May 14, 2025; Clay Benton lay asleep in his bed, one leg hanging out from under the thin oversheet. He couldn't help but toss and turn in the uncharacteristically hot weather Chicago was currently having. The building's AC units worked overtime to cool its occupants' apartments but that wasn't what had Clay sweating. He was having a very vivid nightmare about being chased by a strange woman who had four arms, smooth purple skin, waist-length raven-black hair, and almost glowing green eyes.

He ran through a vaguely familiar forest shrouded in a dense fog that gave everything a weird ghostly appearance. He ran. She was right behind him. He could hear her soft white boots on the damp leaves only a few paces behind him. 

"You can run from me my love, but I'll always find you!" Came the strange woman's voice, sounding somewhat like his ex-wife. He tried to run harder as she let out a gleeful cackle from right behind him. He could almost feel her on top of him ready to pounce. A gnarly root caught the toe of his boot and he felt himself falling. He instinctively braced himself to slam into the ground hard, bringing his hands up to catch himself. But there was nothing.

He had closed his eyes for a brief moment when he expected to hit the ground hard only to find himself floating in a bright white room containing nothing but a simple light green transparent screen that displayed various tabs and smaller windows with information scrawled in a weird flowing black script. Clay looked around to see if anyone was around. This didn't feel like a dream.

This felt completely different. 

This felt... real somehow. He looked down and could see he was dressed in a strange white suit with stylized gold buttons. 

"Hello?" He asked. He didn't see anyone but he felt like there was someone or something just outside of his perception. He didn't know why he felt like there was but something told him there would be.

"Hello, Sovereign Clay Benton. Congratulations on being selected to receive the newest system seed." A sultry female voice said from just beyond the blinding light in a perky tone. "The greater powers of chance chose you, as well as a few others of your species to become this world's Sovereigns in the trying times that will come for your planet. Your people will need your strength to survive the coming apocalypse. Please select a free boon from the tabs on the system screen."

"System seed? Apocalypse? What the fuck is going on?" Clay asked, growing a little apprehensive after hearing the woman's words.

The voice was silent for a moment. When it responded it sounded serious, almost completely devoid of the perky demeanor it had just a moment ago. "The System Seed allows you to progress in power by leveling up. The higher your level gets, the greater your powers will become, either by defeating foes or completing system quests." 

She paused as if consulting with someone else before continuing. "After you leave here you will be able to access the system by selecting the small gold dot in the bottom left of your peripheral. As for the events that are coming, I can only say your world will become a very dangerous place, Clay Benton. Your technology will fail you. Animals, people, and plants will mutate uncontrollably and become dangerous and unpredictable. That's what is going on." The voice said. It had changed from serious to almost dire in her intensity.

Clay thought for a moment. "Oh." That sounded ominous indeed. "Okay. So who are you, an angel?" He had never been very religious but he didn't know who else would deliver messages for whatever those greater powers might be. 

The voice let out a little laugh that turned into a giggle as it quickly regained its composure and replied, "No, no, nothing as grandouis as an angel." It paused and then continued, "I'm your designated System Administrator. It's my job to help you progress as a new Sovereign of your species." 

That was pretty straightforward he thought. "Alright, what's your name?" He asked. "If I'm going to have to talk to you then I need a name. And no I'm not going to call you Administrator."

The voice was quiet, as if thinking, then hesitantly said, "At one time I think I was known as Kris. Now please select your free boon Sovereign. I'm afraid we don't have much time left." Her voice had changed to almost an urgent pitch.

Her urgency made him look back at the screen. There were hundreds of fucking tab's! Each with different names and they seemed color-coded in some way too but he didn't immediately see a key for the colors and they seemed to be mixed randomly. "How the hell am I supposed to pick anything? I don't know what most of these things mean." 

Instead of giving him an answer he heard a "ding" and then the voice said, "Thirty seconds remaining for the host to receive their free boon. Please choose one." 

He started to panic. Shit, he hated rushing anything! It always bit him in the ass in the end. "Ahh fuck!" He exclaimed as he tried to read some of the tabs.

Bone blade. Energy missile. Reflexive strike. Chameleon.

"Ten seconds." The voice said. His heart started pounding and he got the distinct feeling if he didn't pick something he would live to regret it. And he didn't have long.

"3...2..." The voice counted as he hurriedly tapped a tab that said "Adaptable Conversion." Whatever that was. As soon as he tapped it though he heard another "ding" and the voice said. "Congratulations. The host has chosen the Passive Ability: Adaptable Conversion. When the host absorbs or comes into contact with mutated DNA, they have a chance of obtaining a new Passive Ability or Skill the source possessed upon obtaining the sample." The voice chimed now back to the sultry, perky tone. "System Seed will now be integrated into the host's body."

"What's happening?" Clay asked as he winced from the sudden brightness that enveloped him.

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Then he roared in agony as it felt like something small seared into his left shoulder blade. The heat felt like it fused with his bone. Embedding itself into it. And an area the size of his hand felt burnt. Like he had been branded in the process. The pain didn't stop there though.

