Ethan’s eyes fluttered open, and his vision slowly came back into focus. His head throbbed with a dull ache, and he tasted copper in his mouth. He was lying on the damp grass of the park, staring up at a sky that looked far too still, like the world had paused. His ears rang, and for a moment, he couldn’t hear anything but the persistent hum that seemed to emanate from the cubes.

He blinked again, trying to focus, his brain sluggishly processing what had happened. The cube. The pond. The blast of light.

Jen.

His pulse quickened as he scrambled to his feet. "Jen?" he croaked, his voice weak. He turned around in a panic, and relief washed over him when he saw her lying a few feet away, groaning as she slowly pushed herself up.

“Jen!” He rushed to her side, helping her stand. She winced, holding her head.

“I’m fine. Just… dizzy. What the hell was that?” she muttered, looking around. “That light… it hit us.”

Ethan glanced around the park, the scenery twisted and unsettling in the aftermath of the blast. The pond where the smaller cube had emerged was now a still pool of water, dark and motionless. The cube itself had disappeared, but something else had changed. He couldn’t quite place it yet, but the air felt thicker, charged with an energy that hadn’t been there before. The silence that had hung over the city earlier was replaced by a faint, distant buzzing, like a thousand insects hidden just out of sight.

“What’s happening?” Jen asked, looking around. “The cube… it did something.”

Before Ethan could answer, a faint flash appeared before his eyes—like a hologram projected right in front of him. A translucent screen blinked into existence, floating in midair. It was unlike anything he’d ever seen. Lines of code scrolled across the top, with symbols and numbers flashing in rapid succession. It looked like something out of a video game, except it was right there, hovering in his field of vision.

“Ethan, do you see that?” Jen’s voice was tight with anxiety, and when Ethan glanced over, he saw that she was staring at the same thing.

“I… yeah,” he said, unable to tear his eyes away from the floating interface. “What the hell is it?”

The interface flickered, and then a single line of text appeared at the center:

“SYSTEM ACTIVATED. INITIALIZATION COMPLETE.”

The words lingered for a moment before the interface shifted, displaying a new set of symbols. Beneath the text, an icon pulsed—a glowing, faintly blue cube, rotating slowly. It was identical to the smaller cubes they had seen descending earlier, but now, it was here, inside their minds, or at least connected to their vision.

“What is this?” Jen whispered, reaching out toward the hologram, her fingers brushing through the air. The display didn’t react, but it stayed in place, as if tethered to them.

Ethan’s chest tightened. His fingers flexed involuntarily, and a chill ran down his spine. The buzzing in his ears grew louder, more insistent. The cube—the system—was doing something. Interacting with them.

A soft chime rang out, and a new notification appeared on the interface:

“TASK ASSIGNED: LOCATE AND ACTIVATE PRIMARY NODE.”

Ethan felt his heart drop into his stomach. “Task? What the hell is it talking about?”

Jen frowned, scrolling through the display with a tentative swipe of her hand. The interface responded to her touch, revealing more information—details about the task, locations, objectives. It was as if they had suddenly been inserted into a game, but this was no game. This was real.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“We have to do something,” she said, her voice trembling. “It’s giving us an objective. This is—”

Before she could finish, a distant scream pierced the air. Ethan’s head snapped in the direction of the sound. Someone else was in the park, running toward them from a nearby path. A man, wild-eyed and terrified, stumbled through the trees, his arms flailing as he tried to get away from something.

Behind him, another smaller cube floated, much like the one that had exploded in the pond. This one glowed faintly, its smooth surface undulating as it hovered just a few feet off the ground. It moved methodically, following the man’s erratic path through the park.

Ethan’s body tensed. “What is that thing doing?”

The man stumbled, his foot catching on a tree root, and he fell to the ground with a thud. The cube hovered closer to him, and for a moment, the man screamed, begging for help. Then, the cube released a pulse of light—a soft, steady glow that enveloped the man. His screaming stopped abruptly. He froze in place, his eyes wide with shock, and then, just as quickly as it had started, the light faded, and the cube moved away, disappearing into the trees.

Ethan and Jen stood frozen, horrified. The man lay on the ground, motionless. His body was still breathing—his chest rising and falling—but his eyes were vacant, staring up at the sky as though he had been drained of everything inside him.

Jen gasped, stepping back. “Ethan… what the hell just happened?”

He shook his head, his mind struggling to make sense of what they had just witnessed. “I don’t know… but we can’t stay here.”

The interface in front of them chimed again, and another notification appeared.

“ADDITIONAL TASK UNLOCKED: DEFEND AGAINST HOSTILE ENTITIES.”

Ethan’s pulse raced. “Hostile entities? What—”

Before he could finish, another cube appeared, floating out of the shadows. This one was different from the first—larger, darker, with a series of sharp, glowing edges that pulsed ominously. It moved with purpose, a low hum resonating from within it. Ethan could feel the weight of its presence, as though the air itself was pressing down on him.

The interface flashed again, and this time, a new element appeared—an icon at the top of the screen that looked like a shield, glowing faintly. Next to it was a meter, slowly filling with light. The words "DEFENSE MODE ACTIVATED" appeared briefly before fading.

Ethan’s body reacted before his mind could catch up. He grabbed Jen’s arm and pulled her back, instinctively moving to shield her from the approaching cube. His heart hammered in his chest, but something deep inside him—something primal—clicked into place.

The System wasn’t just giving them information. It was doing something to them, changing them.

The cube hovered closer, and Ethan braced himself, half-expecting another pulse of light like the one that had taken the man. But this time, it was different. The cube’s glow intensified, its edges becoming sharper, more jagged, as it emitted a low, menacing hum. Then, without warning, it shot forward, aiming directly for them.

Ethan threw up his hands, but instead of flinching in fear, his body responded differently. The interface in front of him glowed brightly, and the shield icon at the top of the screen flashed. A translucent barrier materialized around him and Jen, shimmering like a bubble. The cube slammed into it with a loud, metallic screech, bouncing off with a crackle of energy.

“What the hell?” Ethan gasped, staring at his hands. He hadn’t consciously activated the shield—it had happened automatically, like a reflex.

Jen’s eyes were wide, her face pale. “Ethan… the System… it’s protecting us.”

The cube hovered for a moment, as if assessing the situation. Then, with a sharp burst of energy, it shot upward into the sky, disappearing into the darkening clouds.

Ethan and Jen stood in stunned silence, the shimmering barrier slowly fading away. The interface in front of them dimmed, its glow softening as the tension in the air eased. The System had defended them. It had reacted, somehow connected to their actions, protecting them from whatever that cube had intended to do.

“This isn’t a game,” Ethan said quietly, his voice trembling. “The System… it’s controlling us. It’s changing us.”

Jen didn’t respond right away. She stared at the space where the cube had disappeared, her mind racing. “I think… we’re part of something now. Something bigger than us.”

Ethan swallowed hard, the weight of the situation pressing down on him. The world had changed in an instant, and they were no longer just witnesses to the Cube’s arrival. They were part of it now, woven into the fabric of whatever the System was doing. The cubes weren’t just interacting with the world—they were integrating with humanity, forcing them to play by a new set of rules.

The interface in front of him blinked again, its glow brighter this time.

“NEXT TASK: FIND THE PRIMARY NODE.”

Ethan looked at Jen, his heart pounding in his chest.

“We need to move,” he said, his voice low but urgent. “If we stay here, we’re sitting ducks.”

Jen nodded, her face pale but resolute. “Let’s go.”

Together, they turned and ran, the weight of the Cube and the System hanging over them like an invisible noose, tightening with every step.

The game had begun. And now, there was no way to stop it.