The first meeting began before the screams had fully stopped.
In New Delhi, the Prime Minister was already seated when the screens turned on.
In Washington, it was still dark.
In seoul, dawn had barely broken.
A massive holographic projection filled every room—the same message burned into the sky outside.
[FAILURE IS NOT FINAL.]
Silence followed.
Then questions came all at once.
"Can this be a hoax?"
"Is this mass hallucination?"
"Are we under attack?"
The answers were the same everywhere.
Military bases confirmed soldiers vanishing and returning mid-drill.
Satellites detected no structure, no anomaly—yet,No spatial distortion.
No energy signature.
A general slammed his fist on the table.
"If monsters are coming to Earth in thirty days," he said, "we treat this as an invasion."
"By whom?" a civilian official asked. "There's no enemy we can target."
"Then we prepare anyway," the general replied. "You don't wait to identify the invader after they land."
No one argued.
The silence broke when the Prime Minister spoke.
"We proceed as if the threat is real."
"We proceed cautiously."
No one objected.
Orders were issued immediately.
Emergency measures were approved.
Military forces placed on high alert
Strategic assets secured
Intelligence agencies redirected
Continuous monitoring of the sky message
Before the meeting ended, emergency provisions were drafted.
Not announced.
Not debated.
Passed under existing disaster clauses.
Temporary emergency laws were enacted across multiple nations.
Restrictions on large public gatherings
Expanded surveillance authority
Mandatory reporting of unexplained disappearances
Temporary suspension of certain civil aviation routes
Military aid authorized for domestic deployment
Special legal status was created for the event.
TOWER-RELATED INCIDENTS
Handled outside normal judicial process.
The laws were written to expire in thirty days.
No one believed they would.
Far away from the halls of power, two young men sat on the concrete steps of a building.
Neither of them spoke. The air between them was thick with things unsaid.
Rohan — [Status: Tutorial Cleared] Aman — [Status: Failed]
Rohan looked the same as he always had, perhaps a little paler, his knuckles white as he gripped his knees. Aman couldn't stop staring at him. He looked at Rohan like he was a ghost.
"You're really okay?" Aman asked, his voice cracking. "No injuries? Nothing?"
Rohan stared at the pavement. "Yeah. The System... it healed the scratches."
"…That's it?"
Rohan didn't answer immediately. He looked at his hands. Hands that had held a weapon just minutes ago.
Aman swallowed hard, touching his own neck. There was no mark there, but he flinched as if he felt phantom teeth. "I died, Rohan," Aman whispered.
Rohan looked up sharply.
"I felt it," Aman said, tears pooling in his eyes. "The goblin... it didn't just hit me. It tore my throat out. I felt the blood. I felt the cold. And then... I woke up in my bed."
He looked at his friend with wide, terrified eyes. "But you... you didn't die. You're back because you won."
Rohan's expression darkened. "That's the problem," Rohan said softly. "I didn't just survive, Aman. I had to kill it. I cut off its head with a sword.
[GLOBAL SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]
[THE OLD WORLD IS OBSOLETE.] [Gold is heavy. Paper is fragile. Status is temporary.]
[THE TOWER OFFERS THE TRUTH.]
A list scrolled down the sky, visible to every beggar, billionaire, and politician on Earth.
[REWARDS FOR CLIMBERS:]
ELIXIRS: Cure Cancer. Regrow Limbs. Restore Youth.
SKILLS: Wield Fire. Bend Space. Defy Gravity.
WEALTH: System Coins can purchase what Earth cannot provide.
Then, a specific message flashed, pulsating with a darker red light. It was addressed to the millions who had failed.
[TO THE FALLEN:] [You have tasted death. You know the price of weakness.] [Do you wish to remain prey?] [Or do you wish to become the Hunter?]
[CLEAR TUTORIAL BEFORE FLOOR 1 OPENS FOR MAXIMUM OPPORTUNITIES]
[FLOOR 1 OPENS IN: 71 HOURS, 30 MINUTES.] [SEIZE YOUR DESTINY.]