Induction

Silas is quietly inducted into the System a year before it arrives for everyone else — one of Earth's Forerunners, sworn to secrecy. Five worlds are being judged by how their Forerunners perform, and if Earth falls short it gets stripped as a mining world.

Progression: a head-start build — a secret year of classes, skills and System deals before the apocalypse goes public, then escalation across the multiverse.

Reader fit: you want a countdown-to-apocalypse story with a capable lead, steady power growth, and a long, quickly released run.

Texture: fast, upbeat, competence-driven.