Aurora City, Red Hills, William’s Estate, 06/04/2123

Inside a room in the Williams estate, the sharp ring of an alarm resounded, breaking the serene atmosphere and dragging its owner from the confine of their sleep.

A few seconds later, the annoying tool succeeded as the bedsheets stirred, and a disheveled head full of messy black hair peeked from under them. 

“Good morning, master,” the soft yet synthetic voice of his AI home assistant resounded through the room as the alarm came to a stop.

“Morning, Aisha,” the still lethargic voice of the young man echoed as he sat while slowly rubbing his eyes. Then, ever so slowly, he left his bed, his senses growing clearer as he readied himself to take on the new day.

Then, sticking to his usual routine, he went for a refreshing morning jog, followed by a quick workout, before heading back home. Once back, he quickly cleaned himself and proceeded to the kitchen where a wholesome breakfast eagerly awaited him.

“Sam, I am really lucky to have you in my life,” Jay thought aloud as he took in the delightful aroma wafting from the dishes. Despite being greeted with this sight every day, he couldn't help but marvel at it each time.

In response, the ash-haired woman released a gentle chuckle, her voice tinged with amusement. "We both are, Jay. We both are,” she replied as she gently looked at Jay who was already enjoying his breakfast. 

"So, are you ready for today's game?" she asked Jay.

"Yup, ready... Though, even if I wasn't, the result wouldn't be any different. The Mammoths are too weak," Jay replied confidently.

“Confident, I see,” Sam nodded with a smile. With Jay’s capabilities, it was actually unfair for anyone competing against him. Still, as always, she chose to be the voice of reason and despite her trust in him, she offered some words of caution. “Now, champ, don't get too complacent, we wouldn't want you to lose because you held back too much.”

“Well, it would be too boring if I didn't. Still, don't worry. I'll stay cautious,” he said with a grin before focusing once again on his meal.

A few moments later, the door swung open and another person stepped into the kitchen. The newcomer was Jess, Jay’s little sister. A stunning olive-skinned and black-haired girl. Standing tall at 184 centimeters she exuded a natural air of grace and confidence. 

Her attire consisted of a sky-blue sweater paired with baggy blue jeans and white jeans. Despite the slightly oversized fit, her clothing did very little to hide her generous assets. 

“Bonjour, bro,” the 17-year-old girl cheerfully greeted as she pecked Jay and Sam on the cheeks before taking a seat at the table. 

“Morning, sis. You look quite happy today. Did anything good happen?” Jay asked as he curiously looked at his bubbling sister. Knowing her something really good should have happened or someone was going to suffer soon.

“Hehe, you'll know later,” she answered, mischievously sticking her tongue out.

“I am sorry then. I'll have to spoil the mood.” Samantha suddenly said, her expression going from relaxed to serious.

“What’s going on?” Jay questioned.

“Your grandfather called last night. He had something to tell you. But he couldn't join either of you,” she said with a reproachful gaze directed at the two of them.

As he heard her, Jay simply ignored the part concerning his grandfather while Jess glared and asked, “What does that old fool want?”

Facing the sibling's reaction, Samantha could only helplessly shake her head. She already expected that much given how tense their relationship with their grandfather had become since their father's death.

“You are aware of what has been going on lately, right?” she asked after a slight pause.

“The crazy weather thingy?” Jess asked with raised eyebrows.

“Yes,” Sam nodded.

“Well, I hear some of my comrades talk about it. But that's it. I didn't pay too much attention. I was focused on a project the last few days. Why does he care about that?” Jess inquired.

“I know a thing or two about what has been going on. And to be honest, the situation isn't looking too good,” Jay said. 

As she heard the sibling's words, Sam stopped for a second, seemingly thinking about something. Then she tapped on the table that was also a smart screen and a video started to play in front of them.

“Good morning, everyone, you are watching LeafNews. It’s Ethel Brooks. We begin this hour with enigmatic weather. Last night, Domino City became the first city of the northern continent to be affected by one of the unexplained meteorological anomalies that had been plaguing the world since last week.”

 “As they were heading home, the citizens of Domino City found themselves surrounded by a heavy and mysterious fog. The confusion and poor visibility created by the appearance of said fog led to many accidents, mainly car crashes, happening all around the city. Of those, the deadliest was a massive car pileup that occurred on the X bridge causing dozens of deaths and hundreds of wounded…...” 

