It began without warning.
A low, deep hum spread across the world—a soundless vibration that shook the air, the land, and the very bones of all living beings.
Then, light erupted.
Not from the sun.
Not from the sky.
But from the earth itself.
A wave of golden radiance burst forth, an invisible tide of pure World Energy saturating every corner of the planet. This was the essence of evolution, something Earth had never possessed in its countless eons of existence.
For the first time in its history, Earth was truly alive.
And it demanded change.
---
Not all could withstand it.
Across continents, cities, and untamed wilderness, the world shook.
The weak—both human and beast—were the first to suffer.
Millions of people felt their veins burn, their cells shatter, their bodies unable to contain the sheer force of the awakening.
They screamed, their cries swallowed by the rising tide of power.
And then—
They burst into blood mist.
Torn apart, reduced to nothing but scattered essence, their existence erased in an instant.
Yet, for those who survived, the change was profound.
Muscles thickened.
Bones grew denser.
Organs refined.
Bloodlines evolved.
In mere moments, ordinary people became extraordinary, while the unworthy perished.
It was a massacre and a rebirth, all in one.
---
It wasn't just humans.
Deep in the mountains, lions and tigers howled as their bodies grew massive, their golden eyes flickering with a newfound intelligence.
In the endless skies, birds of prey screamed as their wings stretched wider, their feathers gleaming with mystical light.
Beneath the earth, buried creatures stirred, their flesh twisting into forms ancient and terrible.
Some grew stronger.
Others… exploded into nothingness.
The law was simple:
Only the worthy shall live.
---
Far below, in the unfathomable depths of the ocean, the awakening was even more brutal.
Tsunamis raged as sea creatures battled one another, their instincts overwhelmed by a force greater than themselves.
And then—
The black crystal moved.
The Earth had watched.
It had seen the humans gain power.
It had seen the land awaken.
Now, it turned its favor toward the sea.
With an unseen force, the last unclaimed crystal—a dark, pulsing fragment of the Titanic Hellwolf's essence—was transported deep into the ocean's abyss.
What followed… was a massacre.
The moment the black crystal touched water, every sea beast within a hundred kilometers went mad.
They fought.
They clawed and bit, ripping each other apart in a frenzied slaughter—all for the right to consume the unknown power.
Sharks, sea serpents, ancient leviathans—beasts that had ruled the ocean for centuries—tore through the water in a blood-soaked storm.
And then, amidst the chaos, a monstrous figure emerged.
A colossal octopus, its body stretching over a hundred meters, wrapped its massive tentacles around the black crystal—and swallowed it whole.
For a brief moment, there was silence.
Then—
BOOM.
A violent shockwave erupted, splitting the ocean apart.
The octopus twisted, its flesh bubbling and reshaping, its body mutating into something unnatural, something divine.
Its eyes turned abyssal black, filled with intelligence surpassing any beast before it.
Its tentacles stretched further, their ends shimmering with a strange, otherworldly light.
Its very presence changed the ocean itself, sending even the greatest sea kings fleeing in terror.
It had transcended.
It was no longer just a beast.
It had become a Royal Beast.
The first of its kind.
And the war for Earth's dominion had only just begun.
---
The first three days after the awakening were nothing short of hell on earth.
Cities were left in ruins as both mutated humans and beasts tested their newfound strength in reckless abandon. Governments collapsed overnight. The world order that had lasted for centuries crumbled under the weight of evolution.
But the Six Great Families had not fallen into chaos.
They had sealed themselves away.
Deep within fortified strongholds, they spent three days consolidating their gains.
They studied their newfound abilities.
They measured their strengths.
They planned for the new world that was to come.
To the common people, they had vanished.
And in their absence, humanity was forced to fend for itself.
Some celebrated.
They felt power surge through their veins, their bodies stronger than ever before.
But others…
They mourned.
They stared at the piles of blood mist, the remains of family and friends who hadn't been strong enough to survive the awakening.
The world had changed.
For better or for worse.
And when the six families finally re-emerge from their isolation....