Oh no. It radiated through his body. His voice almost horse from his roar of agony. It felt like molten lava slowly inched through his blood vessels. Nowhere was spared and he found himself on his knees, shaking as his lungs ran out of air and refused to fill up again as he convulsed. His arms gave out on him as he finally was able to gasp for a bare minimum of oxygen, right before he landed face down on the clean, white floor.

"Good morning Chicago! This is your local news and weather for your early morning commute..." His alarm/radio blared to life as his eyes snapped open. He was tangled up in the damn oversheet, and at some point had rolled off the bed, and hit the nightstand corner as he did so by the feel of his left shoulder. He shook his head as he extracted himself from the sheet and stood to go to the bathroom for his mourning routine. After a quick shower, he shaved and dressed for work. 

As he left his apartment building he couldn't help but think about the weird dream he had had while he walked to the bus stop. He had a motorcycle but the traffic was atrocious no matter what. He quickly learned it was cheaper and more efficient just to ride the city transportation back and forth to work. It only took about thirty minutes, give or take and he was standing in front of the time clock at the warehouse with his punch card in hand as Jill gave him a flirtatious wink from behind her desk. He gave her a smile and a wink back causing her to flutter her hands like she was getting hot. 

It was a game they had played for the last six months he'd worked at the warehouse. Kimbul and Trine Logistics supplied many small mom-and-pop stores throughout the greater Chicago area. He spent all day loading trucks based on what invoices she handed him, and he was pretty good at it. "Hey Tonya, you have that.." He walked out of the office, not hearing the rest of Jill's question to Tonya, with the newest invoice in hand he started his work day whistling a random tune he couldn't identify.

The morning flew by, and before he knew it he was sitting in the break room eating a microwaved ham and cheese sandwich watching as the TV in the corner usually set to FOX news channel started flickering as if it was getting static even though it was through a satellite. Then he heard someone gasp from the window as something bright flashed in the sky outside. Clay stood up with his sandwich and walked over to the window. The other man was Dillon, one of the loading dock managers, and thankfully Clay wasn't under him. Dillon was an obese man who was nearly as round as he was tall. The man stood there, eyes as wide as saucers, he seemed to have forgotten about the warmed-up plate of what looked like lasagna in his hands.

"What the hell?" Dillon said as he looked at Clay, in disbelief, or maybe the look was better described as dumbfounded. "Are we under attack?" He looked back at the TV as the screen cut back to a blonde reporter in a white blouse holding a FOX microphone. She was standing outside the Whitehouse and from the view of the camera, there were small meteorites exploding in mid-air like fireworks on the fourth of July. Some of them even flashed in odd colors as they detonated midair.

The woman was speaking. "...NASA has stated this event was undetected and unavoidable. A nearby star has exploded..." The screen faded out as if the signal got much weaker before it cleared again. "... ejected across our arm of the galaxy. We wouldn't have been able to avoid it. Experts claim the meteor storm will cause severe damage to the world's space industry and satellites as well as the potential for moderate surface damage. Elon has released a statement offering to loan new Starlink satellite usage to the government. SpaceX will begin launching new satellites as soon as the threat passes."

"Please remain calm. And listen to your local authorities. They assure life will return to normal as soon as our planet makes it through the meteor cloud. Meanwhile, the Internet has dubbed this event the Sky Rain..." The reporter continued as meteorites continued to rain down through the puffy white clouds over the capitol, a surreal sight to be sure as men and women in suits rushed here and there in the background of the camera's view.

"Ahh shit!" Exclaimed Dillon as he dropped his paper plate and waddled as fast as he could out the break room door. Clay took another bite as he watched a meteorite explode, smaller pieces raining down on the metal roof across from the warehouse where he worked. It sounded like bird shot hitting the tin and he could see paint missing and a small black spot that from this distance had to be as big as a softball or maybe even a cantaloupe.

He looked down at the line of trucks backed up to the docks awaiting their loads or currently being loaded, and the parking lot adjacent to the warehouse opposite the one he worked in. People were rushing to leave and he witnessed a blue Ford Bronco side swipe a red Mustang convertible as it forced its way through the cluster-fuck that the parking lot turned into. Horns blared and he could see a fistfight between two women erupt. Clay just shook his head and finished his sandwich. On the way out he picked up Dillon's mess knowing it would most likely be Jill that would end up cleaning up the slob's mess. 

He clocked back in and surprisingly had a very easy rest of his day. There was a distinct lack of people and he managed to load five trucks by himself and was whistling, happy about the bonus he was going to be getting on this week's paycheck when he heard Tonya cursing from the office. The Sky Rain had continued all day varying in intensity as the earth moved through the fast-moving meteor cloud and he had reported two holes he had found in the roof and was just getting ready to open the office door when he heard her.

