Kai clutched his head as a nauseating explosion of light, color, and sound disoriented him. The world came rushing back into existence; he opened his eyes blearily, trying to shield them from the sun as he looked around. His jaw went slack.

I’m floating in the sky! Instinctively, he looked down between his feet. He was exceedingly high up. His hand shot to his stomach as breakfast noodles threatened to become lunch. He then noticed his body appeared to be partially transparent as he numbly gazed through his hand.

“U-uhm.”

Well, at least I’m not buried alive, he thought numbly as he examined the magical light that trapped him. He dragged his clammy hand through his hair before slamming it into the misty light with a thud, watching in confusion and frustration as it somehow slid down.

You are 207/8.72 billion in line - placement in 8 minutes.

Incursions begin in 52 minutes.

The first trial unlocks in 3 days.

He raised his eyebrows at the first line; that was the population of Earth. He was unsure about the rest, but a timer on anything was rarely good. Looking eye-level into the surrounding sky, he didn’t see any other pillars of light piercing the heavens. I’m here all alone, he thought, as he absently rolled a wooden bead between his fingers.

“Help. Sy-system. Menu. Options. Stat—”

Unavailable till placement.

Kai’s eyes flatlined. With a sigh he decided to take the time to look around more and understand his situation better. He inhaled a deep breath and renewed his resolve after disciplining his stomach.

His eyes roved across the landscape. He was above an island, not a water island, but a massive chunk of land floating in the sky.

An azure river streaked with gold flowed through the air like mist as it spiralled down beyond the clouds.

Lush pine woodlands dotted the large sky island, dappled with streams and small mountains. Near the centre stood a towering autumn tree surrounded by fields of golden wheat. It seemed out of place, as if two completely different terrains had been unceremoniously plastered together by a drunk architect… or a survival game developer. He smiled nervously as his eyes continued to dart around, finding new mysteries to explore. Why am I joking around? This is crazy!

Kai shuffled his feet apart to look directly down. He could make out mountains with streams. He swallowed hard as he lifted his head back up. Starting near a quaint mountain stream didn’t sound so bad, but it did not seem legendary either.

Many miles off to the sides of what he considered his island, and far, far below it, he could see continent-sized islands enshrouded by an endless layer of clouds — as far as his eye could see. He strained in disbelief as a skyscraper-sized alabaster whale flew out of the cloud layer and smashed through an island, leaving crumbling ruins in its wake before it dipped back below the clouds. He squinted in disbelief… and the damn thing even had feathers, is that what the system meant by fusions? After a moment, he pried his eyes away, slowly shaking his head.

Kai slapped his face so hard it left a red imprint.

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“Wake up!” he yelled.

Something was wrong. That slap didn’t seem… correct. The hair on his skin raised like the hackles of a snarling dog. He frantically searched his memories but got lost within the fog of his mind. Every technique he grasped for slipped through his trembling hands as if they had forgotten how to move. Kai balled his calloused hands into fists until they stopped shaking. Location over a lifetime of training? My techniques lost? The monastery forgotte— He knew himself well enough to stop this downward spiral before it gathered too much momentum. He immediately sought solace in training and tried to meditate on his situation. He attempted to calm his frayed nerves by focusing on the warmth of the sun on his skin and the wind ruffling his hair. One of the hardest parts of life is deciding when to walk away or try harder. The fact that he could somehow remember bits and pieces… that was an indication that every memory could not have been erased without destroying his identity.

Despair gave way to hope and then surprise when he noticed several light pillars appear in the sky while he was lost in thought. He glimpsed fellow humans trapped within and searched for anyone he might know. It was hard to make out exact details, but he observed different ages and races. Some pillars even had groups of people, perhaps families with young children.

He didn’t recognise any landmasses and spied no buildings, which implied no technology, no borders… no governments? He realised civilization as he knew it was probably gone. It was a somber thought, and his shoulders sagged with the weight of it.

The human calendar had reset. Like sheep they had spent their entire lives worried about wolves, only to get eaten by the shepherd. Did someone plan this? What will my new life be like? What about the monastery? Did anyone survive? Will my training be worthless in this world?

Reflecting on his life, he wasn’t particularly proud of what he’d accomplished outside of his training. He sometimes lay in bed at night wondering where it all went wrong. That’s when he got up and played games or stared at the stars instead.

Kai recalled his master saying: ‘one man’s sunset is another man’s dawn.’ I simply need to find — or create my purpose. He rolled his eyes. Easier said than done.

Yet, a defiant spark of rage ignited deep within him. Terror turned into rage over the messed-up situation he was in. Rage over his inability to protect those he cared about and rage about his lack of power.

Kai grit his teeth; he would get his techniques back for a start. He was not really interested in the whole dominion of Earth thing. What’s the difference between that and a president anyway? How bad could other participants be? As long—

Entry is now closed.

Hundreds of people popped into existence in the sky and began screaming towards the ground. A mess of snot, tears, and flailing limbs. He noticed no pillar of light around them.

“W-what the…”

3…

Did they not select anything before the time ran out? Maybe chose zero for location? Kai’s blank expression morphed into horror as tiny red splotches painted the landscape.

2…

He was no stranger to blood, but dry heaved from the insanity of the situation.

1…

The sky blazed as everyone enshrouded by light, descended like falling stars.

Kai’s screams mixed with hundreds of others as they plummeted. His heart pounded in his ears as his feet sliced through the air. His mouth ballooned and his clothes whipped around him like failed parachutes. Squinting through watery eyes, he glimpsed a dark ravine between mountains fast approaching.

Not there. Not there. Not there.

When he didn’t slow down, he figured he was going to splatter on boulders in the gloomy darkness. When he went straight through the surface and all he could see was dirt, rocks, and insects — he snapped his eyes shut, regretting his previous thoughts.

The ravine is fine. The ravine is fine. The ravine is fine. His spark of hope snuffed out.