The Summoning of Man

I sat in the silence of my cell, my breathing steady but my mind racing. I had been ready for a lot of things when I arrived in Turgan—death, monsters, even betrayal. But this? Captured. Studied. Left waiting.

That was worse than all of it.

I had seen a glimpse beyond the door. Not just a hallway—a place. A space that didn't belong in a wasteland like this, something built and maintained, something functional. A city.

The people who had taken me weren't scavengers. They weren't mindless creatures lurking in the sand. They were organized. Strong. Hidden. And for the first time since waking up in this world, I wasn't fighting to stay alive.

I was being observed.

I tugged at my restraints again. Nothing. The material flexed but didn't give. Not rope, not metal, something else entirely. Something designed to hold people like me.

People with System enhancements.

I exhaled slowly. They knew about the System. That much was obvious. And if they knew about it, then they either used it themselves—or they fought against it.

The door slid open again.

I stiffened as the same figure from before stepped inside. I could see them better now. A woman. She was tall, her posture rigid with trained discipline. Her dark armor wasn't as heavy as the ones worn by the warriors who had taken me, but it was still built for function over appearance. A close-fitting suit beneath, layered plating on her shoulders and arms.

And her face—sharp, unreadable, but human. Her eyes too focused, too controlled.

I wasn't dealing with some random faction of survivors.

I was dealing with soldiers.

She stopped a few feet from me, hands resting loosely at her sides. Not tense, not hostile. But she didn't need to be. She had control of the room.

She studied me for a moment, then spoke. "What's your name?"

I swallowed the first response that came to mind—something sarcastic, something to keep control of the conversation. Instead, I just said, "Josh."

Her expression didn't change. "You came through the ruins."

I didn't bother lying. "Yeah."

"Why?"

I flexed my fingers, testing the circulation in my hands. "Because I didn't have another option."

She tilted her head slightly. "You could have stayed in the desert."

I gave her a humorless smile. "Not much of a retirement plan."

She didn't react. Not even a flicker of amusement. "And what did you find?"

I hesitated. The sphere. The voice. The memory flashes. Did she know about it? Was she testing me?

I chose my words carefully. "Something old."

That, finally, made her eyes narrow slightly. She knew what I was talking about. "You activated it."

I didn't answer.

She stepped forward, and for the first time, her voice lost some of its cold neutrality. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

I forced myself to stay still, my mind working fast. I had done something. I just didn't know what.

I played along. "Why don't you tell me?"

She stared at me for a long moment, then let out a slow breath, like she was debating whether I was worth the explanation. "You shouldn't exist."

My pulse spiked. "That's a little dramatic."

She ignored me. "You're not supposed to be here. Not in that ruin. Not with the System."

I felt something cold settle in my gut. The hooded figure's words came back to me—The System doesn't care about you. You're a tool, nothing more.

I wasn't supposed to be here? Then who was?

She studied my reaction, then shook her head, as if I had already confirmed something for her. "Come with me."

I frowned. "I'd love to, but…" I lifted my hands slightly, showing the restraints.

She reached down and tapped something on the wrist of her armor. A faint beep, and suddenly, the restraints released.

I barely had time to react before she turned and walked toward the door.

I stood slowly, my muscles tensing, testing my movement. No weakness. No dizziness. Whatever they had done to me when they captured me, it hadn't drained my strength.

That was interesting.

I followed.

The door slid open, and I got my first real look at where I was.

A city.

Not just a collection of buildings, not another ruin swallowed by the desert. A real, living city.

The architecture was smooth, curved, unlike the blocky, functional designs I had expected. The walls pulsed faintly with energy. Not torches, not fire—something else. The air was crisp, clean, completely separate from the harsh, dry heat of the surface. And there were people.

They moved with purpose. Not scavengers, not desperate survivors. These were trained fighters, soldiers, engineers—a civilization that had endured where everything else had fallen.

And the most unsettling part?

They barely looked at me.

I had been expecting stares, whispers, maybe even fear. But the few people I passed barely spared me a glance. Not because they didn't notice me—because I wasn't important.

That was worse.

I turned to the woman beside me. "What is this place?"

She kept walking. "The last one."

That wasn't an answer. But I wasn't sure if she was going to give me a better one.

She led me down a series of interconnected corridors, past more soldiers, more doors. Every part of this place felt purposeful. There was no wasted space, no signs of luxury or excess. Everything was efficient.

Finally, she stopped in front of a large set of doors.

She placed her palm against the panel beside them. A brief pulse of energy, and the doors slid open, revealing a massive chamber beyond.

And at the center of the chamber, standing on a raised platform, was another sphere.

Larger than the one I had found in the ruins. Still intact. Still active.

The energy it radiated made my skin crawl.

The woman stepped aside, gesturing for me to move forward.

I did, slowly, my heartbeat increasing with every step.

I stopped at the base of the platform, staring up at the sphere as it pulsed with unreadable symbols.

And then—

It spoke.

Not like the broken, flickering voice of the one in the ruins. This voice was clear. Strong. Aware.

"Subject identified."

My blood went cold.

The woman's voice was calm, unreadable. "Tell me, Josh."

She stepped forward, watching me closely.

"What do you think the System really is?"

I didn't answer.

Because, for the first time since waking up in this world, I wasn't sure if I wanted to know.