Chapter 1 - The End?

Screams filled the air as people ran for their lives.

Liam fell to his knees, trying to understand how things had reached this point. Just a few hours earlier, everything had been normal. It was supposed to be just another ordinary day he would spend with his family, but now, the bodies of those he loved most lay shattered on the ground. The city where he was born and raised was now in ruins. The smell of blood and smoke was all that lingered, along with distant screams and the occasional crack of gunfire.

Liam was paralyzed. The sky, now as red as blood, held nothing but monsters that could not be described even in the wildest dreams of a cosmic horror writer, alongside a colossal red portal—the origin of those abominations.

Was this the end of the world? The apocalypse so often mentioned? A divine punishment for humanity's corruption? He couldn't say. Why was he experiencing something like this? What had he done to deserve it?

In the distance, two familiar silhouettes appeared in a car—his best friend and his girlfriend. They saw Liam's pitiful state even from afar but didn't come to help. They were trying to flee the city by car—earlier that day, Liam had helped fix the same car they were now using to escape the chaos. For a moment, he felt a small sense of relief, knowing that at least someone he cared about might escape this hell. But seconds later, the car was crushed by a 15-meter-tall bipedal abomination. There were no screams, no cries for help—just the dull sound of the impact. Two more lives he valued were snuffed out as if they were nothing. At this point, there was no distinction between human lives and ants. Hundreds, thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of lives were being lost every minute, and nothing could be done to stop it.

Before he could feel sadness, pain, grief, or anything other than terror and fear, that thing raised its head and slowly turned toward Liam. He had been seen. The being, entirely black and having just snuffed out his best friend's life, smiled—a mouth filled with teeth as sharp as blades gleamed even from a distance. Liam's heart skipped a beat as the creature moved toward him, grotesquely crawling on four limbs.

Even in this situation, Liam felt a twinge of relief.

'So this is how I'm going to die?'

He thought. He had lost everything he ever loved—family, friends, everything. Nothing remained. He couldn't help but think it would be better to join those who had passed than to stay in this infernal place. Sixty, fifty, forty meters… The distance continued to shrink, just like the time he had left to endure this torment. Thirty, twenty… He closed his eyes, awaiting his end.

One… two… three… four… five… six… seven… eight… nine… ten… The sounds stopped, but nothing happened.

"...?" He opened his eyes, only to be met with an unforgettable sight. "Time… stopped?" The words escaped his lips as he observed the creature's hand extended toward him but frozen in time. No movement, no sound. Nothing.

Even shaken, Liam got to his feet. His legs were weak, and his mind was heavy, still grappling with the pain of loss. But even so, everything he was feeling simply vanished, as if something had cleansed his mind.

From behind him, a voice resounded—a familiar voice, though something felt off.

"Congratulations, [Liam Edwards]. You have been selected to become an [Awakened]."

He immediately turned around, only to see a figure entirely white—its silhouette resembling that of a woman—and the voice sounded like his mother's.

"What...?" Liam mumbled, unsure if this was truly the afterlife or just the hallucination of someone on the brink of death. Even so, his mother's voice brought a pang to his heart. Just minutes ago, she had been completely torn apart by a creature that had descended from the sky, and now, he was hearing her voice once again.

The voice soon broke the silence again.

"[Liam Edwards], your life and your losses have moved the stars. You have been selected as the [One Thousand and Ninth Awakened]. From now on, you will be guided by the stars."

Those words made no sense to Liam. Stars? One thousand and ninth Awakened? What kind of nonsense was this? A joke? A nightmare that seemed never-ending? He had no answers.

Even so, he was slowly falling into his new reality. Behind him, something that could only be described as a demon straight from hell was about to claim his life, and yet, here he was, face-to-face with what seemed to be an angel made of pure light.

His hands trembled, and his mind grew heavy again. But he tried to calm himself and deal with the situation logically, despite everything happening. "What are you talking about? Awakened? Stars? What the hell is that?" he asked, but without waiting for an answer, he continued. "And my family? The city? Who are you?"

The voice remained silent for a moment before answering only one of his questions. "[Awakened], also known as [Heroes], are humans who have transcended biological barriers and achieved the first degree of transcendence with the help of the stars."

