The world had ended in silence.
Ethan Lin still remembered that part clearly. One moment, he'd been in the middle of texting his sister, seated beside a cracked window in their old apartment, and the next—a golden crack had split the sky in half like a wound torn into the heavens.
Then came the silence. It wasn't absence of sound, but the swallowing of it. All motion stopped. Birds froze mid-flight, rain paused in the air, and a golden interface bloomed before his eyes like a divine eye opening.
[Initialization Complete.]
[All sentient species of Terra have been selected.]
[Hegemony Protocol Engaged.]
Welcome, Seed God.
You have been chosen to compete for Divinity.
Raise followers. Claim dominion. Devour or ally. Only Ten Thrones will remain.
You have been gifted a Divine Core and one unit of Realm.
Survive. Ascend. Reign.
Then the world was pulled inside out.
Ethan had screamed. Or maybe he hadn't. He couldn't remember. The last thing he'd seen was his phone falling from his hands as gravity lost meaning—and the city folded like paper into the golden light.
When he awoke, he was no longer on Earth.
A silver sky arched above him, cloudless and vast, with a faint shimmer like oil floating atop water. Beneath him lay cracked marble—ruined tiles set into a long-forgotten temple, with shattered columns and a half-collapsed altar that still hummed faintly with energy.
All around him stretched an island of floating stone, suspended above a cloud-choked abyss. Far in the distance, Ethan could see other islands—some small, others massive, many veiled in fog and light. One looked like a hanging forest. Another like a castle wrapped in chains.
He sat up slowly.
Pain prickled through his body, but he wasn't broken. No wounds, no blood. Just an ache deep in his bones.
[Divine Realm Assigned: Fragmented Sanctum – Rank F]
[God Title: Unbound]
[Divine Core: Initializing...]
Floating text. Again. Just like before.
Ethan stared at the message for a long moment, heart pounding. Was it a hallucination? No. He could feel the hum in his bones—the Core. Something inside him was awake.
[Divine Core Activated.]
Welcome, Ethan Lin. You are now a Lesser God.
Faith: 0 | Followers: 0 | Domain: None | Territory: 1 unit
Warning: All Gods ranked below 5 million by Cycle 100 will be culled.
He read that last part twice.
"Culled," he muttered. "They're not even pretending anymore."
It was a competition. No—a war. Billions of humans, maybe more, all thrown into this... divine sandbox, given realms and power and rules—and only ten would survive in the end.
He looked around again, properly this time.
His domain—if it could be called that—was barren. A floating rock island no more than half a kilometer across, with scattered ruins of what might once have been a temple or palace. No trees, no animals, no buildings. Just cracked stone, dying grass, and a faint wind that carried the scent of nothing.
He wasn't alone, though. Not entirely.
[Would you like to assign your Divine Path?]
Three glowing options formed in the air:
1. Path of War
Grow through conquest, armies, and direct power. Devour enemy gods. Forge weapons and legions.
2. Path of Faith
Grow through belief, miracles, and worship. Followers are the source of your strength.
3. Path of Dominion
Grow through control, law, and divine will. Fewer followers, but absolute authority.
Ethan exhaled, rubbing his temple. War was straightforward, but also risky—he didn't know how strong others were. Faith sounded good, but who would believe in a god with no followers?
Control, though...
He had been a strategist. Not a soldier. He didn't win by brute force, but by creating systems that shaped outcomes. In games. In studies. In life.
He reached out and touched the third option.
[Selected: Path of Dominion]
Title Assigned: Seed of Order
You now rule by Law. Create and enforce divine edicts. Faith generated through obedience, structure, and control.
[First Edict: Declare Law?]
Ethan frowned. He could make a law? Now?
He stood slowly, walking toward the cracked altar. Its surface was faded, the runes unreadable, but he could feel a pull there—as if the Core wanted something.
A declaration. A foundation. A principle.
He closed his eyes.
In his mind, he thought of Earth. Of chaos. Lies. Betrayals. Governments that said one thing and did another. Of people who suffered while others profited. Of watching his mother cry when his father disappeared into debt.
He spoke.
"Law One: Within my realm, truth shall be absolute. Lies rot the soul."
A silver pulse surged outward from the altar. The tiles lit up—dimly, but surely. One broken column mended slightly. In the distance, the air shimmered.
[Law Established.]
+1 Faith.
A spark. A real, tangible warmth lit in his chest. Not a metaphor. Not emotion. Power.
And for the first time since the sky broke, Ethan smiled.
This wasn't just survival. It was a game. One built on systems, structures, laws.
And systems? Systems he could master.
He spent the next hours—or days; there was no sun to tell—exploring his fragment.
The floating island was small but layered. At its edge, a jagged cliff dropped into a glowing mist. He discovered a collapsed tower, half-buried stairs, and the crumbling skeleton of what might have been a divine library.
No followers. No beasts. Nothing.
But the Core was active. Through it, he could build.
[Faith required for construction.]
Shrine (10 Faith), Altar (25), Temple (100), Fortress (200)
He had one.
Still, the interface allowed a map. A divine view of his realm, labeled by grid units. All empty, but customizable.
He chose the altar as the Core seat. Named it the Sanctum of Truth. Marked zones for housing, scripture archives, training grounds. Nothing would be built for years—but the foundation was being set.
[Would you like to summon Followers?]
Yes.
You may summon one mortal per 1 Faith.
His heart quickened.
He selected it. Light gathered near the altar. A shape began to form—a kneeling figure, slowly sculpted from divine mist.
A woman. Pale-skinned, armored in cracked bronze, hair bound in ribbons of faded silk. Her eyes were shut. She exhaled sharply as breath returned to her lungs.
Then she opened her eyes and looked at him.
And knelt.
"My god," she whispered. "I am yours."
[Follower Acquired: Name Unknown | Role: Unknown]
Ethan took a shaky breath.
It had begun.
End of Chapter 1
(Next: Chapter 2 - The First Follower)