The massacre hadn't even ended when the air rippled again.
A glowing screen burst into existence above the plaza, projecting words in every direction:
[Dimensional Broadcast Activated.]
For a moment, silence fell. Then came the voices.
Billions of voices.
"Who's the black-haired guy punching monsters?"
"Oh my god, is this Earth's first scenario?"
"Weaklings, all of them. My dimension cleared this tutorial in ten minutes."
The plaza filled not just with blood and screams—but with commentary. A cosmic livestream.
And at the center of it all was a new voice, bright and playful:
"Helloooooo, viewers from across dimensions! This is Mirae, your favorite commentator of blood, tears, and questionable life choices! Today we're watching Earth's First Scenario: The Prologue of Survival!"
✦
I blinked up at the glowing screen. A young woman's face beamed back—short hair dyed electric blue, eyes sparkling like she was born to be on camera.
She winked. "And what do we have here? Ooooh, interesting! Kael Arathis, already titled Hero of the First Hour. Textbook protagonist energy. Bet's stacking high on him already, folks."
The crowd around Kael roared at her words, feeding off the attention.
Kael didn't flinch. He just kept fighting, focused, efficient, terrifying.
Then Mirae's gaze slid—directly onto me.
"And what's this? What's this?? Someone else got a Title already?!"
Her grin widened. "The Lone Quill. Ohhh, mysterious. Viewers, can we talk about this? Survives alone, writes his own path… spooky! A god's favorite, perhaps?"
✦
The survivors turned toward me again. Murmurs spread like wildfire.
"That guy? The one with the dagger?""What does a quill even mean in a fight?""But he killed one earlier, I saw it!"
My face burned. I wanted to melt into the concrete.
Meanwhile, Mirae cackled. "Ooooh, he's blushing! Look at him, viewers! Someone screenshot that."
I hissed under my breath. "Kill me now."
The system, unhelpfully, replied with a new line:
[The gods are laughing at your embarrassment.]
I groaned. "Of course they are."
✦
Kael finally turned, eyes narrowing at me. The cheers, the whispers, the attention—it was supposed to be his.
Our gazes met across the chaos.
"You're in my way," he said flatly.
I gripped my pen-blade tighter, forcing a smirk. "Correction: I'm rewriting the way."
His jaw tightened.
✦
Mirae squealed like she'd just been handed free popcorn.
"Ohoho! Viewers, did you hear that? Spicy rivalry incoming! Hero vs. Quill, who ya betting on?"
The dimensional chat exploded with wagers.
"Kael all the way. Guy's a monster."
"Nah, I like the quill dude. He's funny."
"Funny doesn't survive scenarios, idiot."
"Shut up, I'm shipping them already."
✦
The system chimed again:
[First Hour, 15 minutes remaining.]
The ground cracked. A deeper roar shook the plaza.
Mirae's grin widened. "Aaaand here it comes, viewers! The Boss of the First Hour! Place your bets now!"
The survivors screamed, clustering behind Kael.
And me?
I looked down at my glowing pen-dagger. It pulsed like it was alive, whispering for me to write.
Mirae's voice rang in my ears, sing-song.
"And don't look away, folks. Because something tells me our little Lone Quill might just surprise us."