The Hollow Crown Protocol

At exactly midnight the sky disappeared.

Not behind clouds. Not because of darkness.

It simply vanished.

Ethan Vale stood outside a small grocery store with a bottle of water in his hand. He had been checking his phone when every streetlight suddenly went out.

Cars stopped.

People stepped out of their homes.

A child started crying somewhere across the road.

Ethan looked up.

There were no stars. No moon. No clouds. Just an endless black surface stretching across the sky.

His phone vibrated.

A notification appeared.

[GLOBAL NOTICE]

[Human civilization has reached its final evaluation.]

[THE HOLLOW CROWN PROTOCOL IS NOW ACTIVE.]

Ethan frowned.

"Seriously? Who made this?"

Before he could dismiss the notification every phone around him began displaying the same message.

Then a strange sound echoed through the city.

It sounded like a giant door opening somewhere beneath the earth.

The road trembled.

A building across the street shook violently. Its windows shattered one after another.

People started running.

Ethan stepped backward.

Something was happening.

Something that had nothing to do with technology or a prank.

A transparent screen suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.

[PLAYER SELECTION INITIATED]

[Analyzing human potential...]

[Analyzing memories...]

[Analyzing fear...]

Ethan rubbed his eyes.

The screen remained.

[PLAYER PROFILE]

Name: Ethan Vale

Age: 22

Level: 0

Experience: 0/100

Class: Pending

Status: Unregistered

"What is this?"

A second screen appeared.

[CLASS SELECTION AVAILABLE]

[Choose your path.]

[IRON GUARD]

[ASHEN HUNTER]

[LIGHT BEARER]

Each class displayed a short description.

Iron Guard offered defensive abilities.

Ashen Hunter promised speed and combat instincts.

Light Bearer offered healing and protection.

A countdown appeared.

[00:30]

[00:29]

Ethan looked at the options.

He had no idea what choosing a class meant. But waiting did not seem like a good idea.

He reached toward Ashen Hunter.

The screen flickered.

[ERROR]

[Candidate does not meet standard requirements.]

Ethan pulled his hand away.

"What?"

The countdown stopped.

All three options disappeared.

For a few seconds the screen remained empty.

Then a new message appeared.

[UNREGISTERED PLAYER DETECTED]

[Searching for compatible class...]

[Searching...]

[Searching...]

[WARNING]

[An incompatible existence has been found.]

Ethan felt a strange chill.

"What does that mean?"

A fourth option appeared.

Unlike the others it had no description.

Only a small black crown.

[HIDDEN CLASS]

[THE HOLLOW HEIR]

[Access Restricted]

The countdown returned.

[00:05]

[00:04]

[00:03]

Ethan had no time to think.

He touched the black crown.

Everything stopped.

The falling glass remained suspended in the air. The people running across the street froze. Even the creatures crawling out of the cracks in the road became motionless.

Then a voice spoke inside his mind.

It was not the cold voice of the system.

This voice sounded old.

And afraid.

"You should not have been found."

Ethan tried to move.

He could not.

The voice continued.

"They buried the crown for a reason."

Images flashed before his eyes.

A ruined throne.

Seven empty seats.

A city burning beneath a red moon.

A giant black door covered in strange symbols.

Then he saw a man standing before it.

The man's face was hidden.

But Ethan recognized the voice.

It was his own.

[CLASS ACQUIRED]

[THE HOLLOW HEIR]

Level: 0

Primary Ability: Unknown

Secondary Ability: Locked

Passive Skill: Unavailable

System Compatibility: 0%

Ethan stared at the final line.

Zero percent?

How could a player function with zero percent compatibility?

Before he could ask anything another notification appeared.

[SECRET CONDITION COMPLETED]

[THE FIRST SEAL HAS BEEN BROKEN]

The world started moving again.

Glass crashed onto the street.

People screamed.

Creatures began crawling out of the ground.

But Ethan could now see something that nobody else seemed to notice.

Thin silver lines covered every building. Strange symbols floated above people's heads.

Some were green.

Others were red.

A few were completely black.

He turned toward the grocery store entrance.

A strange creature stood near the doorway.

It had a human-shaped body but no face. Its arms were unusually long.

Above its head floated a red label.

[UNKNOWN ENTITY]

[THREAT LEVEL: UNREADABLE]

Ethan stepped backward.

The creature turned toward him.

A warning appeared.

[ALERT]

[Your presence has attracted an unregistered observer.]

The creature vanished.

Ethan looked around.

Nothing was there.

Then someone grabbed his shoulder.

He turned sharply.

A young woman stood behind him. She looked terrified.

"Can you see those screens too?" she asked.

Ethan nodded.

Her eyes moved toward his profile.

Suddenly her expression changed.

"That's impossible."

"What?"

She stepped away.

"Your class."

Ethan glanced at his screen.

"What about it?"

The woman swallowed.

"My brother had that same class."

"Had?"

"He disappeared three years ago."

Before Ethan could ask another question a global notification interrupted them.

[GLOBAL EVENT UNLOCKED]

[THE FIRST HUNT]

All registered players must survive until sunrise.

Failure will result in permanent deletion.

Ethan read the message twice.

Then another notification appeared.

This one was visible only to him.

[PRIVATE MESSAGE]

[FROM: UNKNOWN]

Welcome back, Hollow Heir.

[Someone has been waiting for you.]

Ethan slowly raised his eyes toward the sky.

For the first time that night he felt something worse than fear.

Recognition.

Somewhere beyond the darkness a pair of enormous golden eyes opened.

They were looking directly at him.

And then the final message appeared.

[PRIVATE QUEST UNLOCKED]

Find the girl who remembers the first world.

Reward: Unknown

Penalty for failure: Unknown

Ethan looked at the young woman beside him.

She was staring at his screen.

Then she whispered something that made his blood run cold.

"Don't tell the system that you can remember."

END OF CHAPTER 1

What is the first world? And why does this girl know about Ethan's hidden class? Share your theories in the comments.