After the anchor introduction, the screen switched and a scene of a city completely covered by a dense white fog was shown on the screen followed by images of the car pileup the anchor previously spoke of.

From the look of it, not a single car came out of the incident unscathed. Most of them had a sign or two of damage. Many others were severely damaged, overturned, or on fire. As for the unluckiest, they were probably the ones who fell from the bridge. 

At the moment, first aid workers were busying themselves and trying their best to rescue as many people as they could. However, the manpower was too stretched for the work that needed to be done. It was clear that the extent of the damage was far more than what they just saw.

“And mind you, Domino City can be considered a lucky one compared to many,” Sam said, surprising Jess. No matter how small, she was sure the casualties in Domino City would be in the thousands. It was hard to consider Domino City lucky in such circumstances. 

 “You sure?” Jess asked, clearly unable to believe Sam’s claim.

“At least, the city wasn’t destroyed overnight,” Sam replied. Following those words, Sam proceeded to bring Jess to speed. By the end of her narration, the latter was having a hard time believing that everything Sam said truly happened. However, she knew it was true as she trusted her, and Sam did not need to trick her.

The earliest anomaly could be traced back to five days ago when a weird sinkhole suddenly formed in the middle of the Amazonian forest. It all happened suddenly and before anyone could react, ten of kilometers of forest simply vanished leaving behind a massive sinkhole that seemed to lead straight to the underworld.

From then on, the situation only went from worse to worse as many places around the world started being affected by unexplainable phenomena.  

For example, in a certain city on the continent of Ilys, it rained for a whole day without interruption. In the end, a year's worth of rain fell on that single day subjecting that city and its neighbor to a literal biblical deluge.

Meanwhile, another town in the district of Amber was seemingly targeted by a divine judgment. As crazy and unscientific as it may sound, that town was hit by thousands of lightning bolts in less than 5 minutes. For 5 short minutes, an eternity for the inhabitants of the unfortunate town, the sky never stopped roaring as the said town was washed to the ground by a downpour of lightning bolts.

By the time silence returned, all that was left of the town were the smoking rubbles and the few lucky survivors left with nothing but fear and despair.

Then, there are tornadoes popping out at random places, supposed dormant volcanoes suddenly erupting, lakes drying overnight or deserts suddenly turning into snowfields.

As for things like power outages, and signal disruptions,  they were getting more and more common as time went by.

And those were merely the events the government was unable to suppress. For example, stories about pets displaying unusually aggressive behaviors, or plants showing abnormal growth still hadn’t made their way to mainstream media or social media.

“You sure all that happened just during this week,” Jess questioned incredulously, once again finding the whole thing too unbelievable. 

“Yes. The council is trying to play it off as a result of a solar storm. Unfortunately anyone with a bit of brain can see what is going on.”

 “I say we are screwed,” Jess said tiredly. She suddenly regretted shutting herself off the internet during those last few days. “Wait, if everything you two are saying is true, why is everyone behaving so normally? Shouldn’t there be widespread panic? Riots, deserted streets, and people panic buying – that’s what should be happening. But there’s none of that; people are just going about their lives as if everything’s fine,” she observed, shocked by the discrepancy between the world’s apparent chaos and the calm demeanor of those around her. 

“Chuckle, if there is one thing the council does properly, it is misleading the masses,” Jay remarked, a hint of annoyance in his voice as he commented on the council’s usual way of handling things. “Events that defy common sense like the lightning rain are rare, and in such circumstances, it’s easy for the average person to believe the solar storm bullshit and hope that everything will soon return to normal,” he explained. Despite his irritation, he understood that the council was not entirely at fault, given their limited understanding of the true nature of the threat they faced. And for once it was the best way to handle things as anything else would only serve to cause panic as Jess thought and that wouldn’t help the situation.

“Still there are already a few places where chaos is prevailing. And more places will follow,” Sam remarked.

“So that’s why Maman is coming back,” Jess mumbled absentmindedly. 

“When?” Jay asked, only a little bit surprised by Jess's announcement. Given the current circumstances, their mother was bound to come back sooner or later; she was just doing so earlier than he expected.