"What the fuck do you mean you're leaving me Sarah? This will be over soon and everything will go back to normal." He heard a speaker phone crackle as the reception was horrible. He had seen what he thought was a satellite streaking out of the sky before crashing into Lake Michigan during his last break. He stood there, one hand on the door, not daring to open it and interrupt Tonya.

"No, no, no wait Sarah..." The phone line went dead and he heard Tonya let out a sob as she ran into the bathroom attached to the office. He heard Jill stand up but he chose that moment to open the door and enter the office. The first thing he did was look at the clock above and behind Jill's left shoulder. It was a few minutes till 4:00 p.m. and he looked back at her with his best smile. 

"Hey, Jill." He closed the door behind him. "I found another damn hole about as big as a basketball near the freezer section. I gave it a quick over and found this." He placed a still-warm piece of what looked like molten greenish-tinted metal that had been flattened on one side where it had struck the top of the freezer unit. "Can you put it in with the other reports please?" She nodded as she took out her phone and took a picture of the odd pitted greenish lump of metal he still held in his gloved hands. 

"Sure will hun. I don't need that though." Jill said setting the phone down on her desk. She slid onto the edge of the desk, the slit in her dress showing off the top of her stockings as she smiled seductively at him. "So do you think you could walk me home tonight? The bus routes aren't running right now and I know you live somewhere near my neighborhood." She absently played with her strawberry blonde hair with a finger, twirling it as she blatantly flirted with him.

He gave her a wink and a mischievous grin and said, "Sure can babe. I'll see you after work." He blew her a kiss as he turned to open the door and chuckled as her cheeks flushed red. He thought about throwing it away but decided to take it home. He might be able to sell it online and make something off the fucking thing so he placed it in his lunchbox and finished loading another truck before clocking out and meeting Jill outside the warehouse. The sky had darkened as rain clouds moved in. Thankfully by then the earth had rotated enough that only a random meteorite streaked through the air.

"Ahh, there you are!" Jill exclaimed with a smile. "Let's go, hun."

"Sure thing dear." He winked as she hooked her arm in his and they started towards Jill's. They talked about the Sky Rain and the various accidents and crashed vehicles and other things. Clay thought about asking her if she wanted to get a bite to eat as they walked past a small diner set next to a bus stop and a small park. He decided not to though as she talked about her aging mother waiting for her at home. He was ok with their current relationship. Jill was the first woman he had shown interest in since his succubus of an ex-wife took him for everything he was worth.

That has been a rough time for Clay. He had lost his job, house, and relationships with people he had thought were his friends. It had been a very hard lesson for him to learn. 

But he had started over, and to be honest he felt a lot more confident in and about life now than he had been and was in no rush. Soon they were walking up to her building, and as he said goodbye she raised up on her tiptoes to kiss him on his cheek. "Thank you, hun." She said as she giggled and punched in the code to get into her building. "I'll see you tomorrow." She purred as the door closed. 

He chuckled to himself and started to walk to his street, it was only three blocks over and he found himself whistling again deep in thought. 

He didn't notice the two men following him until a third man stepped out in front of him, and he suddenly took notice of his surroundings. His face was hidden in shadow as he held up a hand and said, "Yo, Cracker, give us yo' wallet and we won't beat yo' ass. Make a fuss we'll leave you dead bitch." The man flashed a pistol that was tucked in his pants and Clay felt the two men behind him tense.

This wasn't the first time this had happened to him though and regardless these guys were going to more than likely hurt him even if he gave them what they wanted. So he slowly raised his hand and reached behind him, took out his wallet and handed it to the man with the gun. 

The man smiled and said, "Smart move, bitch." As he dropped his shirt and reached for Clay's wallet. 

Clay dropped the wallet just as the man's hand reached it and with a quick step forward and a snap of his hand, he drove his hand into the man's throat violently and grabbed the pistol as he tried to pull his shirt up again to grab the weapon. "Fuck you!" Clay said as he pivoted, smashing the pistol butt into the first of the man's two buddies' right temple with a sickening "crunch". The man dropped, his feet twitching as the third man stopped, his eyes going wide before he ran away, ducking out of sight in a nearby alley. 

Clay struck the other man in the face who was on his knees choking, dropping him next to his twitching buddy before he kicked him a few times with his steel-toe boots to give him a little more to remember him by. Picked up his wallet and then paused, looked around and seeing the street was still clear of people quickly searched their pockets and was surprised to find a large roll of twenty dollar bills wrapped around twelve Benjamin's and he quickly stuffed the wadd in his pocket and the gun in his pants before walking on. He was only a block away from his apartment.

"DING! Congratulations! Level 1 obtained. 4 unassigned Ability Points gained. New skill acquired: Vicious Strike. The host can initiate a sudden attack that has a high chance of stunning the targeted foe. Cost: 10 Mystical Points." Said a sultry female voice. The same one he had heard in his dream.

Clay almost missed a step as he heard the voice. "Holy shit. Your real?" He asked as he looked up-and-down the street and saw nobody around. After a moment he got a response.

"Very real, Clay Benton." Said the voice.