"Greetings, inhabitants of Earth. I am the Warden of the Universe Online."
"The designated time limit for the preparation period of your planet has expired. Henceforth, acting under the authority vested in me as the Warden, I am here to declare the initiation of the qualification trial for the Universe Online."
"The initial phase, known as the First Trial of Elimination, shall commence."
Upon this proclamation, Earth descended into complete silence. The earthquake vanished as swiftly as it manifested.
There was an absence of any sound, not even from the insects or animals. What were once vibrant and lively cities, forests, and seas now lay in eerie stillness.
Every being on Earth, from humans to aquatic life, received the reverberating message in their minds. None were exempt from its reach.
However, chaos erupted throughout the world in the very next moment.
While all creatures on Earth attempted to grasp the implications of the announcements, Arnav didn't spare the declaration a second thought
He had but one question swirling in his mind.
Arnav swiftly leaped out of his bed, only to find his room enveloped in darkness. He deduced that the earthquake must have caused a power outage.
Before he could take any action, the room's door was violently smashed open by someone.
"Arnav!" Uncle Ben's voice rang out, filled with tension, as he rushed inside, his anxiety palpable.
"Calm down, uncle. I am perfectly fine," Arnav reassured calmly, aware of his uncle's excessive concern for him.
Uncle Ben approached his nephew, and despite Arnav's reassurances, he thoroughly checked his entire body to ensure his safety before finally easing his troubled heart.
Arnav showed no surprise or resistance to his uncle's overprotective reaction to his well-being.
"Thank goodness! You're unharmed," he said, his voice relieved upon finding no physical injuries.
However, Arnav's absent-minded demeanor caught his attention.
Growing concerned once more, he inquired, "What's the matter? You seem quite preoccupied."
Arnav remained silent in response but countered, "Uncle Ben, did you also hear that peculiar announcement during the earthquake?"
Unfazed by the change of subject, Uncle Ben entertained the question, saying, "The announcement from that warden figure or whatever it was? Yes, I sensed a similar echoing in my mind."
Uncle Ben felt weird wediscussing the voice that resonated in his thoughts. Initially, he believed it to be a hallucination, but now, with his nephew having a similar experience, he wasn't so sure anymore.
Describing the voice itself proved to be challenging; it all felt too surreal to put into words.
Numerous questions swirled in his mind: What exactly was Universe Online? Who or what was its warden? Could it be an announcement related to some kind of game?
Nevertheless, he knew that current human technology lacked the capability to directly transmit messages into the mind—it was impossible that any humans are behind this.
He also entertained some other wild guesses but didn't jump to conclusions. He was aware that his speculations might be even more outlandish than pigs sprouting wings.
However, the entire ordeal could be an elaborate prank played on them by an unknown entity. The idea crossed his mind as he tried to reassure Arnav.
"But do not worry about it, Arnav. I am certain it's just a prank--" His sentence remained unfinished as something utterly bizarre occurred..
[The transformation of the planet Earth into the trial ground will begin in {24:00:00}.]
".....!"
"...!"
Both the uncle and nephew duo were left in utter shock, gazing at a floating blue screen adorned with golden scripts in English, right before their eyes.
For a moment, they both believed they must be seeing things.
[The transformation of the planet Earth into the trial ground will begin in {24:59:59}.]
However, contradicting their assumptions, the numbers on the screen began to change.
Second by second, the numbers continued decreasing like an authentic timer.
*Thud* *Thud* *Thud*
Within the silent, dark room, loud heartbeats resonated.
Arnav turned to look at his uncle, whose heart was pounding so loudly that even he could hear it from a distance.
Concerned that his overreactive uncle might suffer a heart attack, Arnav felt worried about uncle drama queen.
Nonetheless, he could understand the reason for his uncle's intense shock.
After all, if the announcement and the appearance of the blue screen were not some cruel joke, which seemed highly unlikely, then planet Earth faced an immense crisis. Consequently, their family was undoubtedly in grave danger as well
However, Arnav had more pressing matters to contemplate.
'How did the timeline change? I cannot recall ever witnessing such a phenomenon,' he pondered suspiciously.
A thought crossed his mind, 'Could my reincarnation have triggered a butterfly effect?'
The notion held potential validity. Numerous theories from both the present and the future suggested that even the tiniest action in the present could alter the course of the future.
He recalled the example of a single chair being moved in Japan, subsequently leading to a destructive hurricane in China that laid waste to hundreds of homes. The idea might have seemed absurd, but it was not entirely baseless.
Despite considering this possibility, Arnav remained uncertain. He had not undertaken any significant actions since his reincarnation; in fact, only ten minutes had passed. Yet, a colossal change had unfolded worldwide, one that could potentially spell doom for the entire human race.
Just as he was about to dismiss the notion, a shudder ran through his body. A certain memory, from the distant past, resurfaced from the depths of his mind.
As he recalled this forgotten memory, his entire aura turned cold, and his eyes became as frosty as ice.
*****
"Like father, like son...."
A voice echoed in a dimly lit office room situated high in a towering building.
The room was strewn with lifeless bodies, their blood forming macabre streams across the office floor, saturating the air with the smell of iron.
Seated on a chair, an obese man in purple, blood-stained tuxedo broke the eerie silence with his lifeless words.
"Both of you are madmen!" he exclaimed, his voice that was completely dead.
His gaze was fixed on a figure standing before him, a man in his early twenties, dressed in an office employee uniform, clutching an ax in his right hand.
It was evident that this man, Arnav, was the perpetrator responsible for the carnage in the office.
"What do you know about my father?" Arnav coldly inquired, his voice tinged with a bloodthirsty edge.
For a moment, the obese man simply stared at the maniac before him, until he erupted into crazy laughter.
"HAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHA!" The laughter resonated with the madness of a man who had lost touch with sanity.
The obese man laughed uncontrollably for a full minute before finally speaking in a low, seething voice.
"You.... killed my family. You killed all of my men. You burned my tens of millions worth of company to ashes!" His voice gradually rose in volume.
With veins popping on his neck, he screamed, "For what?! To ask a fucking question about some missing madman?! Are you fucking shitting on me?!"
Clearly, the obese man had descended into madness, his eyes were filled with immense remorse and anger.
He appeared like a vengeful ghost seeking for revenge on his enemy.
But Arnav showed no care for his outburst, instead, he kicked the obese man in the chest, causing him to fall from his chair.
Pressing his leg against the man's chest, Arnav crouched down, locking his cold gaze with the man's eyes, and said, "Listen, fatso. I have neither the patience nor the time to indulge in your crying. Either tell me what I want to know and die peacefully, or I will have to use my tools."
The obese man shuddered at themention of "tools," fully aware of what it implied. He knew all too well that this madman before him would not hesitate to use them.
As a simple business man who had never known the world of pain, he preferred a swift death over experiencing excruciating torment.
Revenge can throw itself out of the window.
Reluctantly, he began to divulge, "I met your father only once, and that was before he went missing."
"He was a deranged man. During our conversations, he would often zone out, becoming sweaty and muttering incomprehensible words like a psychopath."
"When I inquired about his health, he would scream absurd phrases like 'Earth will be in danger!' or 'I have to do something!'. Honestly, he was a lunatic."
"That's all I know. As for how he disappeared or what happened to him, I have no idea."
"Who knows, perhaps your father's eccentricity was enough to catch the attention of aliens, and they abducted him! Hahahahaha-" The obese man erupted in another fit of laughter at his own joke.
However, someone else did not find the humor in the situation.
The obese man's laughter was abruptly cut short as an ax found its way into his face.
*****
"'Earth will be in danger', is it?" Arnav remarked.