His voice remained controlled, but cold anger simred beneath the surface.
"I'm not telling you this to create panic. I'm telling you because when the rge completes—which will happen much sooner than the military has planned for—you'll need to be prepared. Ordinary weapons won't stop what's coming. Only those with awakened abilities will be able to protect themselves and others."
He paused, letting the information sink in.
"If you're watching this and you're not a beta player, find soone who is. Now. Today. If you're a beta player who's been ignoring Armageddon, log in imdiately. Level up. Gain skills. You'll need them in the real world soon."
Arthur's expression softened marginally, shifting from warning to offer.
"To anyone who wants safety when the worlds rge—co to Village #420. We've been preparing. We have defenses, resources, and organized protection. Unlike the military complexes, we won't turn you away based on 'strategic value assessnts.'"
He looked directly into the cara, his gaze piercing.
"The rge has already begun. You can see it happening around you if you know where to look. Unusual animal behavior. Plants growing in impossible ways. Strange weather patterns. These aren't coincidences."
Arthur's final words carried the weight of absolute conviction.
"The world as you know it is changing. The question isn't whether you'll be part of that change—it's whether you'll survive it. Village #420 offers sanctuary to anyone who cos in peace. The choice is yours."
He nodded once, and Tiana stopped recording.
The room remained silent for several heartbeats.
Gates cleared his throat. "That was... effective."
"It'll cause panic," his security chief warned.
"It'll cause preparation too," Arthur countered. "There's a difference to chaos with preparation and chaos without,"
Tiana reviewed the footage, nodding slowly. "This will spread faster than any containnt effort can stop it. Once it's out, it's out."
"Release it," Arthur said. "Now. You can take care of early advertising and making sure the place isnt leaked,"
Gates exchanged a look with his daughter, then nodded. "We'll need to prepare for the response. The military won't take this lying down."
"Let them co." Arthur's voice was ice. "In twenty hours, it won't matter what they think."
As Tiana worked on uploading the video through anonymized channels, Arthur moved to the window, staring out at the city below.
'Soon, Charlotte. Soon i'll have everything i need to save you.'
The countdown continued its relentless march in his mind.
[19:42:16]
The rge was coming.
The video spread like wildfire, jumping from platform to platform faster than any algorithm could track. Within the first ten minutes, it had been viewed a million tis. In half an hour, translations appeared in many languages.
In Seattle, Marissa Chen sat in her college dorm, eyes fixed on her laptop screen. The spoon of cereal halfway to her mouth dripped milk onto her keyboard.
"No. It's a hoax. I-it has to be."
She was also a beta player, as the balck ring was proudly sitting on her finger. She was a evel 7 Healer, she had barely touched Armageddonsince orientation week.
The login button pulsed with urgency after seeing the video.
"Hey," her roommate called from the doorway. "You seeing this crazy video everyone's—"
"I'm logging in now," Marissa said, abandoning her breakfast.
---
In Frankfurt, Ernst Kleberg watched the video twice, then called his hunting club's ergency line.
"Cancel the weekend trip," he told Dieter. "We need to convert ammunition. Regular rounds won't work against... what's coming."
"You believe that nonsense?" Dieter laughed. "So Arican kid playing dress-up?"
Ernst's voice hardened. "My son is Level 10 in Armageddon. He confird everything. That's not so kid—that's Fateless."
Silence stretched across the line.
"I'll call the others," Dieter finally said.
---
In Mumbai, Arjun hta shouted across the crowded tech office. "Boss! We've got confirmation on the anomalies!"
Three dozen programrs stopped typing, heads turning toward the corner where Arjun had plastered screenshots from the Fate video beside their own wildlife monitoring data.
The correlation was undeniable.
Their CEO approached slowly, face ashen. "How long have we known?"
"The data's been there for few giues," soone murmured. "We just couldn't release it due to the militaries restrictions,"
Armageddon flodded with players as more people logged back in.
---
In Lagos, a street vendor nad Ekene watched the video on a custor's phone. He closed his stall and used his savings to buy three bus tickets to the northern countryside.
"My cousin is a player," he told his confused wife. "We'll be safer with him when it happens."
She thought he was mad until he showed her the strange, luminescent fungi growing behind their apartnt building—fungi that hadn't been there two days before.
---
#FateWarning trended globally.
#ThergeIsReal followed.
Then #Village420.
Military and governnt responses ca too late—asured statents about "investigating unverified claims" drowned beneath the avalanche of firsthand confirmations from beta players worldwide.
Each new incident amplified the ssage. Each confirmation brought more players to Village #420.
---
Inside a Pentagon conference room, General slamd his fist against the table.
"Shut it down! Every copy, every mirror site, every repost!"
The tech specialist didn't look up from her laptop. "Sir, it's been viewed over fifty million tis. It's on private servers, sh networks, offline storage. We can't contain it."
"Then discredit him," Hawthorne snarled. "Release the statent."
---
The official announcent appeared on governnt channels worldwide just after midnight:
"After extensive analysis of the viral video circulating online, we can confirm that Arthur Fate has been identified as a person of interest exploiting legitimate governnt research for personal gain. While our scientists have indeed docunted biological anomalies consistent with theoretical rge phenona, Fate's characterization of military involvent represents dangerous misinformation designed to create panic and undermine authorized ergency response protocols.
"The classified research Fate illegally accessed was part of Operation Safeguard—our comprehensive preparation strategy for potential reality-convergence scenarios. Contrary to his claims, no experintation on beta players occurred. The monitoring systems referenced were safety asures implented to protect vulnerable individuals during events.
"We've been preparing a controlled information release to prevent exactly the kind of public panic Fate has now triggered. Citizens are advised to follow official ergency channels only and report any sightings of Fate to authorities imdiately for his own protection and debriefing.
"For those with concerns: yes, the rge appears to be a genuine phenonon. Governnt-sanctioned safe zones are being established. Unsanctioned gatherings, including at the referenced 'Village #420,' lack proper safety protocols and ergency infrastructure."
The statent concluded with links to "official preparation resources" and ergency contact information.
On screens across the world, the carefully crafted ssage played out. Perfect blend of confirmation and denial. Acknowledge the undeniable while reclaiming the narrative.
Masterful damage control, thought Colonel Hayes, watching from the militaries communication center.
But will anyone actually believe it?
The social dia response ca faster than they predicted.
"Nice try. 'Safety asures' don't include threatening families."
"If they were 'preparing' us, why only admit it after getting called out?"
"Next thing you know, Fateless is a terrorist. Hahaha, they do this all the ti."
---
Donald Warner watched the chaos unfold from his secure bunker, ice forming in his stomach.
The phone rang—his superior.
"This is your ss," Hawthorne's voice cut like a blade. "Rember our conversation about being bait? That tiline just accelerated."
Donald closed his eyes. In re days or hours, Arthur Fate would have real-world powers—the sa powers that had allowed him to rescue his sister while leaving a trail of bodies behind.
And Donald was still scheduled to appear on national television soon.
The perfect target.
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