Heroes...

Figures that only appeared in myths and were treated as living legends. Could he really become one of them? Someone as insignificant as him? He, who had just lost everything, was really experiencing this?

The voice soon interrupted his dilemma.

"[Liam Edwards], the temporal stasis period will end in [5] seconds."

A chill ran down his spine. He hadn't even had time to understand what was happening, but he was already out of time—he looked behind him, and upon seeing the creature before him, a wave of fear surged again. Would he still have to face that thing?

3…

Time was running out. "W-Wait! But what about that thing!? And my family? What's happening? I need—"

"Time is up."

Time slowly resumed its flow. And now, he once again had to face reality. Or so he thought—a deafening roar erupted just before an enormous flash of yellow light burst before him—an immense explosion occurred.

Liam was thrown several meters forward by the force of the explosion, and the creature was obliterated. Excruciating pain coursed through his body as his eyelids began to grow heavy and his vision blurred.

'I won't die like this, will I?'

Liam thought. Just moments ago, he had wished to join his family, but now, with the new possibility that had appeared before him, did he still want the same?

The sky roared as Liam closed his eyes. His last sight was of a squadron of fighter jets taking down the creatures that had seemed untouchable just moments before.

•

•

•

Two Days Later, Temporary Military Hospital, Northern California. Morning.

The sound of the television filled the hospital room. Liam was unconscious in the bed. By his side, a doctor murmured inaudible words, trembling.

It wasn't long before the doctor left the room. With the sound of the door closing, Liam slowly began to regain consciousness.

"Ugh, fuck…" He looked around. "…A hospital bed…?" He murmured, as his mind raced. Was everything that had happened just a dream?

His head hurt, but he slowly focused on the only sound that could be heard in the room: the television.

"Russia uses nuclear weapons in Siberia to stop the advance of monsters."

The headline made him realize that this wasn't a dream. Two days ago, portals appeared all over the world— in the sky, on land, and at sea. There was no distinction. From these portals, aberrations never before seen or faced by humanity emerged and claimed millions of lives across the world. No one knew how these portals appeared, but one thing was certain: the things that came out of them were not from this world.

He remained silent, trying to gather his thoughts and understand what had happened. His family was already dead, and he had been saved by a "woman" made of light, who had the voice of his deceased mother. So much had happened on the same day; it was hard to digest so much information at once. Yet, the words of that being echoed in his mind.

"Awakened…" Liam murmured. If everything that happened was real, then this too should be — had he become a hero?

He didn't feel anything different about his body; everything seemed the same — or so he thought.

[??? Is watching you]

"What the hell is this!?" He shouted, before falling off the bed.

[??? Is laughing at you]

Liam stared at the two windows in front of him, in complete shock. He rubbed his eyes, not knowing if this was real or a hallucination.

[??? Forcedly opened the information window]

A new window appeared:

--------- | Stats Window | ----------

Username: Liam Edwards

Level: 1

Occupation: None.

-----------------------------------------------

Strength: 6

Agility: 5

Endurance: 5

Magic Power: 1

Talent: -

-----------------------------------------------

Liam continued staring at the window, utterly incredulous. What was happening? Game-like windows? Was all of this real?

[??? Is satisfied with your reaction]

[??? sponsored you with one Star Fragment]

'...Am I drugged?'

That was the first thought that came to his mind, and considering he was in a hospital bed, that notion didn't seem too unlikely.

Even though he was stunned, on the verge of a breakdown, both from the memories of what had happened two days ago and what was happening now, he slowly focused and began to regain his composure.

After getting up from the floor and taking a deep breath, he began to inspect the window that appeared. Levels and stats — information that would only appear in games otherwise. The more he thought about it, the harder it was to believe, but compared to what he had gone through, it didn't seem as impactful.

[??? Is curious about what you're thinking]

As Liam continued to focus on the window that kept appearing, he tried to figure out who was watching him, as stated by the window. And he quickly came to a conclusion.

"…You're… God?"

[??? is in disbelief at your question]

[??? burst out laughing at your ignorance]

Liam stared at the windows with a mix of confusion and embarrassment. He had his answer, even if not in the way he had hoped.

