Idle Sect Online, a mobile game that two years ago took the world by storm. First released in China, it spread to Taiwan after a year, and from there, it spread like wildfire across the globe. The game revolved around building your own Sect—a term used to describe schools of learning where characters wield supernatural powers based on the ancient Chinese myth of Cultivation. Players gathered magical energy known as Qi and absorbed it within themselves to grow more powerful. This process was known as Cultivation.


    Levi Ross clutched his phone tightly as he stared down at his decimated Sect. He had survived with the Golden Lotus Temple for two entire years, since the start of the game’s spread to the western world. Now, the Sect that had accompanied him for so long was gone. The disciples were either dead or enslaved, and the grandiose halls that once thrived with life lay in ruins, bathed in the blood and corpses of the fallen.


    A lone tear escaped Levi’s eye, streaming down his face as he took in the devastation. After 716 years, the proud history of the Golden Lotus Temple had come to an end. The dark red words of “Game Over” flashed on his screen, and the tear that had fallen from his eye landed on the glass. He wiped it away with his thumb and took a deep breath.


    “It’s just a game,” he thought to himself, though he knew it wouldn’t help. The characters in Idle Sect Online were too human, and now they were all gone. Another tear streamed down his face as he remembered the Grand Elders, the three Ancestors, the Core Elders, and the hidden masters. He had cheered them on as they thrived and struggled, he had grown attached to them. Now, they were lost.


    Levi surveyed the ruins, hoping for any survivors, but deep down he knew there would be none. Where thirteen towering mountains once stood, there now lay a deep crater shaped like a handprint. His beloved Sect had been swatted away, and only the main halls had been strong enough to survive the initial attack. Now, they stood as mere remnants of a once-great empire.


    Turning off his screen, he set the phone on the table. He wanted to scream, but felt utterly wrung out. Tears continued to stream down his face as he stood up and headed to the adjacent bathroom. His disheveled image stared back at him from the mirror. He splashed cold water on his face, wiped it off with a towel. He needed to pull himself together.


    “It’s just a game,” he repeated, but deep down, he knew it was more than that. It represented his efforts over the past two years, efforts that had gone up in smoke. Clenching his fists, he looked up at the mirror, determination shining in his eyes. He had learned a lot during those two years; he might have to start over from zero, but he would use everything he had learned to build an even greater Sect.


    With renewed spirits, Levi returned to his room and plopped down in front of his desk once more. He picked up his phone and logged back into the game, the “Game Over” screen greeting him as he entered. He zoomed in on the ruins, searching for clues about the enemies that had destroyed his Sect. But he found nothing. Levi sighed; it was expected that his enemies wouldn’t be so sloppy as to leave clues. He had to let it go and start anew. Swiping past the "Game Over” screen, he arrived at the home screen.


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    [Form Sect]—the two large golden words stood front and center on the screen. But before pressing them, Levi paused at the news section beneath the words.


    “New Surprise Event! ‘Rise of the Heavenly Demon’ has begun.”


    He pressed on the title, and it expanded to reveal three pictures—each one depicting the ruins of a powerful Sect. His Sect was one of them. Taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart, he looked at the other two pictures. One was of the Divine Feather Sect, a similarly powerful Sect that had suffered a catastrophic split in its main mountain, leaving it halved. The other was a charred wasteland, the remains of another once-great Sect.


    Three powerful Sects gone, just like that. Levi scrolled down to read more about the event, noting it had started today in his server, with scant information about the mysterious Heavenly Demon—only that this being was a powerful demonic cultivator who had begun a rampage in the world of Elstyria, his server.


    Levi left the news article and searched for more surprises. He found nothing new, so he pressed the corner of the screen to check the rankings, eager to see how they had updated after his departure. His Sect had been in second place in his server and twenty-first worldwide.


    But when he checked his server ranking, he was shocked by what he found. The top three Sects were all gone. The Divine Feather Sect in third place and his own in second were expected, but the first-place Sect, the Rivercloud Sect, was also erased. There was nothing left of their famous floating islands, and the vast ocean they floated upon had been replaced by a wasteland.


    “To think that this Heavenly Demon event was that dangerous…” he mused.


    After gathering himself, Levi hesitated only a moment before pressing the golden letters [Form Sect] and waiting for his screen to load.


    The next choice appeared a few seconds later: [Pick Your World]. Levi scrolled down the long list of worlds, or servers as they should be called. He quickly spotted his server, Elstyria. Unlike all the other worlds, which were faded gray, it was a bright green. Yet Levi continued down the list, looking for interesting names he recognized or any new worlds that had recently appeared. The worlds marked in green were available—newly formed worlds with space for new Sects. However, as worlds grew and expanded, older worlds —such as his— could also become available.


    Elstyria, a world he was intimately familiar with, was a tempting choice. But it was also the world of the Heavenly Demon. “Was it worth it?” Levi stopped scrolling, lost in thought.


    What were the positives? Familiarity with the world was a significant plus. He knew where the ruins of both his Sect and the Divine Feather Sect lay, and he could retrieve several inheritances and secret libraries from his territory.


    The negatives? The Heavenly Demon, of course, and the fact that many forces were already established. But perhaps not? With the rise of the Heavenly Demon, chaos would surely ensue, allowing other powers to grow in the vacuum left behind. That could be a positive.


    Levi scrolled back to his original world, which had been green but was now yellow. It meant only a few more players were needed to complete the world expansion. Without thinking, he acted decisively. With no hesitation, he firmly pressed his finger on the world before it was too late.


    As the screen loaded once more, a twinge of regret flickered in his mind, but he squashed it firmly. His choice had been made, and he could not take it back, even if he had not entirely thought it through.