Date: May 15, 2018 (Tuesday)
Location: GDA Central Command, Geneva, Switzerland
Time: 09:00 AM
The screams of the previous night had turned into a numbing dread. Across the globe, people remained barricaded in their homes, glued to their TVs and phones. They were waiting for either a savior or an executioner.
Richard Vance stood in his private chamber, dressed in a sharp, dark grey suit. His face still bore the wrinkles of fifty-four years of experience, but his eyes now held the shadow of an S-Rank. It was a gaze that could bring anyone to their knees without a single word.
Just ten minutes before the broadcast, an encrypted emergency call alerted the entire command center. The screen split to show the faces of the US President and the Chinese Premier. Both men looked desperate, their faces flushed with anger.
"Richard, you have hijacked global networks. This is an act of war," the US President said, his voice trembling. "We demand the data and the Mana-Meter blueprints immediately. The G-8 nations are prepared to declare you a war criminal."
Richard didn't even look at the screen. He calmly adjusted his cufflinks, his movements slow and deliberate.
"Your authority exists only on paper, Mr. President. My authority exists within my very cells," Richard replied in a flat, icy tone. "From today, I will write the new rules of this world. Your time has officially ended."
Without a trace of emotion, he cut the call. He signaled Aris to permanently lock the G-8 nations out of the global network.
At exactly 09:00 AM, screens across the world flickered simultaneously. Richard Vance's face appeared on every device on the planet. He offered no long speeches or empty comforts. He was there only to deliver the 'Iron Law.'
"What you felt last night was not a disease. It was evolution," Richard's voice echoed in every corner of the globe. "As of today, your old freedoms have no value. I am announcing a new mandate."
He laid out the terms with surgical precision:
Mandatory Registration: Every mutated human has seven days to register at the nearest GDA center. Hiding is punishable by death.
Support Division (Rank F & E): Assigned to mining, forging, and infrastructure.
The 'Dangers' (Rank D & Above): Classified as frontline assets for high-risk operations.
Richard then displayed the False Limit on the screen, planting a seed of artificial hope.
"The peak of this world is 5000 MP—Rank A. Whoever reaches that height will become a new god."
He spoke this lie so convincingly that the world immediately became obsessed with reaching that peak. From the crowded stations of Mumbai to New York's Times Square, a new social hierarchy was born. Those at Rank D looked on with arrogant pride, while those at Rank F began to see themselves as nothing more than insects.
Richard had successfully reclassified humanity.
As the broadcast ended, Richard turned to Aris, who stood in stunned silence.
"Stop all ballistics production immediately. Guns and bullets are now just scrap metal," Richard ordered coldly. "We need pure iron—massive amounts of it. Begin the development of Proto-Magitech. The 'Fracture' is coming, and we don't have much time left."
His 'Basic Knowledge' warned him of the true threat. The 'Fracture' would soon tear the world apart, and only those with the right resources would survive the transition.