They would no longer be rulers of an old world.
They would be kings of a new one.
---
The world was no longer the same.
The awakening had turned Earth into a battlefield where only the strong survived.
Cities burned.
Skyscrapers crumbled as massive beasts rampaged through once-thriving metropolises.
The roads ran red with blood, littered with the corpses of those who had failed to evolve in time.
From the jungles of South America to the frozen tundras of Siberia, the beasts ruled the land, their numbers growing exponentially with each passing day.
It wasn't just wild animals anymore.
Domesticated pets mutated overnight.
Dogs grew into towering wolf-like monstrosities, their howls shaking the earth.
Cattle, pigs, and even birds mutated into terrifying creatures that no longer feared man.
For the first time in history, humans were no longer at the top of the food chain.
And the world spiraled into anarchy.
---
Despite the chaos, the Six Great Families remained in seclusion.
Many believed they had abandoned humanity, retreating into their fortresses while the rest of the world burned.
But in reality, they were planning something greater.
For three days, they studied their inherited knowledge, unlocking the secrets of the red and white crystals that had fused with them.
And in their collective wisdom, they came to a single conclusion:
Humanity could not survive scattered and divided.
A new world required a new order.
And they would be the ones to create it.
---
With absolute control over the remaining global resources, the Six Families executed their most ambitious plan yet.
They would build a new world.
A superstructure, a fortress city so massive that it would become the last true bastion of mankind.
At its heart, the Grand Citadel, a towering stronghold where the Six Families would rule from above.
Surrounding it, five massive sub-bases, each controlled by one of the Five Great Families—Atlas, Silverveil, Cyberion, Nocturne, and Crimsonveil.
These sub-bases would extend across every major country, forming a global defensive network against the endless waves of beasts.
To the scattered remnants of humanity, this was hope.
To the Six Families, this was control.
---
Word spread like wildfire.
"Come to the Grand Citadel! The last sanctuary of mankind!"
Across the ruined world, survivors fled toward the designated locations, braving the infested wilderness, fighting off hordes of mutated beasts just to reach the promised land.
But the truth was far more sinister.
The Six Families weren't just building a fortress.
They were rebuilding their empire.
They needed soldiers.
They needed workers.
They needed cannon fodder.
And what better way to achieve that than by offering a false salvation?
---
The most ingenious part of their plan was the gift of power.
From the memories inherited through the white and red crystals, the family heads had uncovered something crucial:
A technique to absorb World Energy.
For centuries, Earth had been a dead world, deprived of the energy necessary for true evolution.
But now, after its awakening, it was overflowing with power—just waiting to be harnessed.
The Six Families compiled a technique, a rudimentary cultivation method, and distributed it to the masses.
It was simple.
It was effective.
And it was a trap.
By teaching the survivors how to absorb World Energy, they turned weak, ordinary humans into usable assets.
Some would become builders, their bodies strengthened by energy as they worked tirelessly to construct the fortress.
Some would become soldiers, fighting on the frontlines against the beasts, testing their newfound strength.
And some… would simply die, their bodies unable to withstand the brutal awakening.
But to the Six Families, this was acceptable loss.
The weak had no place in the new world.
Only the strong would thrive.
And at the top of the pyramid, ruling over them all…
Would be the Six Families themselves.
---
As weeks passed, the super fortress took shape.
Massive walls, reinforced with cutting-edge technology and arcane energy, towered over the landscape, keeping the beasts at bay.
Within the Citadel, the remnants of human civilization restructured itself.
The rich and powerful, those favored by the Six Families, lived in the inner districts, safe from all harm.
The warriors, those who had proven their strength, took positions as guards, enforcers, and commanders.
The ordinary survivors, the weak, the desperate—became laborers, foot soldiers, and disposable tools.
And outside the walls…
The beasts continued to evolve.
The world was far from safe.
But within the Grand Citadel, a new order had begun.
One where strength was law.
One where the Six Families ruled supreme.
And for the rest of humanity, there were only two choices:
Evolve… or perish.