The rain came down like the tears of the gods, merciless and unrelenting. In a small apartment perched on the coastal edge of a seaside city, Kaelen Vire stood by the window, watching the waves crash with a fury that mirrored the turmoil in his chest.
He was twenty years old today.
And alone.
No party. No celebration. Just another day working odd jobs to feed himself and his fourteen-year-old sister, Lyra. Their parents had died years ago in a shipwreck—a bitter irony for a family that had once lived by and loved the sea.
"Kael!" Lyra's soft voice rang out from the kitchen. "I made you something!"
Kaelen turned, a tired smile playing on his lips. "Hope it's not burnt."
"It's only slightly burnt," she said, her tongue poking out. She brought a tray with a lopsided pancake shaped like a turtle and two cups of cheap hot cocoa. "It's the best I could do with the flour we had left."
He ruffled her hair. "It's perfect."
They sat down, the storm outside growing louder. Lyra clutched her cup between her small hands, and her gaze wandered to the cracked windowpane.
"Do you ever think there's something... more?" she asked.
"More?"
"Like... another world. Where we're not just struggling. Maybe somewhere I could actually ride a giant beast and you could command ships and storms like a sea king."
Kaelen laughed. "I think you've been watching too many fantasy dramas."
She gave a small shrug. "Still... wouldn't that be cool?"
He smiled wistfully. "Yeah. It would be."
That was when the thunder stopped.
Not faded. Stopped.
A silence deeper than anything they'd ever felt fell upon them. The lights flickered. The sound of the rain vanished. The windows no longer shook.
Then came the voice.
"Selected Candidates... Identified."
Kaelen dropped his cup. The cocoa splashed onto the wooden floor, untouched by sound.
"Kaelen Vire — Qualified. Awakening: Lord Candidate – Ocean Sovereign Classification."
"Lyra Vire — Qualified. Awakening: Rare Summoner Class: Beast of Myriad Evolution."
A blinding pillar of blue light enveloped them both. Kaelen instinctively pulled Lyra close, shielding her as the apartment around them dissolved into foam, wind, and roaring power.
They weren't being taken.
They were being ripped from Earth.
The next thing Kaelen saw was endless sky above, and ocean all around.
He gasped, nearly choking on the salty air as he realized he was lying on soft white sand.
"Lyra!" he shouted, scrambling up.
She lay beside him, groaning and squinting into the sun. Still breathing. Still here.
He pulled her into a hug.
"You're safe. We're safe."
A soft ding echoed in his ears. Then translucent blue screens appeared before his eyes like some kind of game interface.
[Ocean Sovereign System Activated]
Welcome, Lord Kaelen.
You have been assigned a starting territory: Seabound Village – Coastal Zone, Tier 0.
Resources: None.
Starting Unit: 3x Coral Infantry (Primitive).
System Privileges:
100% Drop Rate from enemy units.
Exclusive Evolution Tree for all summoned or recruited troops.
Oceanic Domain Boost: All Water-type units gain +10% stats.
Objective: Expand. Conquer. Evolve. Survive.
Kaelen stared in disbelief.
A real system.
A real new world.
A real... war?
"Kael..." Lyra whispered beside him, her own eyes wide as a smaller screen floated before her.
[Summoner's Pact System Activated]
Welcome, Summoner Lyra.
Class: Rare Beast Summoner – Evolutionary Lineage
Summons: 1x Tide Serpent Hatchling
Beast Evolution Path: Unlocked
Each beast can undergo multi-tiered evolutionary transformations.
Bond Growth directly influences strength and mutation potential.
"Kael, is this a dream?" she asked, trembling.
He gripped her hand. "If it is, we're dreaming together."
Suddenly, both of them flinched as a massive horn echoed across the sky.
A blinding white light lit up the horizon. Then dozens—no, hundreds—of glowing beams of light shot up into the sky from every direction.
LORDS.
You have been chosen among the billions.
Each of you has been granted a land. A trial. A destiny.
Survive, expand your power, and become the ruler of this realm.
Or perish. Forgotten, like many before you.
Kaelen stood, squinting toward the jungle behind them.
"Lyra, we have to move. We don't know what's in this place."
As if summoned by his fear, a screech echoed from the treeline. A beast—mottled scales and foam-flecked jaws—emerged, its eyes glinting with hostility.
Kaelen instinctively stepped in front of Lyra.
But she raised her hand instead.
Her system glowed, and a baby blue serpent appeared from thin air, coiling around her legs with a hiss.
[Summon: Tide Serpent Hatchling – Level 1]
The serpent lunged with a crackle of water energy and slammed into the creature. A single attack. The jungle beast collapsed, vanishing into a puff of vapor.
A glowing orb floated in its place.
Kaelen's screen chimed again.
[Item Drop: Ocean Beast Core (Low)]
[Eligible for Troop Upgrade]
His eyes widened.
"It's real," he whispered. "All of it."
Lyra turned to him. "What do we do now?"
Kaelen clenched his fists, the screen pulsing with new objectives.
"We build. We protect. We become strong. You and me."
He turned to the waves crashing on the beach, their rhythm now familiar.
"I'll become a Lord this world won't forget."
And so began the rise of the Ocean Lord—Kaelen Vire, Sovereign of the Boundless Realms.