realized that the wound had healed completely.
'I don't understand what is happening but it seems this place has some healing properties. That would explain why I have my right arm back. More importantly, how did I get here?'
"As long as you're away, I'll make sure no Elite makes a move." Suddenly, memories from before he arrived at this place flashed in his mind. 'Looks like my gamble paid off. But, what is this place?'
The other thing he found out was that, the ground beneath him was endless. A wasteland of stones, cliffs, and dust, with a few mountains in sight. Strange, creatures filled the space. Some had horns, some had too many limbs, others looked like failed experiments. But strangely enough, he didn't look surprised. Sometimes, he questioned his own sense of composure.
'Since I've not received a system message, does that mean they are not Geminis? Who are they then? And more importantly, this doesn't seem like Earth. Though my memory is a bit foggy, this seems to be the place the Whisperkin mentioned.'
Then it hit him—literally. The force of gravity crushed him again.
Whatever this place was, its gravity was several times stronger than Earth's. It was like trying to move with mountains strapped to your back.
He died instantly, again.
The last thing he learned was that, death didn't mean anything here.
Hours passed. Or maybe days. He wasn't sure anymore. The cycle continued: wake up, gasp for air, try to move, then die. Over and over. No matter how many times he died, he could never get used to it.
Eventually, he managed to survive for a few full minutes before his body collapsed under the pressure.
He'd lost count of how many times he had already died.
Still lying on the ground with trembling hands, Zane noticed the others watching him. Their eyes glowed in strange colors, and their mouths moved in bizarre patterns.
[System Notice]
Translating foreign language into native language...
After the system's notification, he could suddenly understand them clearly.
"Hey, let's make a bet. How long do you think he'll last this time?"
One of the creatures with ashen skin, and green eyes turned to the others and grinned.
"I bet two minutes."
"Three."
"Two minutes and fifty seconds."
The bets kept going.
Zane clenched his jaw.
'Fucking bastards… How are they standing in this gravity like it's nothing? Am I the only strange one here?'
Another voice muttered from nearby, filled with scorn.
"What an idiot. Must've come from a world where people float in low gravity. And he had the guts to attempt the Master's test? Pathetic. He'll be the first one that gets Eliminated."
'Get eliminated? What kind of elimination? And also a test? Is he talking about the test that grants permission to return to one's world?' Zane thought as he struggled under the pressure.
Just then, a figure approached him. She looked almost human, at least compared to the others.
Her skin was smooth and blue like polished sapphire, and her hair flowed like water—clear and glowing faintly as it reflected the colors around her. Her eyes were calm and gentle.
Zane blinked up at her.
'What does she want? But those…those are breasts, right?'
At this point, gender was a wild guess with these creatures.
She knelt beside him and looked down, her voice was soft when she spoke.
"You fight the rock. The mountain will break you. If you can't bear the weight, become a part of it. The fastest way to adapt isn't through resistance but unwavering submission."
She sounded kind, almost comforting.
Zane forced a breath. 'Don't resist, huh? Fine. Let's try that...'
He let go of the tension in his body. Then..
Crack.
Everything went black again.
[System Notice]
Player Zane Walker has died.
"Don't resist, my ass!" he groaned internally as his vision returned.
'I died the moment I stopped struggling…'
Somewhere behind him, laughter broke out.
From the crowd, someone shouted.
"He lasted three minutes and forty seconds. Pay up, you lost!"
Grumbles followed, and the others began exchanging glowing stones, which Zane figured were some kind of currency.
Lying in a pool of his own sweat and blood—yet alive again—Zane stared up at the red-tinted sky.
He was slowly getting used to the concept of death, but the agony never left him.
Every time he woke, it came back like a piled up pain released at once.
'I honestly thought I was done for, back on Earth, but to think I'll come to a place where death was a joke. What a funny concept.'
To his surprise, the moment he stopped fighting the pressure, something changed. Slowly, almost painfully, his body began to adjust. His limbs stopped trembling as much, his heartbeat steadied, and eventually—he could kneel. Just kneel—but in a place like this, that was a big win. He allowed himself a small, satisfied smile.
'It would've been a pain, spending the rest of the day groaning on the ground. That said, These people don't seem to be residents of this world. They don't have any similarities. Were they brought here like I was? One of them mentioned a test, and something about elimination. There are way too many unknowns to make any moves. Not that I could, even if I wanted to.'
Something didn't sit right with him. His mind was in turmoil, with thought after thought flooding in. ' What is a Gemini, and what was their purpose on Earth? In every problem, there is an obvious or hidden solution, but the same couldn't be said about the tutorial. How did the system wanted me to survive against those monstrosities?' The image of the Whisperkin and the Seraphoid crawled into his head.
'Even so, I've always believed humans were alone in this universe, where then had all these freaks been hiding?'
Then it happened.
A strange gust of wind swept across the barren land, followed by a blinding flash of light from the top of a jagged cliff. All chatter stopped. Everyone fell silent as a figure appeared at the edge of the cliff.
Zane squinted, barely able to lift his head under the crushing gravity.
He couldn't get a clear view, since he was kneeling in the crowd. What he managed to see was a man with flowing white hair that shimmered like moonlight. His clothes fluttered dramatically in the wind, almost as if the world itself bent to his presence. He looked human… but something about him felt far beyond that. His presence alone was overwhelming.
'Is that the person in charge?'
Then he spoke—and the air trembled. His voice rolled like thunder across the sky.
"Congratulations to all rankers... and one player... for making it this far," he said, his eyes settling directly on Zane. There was something in his gaze—like he was on the verge of laughter. A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
Zane could feel it. That look wasn't out of pride or respect.
It was amusement.
It was honestly hilarious. Most of the people who had ever attempted this training were Alpha ranks and above—some of the strongest beings known. And yet, only five had ever made it to the top out of several thousands of generations of trainees. Each one had become an abomination, known and feared in the tower.
And now, standing there struggling to kneel, was a mere Omega-level player—a Nay, someone who wasn't even officially ranked or awakened—daring to take on the same trial.
The man's chest shook, and then he finally burst out laughing. It echoed across the vast plain, bouncing off the surrounding cliffs. Everyone stared in confusion. Why was the Master—laughing?
Zane blinked, still on one knee, his shoulders barely holding under the weight. He didn't know why the man was laughing, but it rubbed him the wrong way. He clenched his teeth, the embarrassment stinging more than the gravity itself.
The white-haired man finally tried to compose himself, wiping a tear from his eye.
"Ah… forgive me," he said, still chuckling. "I just didn't expect to see... this." He nodded in Zane's direction again, the laughter threatening to return.
"An Omega-level player? A Nay attempting this training? Pfft—" He lost it again.
Zane frowned.
'You can stop laughing, I get it. I'm the weakest variable in a lethal world. What about it? This isn't something new, the only changes are the stakes. Just you wait, I'll be the one laughing next time.'