The words of that being returned to his mind once again: "stars" — Liam looked at the windows again and asked a new question.

"Are you… a star?"

A brief silence followed the question.

[??? nodded]

Still shaken, Liam sat on the edge of the bed. Looking to the side, he once again saw the television.

"Southern Africa overrun by monsters; a coalition of European and Asian powers forms to reclaim lost territory. One hundred million casualties in just two days."

At this point, what was happening out there? How did he end up in this place? Who rescued him? What are these things? So many questions arose at once, but there was no one to answer them.

The door to the room opened, and a nurse entered. The windows closed.

"Oh, you're awake!"

Liam raised his eyes to the woman, who was carrying two infusion bags.

The nurse slowly approached him. "How are you feeling?"

Liam ignored the question and asked his own. "…Where am I?"

"You don't need to worry, you're safe here. Those things won't hurt you here. A group of soldiers found you unconscious next to the remains of a monster." She added, "We believe you were hit by a missile fired at it while they were retaking control of the city…"

Though Liam was certain no one from his family had survived that day, he still felt compelled to ask. "Did you… find anyone else besides me?"

The nurse was silent for a moment. "Not that I know of… Are you looking for someone in particular?"

As expected, they really had died. "No…" A long silence followed, the pain of the loss finally beginning to hit him.

"Are you sure you're okay? You've been unconscious for two days…!" Seeing Liam's silence, she slowly changed her posture, realizing what had happened. "I don't know what happened to you, but I'm sure whoever you're looking for is fine. Don't focus on that now." She sat beside him on the bed.

"It's nothing…" Liam got up and, after partially recovering from the shock, changed focus. "Well, is there somewhere to eat here? What's happening out there?"

The nurse smiled. "Are you sure you're in a condition to leave the bed?"

"Yes. I feel completely revitalized, don't worry."

She was slightly reluctant to let him walk around without being sure of his condition, but at the same time, she couldn't refuse the request of someone who had gone through hell. "Alright! You can follow me, I'll take you to the cafeteria." She got up and left the room. Liam didn't waste any time following her.

On the way, they passed by many occupied hospital rooms. Civilians and soldiers. There were easily dozens, if not hundreds, of injured people — some missing parts of their bodies, others with massive wounds — marks of a battle that would forever be etched in their memories. Through the windows, Liam could see various military vehicles parked, some intact, others with visible battle damage.

When they arrived at the cafeteria, the nurse offered to get him something to eat. Liam gladly accepted and sat at one of the tables. At the other tables, groups of soldiers were eating — all tense, as if at any moment something might appear and they'd have to fight — something that didn't seem impossible, seeing the state of the world outside. Chaos and destruction everywhere, except for a few cities that managed to protect themselves.

The nurse returned, carrying a tray with food: rice, meat, and an apple — she placed it in front of Liam and sat down.

"You can help yourself." She said.

He nodded and began to eat.

After a few seconds, the nurse spoke again. "So… what's your name?"

Liam raised his head and raised an eyebrow. "…You brought me here without knowing?"

"…You know how it is… It's a bit hard to identify an unconscious person in a war zone."

"…Liam. That's my name."

"Thanks, by the way, my name is Lucy. Can I ask you a few questions?" She added. "I still need to know how you're doing."

"Feel free."

The nurse smiled. "Alright ^^, are you feeling anything different?" She paused briefly before continuing. "It can be physically or mentally, has anything changed? Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?"

"No, I'm perfectly fine."

"That's strange, I'm sure you were injured when you got here…" She stood up and sat next to him. "Can you excuse me?"

Without stopping eating, Liam responded. "…? I guess so, what are you going to do?"

"Don't worry." The nurse slid her hands under Liam's shirt and lifted it. His torso was completely bandaged — the explosion had left him severely injured.

Liam's eyes widened as he saw the bandages. "Cough cough, wait, what is this!?" He almost choked on the food.

The nurse began sliding her hand over the bandage on his abdomen. "Do you feel anything?" She asked.

Even though he was shocked, he immediately responded. "I don't feel anything, what happened to me!? Why am I bandaged??"

