Chapter 2 — Yet Again, Earthlings Are Chosen
"What's going on?"
Click! Click!
"Hello, this is TV69. You are watching this live—a red eye…"
A middle-aged woman shouted nervously, gripping a microphone with her right hand while pointing at the ominous eye in the sky.
The cameraman focused on her, then tilted the lens upward to capture the impossible sight.
This scene repeated across the globe.
News channels interrupted broadcasts. Streamers went live. Cameras pointed skyward from every continent, recording the same nightmare.
---
Crowds gathered outside the restaurant as Rajesh stood frozen among them.
'No, no…My restaurant finally started growing.'
He wasn't unfamiliar with fantasy novels, and that familiarity terrified him.
"No isekai. No apocalypse. Please....I just want a normal life. I just want to build my restaurant."
Click!
Somewhere nearby, people took selfies with the eye looming above them.
"Is it a government prank?"
"The government is busy passing bills to legally rob the middle class."
"So what is it, then?"
"It's China!!"
"…"
"…"
Minutes passed.
The eye's lid twitched. Veins bulged, pulsing ominously.
'Are they idiots?' The Time God observed silently.
'After witnessing countless reincarnated heroes, demon gods, and world-saving technologies… '
A faint pulse rippled through the crimson eye.
"Hm. Hm."
"Hey!" a child shouted, eyes sparkling as he stretched his arms upward.
"Are you the USA's new weapon?"
"Tom!" an elderly man barked, smacking the boy's head.
"America isn't centuries ahead of us. That's why I told you not to skip school!"
"Ow! Grandpa, I hate you!" the boy cried.
The eye pulsed violently.
"Silence, Earthlings."
The voice boomed.
"Gravity enhancement—times two."
Thud!
Thud!
Crack! Crack!
"Ahhh! My legs! My legs!" Tom screamed.
His bones bent backward as the pressure crushed him into the ground.
"My hand—ahhhhh!"
"Vikram… are you… fine…?"
"…"
Screams filled the air.
Bodies slammed into the earth. Some snapped instantly. Others bled out where they lay.
No one remained unharmed.
Buildings collapsed. Glass shattered. Skyscrapers cracked like brittle toys.
Cities across the world crumbled.
---
Damn it…
Ganesh lay impaled beneath the ruined restaurant, suspended inches above the floor.
A chandelier… of all things.
Its jagged frame pierced his abdomen, protruding from his back.
Pain burned through him, sharp and relentless.
"I should've run instead of finishing the food…But at least… at least I had one last happy meal." He muttered slowly as his vision dimmed.
He remembered scrambling to eat faster after hearing the Time God's voice—then the gravity spell struck.
The ceiling fell.
Darkness followed.
---
"Silence."
The Time God's voice rang out once more.
The screams died.
This time, Earth listened.
"Earthlings aged twelve to sixty will be taken to another world," the voice declared.
"You will reincarnate and be placed in individual time loops."
The eye paused, scanning the planet.
"Those who break free through their own power and pass the trials shall inherit my authority."
A moment later...
"But do not despair. You will be given a system."
"…Rejoice."
---
Ganesh drifted in nothingness.
'That's it? No explanation? No mercy?' he thought indignantly while looking around.
All he found was nothingness and the black void, no human or insect to spot.
He understood that he'd died! But somehow, he was able to hear the words of Time God.
'Looks like I am not disqualified from his trials. I have to save my family and help them out in the new world,' He quickly planned his future.
---
Earth...
"And know this," the voice continued.
"No one will lend you a hand in the new world."
"You will begin alone."
"Interdimensional Teleportation."
Light swallowed the world.
Earthlings aged twelve to sixty—alive or dead—found themselves restored within separate voids.
Each stood alone.
No one saw another.
"I hope you grow strong enough," the Time God murmured.
Gravity returned to Earth.
Debris turned to dust.
The eye lingered.
"Revive."
Golden light erupted like a second sun.
Children and elders across Earth gasped as wounds vanished. Bones reset. Death retreated.
"Tom! Tom!" the old man cried, clutching his grandson.
He didn't dare touch the boy's legs.
Light descended.
Tom stirred.
"Gran-dpa…" he muttered.
The old man laughed and cried at once.
"My eyes!" he exclaimed suddenly, ripping off his glasses.
They shattered on the ground.
He stared at them—then away.
They had been his son's gift.
---
"Where are Mom and Dad?" Tom asked later, staring at the empty house.
The old man swallowed hard.
"They went to buy gifts," he said weakly.
"They'll be back in a few days."
"Then why are you crying, Grandpa?" Tom asked innocently.
The old man couldn't answer.
Across Earth, the same scene repeated.
Families gone.
Children waiting.
The Time God closed his eye.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
"This is the only way."
And then—
The eye cracked.
"Be careful of th—"
The warning cut short.
The Time God turned to dust.
----
Days passed.
Pain never returned.
Elders worked with young bodies due to Time God's revive spell power.
Cities rebuilt.
Life continued—scarred, altered.
End of Chapter 2
End of the Prologue.
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