I didn't want to die on the toilet.

[Greetings cattle, your world has reached a sufficiently advanced level of technology to be noticed by the wider universe. The Merkiln Alliance has received your satellites and your radio waves, and your culture has piqued our interest. But the universe is not as kind as we are, and there are many dangers you must be protected from. For your safety, we have determined that control of your world must be taken off your hands and given to a suitable ruler. Most of you will not survive the process. Those who do will find themselves basking in the sanctuary of a world run by their new leader.]

The voice was eerily emotionless as it spewed forth a prophecy of my death. Every word was crystal clear like a high-definition television speaker, but instead of blasting the sounds of anime across my apartment, it was drilling into my mind.

For some reason, the words also came in the form of a blue box that floated in front of my eyes. Followed me wherever I moved, constantly hovering on the edge of my vision.

Is this a dream?

Nobody replied to my thoughts. Which was a pity because this was the only time in my life that I wanted someone to read my mind.

[For those who are confused. I am the System, the administrator of the inheritance of your world. You do not have to worry. Your world is in good hands.]

I was worrying like crazy.

By the time the voice had reached the end of its explanation, I was splashing water in my face to wake myself up from the dream I was clearly having.

Maybe eating that expired Chinese food wasn't a good idea. The numbers were just a business trick to make me buy quicker, I'd told myself. Like a fool.

The water didn't wake me up, but it did give me a chance to see myself properly in the mirror above the sink. Two brown eyes sunken with shadows looked back at me, panicked and confused. I’d inherited a peachy complexion from my mother, and a jutting chin from my father, but the thick black hair was all mine. I kept fit, but my muscles weren't pronounced, and they never had been. I just didn't have the body type for it. Looking at my arms, people could tell that I worked out. When their eyes reached my stomach, they could also tell that I didn't say no to snacks.

I moved into my apartment living room, a mess of clothing and takeaway boxes, with the exception of my gaming station, which I kept clean. The three monitors were turned off, reflecting my body back at me.

The pants were just normal black pants, not too fashionable and ready to hide any stains I might create. But my shirt was special. Custom made, it was canvas white, with a giant red smiley face on it with the words “Always bet on Vegas”.

Of course, the joke was funnier when people knew my surname.

Tom. Tom Vegas.

I'd heard all of the puns in the English language and a few from other languages too.

The voice continued through my panic, and its words were impossible to ignore.

[Those who will come to participate and compete for the right to inherit your planet are known as Inheritors. They have all been chosen from the best strategists, businessmen and generals within the Merkiln Alliance, and they all have their own plans for how your planet will be ruled. They will grant you the opportunity to fight for them, and you may even become the defining factor in their victory. So, do not panic, the inheritance of your planet is completely within your hands. Work with your Inheritor to ensure victory, and everything you want will be yours.]

Aw hell.

That didn’t sound good. It sounded really, really bad.

Without hesitation, I did what all humans did when confronted with the strange and intangible fear of existential dread. I ran outside onto my balcony to find other humans to spread my panic to.

The morning sun struck my weary eyes, forcing them open. It was a beautiful day. The sky was piercing blue, pigeons happily ate their fill of dumpster junk food, and thousands of people were crowding their balconies like I was, each of them staring in horror at the ground.

A massive sinkhole stretched out as far as the light touched, greedily gulping down cars, buildings, and people. It was growing rapidly, and half the city had already been swallowed, with our buildings next on its hitlist.

We were all oddly quiet, as though waiting for someone to reveal that this was all a joke.

Someone screamed, and the illusion of peace shattered.

I had to run.

I had to get—

A massive shriek hit the air as metal twisted and concrete shattered, rupturing my eardrums as the building was torn asunder beneath me. The floors beneath me were ripped in two, revealing a massive hole waiting to swallow me up, and as I looked down, I realized that there was nothing to catch me.

My last words were a guttural roar as instinct took over, and I reached out toward the broken floor of my apartment, trying to find a handhold before I plummeted. I failed.

One last glimpse of sunlight was all I saw as I fell into the depths of the world.

Then, there was only darkness.

****

Ethereal white light cascaded across my vision, bathing my body in its embrace and smothering me in a sensation of calm and safety.