“Her flight is scheduled for 11 a.m.”

“I guess that's why you were so happy?”

“Yes.” Jess nodded. Though now her good mood was nowhere to be seen. “What should we do now,” she inquired.

“I don't know.” Jay shook his head helplessly. To be honest, he already thought about this question as early as two days ago. And no matter how, he couldn't find a satisfactory answer. Fundamentally, when prepping, you do so with a specific threat in mind. However, in their situation truly everything and nothing could happen. Thus, their efforts could prove useless or worsen things for them. Besides, he wasn't about to hunker somewhere waiting for the possible apocalypse.

“Well, we can start by stocking up on supply,” Sam proposed as she saw the uncertainty on Jay’s face.

“Opal Lake Resort is a good place,” Jess remarked. “However, we need to improve the defense and security measures,” she added.

Following that statement, the three quickly went through the things that had to be done and assigned tasks that each of them needed to complete.

“Alright, I'm off. Good luck for your game,” Jess said as she grabbed her car keys and left the kitchen. 

“Me too. Will everything be alright?” Jay asked as Sam would have to take care of most of the things during the morning.

“Don't worry, I will be fine. I just need to make some calls and everything will be taken care of,” Sam chuckled as he handed Jay his helmet. “Good luck,” she wished and gave him a kiss on the cheek. 

******

Aurora College, The Old Forge

The atmosphere in the college basketball arena was bustling. Music, cheers, laughter, and loud chatter filled the place as fans of the local team animatedly discussed and celebrated their team’s victory. Such an atmosphere was rare, especially in those days when everyone was worried about the future. However, on this special occasion, everyone let go of their worries and enjoyed themselves. 

“Hey Jay, why are you here alone? You should go and celebrate with your friends,” a gray-haired man said as he walked toward Jay and patted his back.

“Yes coach, I was just catching my breath,” Jay replied with a polite smile.

“Ok. So, are you really not going to consider playing in the pro league,” the coach asked with a smile.

“I won’t.” Jay shook his head. For him, basketball was a hobby at best. 

Initially, he only started playing because his father deemed it to be important for his training. ‘You need to learn how it is to be part of a team,’ he said. At the time, Jay thought he would need to go through another grueling experience. However, in the end, he fell in love with the sport, and it became one of the few or maybe the only good thing the asshole brought in his life.

“This would be my greatest regret as a coach. You could have become one of the greatest,” the coach said with a bitter smile.

“I know, sorry coach,” he said as he could somehow understand the coach’s feelings.

“Don’t mind….”

“Hey, Jay! Coach,” a tall and burly black-skinned guy said as he walked toward the coach and Jay. It was Oliver, one of Jay’s teammates.

“Alright, I will leave you with your friend,” the coach said with a smile.

“Yes, coach.” The two answered simultaneously.

“Jay, any plans for tonight? The guys are planning to go out and have some fun,” Oliver said as he put his arm around Jay’s shoulders.

“Sorry, I can't,” Jay said as he waved at the twins who were seated not far from him.

“Come on. We wouldn’t have won without you. You have to come,” Oliver said with a hopeful look.

However, just as Jay was about to answer, a cold and robotic voice sounded in his mind.

{CONGRATULATIONS TO UNIVERSE 771. ENERGY LEVEL HAVE REACHED MINIMAL THRESHOLD. INTEGRATION WITHIN THE SYSTEM APPROVED. NOW COMMENCING ASCENSION.}

{INITIATING COUNTDOWN 10….9….8…}

When he heard the sudden voice, Jay was greatly startled. Anyone would be if they suddenly heard a creepy voice in their head.

“Am I so tired that I start hearing things.” Jay couldn’t help but ask himself. At first, he thought it was his mind playing a trick on him, but when he looked at Oliver and saw his expression, Jay understood that the matter wasn't that simple and he was not the only one who heard the voice.

{….5..}

“You heard it too, right?” Oliver asked Jay when he saw his cautious expression and how he was warily looking around the now silent stadium.

{....1..} 

{….0..}

“Yes……” was the only thing Jay could tell before he was assaulted by an intense wave of tiredness and almost fainted on the spot. Startled, he tried his best to stay awake. Still, his struggles proved to be useless as all he could do was watch everyone around him collapse before everything went black for him too.