The era of the Internet had spead many works of fiction around the world. These works, mainly mangas, manwhas or even light novels often involved some kind of unknown force able to give abilities or transport people from a world to another.

  These works, where strange powers ruled instead of science, were a paradise for those in search of a something else. Sometimes, the setting gave the protagonists skills that could threaten gods, sometimes, misfortune and betrayal, sometimes, a slow and easy life.

  A sub genre of this litterature was the "Returnee" genre. Where people were transported to a game-like world to train in hopes to defeat dangerous entities that would target Earth via dimensional rifts.This was fiction. Pure fiction. Only fiction.

  ? Prologue starts now. The Administrator is searching for 1 000 candidates. ?So, what a surprise the world awoke to when a literal video game interface popped up right in front of Earth's eight billion inhabitants. An interface that asked only one question.

  'If Earth were to be threatened, would you fight against the threat ?'

  The answer was 'Yes' or 'No' and despite the warnings of governments and other forms of authority, people began to answer or spam this so-called Administrator's question, as shown by the number that decreased each day.

  ? Prologue starts now. The Administrator is searching for 704 candidates. ?? Prologue starts now. The Administrator is searching for 416 candidates. ?? Prologue starts now. The Administrator is searching for 320 candidates. ?? Prologue starts now. The Administrator is searching for 079 candidates. ?With that said, the counter wasn't updated in real time. Nobody know how much of a dey there was, but TV and social media had shown people answering positively to the question without the number going down for ten minutes, or half an hour even...

  "We're close. Less than a hundred votes left. Mom's too scared to allow Jeanne to answer, what about you Pierre ?"

  "Well I already clicked on Yes. I'm part of the GIGN, Paul. Defending the country is my stuff already. My higher ups haven't saying anything but I bet my ass they want at bunch of their men to say yes, just to show to the world the French still have a fiery battle spirit. But I still can't believe you're twenty-four and your mom doesn't let her click on a fucking button. That's craaaaazy. "

  I could only shrug from the other side of the phone. Pierre was right after all.

  "I mean. Dad almost clicked without any second thoughts and that scared her. I think Jeanne wants to do it... But I'm not sure."

  "Your choice man. But you better decide for yourselves. That shit ain't going to be there forever."

  "I guess I guess. Anyway, I'm opening the shop in a few minutes. I better get back before I leave the baguettes to burn. Besides I have to take my pills. "

  "Sure sure. Take care, both of you."

  Sigh...

  Another day, another shitty dose of medicine.

  I'm must Paul Pourfendeur. 24 years old. 1.80 meters. Unkempt yet impeccable bck hair in a bob cut. Just another guy working at a café. Life's peaceful, not too hard, not to easy. A little strange since that weird translucent window appeared a week ago, but that's fine.

  Alright. The baguettes should be good to go.

  -

  "Bonjour Paul. How's it going ? You're the one opening the shop today." a trembling but powerful voice reached the young man's ears. He turned around, facing a grandpa-looking guy wearing a turtle-neck sweater and a beret. A regur at the café. He and his wife always ordered macchiato at 6:30 AM and stayed until 9:30 to chat with the staff.

  "Yo Mr. Chevalier. I'm doing fine. Your wife isn't here with you today ?"

  "We had an argument. I clicked on that damn button and now she's freaking out. Damn woman! Can you believe it ! I'm sixty-eight but I still have fire in me ! I was in the military ! I can still defend the country !" the old man replied while swinging his cane everywhere.

  "Ahhh, I don't know if I want to click to be honest. Scientists still haven't figured out what this whole thing was. And besides... the number is decreasing day by day."

  ? Prologue starts now. The Administrator is searching for 37 candidates. ?"That's right. You have family. But Margaret and I are alone so I don't care what happens. If I can die before my cancer catches up to me, I'm fine. Deep down, Margaret must know this too. She knows I don't want to kneel to some disease."

