The sky changed.
No one reacted.
People kept walking. Talking. Laughing.
As if nothing had happened.
That was the first warning.
Arjun noticed—
not immediately…
but before it was too late.
Something wasn't right.
The light hadn't dimmed.
It hadn't faded.
It had… shifted.
And no one else could see it.
The professor kept talking.
Economic policy. Supply chains. Numbers.
None of it reached Arjun.
Something kept pulling at him—subtle, persistent.
Wrong.
He turned toward the window.
The sunlight looked normal.
Too normal.
Then he saw it.
The sky wasn't blue.
A metallic sheen stretched across it—thin at first, then spreading. Clouds flattened into smooth, reflective surfaces, like steel hammered across the horizon.
Arjun leaned forward.
"…What is that?"
A few students near the window shifted.
"Is it about to rain?"
"That's not rain."
"Pollution?"
Then—
everything died.
Phones. Laptops. Lights.
Gone.
The projector cut mid-slide.
Silence followed.
Not natural silence.
Heavy.
Delayed.
Like the world itself had skipped a beat.
"Power cut?" someone muttered.
Arjun didn't answer.
Outside—
traffic lights were dead.
Cars slowed. Some stopped.
People stepped out, looking up.
Confusion spread—quiet at first.
Then louder.
"What just happened?"
"Why are signals off?"
"Is this a blackout?"
Then—
it spoke.
Not through speakers.
Not through devices.
Everywhere.
Inside.
[GALACTIC EVALUATION SYSTEM INITIALIZING]
The classroom froze.
No one breathed.
"Did you hear that…?"
"Where did that come from?"
A boy laughed nervously.
"This has to be a stunt…"
No one joined him.
Arjun stayed silent.
That voice—
wasn't human.
It had no tone.
No emotion.
Just… authority.
Absolute.
Outside, the sky responded.
Words formed.
Massive.
Impossible.
[Planet Identified: Earth]
[Civilization Rank: F]
[Population: 8,042,671,920]
The class rushed to the windows.
Even the professor stepped forward.
"What kind of… technology…?"
Another line appeared.
[Earth has been selected for Galactic Evaluation.]
This time—
no one joked.
The air changed.
Fear replaced confusion.
Then—
[Evaluation begins in 60 seconds.]
A countdown appeared.
60
Everything stopped.
59
58
Inside—
panic ignited.
"What evaluation?!"
"Is this real?!"
Outside—
drivers abandoned cars.
People flooded the streets.
Phones were raised—
dead screens reflecting fear.
News anchors spoke to cameras broadcasting nothing.
Emergency systems failed.
Orders were given—
to no one.
The countdown continued.
Unbothered.
Unstoppable.
41
40
Arjun felt it.
A vibration.
His hand moved instantly.
Phone.
Dead screen.
Then—
white text appeared.
[Individual Compatibility Detected]
His eyes narrowed.
"…That's not possible."
Next line—
[Commander Candidate Identified]
His chest tightened.
Commander?
Then—
no pause.
[Binding Galactic System to Host]
Pain hit.
Sharp. Violent.
Behind his eyes.
Arjun dropped.
The world blurred.
Voices stretched—distant, distorted.
Something forced its way in.
Not random.
Structured.
Precise.
Star maps.
Unknown languages.
Weapons.
Warships.
Battles across worlds he had never seen—
but now understood.
His body didn't resist.
It adapted.
Accepted.
"What… is this…?"
Then—
silence.
The pain vanished.
Replaced by clarity.
Cold. Clean.
A voice echoed inside him.
[System Integration Complete]
A screen appeared.
Clear.
Unavoidable.
GALACTIC COMMAND SYSTEM
Host: Arjun Mehta
Commander Rank: F
Planet: Earth
Civilization Rank: F
Another alert.
[Emergency Mission Assigned]
Arjun stared.
"…Mission?"
The system answered.
Mission Objective: Eliminate Hostile Entity — Unit A1
Reward: System Authorization Level 1
Failure: Host Death
No confusion now.
Only focus.
He turned—
toward the window.
0
The sky broke.
Cracks tore across it—like glass shattering.
And through them—
they came.
Ships.
Thousands.
Descending.
Each one massive.
Each one wrong.
Red lines pulsed across their surfaces like veins.
Screams erupted.
"ALIENS!"
One ship stopped above the city.
An opening formed.
Something dropped.
Impact.
The ground shook.
Buildings trembled.
Windows rattled violently.
Then—
it stood.
Thirty feet tall.
Six legs.
Four arms.
Black armor—liquid metal frozen mid-motion.
Blue eyes scanned.
Then it moved.
One swipe—
A bus split in half.
Cars flipped.
Concrete shattered.
Chaos began.
Inside the classroom—
no one moved.
"Oh my god…"
Arjun didn't speak.
The system activated again.
[Commander Equipment Available]
Combat Drone — Basic Unit
Plasma Rifle — Military Prototype
Adaptive Combat Suit — Mark I
Deploy Equipment?
YES / NO
Behind him—
fear.
In front of him—
destruction.
Arjun didn't hesitate.
YES.
Light erupted.
Armor locked over his body.
Weapon formed in his hands.
Drone activated beside him.
He stepped forward.
Stopped at the broken window.
The city below—
falling apart.
His grip tightened.
No fear.
Only calculation.
"…Let's test this."
And he jumped.
The moment his body dropped into open air
the creature looked up.
Directly at him.
As if it had been waiting.