I was standing in a packed subway car when it stopped between stations so hard that every handrail screamed.
Someone's coffee hit the ceiling. A little boy started crying. My phone lost signal at the exact second the sky beyond the dark window turned blood red.
Then the warning appeared on everyone's vision at once.
[WARNING: Earth Zone Ascension Test initializing.]
[Countdown: 00:02:59.]
The car dissolved into panic. People slammed the doors, called numbers that would not connect, prayed to gods who had not opened a system panel yet.
A second window opened in front of me alone, darker than the first and rimmed in red.
[Rare recessive gene detected.]
[Choose your exclusive starter talent before global synchronization.]
Three options burned into the air while the countdown kept falling.