I walk through the front door of my apartment. THe first room you enter is the living room. Nothing really big, but I like it. If you walk straight through, you end up in the kitchen, go to the right, and there’s the bathroom, keep straight and you’re in the bedroom. It’s kept pretty clean here. My girlfriend lives here with me, and when she’s not at school, she’s either here or with her friends. Me? I work. I do any job that pays the most, whether it's mechanic work, or construction. Right now, I’m sticking with my construction job. Usually it's 9-5 every day, but today was friday and the boss was in a good mood and sent us all home early. I had already texted my girl to see if she was home, but didn't let her know I was coming home though. I wanted to surprise her. I stopped by a Walmart on the way and grabbed a bouquet of roses, not those cheap fake ones, I got that real expensive shit. But would you know it? When I first walked through the door, you know what I smelled? Sex, hot and horny sex. I’ve come home a few times and fond her playing with herself, which would lead to some really great sex afterwards. But no, this is different. And then it came, the loud moans that were definitely hers. I walked through the living and through the kitchen, into the bedroom. And then I wake up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's coming!"

"Are the preparations ready?"

"Yes, Lord."

"Allah and Siddhartha ready?"

"Yes, Lord."

"What about old man Brahman? And my two sons?"

"Lord Yahweh, there's nothing to worry about. All preparations have been made. When the Anomaly hits, it'll power up the system and the energy transfer will start. Why do you look so concerned, my Lord?"

"Gabriel, take of my flock for me."

"Of course my Lord."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions heard around the world. A force so great, it shattered windows, uprooted trees, the damage around the world was unimaginable, and the lives hurt or lost were uncountable. What is popularly described as the second Big Bang, was an event that preceded the Era that changed the world. The Era of the System.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the White House, the President of the United States is sitting in her chair. That ominous feeling in her gut couldn't let her sleep. So, she decided to go to the office and get a jump on tomorrow's work. Around 2 am, when Madam President was in the middle of reviewing a controversial amendment, one that if passed, would give the federal government a lot more control than the state, and would even bring in more military involvement. The left has pushed for it hard, and even brought along the right with them. It's been a while for the two sides to agree, and for them to agree on something so…...tyrannical…… She'll fight it every step of the way.

A click is heard behind her head.

"Madam President, I apologize for my rudeness, but this must be done."

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Across the world, a simple Chinese farmer and his family are taking care of the fields of rice. They aren't the only family here, the fields are huge, and there's a lot of ground to cover. It's about 3:00 in the afternoon and the sun is up high. It's hot, but the work is almost.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

It sounded as if the heavens were collapsing, the force blew back the families onto their backsides, cries of pain and shock were drowned out, and then it happened.

A blue screen popped in front of old Kang. He read the words and was filled with a sense of dread. His face went pale. Was he the only one that saw this? Is he the chosen isekei hero out of those novels he reads? Then again, he might have just hit his head too hard. Either way, he could be alone in this phenomenon. He looked around, and saw everyone still shocked and confused. Did they see it too? He didn't know, but he had to keep up pretenses in any case. He went back to work, pulling weeds. And he trips! Old Kang may not be the smartest, but he does notice when there's a lot more people falling over. He looks in confusion at the rice shoots. He wipes his eyes and looks again. They're getting bigger! Growing right before his eyes! Another hour or two pass. By now everyone notices the changes, but even with careful steps, people are still falling over.

Old man Kang continued working in that time, falling over a few times himself. He had a few notifications from the system, and everytime one came up, he smiled. He remembered all the heros who had humble beginnings and thought himself to be the next. Trapped in his reverie, it took him a few seconds to register the screams from a few rows over. He gives the guy a quick glare. It's dramatic Lee Zhang, who makes a fuss over everything. He tried to ignore him, but shouts of something like how he can't move keep finding ways into his ears. He was about to say something to him, but saw his ankles. The rice shoots have wrapped themselves around Zhang's leg! Then he started hearing other people cry and shout. People around him were getting caught like flies in a web. He stood as still as he could, and just kept watching. The more they moved, the tighter the shoots got. And came up with a plan. He started moving carefully, through the shoots. But not touching a single blade of grass in a field was a job for a man more graceful than him. One misstep led to another, and his careful plan changed into a panic fueled retreat to safety. Every plant he touches springs its trap, and just when he thinks he's made it to the end, when safety is right in sight, he falls. He screams as his body is covered in grass, as they wriggle around him, constricting him, as they find they're way into his open, screaming mouth and pull him apart from the inside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He woke up in a cold sweat. This isn't the first time he woke up. Replays of yesterday haunted his dreams. No matter how it started, they all led back to her, to that moment where his heart broke.

Figuring it's better to get up and start early than to keep waking up, he climbs out of bed and heads to the bathroom. He turns the water on, and soon steam fills the room. The man in the shower is Lloyd Angsley, a 20 year old male from South Carolina. He stands at about 5’7, with close cropped black hair and brown eyes. He had the figure of a linebacker, sturdily built with a wide frame, and while he could stand to lose a few pounds, he was relatively toned.

As the water cascades down his back, he tries not to think about what got him here, in this shabby Kansas motel. But that’s like not trying to imagine a blue elephant. The harder you try to push it down, the stronger those thoughts get.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The hotel shakes, windows bust and a gust of air plows into the room, scattering broken glass and anything not nailed down. Lyoyd was sent flying against the wall. But it only lasted for a second, and the force was gone, leaving destruction in its wake.

Glass was everywhere, a few pieces even stuck in the wall. Luckily, he only had a few cuts, but very soon he felt pain where his back slammed into the wall. That's gonna leave a mark.

He collapsed onto the ground, heart beating fast and gasping for air. He catches his breath and scrambles to his feet.

“Where’s my phone? Where is it?” He hurriedly looked around in the moonlight, only to find it cracked in a corner of a room. He looked worriedly at it, then relieved when it powered on. Whatever had happened, whatever that was, it was big. He wasn’t sure how big, but he had to call someone to see if they’re ok.

“Mom! Mom, are you there?”

“I’m sorry, but you cannot contact the person you are trying to call at this time. Please try again later.”

“Tcch, no bars, just my Goddamn luck.”

He threw his phone across the room, cracking the screen even more. He began fuming, then took a few steadying breaths to calm himself down. Lloyd was never a calm person, and stress had always amplified that. He was always prone to violent outbursts, but she always had a way of calming him down. She always said she wished he would grow up a bit afterwards. Maybe that’s why she……

Before he could rile himself up again, he took slow and measured steps to his phone, picked it up and stuffed it in his pocket.

“So phones are out, at least around here.

What the hell was that?"

PLINK

An answer arrived in the form of a blue screen.

[Greetings mortals of the world. This is a message from the God (or Gods) you believe in. You have been saved! Rejoice for you have been saved by the divine! But do not live in this delusion, as we are not clear just yet. A massive amount of energy has been released, and it is our job together to suppress it. This system will be a medium for the hard work you will put in. But fear not, your toils will be rewarded with strength beyond your wildest dreams, and one day, maybe even reaching the steps to Godhood!]

PLINK

[Would you like a tutorial, Master Lloyd?]