The nurse began unwrapping Liam's body, only to be confronted with an unexpected sight at the end. "W-Wait…! What!?" The wounds were gone. No burns or scars, no sign of the injuries that had been there.

"No, I'm sure they were here!" She ran her hand over Liam's abdomen, almost desperately. Nothing abnormal.

"COUGH COUGH" A soldier at the nearby table coughed, drawing their attention. "You two mind stopping that? We're in the middle of a hospital cafeteria, in case you haven't noticed…"

The nurse looked at her hand for a moment and quickly pulled it back, embarrassed. "Erm, sorry about that… That wasn't appropriate."

[??? raised his eyebrow]

The window opened again in front of Liam. He quickly turned his gaze to the nurse — it was clear she couldn't see the window.

'Only I can see this…?'

Liam pondered for a moment, before letting that thought go and responding to the nurse.

"Ah, don't worry about that. I don't mind. Anyway, I've finished eating."

"Ah, great. Erm… Can you follow me to the doctor's office? I think you'll need some tests…"

Liam remained silent for a moment, but in the end, he accepted. After all, he wasn't completely sure about his condition either.

As soon as they reached the doctor's office, Lucy knocked on the door — a man in his fifties opened it, looked at Liam for a moment, then turned his gaze to Lucy and invited them in.

Inside, Liam sat in front of his desk, while Lucy explained the situation to the doctor. It didn't take long before he checked Liam and confirmed the same thing — the wounds were gone, no scars, marks, absolutely nothing. Almost like nothing had ever happened. But, of course, this left the doctor stunned — he himself had checked Liam's wounds when he arrived at the hospital; there was no way something like that could disappear without a trace in just two days.

As soon as the doctor checked Liam, he slumped into his chair, completely in disbelief. In his more than 20 years of experience, he had never seen a case like this, especially with such a large wound—two days ago, Liam had arrived with burns and shrapnel from the explosion in his body, but now, there was no sign of them.

He stared at Liam for a moment before asking him a question.

"...Are you sure you're the same person I treated two days ago...?" The doctor looked deep into Liam's eyes, clearly confused. "You're not some kind of evil twin of his, are you? This doesn't make any sense..."

"Well, I think so... I was unconscious until earlier today, so I can't be sure, haha... But if I may say, considering what's happening outside, someone magically healing shouldn't be such a big surprise."

"...I guess you're right, but I don't think it's that simple, I need to put you under monitoring. For now, I need you to get an X-ray. You might be fine on the outside, but we don't know what's going on inside." The doctor quickly signed a requisition and handed it to Lucy.

"Bring the papers with the results as soon as you're done, please."

Lucy nodded and gestured for Liam to follow her.

Inside, Lucy handed the requisition to the professional responsible for the X-ray—in no time, they were once again in front of the doctor. And, as expected, there was no abnormality.

"Hm, looks like you were right... The world really isn't the same anymore, I think I should retire before my 15 years of study become useless, haha... You seem healthy, but I'll still keep you under medical observation for a few days, don't worry about it for now. You're free to go."

"Alright, thank you very much." Liam replied, before leaving the room with the nurse.

"That was quick..." Lucy murmured.

As they walked down the hall, Liam remembered an important detail. "Hey, do you have my phone? Is it still in one piece?" He turned to the nurse.

She stopped. "Your phone? I'm not sure, but I can ask someone. Do you want it?"

"Well, yes... Is the internet working?" Liam crossed his arms.

"Luckily, yes, haha... But most of the app servers aren't functioning properly, with this chaos happening outside, saying we're on the verge of an economic collapse would be an understatement..."

"Hm, well, it's surprising that they're still working. Can you check if my phone is here? I still remember the way to my room." Liam smiled.

Reluctantly, Lucy agreed and said her goodbyes. Liam waved with a smile as she walked away and soon returned to his room.

As soon as he closed the door, he immediately looked up and asked a question. "...Are you still there?"

[??? nodded]

He wasn't sure if this would do any good, but he still intended to gather as much information as possible about what was happening outside.

Liam stayed silent for a moment before swallowing nervously and gathering his resolve to continue.

[??? is interested in what you are going to say next]

To be continued in the next chapter!