Living in Evolto

Random person Point of View

The terminal flickered as I booted it up for the day. The sleek, dark screen pulsed for a moment before the standard interface appeared lists of available contracts, pending assignments, and mission requests stacked in a neat, endless stream of data. Another day in Evolto City, another mind-numbing cycle of paperwork, signatures, and last-minute mission changes.

I stifled a yawn and leaned back in my chair, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. The office wasn't much just a reinforced counter, a couple of chairs for waiting mercenaries, and the ever-present hum of the central AI assisting me with the sheer volume of requests. The walls were adorned with outdated posters of legendary mission-takers, but I was too tired to care about any of them. I had counted the hours left until my shift ended before I even walked in.

"Morning," I muttered, though I didn't expect a response. The job was simple: sign people up, assign missions, and process any requests from the higher-ups. Simple, but gods, was it draining.

Then a kid walked in a new recruit, freshly accepted into Evolto City. He strode in with an arrogant swagger, exuding the overconfidence I had seen far too many times before. The kind that thought just being here made them special.

"Hey, old man, I wanna sign up," he said, smirking like he was doing me a favor.

I let out a tired sigh. Here we go again. Without a word, I handed him a registration form. He frowned at it like I'd just insulted him.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Protocol," I replied, deadpan.

He grumbled but took a seat and started filling it out. A few minutes later, he handed it back. Name, age, abilities all the usual stuff. Then I saw it: in the section asking if he had a system, he had checked 'No.'

I glanced at him. "Biometric scan. Now."

The kid looked at me, confused, then scoffed. "What, you don't trust me?"

I just pointed at the scanner. "Mandatory for all applicants."

With a roll of his eyes, he stepped up and placed his hand on the pad. The machine hummed, the screen flickered, and then

SYSTEM DETECTED.

I immediately looked at him. His smirk faltered for just a second, but he quickly recovered. "Must be a mistake," he said, a little too casually.

I crossed my arms. "Try again."

The second scan returned the same result. SYSTEM DETECTED. The kid still denied it, still acted like the scanner was wrong. But I had dealt with enough liars to know when someone was stalling. After a few more minutes of back-and-forth, his bravado finally cracked.

"Fine," he muttered, barely audible. "Yeah, I got a system."

I exhaled sharply. "You realize it's illegal to be an unregistered system holder, right?"

He stiffened. I could tell he hadn't thought that far ahead.

I pulled up my terminal. "I'll need to scan it and register you. Standard procedure."

The kid hesitated but eventually nodded. I initiated the scan, watching the data flood in. At first, it seemed like any other system the same dull interface, the same basic features. I had seen countless variations, from stat-boosting systems to RPG-style progression, even systems designed to groom users into successors of ancient beings.

But then I dug deeper.

And what I found made my blood run cold.

This system wasn't designed to help him. It was designed to use him. Every upgrade, every enhancement it was all leading toward a singular purpose. The moment his body reached its peak, the system would erase his mind, destroy his soul, and allow the being that created it to take over.

A perfect, seamless possession.

I clenched my jaw. This wasn't unheard of. Sealed outer gods, vengeful demons, ancient horrors they all had their ways of clawing back into reality. And turning unsuspecting fools into skin suits was one of their favorite methods.

I looked up at the kid. He was still watching me, oblivious to what I had just uncovered.

Great. Just what I needed. Another damn problem to deal with.

As I scrolled through the so-called 'rewards' offered by the system, my irritation grew. A sword that breaks molecular bonds? Please. I'd seen someone with the same ability, but on a butter knife. In some backwater universe, maybe this would be considered overpowered, but here? Here, it was laughable.

I narrowed my eyes at the screen. "Alright," I muttered under my breath. "Who the hell designed this thing?"

With a sigh, I pulled up the transfer request and sent him to the department responsible for registering system holders. But before finalizing the request, I attached a note one that detailed the true nature of the system buried beneath its surface-level enhancements. If the higher-ups had any sense, they'd handle this carefully. Because if this kid's system activated at full capacity…

It wouldn't just be his problem. It would be everyone's.

After that it continues the monotonous moments of course there's the interesting moments like when a group of dendrites came in to report their finished mission and I ask have they brought anything from the universe and they showed me some stuff like seeds but then one of them brought out a vial containing something in it they aid it was a disease that seems to effect many species and I said so what your saying si you brought in a dangerous biohazard into the city with the only thing keeping it contained is the hope the vial it is in doesn't break they said yes I let out a sigh and told them to place it in the box to my right it will be sent to the medical department

As my shift ended, I stepped outside, stretching as the night crew arrived to take my place. I exhaled, watching the artificial lights flicker across the towering skyline. What am I doing with my life? I was only 10,000 years old still young by most standards but already stuck in this cycle.

