Early Morning in New York
The shrill buzzing of the alarm pierced the silence of Alex Harper's small apartment. Groaning, rubbing his eyes, he swung his legs over the bed as the world weighed in with another routine day. Outside, the faint hum of the city filtered through his windows: distant car horns, constant churn of construction, the bark of a dog—nothing new. New York at its usual, chaotic best.
Dragging himself to the kitchen, he reached for the coffee pot with one hand, rubbing his face with the other. The steam from the brewing coffee was comforting, a fleeting escape from the grogginess of waking up. A dull thud sounded from somewhere across the street—probably a truck dropping something heavy, he thought. He didn't look up.
As the coffee machine gurgled and hissed, Alex rubbed the back of his neck and eyed the sunlight pouring through his window. Something flickered across the view for a moment, and he froze. For a fraction of a second, the warmth of the morning sun had turned yellowish to a strange icy blue. A chill ran down him, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. He blinked and brushed it away as exhaustion and rubbed his eyes once again. The noise of the world outside showed no sign of letting up.
He filled a cup, the pungent perfume that filled the air, and drank it all down in a single long draught. But with the warmth in him, another nagging sense crept to the back of his head. Was this mere imagination or.?
Shaking his head once more, he got into his jacket and headed out of the apartment.
Street
The sidewalk was bustling as always. The sound of clanking footsteps, honking horns, and the fragrance of hot pretzels coming from a nearby food cart told it all; it was New York. Everything seemed to be in its own place. Rushing people running to get to work, to school, to wherever their day was taking them.
But there was something in the air. Change, subtle at first but growing more unmistakable with each passing second. Alex merged into the current of the crowd, his strides lengthening, but a peculiar tension wrapped itself around him. The wind that rustled papers and leaves on the sidewalk carried a smell—a whiff of pungent ozone. His eyes shot up to see pigeons burst into hysterical flight, scattering as if they had been spooked by something that didn't have an earthly shape.
It was over in a flash. He pushed ahead as well as he could, reassured himself he just felt tense today.
And yet, still he could sense it.
There was a fountain in a plaza nearby that rippled strangely, as if its water were dancing over some deep vibration under the earth. It wasn't the wind. No one seemed to be noticing, or at least they weren't reacting. Alex felt a shiver creep up his spine. It wasn't like the usual oddities of the city—this was something different.
At the Café
The bell jingled above the door to the café as Alex stepped inside. His daily routine: slip into his apron, pour some coffee, say good morning to the regulars. Business as usual, right?
But when he stepped round the counter, the screen over the espresso machine caught his eye. The news anchor's face filled the screen, her usual calm colored with confusion.
"A second sun has been spotted in the early morning sky, visible faintly alongside the horizon," the anchor reported. Her voice was strained, her smile forced. "Scientists are baffled, citing no prior records of such an object."
Alex's heart skipped a beat. He could see the live feed of the sky in the background: the bright, golden sun and, hovering beside it, a sickly, pale twin. For a second, everything in the café seemed to freeze—customers murmured, some joked about it being a promo for a new movie, but the air in the room felt dense. Almost suffocating.
He didn't feel like laughing.
A faint shudder seemed to run along the floor, unseen by anyone but Alex. Soft, like an earthquake miles away, or the low thrum of a subway tunnel running beneath.
The ceiling fan groaned to a stop, and a stray wind buffeted him, bearing with it the eerie ozone smell once again. Something was off. His head spun with thoughts: was this some kind of natural disaster? Or. something else?
Nature's Subtle Rebellion
The shadows of the café grew more defined, stretched out in ways that seemed unnatural as the lights briefly flickered. Alex rubbed his hands over his apron, hoping it was just bad wiring. There was something else.
Outside, clouds in the sky writhed into jagged lines that had more the feel of cracks than any natural phenomenon. The rain began to drizzle down. But it wasn't like real rain. The drops hovered in mid-air for one moment too long, almost as if suspended in space, before they hit the earth.
The golden mist from before, that warmth that lingered in the air, rolled in once more, growing thick and all-encompassing, like some living thing wrapping around everything.
Customers shifted uncomfortably in their seats. One of the regulars muttered something about the end of the world, but Alex didn't feel like laughing. Not now.
The air felt wrong.
He stepped outside for a break, needing to clear his head.
Alex's Realization
Alex finally allowed himself to look at the sky, his bare feet set in the cool mist that crept around him in the street. Two suns. No illusion. Not a trick of the light. The second sun was too close now, almost pulsating in the sky, its sickly glow mingling with the warmth of the golden one.
What the hell is going on?" Alex whispered to himself, his breath misting in front of him.
That was when the ping sounded.
Alex froze.
The sound wasn't from his phone. It echoed, distant but clear, deep inside his head.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
SYSTEM INITIALIZING...
Warning: Multiversal Instability Detected
Host Identified: Alex Harper
Framework Online: Nexus Framework
[Quest]
Objective: Survive the Multiversal Shift.
Reward:
Level 1Unlock: Basic System AccessSkill: Reflex Boost (Temporary)
You have been granted access to the Nexus Framework. This system will assist you in navigating the unpredictable changes brought on by the multiversal collapse. Survive the challenges ahead to grow stronger.
The words faded, and a new ping rang in his ears, the text hovering just out of his reach:
[New Skill Unlocked]
Reflex Boost (1 Hour): Increases reflex speed and reaction time.
A wave of dizziness crashed over him. It felt… real.
His pulse quickened, his mind racing. He raised his hands, trembling slightly. This couldn't be happening.
[Quest Reminder]
Objective: Survive the Multiversal Shift.
Reward: Strength, Knowledge, Power.