The coffee in William's hand was vibrating.
It started as a faint tremor, then the pavement under his boots began to hum. In the middle of Times Square, the usual roar of traffic and tourists just... stopped. People froze, looking at their phones, then up at the sky.
"What is that?" someone yelled.
William looked up. A massive blue screen was projected against the smoggy New York sky. It looked like a digital glitch, but it was too sharp.
[Initiating Planetary Integration...]
[Countdown to Descent: 100 Seconds.]
"A movie promo?" a guy in a suit nearby muttered, holding up his phone to record. "Is this for that new Marvel flick?"
William felt a cold sweat prickle his neck. He wasn't an optimist. He survived by assuming the worst was always about to happen. The air suddenly tasted like copper—the smell of a subway rail after a train sparks. Static electricity made the hair on his arms stand up.
This isn't a prank, William thought. His heart started to thud. He gripped his coffee cup so hard the lid popped off, splashing his hand with lukewarm liquid. He didn't even flinch.
80 Seconds.
The giant digital ads for Disney and Coca-Cola flickered and died. They were replaced by the same blue text. Every phone in the square started screaming—a shrill, emergency broadcast tone that wouldn't stop.
"Is it a nuke? Oh god, is it a nuke?" a woman screamed.
William's brain was misfiring. Is this a dream? Did I pass out on the 4-train? He pinched the bridge of his nose, hard. The pain was sharp and real. The world didn't vanish.
"Move," William muttered to himself.
60 Seconds.
The ground buckled. A yellow taxi twenty feet away was swallowed as the asphalt opened up. The sound of metal screeching and glass shattering was deafening.
"Move!" William yelled at a couple standing frozen nearby. He didn't wait for them. He turned and sprinted toward a concrete parking garage. He knew one thing: if the ground was opening, he didn't want to be under a sixty-story skyscraper made of glass.
Behind him, Times Square turned into a riot. A police cruiser swerved to avoid a falling streetlamp and slammed into a crowd. The officer jumped out, face pale, screaming into a radio that was only emitting static.
30 Seconds.
William reached the mouth of the garage. He ducked behind a thick concrete support pillar, chest heaving. He looked back out. The sky had turned a bruised purple. The countdown was a giant, burning gold number hovering in the air.
What the fuck is happening? his mind looped. What the actual fuck?
10... 9... 8...
A low, guttural roar erupted from beneath the city. It wasn't an animal; it was the sound of the earth being torn apart.
3... 2... 1... 0.
[Integration Complete.]
[Dungeon: 'The Gilded Maw' - Rank C - Opened.]
A spire of black stone and glowing blue crystal erupted from the center of Broadway. It rose hundreds of feet in seconds, shredding the street like wet paper. The shockwave shattered every window for five blocks. Glass rained down, slicing into people.
William squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his face against the cold concrete. When the rumbling stopped, a heavy silence fell, broken only by car alarms.
He opened his eyes and coughed. Dust was everywhere. A screen appeared in his direct line of vision.
[Notice: You have been drafted as a 'Challenger'.]
[Name: William | Level: 1 | Rank: F]
"Rank F?" William choked out, a hysterical laugh bubbling up. "Great. I'm trash."
He looked out from behind his pillar. Things were crawling out of the new crater. They looked like wolves made of oily black smoke, with glowing white eyes. They didn't growl; they sounded like radio static.
One of them leaped onto a crushed car where a man was trying to crawl out. It tore the man's throat out in one motion.
[Warning: First Wave 'Shadow Crawlers' have entered the zone.]
[Objective: Survive 30 minutes.]
William felt his stomach flip. If I stay here, I'm next.
He backed away from the entrance, moving deeper into the garage. He needed a weapon. He spotted a maintenance truck with its back doors open. A heavy iron crowbar lay on the floorboards.
William scrambled for it. His hands were shaking so much he dropped it twice before finally gripping the cold metal.
[Item: Iron Crowbar (Common) | Damage: 5]
"Five damage? What does that even mean?" he whispered.
A scratching sound came from the ramp above. He froze. A Shadow Crawler was standing there, locking its white eyes on him.
Please be a dream. Please wake up.
The monster hissed and charged.
William didn't stand his ground. He scrambled backward, tripped over a concrete tire stop, and fell hard on his back. The creature leaped.
William threw his arms up. The monster's weight slammed into him, smelling like burnt ozone. Its teeth snapped inches from his face.
[Shield Active: 10/10 Durability]
A faint blue shimmer appeared between him and the jaws.
"Get off!" William shrieked. He kicked out with his work boot, catching the creature in its smoky chest. It felt like kicking a bag of wet sand.
The monster rolled back. William scrambled to his feet, heart hammering. He saw a fire extinguisher on the wall. He grabbed it, pulled the pin, and sprayed the white foam into the monster's eyes.
The creature screeched, thrashing blindly.
William gripped the crowbar with both hands and jammed the pointed end into the creature's throat, pinning it to the floor. He leaned his whole weight on it.
"Die! Just die!"
The monster thrashed, then popped into a cloud of grey ash.
[You have defeated 'Shadow Crawler' (Level 1).]
[Level Up! Level 1 -> 2]
William slumped against the wall, gasping. His hands were vibrating. He looked at the ash, then the blood on his shirt.
"This is real," he whispered. "The world is gone."
He looked at his stats. He had one point.
"Agility," he said. "I need to be able to run."
Outside, a massive explosion shook the garage. The military was here, and the screaming was getting louder. William gripped his crowbar and looked for a dark corner to hide in. He didn't want to be a hero. He just wanted to see tomorrow.