I pulled out my earphones and played "Starlit Descent" by Nyx Voidwalker, letting the familiar lyrics wash over me.

"Drifting through the endless dark, chasing echoes of who we are..."

I walked through the city, gazing up at the galaxies sprawled across the sky. Evolto City massive, spanning the entirety of the Milky Way, an eternal metropolis where every sector was bathed in endless night.

At least there was something to look forward to. In two months, the Zenith Games would begin the greatest competition in the multiverse, where warriors, tacticians, and athletes from countless realities clashed in trials of strength, skill, and strategy. I had already secured time off for it.

Reaching my home, I unlocked the door, stepped inside, and locked it behind me. Without wasting time, I dropped into my chair, booted up my computer, and launched Void Crusade Online. Time to grind.

Hours blurred together as I fought, traded, and strategized, pushing through the game's toughest challenges. And finally after what felt like an eternity I obtained Abyss Requiem, the most overpowered weapon in the game.

I leaned back, satisfied. "Man, I can't wait until I'm 100,000 years old and can finally retire..."

A quick glance at the time told me I had exactly one hour of sleep left. Great.

Dragging myself to bed, I collapsed onto the mattress, embracing the fleeting rest. As my consciousness faded, distant explosions echoed through the city just another night in Evolto City.

Meanwhile at ten location of the explosion

Randon Exo-Knight's POV

"My brothers, run!" Jerry shouted his last words before the eldritch beast's massive jaws snapped shut around him.

Why can't we ever have a normal day?

The kid who was supposed to become a registered system holder had mutated into an eldritch god by his own damn system. Now, instead of filling out paperwork and moving on with my shift, I was watching my squad get torn apart like we were nothing.

I ducked behind a crumbling wall, breathing heavily, my armor dented and stained with ichor. My grip tightened around three Aether Disruptor Grenades unstable, high-yield explosives designed to break through dimensional anomalies. Not exactly regulation issue, but desperate times.

I just wanted a routine patrol, maybe grab a coffee, then meet the kid I was planning to adopt. Was that too much to ask?

Another bloodcurdling scream rang out as one of my brothers was ripped in half, his reinforced plating doing nothing against the ever-shifting tendrils of the abomination.

I exhaled sharply. "Alright... screw it."

I primed the grenades, whispered a quick prayer to whatever higher power hadn't abandoned us yet, and sprinted out of cover.

I hurled the Aether Disruptor Grenades at the eldritch beast, the explosion stunning it long enough for me to take a breath. Before it could recover, a deafening WAAAAAAGH! split the air as Yariam charged in, full force, like a rampaging bull. He smashed into the beast with a roar, his fists pounding its writhing mass of tentacles.

Taking my chance, I drew my blade and began hacking away at one of its many limbs. Every strike was a gamble if I didn't make enough of a dent before my squad mate charged up the Voidcleaver, we'd be done for.

Why the hell did I become an Exo-Knight? I had been the best student in Chronomancy at Evolto University, top of my class. I could have gone on to research, lead teams, uncover the deepest mysteries of time itself... yet here I was, in the thick of it, fighting nightmarish abominations.

"Brother Yariam, MOVE!" someone shouted, and I leapt away just in time as the beast swung a massive tentacle, narrowly missing me. Yariam did the same, his massive frame sliding back as the Voidcleaver powered up in the hands of our squad mate.

A pulse of energy surged from the weapon, and with one devastating blow, the Voidcleaver sliced through the beast's core. The eldritch god shrieked, collapsing into itself as its form disintegrated, leaving behind a putrid mess of otherworldly goo.

"FUCK YEAH!" my squad mate cheered, breathing heavily as they dropped the weapon, now glowing a faint crimson from the destruction. I took a quick glance at the battlefield the damage was catastrophic. Another fight, another mountain of paperwork.

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. The last thing I needed right now was more bureaucracy.

Pulling out my comms device, I called the agent from Evolto's Child Protection Services. "Hey, I need to change the schedule. "

The agent's voice crackled through the line, "The kid was really looking forward to it. They were so excited..."

A pang of guilt washed over me. "Yeah, I know. I'll make it up to them later."

I stared at the wreckage and then muttered, "I need a room to cry alone... and a drink."

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the Chronostone the precious relic that had helped me so many times before. I activated it, feeling the soft, familiar warmth as time began to unravel. The damage was reversed, the destruction undone, though the vibrant glow of the stone dimmed as it finished its work.

Another day in Evolto, I thought, as I tucked the stone away. Another godforsaken day.