Kai couldn't make sense of what had just happened, but one thing was clear: whatever this was, it wasn't humanly possible, and the Omnix had to be connected to the earlier seismic event.
His thoughts were interrupted when Mia called out.
"Kai, did you get the message too?"
He turned to her and nodded.
"Is this… something from the government? Maybe some kind of experiment?"
His lips twitched. "I thought you had a brain, Mia."
Her eyes twitched. "What the hell is that supposed to mean, asshole?"
"Do you really think the government has the tech to send virtual messages straight into people's minds? From what I can see, it wasn't just us. Look at her."
He gestured toward a pink-haired girl nearby, live on YouTube… or maybe TikTok, whatever — rambling excitedly to her viewers.
"Guys, I think I've been chosen! Can you see this? It's right in front of me, oh my god—"
Kai muttered, "If this were a real selection, they wouldn't be sending invites to people like her. Whoever made this clearly doesn't have a filtering system."
Mia glared at him. "Hey, don't talk shit about Sheila. If she hears that, she'll either add you to her TikTok drama list or cry about how some 'toxic dude' bullied her. Her fans don't need much to go nuclear."
As they were still on the subject of going nuclear, Kai's phone buzzed in his pocket.
He sighed. "Here comes another one."
He pulled it out, and of course, who else could it be? Kassian.
His brother. Not by blood, but might as well be.
Kass was a year older, in his third year of college. Kai was in his second. Both had been orphans once, before Rosa's dad took them in.
"Kai, I'm heading back to the room," Mia said, already turning away. "Dad texted me."
Kai didn't even look up. "Let me guess… 'Don't do anything, daughter. Wait till the government explains what's happening?'"
She gave a half-shrug. "You know how it is. So… are you going to accept?"
He finally glanced at her, holding up his phone where Kass's profile flashed on the screen. "Hmm. Who knows. Lemme talk to this guy first."
"Alright then." Mia gave a small wave as she drifted out of the gym. "See you."
"Yeah, bye."
Kai took the call, and an annoyingly familiar, mischievous voice came through the line.
"Bro, are you seeing what I'm seeing?!"
Kai sighed. "If you mean the game-like panel in my head… yeah."
Kassian chuckled. "Hehehe. I think the time has come, Kai."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "What time?"
"Don't play dumb. You've read plenty of webnovels, haven't you? Earth trembles, apocalypse descends, portals open, people awaken. Doesn't this look exactly like that?"
Kai fell silent. He hated to admit it, but… it did look like that. Still, those were just stories. Words on a screen. People's imaginations.
He exhaled. "So? Are you going to accept?"
"Oh, I already did—"
"What?! You idiot… wait, nothing happened?"
"Well, not yet. It told me to choose an Archetype."
"Archetype?"
"Yeah," Kassian said. "Like the classes in RPGs. Feels like we're about to join a game."
As Kai and Kass were talking, a sudden shout pulled his attention.
"Guys, I think I got it!" Luke, one of the freshmen from their college, exclaimed.
His friend turned to him. "Got what?"
"Well, I looked it up online… Ludus Supervivendi. It sounded familiar. It basically means the Game of Survival in Latin."
"So… are the Italians behind this whole mess then? Did they really advance so far that they can send virtual messages into our heads now?"
Luke scoffed. "Idiot. Latin came from the Romans. That's literally what it says online."
"Oh wow, fucking genius over here," snorted Claire, a blonde from Alice's group. "Rome's in Italy, dumbass."
Kai watched the whole exchange with a blank expression, then started thinking.
"Kai, Kaaaai… Kyaaaa!... Kai, noooo…"
Annoyed by Kass's voice blaring from the phone, he ended the call and focused.
He knew what Ludus meant — Latin for game, play, or sport, something along those lines.
Supervivendi, though… he hadn't known that one before. Thankfully, that loud fresher had shouted it out a moment ago.
What was his name again? Kai shrugged. Who cares?
The real question was: who the hell was powerful enough to beam a message like that into everyone's mind?
A god?
He scoffed at the thought.
Maybe it was some chip implanted in his brain when he was a kid.
