[Welcome to Eclipse Online, Aiden Cross.]
Instead of being pleased by the grand reception, His expression immediately changed. His brows furrowed. ’It knows my name just like in my past life huh?’
This was one of the great mysteries surrounding Eclipse Online during his previous life. The system greeted every player by their real name.
Yet players had never manually entered their names into the game.
Nobody had ever figured out how it knew. There had been countless theories; facial recognition, government databases, personal terminal integration, biometric scanning, and neural identification.
Some believed the game’s developers possessed access to global government records. Others believed Eclipse Online secretly connected to every personal terminal on Earth.
Some even claimed that the game could read the player’s thoughts. None of those theories had ever been proven.
But Aiden had learned things during the apocalypse that ordinary players never had the chance to discover.
He had eventually pieced together enough information to form his own conclusion.
Eclipse Online wasn’t simply identifying him. It was probably scanning something deeper. His brain, perhaps even his soul.
Aiden’s eyes narrowed. ’So you’re still doing this...’
The artificial voice continued.
[Welcome, Player Aiden Cross.]
A faint blue interface appeared before him.
[Eclipse Online has detected that you possess a God-given Class.]
[Class: Sovereign of Souls]
Aiden’s eyes narrowed slightly. The system displayed the Class without revealing its hidden abilities.
That was expected. His Soul Sovereign was dormant.
The system couldn’t possibly expose information that hadn’t been officially unlocked.
Then another message appeared.
[You currently possess a God-given Class.]
[Would you like to change your Class?]
[Y/N]
Aiden answered immediately, "No."
There wasn’t even a hint of hesitation in his voice. The option itself was important.
Before the apocalypse, every player who entered Eclipse Online had one opportunity to alter or replace their God-given Class.
Nobody understood the significance. Some people received combat Classes. Others didn’t; Chef, blacksmith, merchant, farmer, researcher, artist, doctor, healer, architect. Countless possibilities existed.
Since everyone believed Eclipse Online was merely a game, many people who received non-combat Classes simply changed them.
After all, why choose a farmer when you could become a swordsman?
Why become a merchant when you could become a mage?
Why play a doctor when you could become a warrior?
Those people had unknowingly avoided one of the greatest disadvantages of the coming apocalypse.
Once Eclipse Online merged with reality, Classes became more than game mechanics.
They became the foundation of a person’s supernatural abilities.
A combat Class naturally provided skills suited for fighting.
A non-combat Class often didn’t. A chef might receive abilities centered around cooking and food.
A merchant might gain trading, appraisal, or economic abilities.
A farmer might obtain skills related to crops, soil, and agriculture.
When monsters were tearing people apart in the streets, such abilities could easily become a death sentence.
But that wasn’t an absolute rule, Aiden knew that better than most.
There had been exceptions. Extremely creative individuals had found ways to turn seemingly useless Classes into terrifying powers.
One farmer had eventually developed the ability to manipulate plants and became powerful enough to control entire forests.
A chef had discovered methods of creating extraordinary food that permanently strengthened the body.
A merchant had exploited the game’s trading laws and economic mechanics until he possessed wealth capable of influencing entire regions.
Some non-combat Classes had eventually become terrifying.
But those people were rare. They possessed extraordinary creativity, opportunities, resources, or luck.
For the average person... A non-combat Class was dangerously close to a death sentence.
Unlike his past life, when he had ordered his pod but never got the chance to log in, the current Aiden had no such problem. By the time his pod was delivered, the apocalypse had already descended, and chaos had engulfed the world. He never even got the opportunity to enter the game and discover his Class.
The current Aiden, however, had no such problem. He already possessed an SSS-Rank Unique Class.
Even with his memories of the future, there was no reason to change it.
After all, he possessed the Sovereign of Souls; a Class capable of consuming souls, stealing power, taking Classes, and growing stronger from the dead.
Aiden almost found the question amusing. ’A chance to change my Class...? I can’t afford to lose what I’ll need to deal with that bastard!’
A faint smile touched his lips. "Why would I trade the Sovereign of Souls for anything?"
The interface flickered.
[Class selection confirmed.]
The next message appeared.
[Eclipse Online has not officially launched.]
[You may configure and save your player profile before launch.]
[Available configurations include: Player Name, Basic Profile Settings, Class Confirmation, and several minor options.]
Aiden’s gaze moved downward.
[Official Launch Time:]
[August 6th, 12:00:00 — Year 3000]
Tomorrow. Exactly twenty-four hours from his regression...
Aiden stared at the time for a moment. "Tomorrow huh..."
At that exact moment, the world would change. The virtual world and reality would overlap.
Monsters would descend, dungeons would appear, people would awaken supernatural abilities, and the rules of the game would become the rules of reality.
Aiden slowly exhaled. ’There was no reason to waste time on meaningless customization.’
’But I should change my player name, just in case of announcement and spy skill of investigative classes... So my real name will remain a secret...’
"Change my player name to Reaper..."
Aiden was going with reaper not only because his goal in this life was to take revenge and reap Damien’s life, but also because it’s a matching name for his Soul Sovereign Class
Soon he was done...
"Save my profile."
[Profile Saved.]
[Your profile and Class selection have been successfully registered.]
Another message appeared.
[Thank you for choosing Eclipse Online.]
[See you at the official launch.]
[Launch Time: August 6th, 12:00:00.]
[We hope you have fun and enjoy the game.]
Aiden stared at the final sentence. For several seconds, he said nothing. Then a faint smile appeared.
’With words like that...’ His smile slowly widened. ’Anyone would think this really was just a game.’
He remembered his previous life. People laughing, people cheering, people eagerly waiting for the launch.
Then the screams, the confusion, the blood, the monsters, the deaths.
Millions of people had entered Eclipse Online expecting entertainment. Millions had discovered the truth at the same time.
Aiden’s smile disappeared. "Not me."
He closed his eyes briefly. He knew exactly what tomorrow meant. And unlike everyone else... He had already lived through it once.
There was nothing else he needed from the game for now.
"Time to leave."
The pod’s upper shell opened with a soft mechanical hiss. Aiden sat up and stepped out.
The moment his feet touched the floor, the room seemed strangely ordinary again.
He glanced at the pod once, then turned away.
The door opened automatically as he stepped into the corridor. The noise of the showroom reached him immediately.
Customers were still excitedly discussing the different models.
"Did you see the new X-9?"
"Yeah, but it’s too expensive."
"I’m buying it anyway."
"I heard there are already waiting lists for some models."
Aiden walked past them without slowing.
An employee near the entrance smiled at him, "Everything worked properly?"
Aiden nodded, "Yes it did. Everything worked perfectly well."
"Glad to hear it. Enjoy the launch tomorrow!"
Aiden paused for the briefest moment. Then continued walking.
He pushed open the glass doors. Warm sunlight immediately touched his face.
The city remained unchanged. Traffic flowed, people laughed.
Holographic advertisements danced across towering buildings. The world continued moving as though nothing was wrong.
As though tomorrow wasn’t the end of everything they knew.
Aiden stood outside for a moment. His gaze shifted toward the distant skyline.
He had only a few hours left before the next opportunity appeared.
Every minute mattered.
"Time to move."
He turned and disappeared into the flow of pedestrians.
Behind him, the Eclipse Online Pod Shop remained crowded with people eagerly preparing for the greatest game humanity had ever seen.
None of them knew what waited on the other side of tomorrow.
Aiden did. And this time... He intended to be ready.