It was just another Monday morning, The ocean crashed against the shore, its roar pounding in Michael's ears. Sunlight forced his eyes open as he trudged into the sparkling sea, still half-asleep and grumbling.
Michael recently started a new routine—waking up early, dragging himself down to the water's edge, and wading into the cold waves. The shock jolted him awake every time.
The water was crisp against his skin, cooler than he'd like, but refreshing enough to shake off the morning grogginess
Michael takes a deep breath and dives beneath the surface. The cool, salty water stings his skin but wakes him up instantly. Below, the clear blue ocean unfolds—hidden from most, but his to see. A wave crashes overhead, sending shimmering light rippling around him
Rising above the water, he glances towards his watch as he walks to the shore, on his way home. Adding a bit of a skip to his step as he sees the time.
The rare swim in the waves cooled Michael's Monday jitters before work. Salty water dripped down his legs as he breathed in deeply, his sinuses clearer than usual. The brisk ocean air felt invigorating, and even his usual morning grogginess seemed to fade.
Reaching his house just across the beach. Michael shakes his head in annoyance as he takes a bite of his apple, shoving discarded clothes scattered back into his kids bedroom,
I'll deal with that when I get home Michael sighs as he has a quick shower, ignoring the reminiscent ring of his left hand.
Getting out and wrapping a towel around himself, Michael wipes the steam off the mirror as he dries off his chubby frame—a body shaped by long hours of binge-watching, too many takeout meals, and one-too-many late-night beers. His kids always teased him about his "dad bod," but as he changed for work, something caught his eye.
He glanced at his reflection in the mirror. His stomach, his shoulders—something looked... different. Leaner, maybe? He shook his head, dismissing the thought. Probably just the morning swim working its magic, he thought with a small smile.
Walking down to his car, Michael wonders whether anything interesting was happening today. Maybe one of his customers may give him some food?
Three years in, and the job still felt the same. He'd started right out of high school, wiring homes and businesses, drilling, installing cables—nothing exciting, but not exactly boring either.
Michael's job wasn't exciting, but it wasn't dull either. Long hours in the sun gave him a mix of chatty customers and awkward silences. Some days were fun; others were just him, his tools, and his Bluetooth playlist.
The drive to work was mostly uneventful, aside from the occasional ping of notifications from coworkers interrupting his classic guitar playlist on Bluetooth. Most of the messages were the same—questions, requests for help, or complaints he wasn't in the mood to deal with.
Michael's mouth twitched, forming a frown. He felt different today and not in a bad way, more like his body was a bit more loose and less sore, the grogginess of last night's activities is gone…Weird.
Parking across the street, Michael ponders the beauty of this suburban high tech house, the street was filled with old fashioned simple houses creating a quaint feeling of simplicity.
But this house fit that stereotype of laid back outback look, it did have some high technology cameras zooming back and forth, as well as tall black fences with bushes surrounding it, the house itself was beautifully made, it was a nice white tall wooden house with a second story and a pool out back.
Knocking on the door, he waited as even the wooden door was niche and expensive with dense wood and electric hinges moving the door automatically as the customer came into view.
The customer was a tall, blond-haired young man who looked fresh out of high school. His gelled-back hair and bright emerald eyes gleamed with entitlement
The boy seemed to have a natural talent for organizing, though he never looked Michael in the eye. He rattled off instructions with a casual arrogance, hands tucked into the pockets of his designer jeans
Clearly the boy thought he was above menial work, despite being wet behind the ears.
As soon as the boy left, Michael got a proper look at the problem. No matter how much the kid claimed to know about his own house, Michael wasn't about to take his word over an expert's—especially when that expert was him.
The day was hotter than normal, a good thirty-eight Celsius, causing Michael to talk to the boy a couple times about getting water, no matter how annoying that kid's smug smile was, he needed to drink.
But despite the day getting hotter and hotter. Michael made fewer and quicker breaks for water and rest. While keeping the same intensity off when he started, as he completed a 6-hour job normally on a cool day in 4 hours, "God, I need those morning swims more often, I feel amazing after them" Michael mumbled quietly to himself, keeping note of it for later.
This boy was definitely not giving him any food. Michael grumbled, his hand reaching to pick up his tools and laptop.
Michael had always been an extroverted guy that enjoyed meeting new people, he was the type to never care about the group's opinion of him and disregard all but his own, causing him to always be this super independent person but that may also be the reason that he only has his few remaining school mates.
Yawning softly, Michael finishes up his paperwork as he calls for the customer to finish up for today. He grabs a sip off his drink bottle, before placing it down on the floor.
That's odd? The water is vibrating… there must be a generator under there or something. Michael questions, chalking it up to rich kid benefits, as he changes his attention to the approaching customer.
"Thank you, hope you have a great day to you sir" as Michael glared spitefully at the boy, only to receive a smug smile in return and a "Well, finally. I thought professionals were supposed to be quicker."
Michael grumbled, shaking his head at the kid's arrogance. 'You're saying I'm lazy? Come here… you—'
His breath hitched. His vision blurred.
Darkness bled into the edges of his sight, curling and shifting like ink in water. Words—sharp, jagged—burned themselves into existence. Michael stumbled back, his heartbeat thundering in his ears.
He squeezed his eyes shut, rubbing them hard. Nothing changed. The glowing symbols pulsed—hovering in the air, seared into his mind.
A startled yelp snapped his focus. The spoiled brat staggered backward, wide-eyed and pale.
He sees it too. As the text floods his vision, seeming to writhe and shift as it finally became legible:
S#ST#M #NITI#ALIS#TI-ION *E#ROR
SYST#M INT##LIZATION *INSUFFICIENT SPIRITUAL ENERGY
*ERROR* FILING WORLD KNOWN AS EARTH-27 WITH SPIRITUAL ENERGY
INSUFFICIENT WORLD MASS
USING SURROUNDING PLANETS TO FACILITATE GROWTH
SENTIENT-SPECIES KNOWN AS HOMO-SAPIENS FOUND**
TUTORIAL WILL NOW BEGIN
"SURVIVE. NO MATTER THE COST"