"WTF is this?" I couldn't believe my eyes. I did tend to enjoy the occasional joint, but I hadn't smoked in weeks and couldn't believe this was drug-induced. Trying to figure out if it was a gas leak or a terrorist attack, or if someone had put LSD in the water, I ran into the other room and picked up my phone. I checked the work group chat to see if anything was happening with them, and for the first time in my tenure as a manager, everyone was responding in what seemed to be nanoseconds.

Christine, who normally snacks behind the till and with whom you could have well-meaning banter, was sending voice notes asking, "What the hell is going on?" and "Did anyone else get a big screen saying they had the Immortal Ascendant System of Herbalism?" Dan, the meek and mild uni student who you knew would either be a lifer with a useless degree or would run like the wind in the opposite direction at the first sign of freedom, said he had the Immortal Emperor System of Formations. The list went on: we had a Divine Soldier System of Alchemy, which was the highest I'd seen apart from my own.

I added to the chat that I had the Divine Emperor's Sect System. This got a few confused questions about what it does, and I honestly answered, "Not a clue." Starting to feel better, knowing I wasn't completely out of my mind and it probably wasn't a gas leak, I took a deep breath and looked back at my battered iPhone to see what else people had found out. I noticed Dan had told us to say "system" with the intention of seeing the named system and to read through the introduction it gave. He said we would be best to do this now, or else we'd probably regret it later.

Unsure what he meant about a system message, having just received one from what was apparently a true God with a big G, telling us to grow stronger to fight some void things, I said "System." This brought up an intricately detailed screen that had a solid yet also gaseous transparent nature to it, allowing you to see behind the screen. For what I couldn't dream, but I'm hoping it isn't what I think. It can't be one of those apocalypse things; they're just movies and internet novels. Taking a deep breath, I read the introduction:

“Greetings mortal, I'm your friendly system here to help you progress on the path to be the ULTIMATE sect master in the entire Divine Emperor realm which, if you didn't know, is only a step down from the big guy himself. But I digress. What you have now is a window of opportunity to get a head start before all the nasty things come out of the woodwork. So, your first priority would be to practice that cultivation technique to the 1st stage of Body Refining. Now, now, before you ask, the stages that are the most applicable to you at this moment are the Body Refining Realm. This realm is basically where you infuse the natural Qi into your body and reinforce your skin, bones, blood, and organs so that you can handle all the techniques you have in the future. Even an alchemist needs a good foundation to be able to rise. Next is Qi Refining. In this realm, to progress, you will need to fill up your dantian with Qi and then compress it down 9 times. In this realm, though, you don't have to stop at 9 times; technically, you will be doing it 27 times as this is required to practice your technique, as Chaos requires everything to be as potent as possible so you can develop further. Finally, last but not least, is the Meridian Refining Realm. This realm, in particular, is where you will be strengthening your meridians by forcing more Qi through them, allowing them to stretch and reinforce, enabling more Qi to be utilised at once or at a higher level of Qi, which, if you didn't guess, you have with that old chaos technique.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Taking a deep breath, I realised that the next thing that was bound to be said was that I was going to have to make a sect that defends the earth or something like that—I just knew it. “Now onto the purpose of the system. My job is to help you be the best you can be and grab any Talents that you can bring into your sect to grow your own abilities and help defend the universe. So here is where you find yourself—you can either accept your new reality and kill to become king, or you can sit and die because in 3 hours every plant, beast, and grain of sand will have reached a stage where they could kill everyone. But that was the risk—kill many to bring an age of peace. So decide. Use your system. Use your technique. Use everything we give you because this is your last chance. A little forethought: all technology should be fully disabled by the end of the 3 hours, so make your arrangements before then—it might be a while before mass communication.”

I messaged the group chat and said I had read the system message and I think we all need to accept that we are at the end, but also at the beginning. Let's not be casualties. So I told everyone that I was going to try this cultivation thing because what's the worst that can happen—everyone gets high and wastes 2 hours? Everyone, feeling they had little to lose, decided they would try. I put my phone down and decided to open the book I received. As soon as I did, a beam of light leapt from the book and hit me square between my forehead—the first 30 lines, which is the first chapter, Splitting Chaos.

In the dawn of time, chaos reigned supreme,

Yin and yang, a primordial dream.

From the void's embrace, they danced and spun,

Five elements birthed, their journey begun.

Earth, firm and strong, mountains rise tall,

Water’s fluid grace, oceans heed the call.

Fire’s vibrant heart, a dragon’s fierce roar,

Wind whispers secrets, phoenixes soar.

Wood sprouts life, in forests deep and vast,

Metal gleams bright, in the earth’s hold fast.

Together they weave, a tapestry grand,

Under heaven’s gaze, through every land.

Dragons weave through clouds, majestic and free,

Guardians of mountains, keepers of the sea.

Phoenixes aflame, rebirth in their flight,

Symbols of hope, in the darkest night.

Kirin roam the forests, peace they bestow,

Tortoises bear wisdom, in their steps slow.

In the heart of nature, balance is found,

In the Dao's embrace, all life is bound.

Mountains kiss the sky, eternal and grand,

Oceans whisper secrets, to the yearning sand.

In the interplay of forces, life finds its way,

Through chaos and order, night and day.

Yin and yang's embrace, a cosmic dance,

Through the myriad Dao, existence’s chance.

From chaos's heart, all beings flow,

To chaos they return, as tides ebb and grow.

Harmony in chaos, a lesson profound,

In the world’s vast expanse, unity is found.

In myth and nature, the truths unfold,

In the dance of life, stories are told.

Upon reciting a couple of lines from this book, I felt a stir in my lower abdomen. My body shook as a power welled up inside me—a feeling of hyper focus and euphoria that made me feel 18 again, hopeful for the future. This feeling brought back the energy that I had given away in the last 9 years, resurrecting the old me and opening up future possibilities. In a hushed tone, I said, “Maybe this is my chance to be something, to make something of myself standing at the top of the world.” Thinking no one was around, I heard a "ding"—congratulations to the host for gaining Body Refining rank 1. We hope you can continue like this.