  "Always fighting your battles, Mr. Chevalier. I'm envious."

  Mr. Chevalier rolled his eyes while fixing his beret in pce.

  "Bah ! Don't be envious. Be like me instead, fight your battles too ! You youngsters are always compining about everything. Always with your tik tok and instagram." the old man faked an outburst with his cane in the air, again.

  He knew his interlocutor didn't use those apps. But he still teased him about it and despite his comment, Mr. Chevalier was very much into social media too. He even often said that 'whoever criticizes the present and its fws has no right to praise the past, because it was just as fwed'.

  "One macchiato ready."

  "Thanks kiddo. I won't stay for today. The pce has been unusually busy since the start of the week. See you tomorrow."

  The barista watched as Mr. Chevalier disappeared in the crowd of pedestrians. He was right. More and more people were taking this street, and that meant more clients. Something about a street having a gas leak.

  Hm... Be like me instead, fight your battles too.

  'If Earth were to be threatened, would you fight against the threat ?'Just a choice...Yes. I would.

  ? The Administrator is pleased about your answer. 1 000 candidates have been found. The tutorial will now begin. ?WHAT ?!

  At exactly 7:14 AM of that day, satellites all over the world picked up an unknown, powerful radio-wave that crashed into Earth. At the same time, pilrs of light erupted from the ground, blinding bystanders and causing chaos all over the pnet.When the world got to its senses, a thousand people had vanished from the surface of the Earth.

  Welcome to the Prologue, Candidates. I am the Administrator. I was tasked by the System to select you, individuals who wish to protect your pnet. My task here is complete. We will meet again in five years, when the challenges that face you will be trampled on. Grow, Earthlings. Become powerful. To protect what you hold dear in your hearts.

  Farewell Administrator. Thank you for your cooperation. I will take over from now on.

  Another booming, yet less oppressing voice resonated in the air, reaching the ears of a thousand dumbfounded earthlings. The voice didn't continue right away, letting the men and women whisper to each other for a while.

  Forgive me for summoning you here, Earthlings who responded to the call of the Universe. I am The System. I would define myself as... a God. Not the ones from your religions, but rather a God who oversees Existence. Life for short. The Administrator is aiding me in the endeavor. Together, We are in charge of the bance of the Universe.

  As you can see and deduct, The Administrator transported you in another realm. One where death is a foreign concept for Candidates. My goal will be to nurture you into entities that surpass the limits of your species, by giving you powers. Magic, if you are more familiar with this term.Some of you will catch the attention of other being nearly as powerful as me called The Stars.A tiny amount of you may even reach a state where yourselves, ascend as Stars, should your power grow strong enough.

  However, do know...

  The voice stated in a suddenly very oppressing tone.

  These powers, come at a cost. You will have to train in the vast nds you can observe. Much like in your... video games, there are creatures you will have to learn to defeat, objects you will learn to create and repair, abilities you will learn and train to strengthen. These powers are not given. You answered a call. The call to protect your world. Train. Become strong, Earthlings. Starting from the fourth year, we will send back some individuals back to Earth. We will manifest there again when the first one among you will catch the attention of A Star. You will know when that happens. Do not worry.

  I will accompany you during these first days. Now, think about acquaintances who responded to the call alongside you. I will transfer you to them while I dispatch you in this world. Try to form groups and reunite as one. I wish you good luck. Candidates.

  -

  That was it. In the blink of the eyes, I was standing next to Mr. Chevalier, who was dressed in wizard robes, with a thick book in his right hand, and Pierre, still in his GIGN uniform, rifle and equipment included. For some reason, Mr. Chevalier was completely fine. No joint pains, no trembling voice, no sign of old age.

  "Ahah ! I feel like I'm twenty again ! Oh boy ! That feels so good to move again !"

  "Paul ! Come here !"Ah, Pierre was already in professional mode. Seemed like he had found other people who worked in police or the military. Good. Pierre was very reliable in times of crisis. He had to deal with hostage situations and other kind of messed up stuff.

