The lecture hall buzzed with the lazy energy of a Friday afternoon. Students shifted in their seats, whispering about weekend plans, while the professor's voice droned on in a flat, rhythmic monotone from the podium.
Ryker sat low in his row, his thumb habitually pushing up the bridge of his glasses. The yellowing strip of tape holding them together was fraying at the edges, a small detail he simply hadn't bothered to fix.
To his right, Julian leaned back with his hands behind his head, perfectly relaxed.
"Seriously, Ry," Julian whispered, nudging him with an elbow. "If you don't come to the mixer tonight, I'm dragging you there myself."
Ryker kept his eyes on his notebook, tapping his pen against the margin in a steady, even rhythm.
"And ruin a perfectly quiet Friday? No thanks. Your fan club will spend the entire evening asking me where you get your hair cut."
Julian let out a loud laugh, drawing a brief, warning glance from the professor. He hooked a playful arm around Ryker's neck, nearly sending the taped glasses flying.
"Come on, I'll buy the pizza. You need to get out more, man. Books won't keep you company forever."
Ryker chuckled, a genuine smile breaking through his quiet demeanor as he shoved Julian's arm off. He adjusted his glasses, checking the room out of habit.
A soft throat clear came from the row directly in front of him.
Maya had turned around. She was holding her phone close to her chest, her fingers tapping nervously against the screen. When Ryker's eyes met hers, her cheeks flushed slightly.
"Are you Ryker?" she asked, her voice dropping a fraction lower. She held out the phone, her thumb hovering over the contact screen.
"I was wondering... if you wanted to exchange numbers? For a study group?"
Julian immediately shot Ryker a wide, highly amused grin.
Ryker paused. He looked at the phone, then back up at Maya. His heart gave a slight, unfamiliar skip, but his gaze remained steady, tracing the quiet anticipation in her expression.
He reached out, took the phone, and typed in his number.
"Yeah," Ryker said, his voice quiet but clear. "Sure. A study group sounds good."
Maya took the phone back, a quick, bright smile lighting up her face before she turned around.
Julian leaned over instantly, his voice a mocking whisper.
"Look at you, Mr. Smooth. Didn't know you had it in you."
"Shut up," Ryker muttered, though the small smile stayed on his face.
He lifted his hand to rub the bridge of his nose, slipping his glasses off for a brief second to relieve a sudden, heavy pressure building behind his eyes. It felt like a dull, throbbing ache, right between his temples.
He blinked, the classroom temporarily blurring.
Then, the sound outside changed.
A car horn blared from the highway below. Then another, followed by a cascading chorus of screeching tires and a heavy, metallic crunch. Shouting voices drifted up through the glass windows.
The professor stopped mid-sentence. The entire class fell silent.
"What the hell is that?" Julian muttered, sitting up straight.
While the rest of the students exchanged confused glances, Ryker was already out of his seat. He moved quickly, stepping past Julian toward the large glass windows overlooking the city.
Down on the highway, thousands of cars had ground to a complete halt. Drivers were flinging their doors open, abandoning their vehicles mid-lane, and scrambling onto hoods. None of them were looking at the accident. Every single face was turned toward the sky.
Ryker followed their gaze upward.
Above the skyscrapers, a second sun had appeared.
It didn't glare or radiate heat. It hung beside the natural sun like a dead, hollow reflection, casting a heavy, unnatural twilight over the entire metropolis. Shadows stretched across the concrete, too long and too sharp.
Thump.
A low vibration rippled through the floorboards, rattling the window glass. The dead sun pulsed.
The throbbing behind Ryker's eyes spiked into a blinding flash of pain. He stumbled back a step as a transparent blue box flickered directly into his line of sight, glowing with soundless text.
[The Evolution Game is initializing...]
[Scanning global host compatibility...]
Gasps and sharp cries echoed through the room. Ryker looked around, his hands gripping the edge of a desk. Students were clutching their heads, their faces turning pale as identical blue reflections lit up their eyes. Maya was holding her temples, her shoulders trembling. Julian had dropped to his knees, groaning in agony.
Ryker blinked through the pain, trying to clear his vision, but the text suddenly shattered. The blue light dissolved, replaced by a harsh, bleeding crimson.
[CRITICAL ERROR: Compatibility detected at 0.00%.]
[System integration failed.]
A 0% compatibility.
Ryker stared at the red words hanging in the air, his jaw tightening. He didn't have time to react.
The world collapsed.
Across the lecture hall, students dropped simultaneously. Books, laptops, and bags slammed into the floor as a synchronized wave of unconsciousness hit the room. Julian went entirely limp, crashing into the row ahead.
Ryker tried to fight the heavy, crushing weight pulling at his limbs, but his knees buckled. The crimson text fractured, and darkness took him.
---
When he woke, the world was screaming.
Ryker gasped, a sharp, ringing pain exploding through his skull as he pulled himself up from the linoleum. Fire alarms were blaring from the hallway. Through the broken windows, the distant, muffled thud of explosions rolled in from the city.
The lecture hall was a mess of overturned desks and scattered papers. Students were waking up slowly, groaning and clutching their limbs.
"Julian!"
Ryker crawled through the debris, his movements urgent as he reached his friend's side, grabbing his jacket and shaking him.
"Julian, wake up!"
Julian groaned weakly, blinking open bloodshot eyes.
"Ry...? What... what happened?"
"Get up," Ryker said, his voice tight as he pulled Julian to his feet. His eyes swept the front rows, immediately searching for Maya.
A sharp, terrified scream cut through the alarms from the front of the room.
Down by the podium, a girl was kneeling beside the professor, who lay completely still on his back.
Ryker's eyes narrowed as he looked around the rest of the room. Nearly half the class wasn't moving at all. Their skin looked pale, almost drained.
"Professor, please!" the girl sobbed, shaking his shoulder.
The professor's body suddenly convulsed, a violent, wet gasp tearing from his throat.
The girl let out a breathless sigh of relief.
"Oh, Thank God, you're—"
The professor's hand shot up.
His fingers clamped around her throat, pinning her down with terrifying, unnatural speed.
The professor's skin had turned a mottled, ash-gray, the veins beneath his jaw bulging black against his neck. His eyes were wide, completely milk-white and blank.
A raw, animal snarl ripped from his chest as his jaw unhinged, lunging forward to bite deep into her shoulder. Blood sprayed across the chalkboard behind them.