System

Amon screamed in pain, the world crumbling to pieces only to crash into him as it all blurred.

Originally, he'd been brought to a detention center on the outskirts of his city, but after they'd found the missing parts of his father's body, he was moved to a military facility in the middle of the forest.

It was a gigantic structure that, unlike most buildings, dove into the ground and not the sky, containing countless underground layers. He was brought to the deepest one, which must've been thousands upon thousands of miles into the ground.

At that moment, he felt it all collapse onto him as his bones broke and shattered, piercing into his organs to fill his lungs with deviated blood, and he began to choke.

He could hear other people scream and plead for help, and from the little his eyes could see and process, it was all endlessly dark with corners containing swirls of flames and floods of liquids from the upper floors that had collapsed.

Slowly, he began to die, and as he did so, rage and bitterness consumed his mind.

[You are in contact with a Dungeon, would you like to enter it? Upon doing so, your health will be restored.]

[Yes/No?]

'…what the hell is going on…?'

His time was coming to an end as his mind became even more sluggish and his very ego began to crumble under the weight of the endless pain he currently felt.

'…yes.'

[You have entered the Dungeon {Royal Infamy} (ZZZ+).]

<Good Luck.>

Under the endless rubble, his broken and shattered body vanished.

****

The apocalypse.

All over Earth, an apocalyptic scene could be seen. 

In the skies, gigantic portals opened up, allowing hordes of monsters and demons to storm out, flooding the Earth with their terror as all existing animal species suddenly seemed to evolve and mutate, turning into monsters just as terrifying as the ones from the portals.

But this wasn't all.

All over the planet, all humans, regardless of age, gender, and ethnicity, suddenly began to awaken powers and abilities as the battle against the hordes of monsters immediately began.

Amidst this ushering of chaos, a voice echoed and reached the ears of all humans on Earth.

[Inhabitants of Earth, the time of your awakening has come. As the last planet to awaken, you've been granted prestige monster waves to sharpen your edges and set foundations that'll shine throughout the ages.]

[Clear out the monsters that pour out of the portals to secure your planet. Conquer Dungeons to empower your planet and use the aether gifted to your world to rise through the realms as the time will soon come.]

[The youth of your planet is both a curse and a blessing as the Cosmic Fusion is coming and you need strength to fight the wonders and dangers of the universe lest you seek annihilation.]

[Good luck, Earthlings.]

***

Amon's eyes violently shot open as he sat up and gasped for air, his gaze widened in shock, fear, and confusion.

Though the pain he'd previously felt under the rubble had vanished, he still felt its phantom effects lingering within his mind as he involuntarily shuddered in reminiscence.

After taking multiple breaths, he calmed down and was finally able to assess his surroundings.

'Last thing I remember was something about a dungeon and a voice in my mind…'

He was in the depths of a thick tropical forest as above him, the sun hung high, its rays leaking through the thick interconnected leaves and branches that covered the skies.

The trees around him were as thick and tall as skyscrapers of Earth, with all kinds of insects and plants visible around him.

'What did I get myself into…'

[Hello, master.]

Suddenly hearing a voice whisper into his very mind, he involuntarily yelped and stood up, looking around with a gaze full of caution as he scouted for any danger.

[It is me, master. Your system.]

'Wha-who…you're in my head?! Who the hell are you?! What's going on?' he asked, slightly panicked.

[Master, please settle down. Panicking will not help. I'm sure you can feel I am a part of you.]

Hearing this, Amon exhaled a breath and calmed down. Indeed, hearing the voice he could feel it was just a part of him, but that was exactly what had spooked him the most.

It was as if a hand he'd never known he had, had suddenly revealed itself, only to begin talking in the next moment. It was ludicrous and hard to process.

[Before we proceed any further, master, I suggest you get on one of those perched-up branches or find a cave to settle in. You currently are in the open and the wind surely has carried your scent away, meaning beasts will soon come to seek you out. You are weak. Please find cover so we can discuss, master.]

It didn't take much more than that for Amon to immediately get to his feet and rush to the nearest tree he could find, his hands immediately grabbing onto a hanging vine on which he pulled to lever himself upward and begin climbing the tree.

It took a dozen minutes, but after a while, he'd reached a high enough branch.

It was terrifyingly wide and thick, perhaps as wide as a parking lot, as even the branch itself seemed to have its own ecosystem and fauna.

Sat down, leaning against the trunk of the tree, he exhaled heavy breaths as his body was covered in sweat.

As he recuperated, the voice in his head, his so-called system, began to speak and explain his current situation.

[Master, would you like the long or short version?]

'Mid.'

[Understood. Your planet, Earth, has awakened thanks to the accumulation of aether within your planetary core which allowed you to fully link with your aether pool.]

[Aether is the main and most powerful source and type of energy in the universe, as it is the nectar Gods and Ascendants use to reach the stars.]

'…Gods?'