  "This is going to be a wild ride, won't it ?"

  "For sure" he answered as we fist-bumped.

  -

  "Mages ! Get us some support fire ! The Vanguard's about to be breached !" "We can't let them through !"

  Kurm' Shtar Kaa' Leee ! RAAAAAH-

  "Bzing Bck ! Kill this Orc ! He's about to charge in !" "Healing on the way- !" "|Tremor of Gaia !|"

  The green mass of flesh and muscles cd in copper armor charged through the hordes of goblins, tanking fireballs, earth spikes and lightning-strikes until it fell into a pitfall along with other monstrous entities. Even then, its powerful voice could be heard among the other creatures' cries.

  Kurm' kalo kaar...

  The other monsters, after seeing their strongest fall into a trap, fell into chaos and retreated, chased by the Vanguard of the Awakeners. Some other people remained to repair the camps, the fields and the fortress.

  "Old man. Still examining Orcs ?" Mr. Chevalier turned around to face a thug-looking young man.

  Hm. Who was this guy then again ? Right... Leo the SpearFme. A cocky-looking teen with tremendous power. Power that came in the form of an obsidian nce he could summon at will. This same nce could erupt like a volcano to send va at his foes or turn into a shield, shortening the handle and thus reducing the weapon's range.

  Despite how he looked, he never bragged about his powers, but instead used them to protect the comrades that were injured when battling these... virtual creatures.

  "I am. I still cannot understand how these fake beings can look so real."

  Leo looked at his senior, who was slicing up the biceps of a creature that fell into the pitfall trap.

  "I wonder how The System and The Administrator manage to create such a life-like environment. It really feels like we're in a fantasy novel at some times." Leo muttered while raising his arm in the air. Mr. Chevalier stopped what he was doing to listen to the young man."I mean one of the guy you're always with... Pierre was it ? He can strengthen us to the point we can lift boulders and create craters by punching the ground... The other guy can become a dragon-man."

  "Indeed. And my cancer has been magically cured. I-"

  "Go on old man. I'll take care of the corpses."

  "Right. Thank you... Tell me young Leo. You were among the ones who were sent to the far North. How was it ? I would like to record your experience in one of my tomes."

  "Well. Ruins. Lots of ruins. Scriptures that spoke about the Stars. What we could become. We decided to pick some of them to read. Not a lot of other resources. This was a barren wastend. But... There were lots of enemies. Beasts more grotesque than everything we've seen yet. Insects mostly. Not that much more powerful than what we have right now." the spear-man paused, gathering his thoughts for a second before continuing."Somehow, it feels like we're stagnating. Nobody is getting anymore stronger apart from the ones who keep training."

  "I noticed the same thing..." Chevalier acquiesced after looking at the Awakeners that had stayed with them. "But... You spoke about scriptures. This might be interesting to me. Do you remember where you put them ?"

  "Oh right. You've got some skill that requires books, right ? I think we put them in the temple of the Sagittarius."

  "Thank you Leo. I'll be on my way now. just don't burn the tendons of the Orc. They'll be used as bowstrings."

  "Noted !"

  ... Hopefully these tomes will aid us to understand what we're against. It has been almost two years. And neither the System nor the Stars are saying anything about it...

  -

  "Mr. Pierre. This is worrying. As you asked, I went around the other fortresses Awakeners have built. All of us, we've reach a point of stagnation. We're not progressing any further. Even the strongest among us. You, Buster, Lightyear. Even Nidhogg has stopped growing. But he's still out there wrecking whatever entity there is left..."

  The imposing individual draped in a lion's hide turned around to face his interlocutor, scratching his chin form one hand and offering a gss of water from the other.

  "Thanks !"The messenger chugged down the beverage and wiped the leftovers with his arm.

  "Even Paul you say. But I assume he's still leagues above the rest of us, am I right ?"

