Morning in the city was as ordinary as ever.
People rushed through crowded streets, cars honked endlessly, and the air carried the usual mix of noise and impatience. It was just another normal day—predictable, repetitive, and slightly exhausting.
Aarav sat at a small roadside stall, lazily sipping tea from a chipped glass.
He looked half-awake, half-bored, and completely uninterested in the world around him.
"…Same thing every day," he muttered.
Go to college. Come back. Eat whatever was cheap. Sleep. Repeat.
Nothing exciting.
Nothing different.
And honestly…
He preferred it that way.
Because normal meant safe.
And safe meant surviving without trouble.
The shopkeeper shouted at someone. A group of students laughed loudly nearby. A stray dog barked at passing vehicles.
Everything was exactly as it should be.
Until it wasn't.
A faint sound echoed in the air.
*Crack.*
Aarav frowned slightly.
"…Did you hear that?"
No one reacted.
The world continued as usual.
He shook his head. "Probably nothing."
Then—
*CRACK.*
This time, it was louder.
Clearer.
Sharp enough to cut through the noise of the entire street.
People stopped.
Conversations paused.
Heads slowly turned upward.
And then…
Everyone saw it.
The sky was breaking.
A thin golden line stretched across the heavens, like glass splitting under pressure. It shimmered, unstable, unnatural—something that should not exist.
"What… is that?"
"Is this some kind of light show?"
"Wait, is it real?!"
The line expanded.
Spreading.
Widening.
Until the sky itself looked like it was about to shatter.
Aarav stood up slowly, his eyes fixed above.
"…Okay," he said quietly, "that's definitely not normal."
Light burst through the crack.
Blinding.
Overwhelming.
The entire city was covered in a golden glow.
And then—
A voice.
Cold.
Emotionless.
Unavoidable.
It did not come from the sky.
It came from everywhere.
[ SYSTEM INITIALIZATION COMPLETE ]
Silence.
Pure, absolute silence.
For one second, the world stopped breathing.
Then chaos exploded.
"What was that?!"
"I heard it too!"
"System? What system?!"
Before anyone could understand—
Screens appeared.
Floating.
Glowing.
Right in front of people's eyes.
"I can see something!"
"My stats… I have stats?!"
"This is insane!"
Golden beams of light descended from the sky, selecting people one by one.
A boy nearby began to glow brightly.
"I've been chosen!" he shouted.
A girl floated slightly above the ground, her eyes wide with shock.
"I got a class… this is real!"
Excitement spread like wildfire.
People laughed, cried, screamed, and celebrated.
The world had changed in an instant.
Aarav looked around.
Then slowly looked at himself.
Nothing.
No screen.
No light.
No voice.
"…Huh."
He waited.
One second.
Two seconds.
Nothing happened.
"…Seriously?"
He looked up at the sky, slightly annoyed.
"Did you skip me or something?"
As if answering him—
The system responded.
[ HEROES SELECTED SUCCESSFULLY ]
And just like that…
It ended.
The light faded.
The selection was over.
Aarav stood there, unchanged.
Unchosen.
Around him, people celebrated like they had just been reborn.
"I got an A-rank talent!"
"I have skills!"
"I'm finally special!"
Someone pushed past Aarav.
"Move!"
He stepped aside quietly.
No anger.
No reaction.
Just… acceptance.
"Figures," he murmured.
In a world where power meant everything—
He had nothing.
But deep inside…
Something didn't feel right.
And he didn't know why.