The brilliant rays of sunlight filtered through the windows of the house, bathing the living room in a warm, golden glow.
Right across from the window, Ace sat perfectly still on the couch, with his legs crossed casually. Beside him rested a box of pizza, still hot and fresh, with the faint aroma of melted cheese and warm crust permeating the the air.
Not far from him, the television cast a harsh, flickering glow across the room as a loud voice spoke out of the speakers. "And we’re here today with the generational prodigy, the strongest Awakener of our era, Aiden Smith."
In the background, a thunderous cheer erupted from the crowd gathered behind the interviewers. The noise was loud enough to fill the room, with excited fangirls screaming Aiden’s name.
It was almost as if a worldwide famous celebrity had just appeared before them.
Well, in a way, he was.
Aiden Smith was the strongest Awakened of the 22nd century.
"So Aiden." The pale skinned female reporter called out his name cheerfully, despite her job as a reporter, she was no different from the fan girls singing his praises behind them. "Even as the strongest Awakener, how do you feel about the Nexus call tonight?"
"How do I feel? Tessa." Aiden smiled as he gently took the microphone from her hand, and she released it without hesitation.
It was a simple smile, yet strangely alluring enough to send the fangirls behind him into an instant frenzy.
Even Tessa felt her heart skip a beat.
However, unlike the fangirls, she had years of professionalism to rely on. She quickly composed herself, and concealed her reaction.
"Even before I awakened, I have been training my entire life for this moment, and fortunately for me, I didn’t just awaken, I awakened an S Class talent, so believe me when I say, by summoning me tonight, the sanctuary is answering my call." He winked at the camera.
"Tch, what a knock off, all that talent and yet you just use it for fame, you’re a disgrace to Awakeners out there." Ace said as he scarfed down a slice of pizza.
Just as he finished eating the slice in hand, he turned his eyes towards the door as a series of loud knocks echoed through the house.
"Ace, you in there? Open up! Ace!" Several voices followed, shouting his name from the other side of the door.
Ace quickly grabbed the remote and switched off the television, then stared intently at the door without uttering a word.
After waiting silently for a while, the knocking finally stopped.
But Ace remained still, he waited another two minutes, just to be certain, then sighed finally picking up the remote and switching the television back on.
The people knocking weren’t family members, or law enforcement agencies or anything like that.
They were his friends.
Or, at least, they used to be.
Everything had changed the moment they awakened.
In the 21st century, the Nexus Code descended.
No one knew what it was, where it came from or what its true purpose was. It was an unknown element that fused the reality humanity knew with another reality, one that seemed almost like a massive virtual world.
At first, humanity struggled to understand the reoccurring changes brought about by the Nexus Code. But as the two realities continued to merge, something far more significant began to occur.
Human genetics were rewritten.
The Nexus Code altered the very foundation of the human body, unlocking the dormant potential within humanity. And from this change, a new breed of humans was created, and the age of Awakeners began.
At the age of eighteen, the human body went a process of transmutation, unleashing their fullest potential. This phenomenon became known as Awakening, granting those affected extraordinary abilities that defied the limitations of ordinary human beings.
But even as Awakening became a natural part of life, not everyone was able to awaken.
And unfortunately for Ace, he was one of them. He was an Unawakened.
But honestly? he couldn’t care less.
As the number of Awakeners continued to rise, the world’s economy also began to change with them.
Jobs that once depended on physical labor slowly became outdated. In their place, new professions emerged, jobs that required special abilities and could only be performed by Awakeners.
Before long, ordinary jobs were pushed aside as awakened abilities became more valuable than physical strength.
And that was when the New Nexus truly came into the picture.
The New Nexus was like an entirely different realm, filled with resources that humanity couldn’t even begin to comprehend. Corporations quickly realized their value and began hiring Awakeners to venture inside and retrieve them.
It soon became a normal part of society.
The more resources an Awakener could bring back from New Nexus, the more money they could make.
Before long, even Awakening itself had become a business.
And it was because of that business that Ace lost his father and his brother.
Growing up, Ace’s family had never been wealthy, but they managed to get by, just barely. That changed when his father awakened.
He wanted to give his family a better life after their mother left them, seeking a far more luxurious life, and on the quest of a better life for his two sons, his father accepted a job offered by one of the corporations and entered New Nexus after being summoned.
But he never came back, and Ace was left with only his brother.
Then, years later, his brother awakened too.
And just like their father, he saw Awakening as a chance to change their lives. He accepted a job from a corporation and entered New Nexus.
He never returned either.
Ace was left completely alone.
That was the real reason behind Ace’s hatred for Awakeners.
It wasn’t because he was jealous of their abilities.
It was because, to him, Awakening had taken away the two people who mattered most in his life.
"People treat awakening like a special thing, they call you an outcast because you don’t fall under the deception they swam in." Ace got up from the couch then casually tossed the TV remote back to it before walking away to his bedroom.
"But in truth, it’s not. Awakening was nothing more than getting asked the life or death question way before your expiration date."
Despite it being unawakened, Ace still managed to secure a decent job with an average pay that was enough to take care of himself as long as he kept working, he’d be able to provide for his basic needs.
"It’s far better to be unawakened and living a decent life, than to fall for the promise of a good life after awakening, then die." He sighed as he got in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
After a while, his eyelids grew heavy. He slowly closed his eyes, and before long, he had fallen asleep.
Minutes? Hours? Ace didn’t know how long he had been asleep. He could have stayed that way for hours more, but a soft, mechanical voice forced his eyes open.
[Synchronizing....]
[Synchronization successful.]
[You will be transported into the New Nexus in ten seconds...]
"What the hell!?"
He rubbed his eyes several times, convinced that his mind was playing tricks on him. But when he opened them again, the same notification was still floating before him.
[5...4...3]
His blood ran cold, and his heart skipped a beat as he realized the results of what was about to happen.
"No no no no no no." He got up from bed immediately, terrified to his core. "How the hell is this happening, why the fuck is this happening!?"
In his anger, he grabbed his alarm clock and threw it straight at the translucent system panel, but it just passed through and smashed against the wall.
He didn’t awaken, so it wasn’t supposed to be possible. The New Nexus only reached out to humans that awakened their dormant potential, but Ace never did.
He always thought the worse case scenario was Awakening and dying regardless inside the New Nexus, but because he was unawakened, he never once imagined that the worst case scenario... Would be him.
[2...1]
[You are being transported into the New Nexus.]
"NOOO!!" Just as the timer reached one, Ace spun around and sprinted toward the door with all his strength, refusing to be summoned no matter what.
As Ace pushed open the door, a blinding white light illuminated the entire room, swallowing him whole, and in the next instant, he vanished.
But just as the system panel was about to fade away, something went wrong. It’s inscriptions flickered violently, the letters freezing and glitching as if the entire panel had encountered a programming error.
Slowly, the display began to distort, then, without warning, the inscriptions shifted and rewrote itself.
[The Nexus Server has crashed.]
[Rebooting server...]
[Server successfully rebooted.]
[You have been registered as Creator 401.]
[You are being transported into the first sanctuary...]
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A/N: Check out my new book! SSS Awakening: My Existence Became A God-Level Cheat.