  "I- yes. I assume so. When I arrived he was tearing a mountain apart with his cws. Even with your buffs, I don't think even Buster can achieve this."

  "We've been here for two years already. And no signs of the System allowing us to start fighting stronger beings. Annoying. Even though some of us became Apostles of the Stars already."

  "But the way, Buster has found an insect colony not too far away. He said their shells are sturdy enough to make armors-"

  ROAAAR-

  "Let Nidhogg handle it !"

  "Fall back !""Don't get caught up !"

  "Uwargh-""You mothe-" "Go !-"

  "Shielders at the ready ! Brace for impact ! The rest is coming !""Yeaaaaah !"

  "We stand ! By the Prideful Star, The Lion !-"

  ? March on. I, The Lion, accept your Courage. ?A wave of energy hit the Awakeners at the ready behind their shield. Strength filled their every muscle as they stood strong. Meanwhile, the many distorted reptilian figures crashed into the man-made rampart. Soon, spells and bdes cshing with metallic scales and cws filled the air with a cacophony of noises, hissing and cries.

  A few months ago, the System made itself known once again. The first batch of Awakeners were ready to be sent back to Earth It had said. By that time, most of the thousand people had stopped counting time. Most of them had stopped caring at all and that for a reason.For the past year, the Awakeners had been facing monstrous beings that appeared from nowhere. They were more preoccupied with these new enemies than with remembering which date today was.

  The monsters were unlike any others. Lizardmen, snakes, mias, wyverns and dragon-men. All reptilian beings. These creatures were merciless and cunning.If not for the System's authority, many would have 'died' by their brutal assaults. This was a whole other level than the usual goblin or Orc. But with the help of the ones recognized by The Stars, their Apostles like Buster or Pierre Coeur de Lion or even the three Arch-Mages, fending off the creatures proved to be much less difficult.

  ROAAAAAAAAR-

  But that roar. The strongest.

  Not even recognized by a Star, but inexplicably more powerful than their Apostles. Nidhogg. Paul Pourfendeur. The only Awakener who could become a being of reptilian nature. The one who had almost fractured the spatial dome around this world when he transformed for the first time.Even the System had been impressed. Even the Administrator had to step in to avoid colteral damage.

  Die ! Creatures !

  -

  It's endless. I keep hearing them. Voices. Whispers. Roars. It's not good. The System. Has no answer. It's maddening. I kill and it gets stronger. I kill, and it gets louder. I kill, and it gets clearer.

  -n, ...i..., k..., ...in, ki..., k...n-

  One more year at best.But... We're stagnating. Not good.

  "Stay strong Paul. We're close."

  Yeah. You're not the one with voices in his head whenever these lizard things show up.

  System. We cannot hold for any much longer. Moreover, the Awakening of the one they call Nidhogg weakened our defenses.

  We cannot keep pouring our power into the breach. Almost a year has passed on Earth. Four and a half here. ... The Stars have began warning us. They are scared. The Consteltions are scared. They are back.

  That soon ?! But we concealed this part of the Universe from Them. The Holrde.

  What could have... You don't think Nidhogg attracted them, right ? Are you thinking about discarding him ?!

  No ! Never ! And that's impossible. He is too powerful, and has a human heart. He could became a Star himself and even The Lion, The Tiger and The Bull would have to respect him if he manages to arise. That's why he wasn't offered a Stelr Bond yet. The Stars are scared to stunt his growth.But the problem is that we've been putting humongous amounts of our power to seal the breach... You know what happened st time we did that.

  Hyperion fell. We saw it. The Bck Holrde shouldn't be this organized when They have no Alpha. And yet... They manage to appear in this realm. How ?

  We need answers fast. But we cannot leave while we're transferring the Earthlings back... Let's hope some of them rise to become Stars. Portals should be starting to form soon on Earth.

