The Sloth’s Warning (Expanded)

31 | 12 | 20##

Due to the rapid increase of human activities and the heat trapped within Earth's atmosphere, Antarctica began to melt at an alarming rate—exceeding 150 billion tons per year.

With the ice caps' collapse, ancient viruses long frozen beneath the surface were released into the environment, triggering a worldwide pandemic.

Symptoms:

Fever reaching 49°C

Blue nosebleed

Within months, 100% of the population was affected.

30% perished before their bodies could adapt to the virus.

19% were slaughtered by corrupted mutants.

9% died at the hands of their own kind, chaos consuming the world.

Only 42% survived—divided into mutants and non-mutants.

12% of those survivors were mutants, awakening abilities that defied human logic.

Elliot exhaled slowly, his grip tightening around the book's edges.

The words felt too real, like something lodged deep in his memory rather than just ink on paper. He flipped the page, expecting more details about the virus. Instead, what greeted him was something entirely different.

---

Crystals—The Evolution of Power

"Within the ruins of a collapsing world, remnants of a force beyond human understanding emerged—crystals."

Crystals formed within the bodies of powerful mutants, enhancing abilities, stamina, and survival rates.

Low-grade crystals provided temporary boosts.

Mid-grade crystals refined abilities permanently.

High-grade crystals granted near-limitless power but had unknown side effects.

The world had turned into something out of a dystopian nightmare. Mutants, zombie-mutants, and desperate survivors fought for these crystals, treating them as the new currency of power.

Before Elliot could process it, his ears started ringing.

A sharp, high-pitched frequency pulsed through his skull, drowning out his thoughts. He clutched his head, groaning.

Then—

Ding!

A screen flickered into existence before him, glitching as if it were struggling to load.

[ Welcome, Host. ]

[ Initializing System 0092… ]

[ Loading personality module… ]

The text flickered. Then, a slow, lazy voice sighed in his mind.

[ "Ugh… why did you wake me up? Do you know how nice my nap was?" ]

Elliot blinked, deadpan. "Excuse me?"

[ "Wait. Who are you? Where's my last host? Did they finally die?" ]

Elliot stared at the floating text. "What kind of messed-up customer service is this?"

[ "Ugh. Another talker. Great." ]

Elliot crossed his arms. "Oh, don't worry, I'll do more than talk. You're about to get the worst Yelp review of your life."

[ "I can already tell you're going to be a pain."]

Elliot smirked. "Fantastic. Now, tell me why there's a system in my head before I start charging rent."

[ "Tch. Fine. Listen up, porcelain boy, I'm System 0092, but calling me 'System' is boring. You can just—eh, actually, I don't care. Call me whatever. Just don't call me too often." ]

Elliot arched a brow. "Oh, you'll be hearing from me. I'm going to annoy you on purpose now."

The system groaned like a student who just realized they had homework.

[ "Great. My worst nightmare came true. I got assigned to a loud one." ]

Elliot ignored it, rubbing his temple. His ears were still ringing slightly, but more than that—something about this didn't sit right.

A system. Just appearing in his head.

"Alright, System or whatever—you clearly have something to say. So, why am I here?"

The screen flickered. The system was silent for a second. Then—

[ "Oh. Ohhh. That's bad." ]

Elliot stilled.

"...What's bad?"

[ "You." ]

Elliot frowned. "Excuse me?"

[ "Yeah, um. Hoo boy. So… you're not supposed to be here." ]

A chill ran down Elliot's spine.

The system sighed.

[ "You're an error. A bug. Something that shouldn't exist." ]

Elliot clenched his jaw. "You're going to need to elaborate real fast before I start deleting you myself."

[ "Ehhh, about that. Not my fault, don't shoot the messenger. But, uh… the Master System? Yeah.." ]

Silence.

Elliot inhaled sharply. "...huh?"

[ "Welp. Guess I should say nice knowing you. Oh wait—you weren't supposed to exist in the first place. Oops." ]

Before Elliot could react, the world around him blurred.

And then—

Darkness.