The world ended not with a bang, but with a shimmering, silent blue light.
Elias Vance, twenty-two and already a junior partner at one of Neo-Chicago's most prestigious architectural firms, was hunched over a complex structural analysis when the light hit. It wasn't blinding, but rather an omnipresent, ethereal glow that seeped through the reinforced concrete of the skyscraper and painted the dust motes dancing in the air a vibrant, impossible sapphire.
Then came the voice. It was not a sound, but a thought—a cold, mechanical pronouncement that echoed in the minds of every living soul on Earth, transcending language and logic.
[System Initialization Complete. Welcome to the Ascendant Era.]
Panic erupted. The office floor, usually a haven of quiet, focused ambition, dissolved into chaos. Elias, however, remained rooted to his spot, his hands trembling not from fear, but from a strange, overwhelming sense of destiny. He knew, instinctively, that this was the moment. The moment the world shifted from the mundane to the mythical.
He watched as his colleagues began to manifest their powers. A nervous intern, moments ago struggling with a spreadsheet, suddenly held a flickering blade of pure energy. A senior partner, known for his ruthless efficiency, was enveloped in a faint, smoky aura, his eyes glowing with an unsettling, predatory light. They were receiving their Systems—the keys to survival and power in this new, terrifying reality.
Elias closed his eyes, focusing on the mechanical voice still humming in the back of his mind. *What will I get?* He wasn't strong, nor was he particularly fast. His strength lay in vision, in structure, in the meticulous planning of spaces. He hoped for something related to mental fortitude, perhaps a tactical System. Anything to survive the monsters and the newly empowered humans that would inevitably follow.
A blinding flash of blue light erupted directly in front of him, followed by a familiar, yet deeply disappointing, mechanical chime.
[System Acquired: Architect System. Tier: Common.]
Elias blinked, staring at the translucent blue screen floating before his eyes. *Architect System?* He swiped the screen open, his heart sinking with every line of text.
[Architect System]
Tier: Common (Upgradeable)
Core Skill: Blueprint Generation (Lvl 1) - Allows the user to generate basic structural blueprints based on available materials.
Passive: Structural Integrity (Lvl 1) - 1% bonus to the durability of any structure designed by the user.
Inventory: Empty.
Note: This System is focused on construction, design, and resource management. Combat capabilities are non-existent.
A bitter, almost hysterical laugh escaped his lips. While the world was being handed swords and magic, he was given a digital drafting table. The intern with the energy blade looked at him, a flicker of pity and disdain in his eyes.
"Architect System? Seriously, Vance? Guess you'll be building the refugee camps then," the intern sneered, his voice rough with his newfound power.
Elias ignored him. He looked out the window at the city, now a chaotic mess of screaming people and the first signs of the monstrous creatures that were beginning to phase into reality. The old world was gone. The new world demanded strength.
He was an architect. He built things to last.
A fierce, cold resolve settled in his chest. If the world was a battlefield, then he would not be a soldier. He would be the one who designed the fortress. He would be the one who built the walls that kept the monsters out.
He raised his hand, and the translucent blue screen of his System glowed. He didn't need a sword. He needed a foundation.
"Show me the materials list," Elias muttered, his voice low and steady, a blueprint for his own survival already forming in his mind. The Ascendant Era had begun, and Elias Vance, the Architect, was ready to start building.