Then again… he didn't know much about his early years. Being an orphan left a lot of blanks.
Still… that didn't add up. Everyone else had gotten the message too.
Kai looked out through the glass panels. The darkness was fading, giving way to the rising sun. Dawn had arrived.
He grinned slightly.
He didn't know what this was… but he had a feeling he'd end up joining, whatever the hell it turned out to be.
Kass? That idiot would jump in without thinking. And if the two of them joined, their mother hen or big sister Rosa would definitely tag along, mostly to kick their asses for not listening.
Kai turned from the window, deciding to skip the rest of his gym session. He wanted to see what would happen when the countdown ended.
As he walked toward the men's lockers where his bag was kept, someone suddenly switched on the rest of the gym lights.
Some had already been on, but dimly. Now the intensity surged, flooding the hall with stark white light.
His vision flared white. A sharp sting hit behind his eyes, making them water instinctively.
He clenched his jaw, hand flying up to shield his face.
"WHO. THE. FUCK?!" he snapped, each word loud and sharp like a whipcrack.
There was a frantic shuffle as someone rushed to kill the lights again.
Everyone quieted down. Alice looked uneasy. The red ponytailed girl beside her, Bryan, stopped mid-stretch. Even Sheila, the TikToker, paused her recording for a moment.
Her livestream chat lit up:
— • —
ILoveSheila: What happened?
PussyLover69: Ah damn, is it Kai again?
JiminMyHusbando: Kyaaa!, is it Kai oppa?
JiminMyHusbando: Unnie unnie! Show us Kai oppa!!
RandomDude88: Kai who?
— • —
Sheila tilted her phone, angling the camera toward Kai.
The lights dimmed again. Kai lowered his hand, eyes narrowing as he stared at the switchboard, then at the guy who'd flipped it.
The poor dude looked confused, a little scared, and definitely regretting his life choices.
Kai scanned him like a pig on a chopping block.
A bald, tanned trainer walked over, Liam.
"Ah, he's new, Kai. We forgot to tell him about the light thing. Sorry 'bout that."
Kai looked at Liam, then back at the guy. He exhaled slowly. "No worries."
He turned away and headed toward the lockers.
Meanwhile, Sheila's chat was exploding:
— • —
JiminMyHusbando: Kyaaaa, those eyes… I'm cummiiinggg!!
Horny4Himboz: Damn girl, take a cold shower.
NotFromHere: Wait, who even is that guy? And why does everyone know him?
Sel3n4Spamz: That's our hottie. Junior at Sheila unnie's college. We catch glimpses whenever she hits the gym. And honestly? I think I'm in LOVE.
HenryCavilReal: He's alright, but he ain't me.
ILoveSheila: Honestly? Looks like absolute dogshit.
Sel3n4Spamz: Get this jealous mutt outta here, he's been barking since the stream started.
IamBrainiac: Why are y'all still here thirsting? Are we just ignoring that Ludus message??
— • —
Sheila gave a small smile and turned the camera back to herself.
"Alright, guys. Enough about Mr. Angry bae… let's get back to the real question. What Archetype should I pick for this game?"
Meanwhile, Alice made her way over to Kai, with Claire and Bryan trailing behind her.
* * *
Kai sighed as he stepped into the men's locker room. Rows of identical lockers lined the walls.
He made his way to his own, opened it without bothering with the lock, and grabbed his bag along with a pair of amber-lensed tinted glasses.
He slipped them on, feeling the sting in his eyes ease almost instantly.
He knew he'd lost his cool back there. He wasn't someone who got angry easily, but this wasn't the first time it had happened.
Once, he'd even kicked a guy clean out through the door. That one had it coming… unlike the guy earlier, the other had been looking for a fight. And he got it.
His gray eyes were part of the problem. Sure, they made him look good, but the downside was brutal.
Kai's eyes were unusually sensitive to harsh light. Bright LEDs, especially when switched on suddenly, hit him like a punch. His vision would blur, his eyes would sting and water until he couldn't see straight.
That's why he always hit the gym early in the morning, when it was quieter and the lights were dim.