Is this heaven?

A blue box floating in front of my eyes told me it wasn't.

[This is the waiting room.]

The System’s monotone voice echoed throughout the waiting room.

[You have been given a unit designation. To view it, state the words, ‘status screen’.]

I ignored the words at first, trying to search for a way out of…well, everything.

Unfortunately, there were no objects for my body to push off of and gain momentum. I was stuck floating in this endless void.

The blue box containing the System’s words moved in front of my eyes, forcing me to look at them. When I looked away, the box grew bigger. When I continued to ignore it, the box began to float closer to me.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

A moment later it disappeared and was replaced by a new box. This one was bright red and flashing in a strobe pattern.

[Hey. Stop ignoring me.]

I froze and stared at the blue box hovering in front of me. This time the voice hadn't been emotionless. It sounded…annoyed?

“You can talk to me?” I asked, unable to keep the surprise out of my voice.

[I have been talking to you this whole time.] The System huffed, the sound reverberating through my mind. [You humans think your race is so special. I saw your movies. If the aliens in them had even a taste of the intelligence their technology suggested, humanity would have been obliterated. But you always made yourselves win.]

“It wouldn't be a fun movie if we didn't,” I shot back.

Oops. That was probably a bad idea.

Before the System could react, I uttered two words. “Status screen.”

A blue box immediately appeared in front of me, but this one wasn't accompanied by the System’s voice.

Unit: Tom Vegas.

Rank: F+ (Fodder)

Growth Talent: F

Specialization: Adaptation.

Stats:

Level: 0

Race: Human

Mana: 100

Force: Iron

Perseverance: Iron

Mental: Iron

Adaptation: Iron

What was this? That was definitely my name, but the rest of it was gibberish.

Wait.

Unit?

That word, alongside the status screen, triggered a memory in me. I narrowed my eyes.

“System, why am I in a waiting room? And what does it mean to be a unit?”

Its response confirmed my suspicions.

[Units are the warriors who will aid the Inheritors in their battle for rulership of your planet. You are waiting to be summoned by an Inheritor.]

I had a feeling that the System was expecting me to respond. But I didn't. Instead, I fell deep into thought.

Units and players, or rather, Inheritors. I'd played a few games on my mobile with this kind of setting. Gacha games, they were called. It didn't matter what the story was, all of them had the same premise. Summon units to fight for you, and then keep the best units while discarding the rest as fodder. Usually I was on the other side as a player, sending units out to fight my battles. Most of them died horrible deaths.

[You do not look happy. Are your rank and growth talent not to your liking?] I could almost feel the sarcasm dripping into the System’s words.

Rank: F+ (Fodder)

Growth Talent: F

I stared at the terrible stats. If the word fodder had the same meaning it did on Earth, then F+ was a terrible rank. The lowest of the low. And if I was a player, this kind of unit was born to die.

Except this time, that unit was me.

No.

This wasn't a video game. Besides, an alien invader wouldn't even know about video games in general, let alone mobile ones.

[I can tell that you are wondering why this screen looks so familiar.] The System’s voice ripped apart my train of thought. [To maintain familiarity and ease the transition of a new planet into the universe, each planet’s inheritance cycle is structured similarly to something the inhabitants themselves created. The Merkiln Alliance has based yours on a wonderful genre of games they discovered when investigating your culture. I must admit, my initial designs could not compete with the savagery of human imagination. We may even use it for future cycles. How delightful.]

“Oh heck. I’m going to die,” I said.

[Everybody dies. Some people just take a little longer. You are not one of those people.]

The world around me blazed with blue light, and for a moment I thought the System had gotten angry at me. Then I realized that the light wasn't coming from a blue box. It was coming from the world itself.

Ribbons of blue light cascaded down from the void of white and wrapped around me, probing my body as though it were made of candy.

I jolted forward sharply as something pushed me from behind, and the ribbons tightened their grasp. Then, they pushed me again.

Suddenly, I was rocketing forward into the light.

A yell left my lips, but it was sucked into the void as I hurtled across it at impossible speeds. Light itself seemed to warp around me as I moved, and the sight was so beautiful that I lost myself in it for a moment.

