--
The place remained deathly still as the hologram continued.
[Let me begin by congratulating all species that have successfully withstood through your planet's first evolution event.]
[Your mission as one of the species of this planet is to grow stronger and survive the remaining evolution phases.]
[The cumulative strength of all species will be used to awaken and develop your planet's consciousness.]
[Until that period, I shall remain your planet's local administrator.]
The atmosphere felt crushing. A suffocating tension rippled across the space as the orb's runes flared.
[Now commencing current world statistics.]
A brief pause.
[Total species population before the gene implantation: Nine billion.]
[Total human population that withstood gene implantation: Two billion.]
[Humans who failed to adapt: Three billion.]
Horror washed through the crowd… Three billion… Three billion lives—gone, just like that.
But the orb did not pause.
[Total non-human species that survived gene implantation: Three billion.]
[Current gene implanted species on Planet 42B: Five billion.]
[Congratulations once again to all those who successfully withstood and received their Nexus Gene.]
The weight of those numbers came crashing down like a tidal wave. Some people fainted, others collapsed, their knees buckling beneath them as the realization that their families, their friends, most of humanity had likely perished sank in like a dagger to the chest.
The agony was palpable...
I clenched my fist so hard my nails dug in. I'd steeled myself for this moment—prepared for it—but hearing those numbers spoken so casually still sent a shudder down my spine.
The place was riddled with chaos and wails before a loud scream rang out not far from me. A woman broke free from the crowd and rushed towards the clear center, her face streaked with tears as her body trembled in raw desperation.
"WHY?!" she shrieked, charging toward the orb. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?!"
She stumbled, falling to her knees beneath the floating hologram. "What did we ever do to you to deserve this?!" she choked out, her voice low as she spat out the last line, tears streaking onto the spotless white floor. "What gives you the right to decide who lives and who dies?!"
The place grew unnervingly quiet. It was that kind of silence where the dust settling seemed audible, a silence so deep you could hear the blood in your own ears.
Then, from a far distant wall, a faint hum rang out, and in the overwhelming stillness, it was as if thunder had cracked.
One of the glyphs embedded in the wall brightened, and a thin beam of light shot forward.
For a brief, frozen moment, the woman stilled—her teary eyes wide in shock as a tiny burning hole formed between her brows. Then she collapsed forward with a dull thud, her body still twitching.
Screams erupted as people stumbled back, recoiling in horror. Those nearest to the walls scrambled away, their hands clamped over their mouths, eyes wide with unfiltered terror. Some in the crowd mirrored the woman's raw rage, their fists white-knuckled—but paralyzing fear held them rooted to the spot.
The woman's body dissolved, a rapid disintegration that began at her feet, and within seconds, there was no trace she ever existed.
The orb's voice returned, cold and flat.
[Interruptions and nuisances will not be tolerated.]
[Any human who disrupts order will be immediately extinguished.]
[Updated human population: Two billion - 1]
The terror was absolute. It was this instinctive, primal fear—that fear of a cold-blooded killer who had nothing to lose and killed without hesitation.
This realization kept everyone rooted to the spot; some forgot to breathe entirely. For those who had never witnessed a killing before, this might as well be the breaking point.
I exhaled slowly, keeping my gaze fixed on where the woman had just been... this was likely just the beginning.
The Nexus orb pulsed once more before its hologram slowly rotated, its intricate runes flashing violet like a dying light bulb and washing the dim space in color.
[Now that order has been reestablished, the system binding event will now commence.]
{'Do not move or make any sound, sir. Just act like everyone else.'}
Nox's voice echoed in my head, still calm, but now laced with a trace of pure seriousness.
I furrowed my brows, my gaze not leaving the Nexus. 'What do you me—'
Before the thought could complete, the orb blazed with blinding rays of light that shot out in all directions, striking every soul in sight.
The rays eerily phased into people, and within seconds, they dropped to the ground like puppets with their strings cut, completely unconscious.
It also didn't take half a second before a beam struck me as well, phasing instantly into my glabella. And then, like everyone else, I succumbed to the force, slumping to the hard floor.
----
"Huh?..."
Opening my eyes, I instantly froze, stunned by the sudden change.
I was no longer in the white space…
I looked around, my brain still lagging, trying to process what was going on.
The place was thick with fog and dark—incredibly dark, save for the single, bright red beam that gleamed from afar, its stray light washing the entire area in a faint, eerie scarlet hue.
Gazing down, I found myself naked, but I couldn't see past my waist—the fog covered everything below.
"What is this place?" I whispered, my voice echoing strangely through the mist.
"Nox?" I called out, but received no response.
"This doesn't make any sense," I grumbled.
Shifting my gaze to the red light source, I walked toward it, parting the fog as I moved.
"Maybe I'll find some answers there…"
----
Step.
Step…
I didn't know how long I'd been here.
The only sounds were my faint footsteps, but they were quiet, really quiet. Everywhere else was just as silent.
The red beam still seemed so far away…
It was getting larger minute by minute as I got closer, but still far away.
"Just how large is this place?" I whispered, frustration creeping in.
Even though I'd been walking for a while, I didn't feel a thing—my feet didn't hurt, nor did I feel exhaustion. It was just as if I was floating.
The more I approached the beam, the stronger this feeling was.
It was weird, really weird, but I just had to keep moving. I'd likely find something—anything—there.
...
I came to an abrupt halt, my gaze locking onto the scene in front of me.