  -

  "The attacks are intensifying. I do not like this one bit guys. The System is still trying to fix the spatial breach from Nidhogg's awakening so it can't be everywhere. Plus these creatures are definitely more intelligent than the rest."

  "True. They are specifically targeting fields and structures we need to craft artifacts." muttered a short woman with thick gsses, sitting on a phoenix. She adjusted the coat that covered her whole body and took out a book of ridiculous proportions from one of her pockets.

  "Celia. You're our strategist. What's the pn then ? Our numbers are dwindling since the Administrator is getting some back to Earth, and without some of the Apostles, we're definitely weaker already. How many now ?"

  The first woman shook her head, almost letting her magician hat falling off from the sky.

  "We're down to... Three hundred now ? Something like this ? Lightyear just got sent back a few days ago" a bear-shaped man, with muscles that threatened to rip his shit off, answered unsure, and the three figures in wizard robes sighed heavily.

  "Thousand Iai too. Morale isn't the best right now."

  "URGENT ! The Reptilzs are back !" a woman whose body seemed to be glitching screamed out as she appeared from thin air. "Lots of them ! Way too many ! Nidhogg is barely managing to hold off !"

  "Let's go ! We're right behind you, Phase !"

  Said woman summoned a blue ring of light in the air and the phoenix summon dived straight in. The warper would buy some flight time, the bird knew that from training.

  As the five Awakeners went closer to the pce of conflict, the more their guts were telling them to turn back.

  Nidhogg, Paul, was getting swarmed by all kinds of serpentine beings; Reptilzs, biting into his scales, hindering his movements and preventing him from aiming his fire correctly.

  The air crackled, signifying The System and The Administrator had arrived. Their booming voices worried the Awakeners even more.

  This outbreak is out of scale. There are too many compared to the st times. System. Help me !

  Where is the Portal ? We have to close it. But now we're sure. Something is intentionally opening these rifts. It's not just remnants.

  Magic power surged and the two cosmic entities started gathering it, trying to avoid hitting the Awakener in dragon form.... but all went bck.

  The many Awakeners, the hordes of Reptilzs, Nidhogg. The Administrator and The System. All were facing the void of the stars. Or rather a distortion in space. Darker than bck, with a ring of white levitating around it. A bck hole.

  No... We killed you...

  The bck hole stretched and twisted to take the form of a dragon, its size, incomparable to Nidhogg's. After what felt like an eternity, two red eyes opened to stare at the group.

  Pests. You still haven't understood. The Bck Horde will consume and you will not stop us. WE ARE THE MANY. We bring The End.

  I am The Dark Star ! The One who dims the All ! Perish. Miserable flickers of life.

  Space began to tear itself apart and rifts formed, from which more reptilians beings tried to crawl out of. Everything was converging towards the unknown dragon's opened maw. Towards Death.

  Administrator ! We must get the Awakeners back !

  Right ! Come on, quick !

  The few hundred remaining Awakeners felt the pull of the two godly entities, slowly bringing them closer to a wormhole they manifested. One by one, they were unched in another part of space, out of the creature's reach.

  'Aaaaaah, c'mon Paul, get something to grab onto, quick quick quick !'

  The pull of each side intensified. The two watchers didn't want to lose a potential future Star. The other entity, who knew... ?

  Fuck fuck fuck ! Please pull me out, pull me out, I want to see the cute white-haired girl again, pleasepleasepleas-

  She's Mine ! Get off !

  A burst of miasma disrupted the pull of the two Guardians and sent them far away as the Earthling got sucked in.

  SHE ?! What the fuck ?!

  The jaws closed and Nidhogg was trapped. He looked around in the Darkness and was hit by a wave of drowsiness.

  You are interesting. You are strong. Despite being a puny flicker of life.You will be the mother of Dragons.You will be the mother of the Horde.You will be my mate. You will be Tiamat.

  The unfortunate soul looked up at the Dark Star, barely registering the sentences, and let out a tiny whisper.What ?