[2027 – Earth, Human Empire, somewhere in Tokyo, Japan]
Earth had changed.
Over the past year, there had been increasing reports of strange creatures appearing all over the globe—in forests, city streets, even malls. Giant wolves seen prowling on congested highways. Floating jellyfish with glowing cores drifting through alleyways. Creatures that defied logic and biology, leaving destruction and confusion in their wake.
At first, people thought it was just viral marketing or AI-generated hoaxes. But the footage kept coming, and the incidents got harder to ignore. Governments tried to keep things quiet. Experts argued on talk shows. Social media called it a meme.
Aasal Hayes didn't care.
Even if it was true, it had nothing to do with him.
He had already dropped out of high school two months ago. Now he worked part-time at a convenience store near his apartment—and even that was temporary. With automation replacing most entry-level workers, he was on borrowed time. The new self-checkout machines had already taken half his hours. Soon, they wouldn't need him at all.
People assumed he was dumb. Another dropout wasting away behind a counter. But that couldn't be further from the truth.
Aasal had been a genius—tested, proven, and praised until he wasn't. The kind of student teachers would brag about. The kind of student everyone expected to go far. Until it all became noise. The praise, the pressure, the endless expectations—it crushed whatever interest he had left.
Now, he shelved instant noodles for minimum wage.
His neighborhood in Tokyo was cramped but functional—a blend of old apartment blocks and vending machines on every corner, with a convenience store squeezed between a laundromat and a karaoke parlor. Neon lights buzzed overhead, and the streets never quite went silent, even late at night. After his shift, Aasal would usually trudge home past flickering crosswalk signs, ignoring the hum of distant chatter or the occasional drunk salaryman weaving down the sidewalk.
"Hey, dumbass! I said no onions!"
Aasal blinked back to reality as a red-faced customer slammed his half-eaten sandwich onto the counter.
"I'm allergic, you idiot! What are you trying to do, kill me?!"
"Sir, that sandwich is clearly labeled. You picked it out yourself," Aasal said without emotion, barely looking up from his stool.
"Don't get smart with me! Where's your manager?!"
Aasal pressed the button behind the counter.
A minute later, his manager—a balding, permanently annoyed man named Mr. John—stormed in.
"What did you do this time, Hayes?"
"I didn't make the sandwich. He picked it up himself."
"You know you're supposed to double-check allergy labels! You lazy piece of sh..." he takes a breath "just apologize."
Aasal looked at both men. Then forced the most lifeless apology ever uttered:
"Sorry you can't read."
Mr. John sighed. The customer stormed out. Aasal went back to pretending to rearrange gum packets.
He clocked out just after 10 p.m., grabbing a discounted bento from the clearance fridge on his way out. The walk home was uneventful. His neighborhood at night was dimly lit but always alive—neon reflections shimmered in puddles, and the low rumble of passing trains echoed between narrow buildings. He passed a pair of high schoolers laughing over their phones, an old woman watering plants outside a convenience store, and a man in a suit passed out near a vending machine. None of it surprised him.
His apartment building was five stories tall and looked older than it probably was. Paint peeling off the stair rails, mailboxes jammed with coupons, and a hallway light that hadn't worked in weeks. He unlocked the door, tossed his shoes in the corner, and microwaved his bento until it was barely warm.
No thoughts. Just muscle memory.
He dropped onto the floor, wrapped himself in his fleece blanket, and queued up some mindless show on the TV—the kind where the hosts yell at each other over food rankings. The food sat on the table, half-eaten. The TV droned on. He didn't make it past the second segment.
By 11:42 p.m., he was sprawled on the floor in a blanket cocoon, face illuminated by the dull glow of the TV. Half-eaten noodles sat forgotten on the table.
The news droned in the background:
"…and reports continue to come in regarding the sudden appearance of a massive, obelisk-like structure erupting from the Pacific Ocean. Experts believe it to be—"
He snored right through it.
Then the world changed.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
[TOWER ACCESS GRANTED: ONE TALENT SELECTED]
[TALENT: CLONE]
A glowing blue window appeared midair, silently humming beside the sleeping Aasal.
Then, with a faint shimmer of light, a second Aasal appeared in the room—same hoodie, same tangled hair, same look of eternal disappointment.
The clone blinked, then looked around.
[SELECT DIFFICULTY]
☑ Normal
☑ Hard
☑ Hell
☑ X… [WARNING: Option unstable.]
The original Aasal stirred, one eye cracking open to the glowing screen. He groaned.
"Ugh… pop-ups."
He reached lazily toward the flickering "X" in the top corner of the screen—a trained instinct born of closing thousands of tabs and ads.
Click.
[LOADING X…]
[SELECTION CONFIRMED: XfhD#2q9…]
[ERROR ERROR ERROR ERRO2# ER62# "@%$* …]
Errors and unintelligible string of characters filled the glowing screen.
[Goodluck ]
"Wait, wha—"
The room fractured. The air shimmered and shattered like glass. Reality bent inward. And just like that, Aasal Hayes vanished.
Darkness. Wind. Falling.
He screamed as he dropped through a swirling abyss of warped colors and glitchy symbols.
Then—
Stone. A ledge. His hands scrambled. Fingers caught rough stone just in time.
He dangled over a bottomless void.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
The clone sat upright.
He stared at the now-still room, the glitchy option already faded from the list.
[SELECT DIFFICULTY]
☑ Normal
☑ Hard
☑ Hell
"Sucks to be him."
[Selection Confirmed: NORMAL]
[Welcome to the Tower.]
He disappeared in a clean flash of blue light.
He reappeared somewhere else entirely—on a green hill, under a clear sky. Gentle wind rustled the grass as distant birds chirped. It was calm, far too calm. Rolling fields stretched out in every direction, dotted with strange stone markers. A soft chime echoed from the sky.
[Welcome to the Tutorial Grounds]
The clone squinted.
"Okay, this is... weirdly nice."