The sky broke.
Not with thunder.
Nor the wrath of a storm.
It cracked apart like shattered glass.
Revealing an endless abyss beyond heavens.
The sun dimmed, its golden light.
Swallowed by darkness across the world.
Human stopped and stared.
Cars halted.
Conversations died mid-sentence.
Children pointed at the sky, while their parents watched in horror.
Then came the voice.
Cold, mechanical emotionless voice that echoed inside every livings mind.
[NOTICE]
World Privileges have expired.
Beginning Revocation Process...
Analyzing...
Time: 09/05/2026 12:00pm.
Initiating...
World Protection System Offline.
Message: Please survive until ■■■
Good luck.
The message vanished.
Leaving confusion.
For a brief moment.
Nothing happened.
Then a scream broke the silence.
At first, people thought it was a terrorist attack.
Mass hallucination.
Or some bizarre technological prank.
We were wrong.
A shadow moved.
Not metaphorically.
Nor an illusion.
The shadows themselves twisted.
Stretched across the ground like living creatures.
It peeled away from walls.
Slithered beneath doors.
Crawled out from dark corners where no light could reach.
From those shadows.
Gore figures appear.
Things humanity had only seen in dreams.
A Creatures with countless human limbs like centipede.
Faces stitched from flesh, forcing a smile.
Towering figures that scraped the clouds.
A monsters that born from fear itself.
The world fell into chaos.
Governments collapsed within days.
Man made weapon, where hardly effective.
Cities burned.
Blood and DEATH on the street.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Nations crumbled.
Humanity screamed.
And the nightmares listened.
───
3 hour later.
The world loss its light.
Or at least.
It might as well have been.
The once-crowded streets were now graveyards.
Full of screams.
Blood.
And dismembered limb scattered around.
Run!
Run!
Run!
The world population collapse from the apocalypse.
Survivors were rare.
Hope was rarer.
Among the building survivors hide for safety.
Holding terror and despair.
Then a lone figure walked through the remains of civilization.
His name was Kai.
Twenty Two years old.
Dirty clothes.
Tired eyes.
A knife stained with black blood dripping from his side.
Moments earlier, Kai had killed one of them.
The creature had been no taller than a child's knee.
Twisted creature with gray skin.
Stitches over its bones.
Fingers that ended in needle-like claws.
Its head was far too large for its body.
A mouth split open unnaturally wide, revealing rows of jagged teeth.
Kai looked down at the corpse.
Thick black blood pooled.
A sight that made my stomach churn.
That thing had slaughtered my friends.
"If only arrived earlier, I might able to save them."
But the scream that monster made.
It Sounds like a child calling for its mother.
Struggling.
Calling for help.
"No."
I don't have to feel pity on this monster, Kai thought with tears in his eyes.
My friends.
I could still hear them screams.
Fear.
Terror.
The sound of flesh tearing apart.
Intestine flowing like water.
Eyes that pulled out.
Scattered severed limbs.
I Still remember arriving too late.
The memory stabbed into my mind like a knife.
Kai's grip tightened.
"I killed it..."
"I should be happy it let it's guard down, or else I'm the one lying on the floor."
A words that barely escaped Kai's lips.
For a moment, the ruined street was silent.
Then a cold mechanical voice echoed inside Kai's head.
[NOTICE]
Requirements Fulfilled.
Kill: 1/1 Nightmare (Stitched Gnome [E])
Congratulations.
You have demonstrated the will to survive.
Analyzing Candidate...
Mental Stability: Acceptable
Survival Instinct: Exceptional
Adaptability: High
Hostility Toward Threats: Confirmed
Conditions Met.
Initiating Support System Installation...
0%
13%
47%
83%
100%
Installation Complete.
Welcome, Survivor.
Among countless humans, only those capable of overcoming fear and taking action against the Nightmares of this world can awaken a System.
The System exists to guide, strengthen, and assist humanity in the coming trials.
Rewards, skills, quests, and growth opportunities are now available.
Survive.
Adapt.
Evolve.
Or perish.
Dear survivor, the journey will never be an easy road, please survive until the end. Good luck.
Reward: - System Installation (Complete)
Kai froze.
A translucent blue screen appeared before his eyes.
"What...?"
The screen remained.
Real.
Untouchable.
Yet undeniably real.
For the first time since the sky had broken apart...
A spark of hope appeared.
Small.
Fragile.
But real.
Maybe humanity wasn't completely doomed after all.
Maybe.
Just maybe.
There was a way to fight back.
"I'll survive."
"Nothing more."
"Nothing less."
Kai stopped.
Froze on the spot.
(̴̯̬͈̮̹̀̇̂̊͂̉̽Ĺ̸̡̨͕̈̀̈́̋͘͠á̵͔̪͒u̶̟̙͖̭̪͇̮̣̽̏̀̈́ģ̸͇̍̿̿h̶̩̜͓͉̞̭͉͉̘̎̾̊͗͆̈́̽̆͘̕i̷̢̧̲͓͙̝͎͒͐̏͠ͅn̵̛̮̍͆̐̄̐̏̔ģ̴̨̣̤͕̩̼͓̯̈̄̎͜͝ ̵̦͔̞̯͙̼͙̽s̷͇͍̓̏̆̒͂̈́̚o̷͉̝̤̘͚̽̿̌̑̒u̷̹̣̼͈̙̻͑̌̀̉͝n̵͖̈́̏̾͂͐͋̋̐̇͝d̶̡̰̯̀)̵̢̟̹̞̟̗͊͘
The sound came behind me.
Kai grip tightened around the knife.
Slowly, he turned.
A figure stood at the end of the street.
Tall.
Thin.
Its body bent at impossible angles.
Its face, had no eyes!
Only a mouth stretched from ear to ear.
The creature smiled.
"Shit!"
The monster took a small step forward.
Then another.
And another.
The smile widened slowly.
A familiar sensation crawled down Kai's spine.
Fear.
Despair.
DEATH!
The sound of the laughing echoes from every direction.
Then the creature suddenly vanished.
Kai's eyes widened.
Too late.
Something appeared directly behind me.
Kai froze.
Then whisper brushed against my ear.
H̶͙̠͇̥̋ủ̷̧̦̥͇͚͗̀̎͗̈͛͐̀m̴̪͍̮̻͔̐̑̒̋̓̓ä̸̧̜̗̯̮̅͐͒n̷̨͉̯͉̩͔̞͉̬͇͐͊̉̋̀̈̈̎̕͝.
The world went silent from Kai's perspective.
Intense fear froze him from moving.
_______
And far above the ruined world, beyond the broken sky, something opened its eyes.
Watching.
Waiting.
To be continued...