Then a blue box flashed across my vision, ruining the moment.

[Congratulations! You have been summoned. Make sure to do your best to help your Inheritor succeed.]

The light disappeared the moment I smacked into the ground knees-first, eliciting a hiss of pain from my lips. My knees had been pristine before today, and now they felt like they'd smacked into concrete.

I looked at the ground I'd landed on.

Concrete isn’t too far from the truth.

Below me was the floor of a Walmart aisle. I recognised the tell-tale yellow and brown stains, and the slight spattering of grime in corners where the employees never cleaned. The familiarity ended there as I saw that the rest of the Walmart hadn't come with the floor.

For some reason, that horrified me more than anything else so far.

Lifting myself carefully, I gazed up at my surroundings and found myself in a spacious area surrounded by a mixture of aisle and grass that spread out over several acres. Three trees were planted in the middle of the empty space without any rhyme or reason as to their placement, and to my left and right were two apartment buildings mangled into the shapes of bridges, with several apartments stacked atop each other and melted together to form the bridge’s pillars. There were no walls, which left me exposed to any elements that chose to walk through the massive pillars, though I couldn't feel any wind.

Somebody had taken apart the buildings and trees in my area and slapped them together to create a new area.

Beyond the pillars were dark clouds illuminated by a vibrant blue and white light. I thought it was the sun at first, but then I realized the source had to be different when I looked beyond the cloud and saw rock walls.

“We’re underground,” I said.

[You are underground. I am in your head. And everyone else’s heads.] The System replied.

“Right, right.” My reply was almost dismissive.

For a moment my fear drained away. I'd been sucked up into a world of line, and then dropped down into a structure that was alien in construction, yet so vaguely human that it was eerie.

My amazement was only strengthened when I looked up and saw the source of the line.

Above me was a portal of rippling blue and silver liquid.

“Holy shit,” I swore.

Shimmering within a rectangular mass of metal, the portal’s body was shivering with bright light, sparking every few seconds as dark particles flickered in and out of existence within its center. The edges of the metal rectangle were welded into the two bridges, creating a roof over my head. How and why the liquid didn't fall beyond my comprehension, and the twisted metal itself looked like it was structurally sound, and yet it held proud and wide over my head.

[The summoning station.] The System’s voice was a murmur, and almost reverential in its delivery. [I will admit, the Merkiln outdid themselves with this. It is the technology that all of the universe wants, but only one faction has access to.]

I pushed aside my doubts and stepped forward, striding past one of the trees and walking toward the left bridge. As I drew nearer, I realized that the bridge was literally several apartment buildings tipped onto their side and melted into a single structure. The pillars alone were six stories high, and I could see windows jutting out of several areas, perfectly clean and uncracked.

When I reached the nearest pillar, I looked up at the looming structure and found myself searching for signs of life. Other people. Animals. Anything. All I wanted was a sign that I wasn't alone.

But the apartments were empty.

“What is this place?” I asked.

[This is the central hub, the base that your Inheritor will use to begin his conquest of your world.]

My head shot up sharply at the words, and the blue box that accompanied them. "Conquest?"

The reality of my situation hit me like a truck. My world was dead. Earth was dead. I'd seen the sinkhole ripping it apart with ease and judging from the foreign architecture of the buildings around me, my area wasn't the only one struck.

[From the moment you were summoned you became a part of the inheritance cycle of your world. I have already told you this, but I suppose I can forgive the lapse. The first to conquer one hundred floors of the tower I have built will become the Inheritor of the Earth and rule it and the survivors as they will.]

The System replied nonchalantly, as though the conquest of my world was just another part of its everyday activities. For all I knew, that was true.

Anger rose within me, but before I could reply I spotted movement in the distance. A flicker of hope blossomed in my chest, and I ran towards it, my footsteps echoing loudly as I abandoned caution.

What I saw as I drew nearer caused me to freeze in place.

Bodies. Dozens of bodies.

They were strewn across the ground haphazardly, with most lying face down with five jagged cuts running through their backs. It was clear that they'd been running from whatever had killed them, and the cause of their deaths wasn't much of a mystery.

Because standing above them was a creature whose claws were bathed in blood.

[Oh good. You have met your Inheritor.]