The human civilization didn't have any progress ever since the last 10 years; in fact, humanity itself just got worse and worse.
Protests happen left and right.
Tension between countries is almost on the brink of erupting into an all-out nuclear war.
Crime rates continue to increase day by day.
Corruption grows more and more every single day.
The rich keep getting richer, and the poor keep getting poorer.
Being cancelled is now more terrifying than death.
The voice of the righteous is drowned among the loudest shouts.
It is easier to die now than to live.
Every single day with no improvement in sight, life on earth just gets harsher as time goes by; that is, until "they" arrived.
In the year 2035, on the 28th day of May, on a sunny morning, an enormous coliseum larger than the moon itself eclipsed the sun, and following its appearance, a broadcast on every single electronic device that has a screen was aired all over the world.
Within every single screen, a man with a black top hat, wearing a tuxedo with black hair, having a pair of gray eyes and a black spade tattoo on his right cheek.
"_-('/©÷¢∆€\=`...._(#/';)_...D€©@d3..."
At first unrecognizable sounds from a different language were heard, then after a few seconds.
"Double. Medal. Rocket. Wizard. Orange."
"Car. Ghost. Game. Experiment. Time."
"Ahhh~ can everyone understand me now?"
The being, Gladius, spoke perfect English in the US, fluent Mandarin in China, eloquent Arabic in Egypt, and many other languages all over the world.
"Hello citizens of Earth, I am Gladius of Spades, an administrator of the World Ruler Selection. Now first of all, we deeply apologize for being 300,000 years late."
"Within the Milky Way Galaxy, which we have thought to be devoid of intelligent life for over 265 million years, your planet and your race, aka Homo sapiens, have evaded us for over 300,000 years."
"But fret not, my human friends, we're here now, and we bring the 'World Ruler Selection' with you. Now what is this, you ask?"
As Gladius continues to speak, the image on the screen changes into an elegant golden crown.
"First off, this is the 'Grand Crown.' Whoever wins the 'World Ruler Selection' will be crowned as your planet's sole ruler, and with this crown they will have the power and authority to dominate this world and its people as its 'World Master'!"
"Heh~ Are you excited?"
"Now unfortunately not just anyone can participate in the Selection; the candidates will be invited by me and my fellow admins."
"So Rejoice!"
Several other figures then began to appear on the screen besides Gladius.
One of them, wearing the same outfit as Gladius, was another man no less attractive than him, with long black hair and crimson eyes and a red diamond mark on his right cheek.
"The Grandest of them all, Zio of Diamond."
Then, a beautiful red-haired woman with emerald eyes and pointy ears, as well as a heart tattoo on her right cheek, wearing an elegant crimson dress matching her hair, appeared.
"The brightest gem of our universe, The Crimson Beauty herself, Vida of Hearts."
And finally appearing like a ghost was another woman with pale skin and neatly tied blonde hair wearing a black regal dress and soft hat, her eyes closed and a black clover tattoo on her left cheek.
"And finally, The Cold Beauty, Willow of Clubs."
"All four of us will appear directly to the chosen candidates, so stay calm, relax, and stand ready for our arrival~"
"Ciao~"
After all was said and done, all screens returned to normal as if nothing had happened, and after a few seconds, panic erupted all over the world.
Posts on social media became more heated, and after a few minutes, news about being invited to enter the 'World Ruler Selection' spread like wildfire; videos began to appear of people taking the hand of an admin and then vanishing into a circle of light.
In just a few minutes, over a hundred people from across the world were chosen. Regardless of race, status, gender, or age, they were all invited and offered the chance, and any that refused were executed on the spot.
Assaulting or trying to do anything malicious towards the admins was considered refusal as well.
Some had their heads turned into smoke, their hearts crushed while still inside them, and others had a diamond-shaped hole in their torso.
Children or senior citizens were of no exception to the execution.
"Losing in the 'World Ruler Selection' will always mean death; refusing the invitation means that you have forfeited and have already lost."
In one of the videos, the admin, Willow, coldly said those words before transforming a thug who tried to grab her breast into small black clover plants.
As these events transpired, people were curious, intrigued, and even some excited, yet the most prevalent of all was fear. Some proclaimed that the end has come, and others said that God has descended, but one thing is for sure: the stagnant human civilization will begin its advancement towards the next stage.
________
In a futuristic closed-off room, Xein appeared from the ground with a bright light.
'Where is this?'
As if reading his mind, a robotic voice resounded in his head, and a holographic message suddenly appeared in front of him.
[You are in your designated room, Candidate Xein Johannes.]
'What the—?!'
Surprised, Xein stepped back for a bit but immediately calmed down after a second, then a new series of messages appeared in front of him.
[Please don't be afraid. I am the system granted by the Admins to guide candidates like you throughout the selection.]
[You can ask me anything related to the Selection, but be warned that I will not always have the answer.]
'I see. What is this room, then?'
[It is a designated room for the invited candidates of the Selection. It is located in one of the areas of the Terra Arena. Currently, you are not allowed to leave your room. I advise you to take your time to rest and relax, for within 24 hours the Selection will begin.]
'Terra Arena?'
[It is a superstructure floating on top of your planet, Earth, at the moment; it is built by beings of a higher standing than the Admi-]
'Wait, did you say floating on top of Earth?'
[Yes.]
The System answered immediately, upon hearing this, Xein rushed towards the room's window to look outside, and to confirm the words of the system, just outside of the glass window, the Big Blue Planet, Earth, appeared in its full glory.
"I'm in Space?!"
[Affirmative.]