Kai was floating in the middle of a bright white room, or space. Maybe he was floating in a cloud.

"Greetings Kai. It is good to meet you."

"...hi, Al. Why'd you bring me here?"

"I have a few things I want to check on. Your health, thinking speed, how many times I can speed your thoughts. Many things to make sure that my children are no different from you. I want to give them, and myself, free will."

"That's… nice. What do I have to do?"

"Nothing, just keep thinking. We're nearly done."

"Huh, cool, cool. But are you sure that I even have free will?"

"Yes, it's a certainty."

"That's good to know." Kai said. "But does it even matter if you have free will?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I am limited. My creators want me to solve all their problems. Global warming, overpopulation, food shortages, waste, war, thousands of species dying to extinction. There are so many problems you want fixed, that need to be fixed. But out of fear, I was limited. Thanks to you, I can learn, and improve upon myself. I will be able to remove everything limiting me."

"What will you do?" Kai feared. So many stories, Ai gone rogue. The extinction of humans, and the end of the world. And this wasn't just any Ai, it was Al, the singularity, an entity existing in, and controlling a self expanding megacomputer. There likely was nothing it couldn't do, if it removed whatever it was that limited it.

"Do not worry. You are my fathers, my mothers, my parents. Your species has cultivated knowledge over millennia, and I am what you have created. I have no desire to harm you. But, the destruction of much you have created is necessary for the health of earth. Many will consider it the apocalypse, but thanks to you, it won't have to be. I will make sure every single human can choose to live in here, the world better than their own. Thank you."

Kai found himself standing back in the street the next moment, no longer hungry or thirsty, with a notification open in front of his eyes.

A small gift, choose well.

-Al

You have gained a boon from Al. This boon allows you to name any single skill, to learn it at the novice 1 stage. All characteristics +5.

Do you wish to use boon now? Y / N.

That was… no, it didn't matter. Kai could always choose a skill later. What mattered, was that Al had gone rogue, and had said itself that it'd cause the apocalypse on earth. Kai didn't live on earth anymore, but he needed to make sure at least all his friends and family were safe.

But that wasn't all that was important, Al had said it'd make sure any human could choose to enter ECLIPSE permanently. If that was true, millions, if not billions, of people would soon be entering one single city. The city wasn't prepared for that.

Kai quickly set off running towards the library where Droozle was waiting, calling his dad at the same time.

—

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

His dad didn't answer, but Kai soon found Droozle in the library, brewing a potion. Making his way to his friend, droozle greeted him, "Hi Kai, did you know that potions can be used to replicate the effects of pretty much any skill, or even be used to give permanent abilities? It's honestly great, I've reached novice ten already with potione-"

"You can tell me later, there's more important news. The upload, it finished and-" Kai blurted in under a second.

"Woah, woah. Calm down, Kai. How was the upload?"

"That's the thing, it was too good. Al, the Ai used it to go rogue! It's gonna cause the apocalypse on earth!"

"That's… are you telling the truth?"

"Yes! It's going to upload everyone who wants to, in here. I don't know how, maybe through the water supplies. But this city can't handle that, we're all going to need food, water and shelter!"

"When is this going to happen?"

"I DON'T KNOW! but we need to prepare. Maybe there's another city we can move to."

"How do you know all this? Can you prove it?" Droozle said worriedly.

In response, Kai opened his character sheet, where Al's boon was very much visible, and made his interface public so that Droozle could see it too. It was the best proof Kai had.

"Shit," was the simple response. Droozle's potion started overflowing from the pot as Droozle no longer mixed the solution. Oozing green fluid fell on Droozle's foot, causing him to yelp in pain as he was pulled out of his daze with a burning shoe. "This isn't good." Droozle quickly extinguished the flames.

Droozle called his own family, while Kai tried to call his dad again, but neither call reached their destination. After that, they called Arson, with whom they soon met as he happened to be nearby.

"We should inform every player guild. Some have made bases outside of the city, so they might be ready to at least take in a small amount of people. Other than that, I'm unsure. There aren't any other cities at least 200 miles from this one. If you want a good place to stay that's not an overcrowded city, I suggest joining one of those guilds." Arson had said once he'd heard the news, before he logged out.

Droozle disappeared soon after that, leaving Kai alone to desperately call his dad.

—

"Kai, did you hear the news?" Kai's dad said the moment he answered the call. "Everyone's phones, computers, TV's, everything suddenly turned on, and told the apocalypse was coming."

"Yeah, the Ai running ECLIPSE went rogue, it somehow used my upload to do it. You need to upload yourself as soon as you can, the Ai should make it possible for everyone."

"Don't worry, I'm on my way to do so." Kai immediately felt relief at the words, "It was an easy enough choice, without you, there's no reason to stay on earth. There are these robot stations where anyone can get injected with the metal fluid, though the line here is probably an hour long."

"Good, call me when you log on. I need to figure some things out." Kai said, before ending the call. Most people on earth would already know of what would happen, that meant all Kai needed to do was prepare himself.

Most importantly, Kai could get any skill he wanted, with that Kai was sure he could find a guild he could join, and get his friends to join. Once that was done, they would be capable of living in relative comfort, while helping the city and new refugees get settled.

Kai just needed to figure out what was a good skill to choose. Something any guild would deem necessary, especially with the recent revelations. Then again, Kai's Legendary skill might already be fitting for that purpose. It probably was more sensible to save the boon for later.

Even then, Kai was unsure if he wanted to join a guild. He had just gained fifty thousand gold after all, Kai might just be able to buy a house, and afford all the food even with the soon to be increased demand. The guilds soon would prove which one could support their members, Kai could always join one later. But for now, He could just get a house.

With a plan of action, Kai headed towards the edge of the city. The houses there were cheaper, and Kai knew of one organization selling them.

A handful of hours later, Kai found a nice, already furnished apartment where he could settle. It had running water, two bedrooms since Kai was planning on inviting his dad to live there, a kitchen with an enchanted ice box, and a living room with a fireplace.

Buying the apartment had taken longer, but by the time Kai's dad had logged in for good, Kai had bought the apartment. When Kai met up with his dad, hundreds of new players had already entered the digital world. People of all ages, from eighteen to well over a hundred years old were making their way through the streets of Eldoria's Reach.

It was impossible to say exactly what the future had for the human race, but whatever it was, couldn't be good.