The Awakening
Beep. Beep. Beep.
I woke to the mechanical sound of something beeping nearby. I was sure it wasn't my alarm, since it sounded nothing like the musical parody I was accustomed to waking up to.
The next thing I noticed was the chill around my body. Something like a thin blanket covered me, but the room wasn't warm enough for me to feel comfortable beneath such light covers.
I pushed myself upright as I opened my eyes, and a few seconds were enough for me to recognize that I was lying in a hospital. The beeping came from the heart monitor attached to my chest, while the room around me was decorated in a mostly minimalist style dominated by white and green.
Just then, a nurse entered the room. She smiled slightly when she noticed that I was awake, as though she had some good news to tell me.
“Good afternoon. May I confirm that your name is Nathan Gold?”
Apparently, confirming my identity came first. I assumed it was standard procedure, although thanks to being relatively healthy and having a doctor and a nurse as parents, I had never experienced waking up in a hospital before.
“Yes, that’s my name, but could you explain what I’m doing here? The last thing I remember is kissing the wall of the train station.”
“It seems we don’t need to worry about any issues regarding your health, and your memory is correct. You were found unconscious during the Class Zero Gate incident that happened this morning. Luckily, an S-rank hero was nearby when the Gate formed, so there were no fatalities or critical injuries. Most of the injuries occurred while people were trying to evacuate.”
While listening to the nurse, my gaze moved toward the clock on the wall.
5 p.m.
I had been out for quite a while.
“You say that I’m fine, but how can I be fine when I’ve spent nearly the whole day lying unconscious in a hospital bed?”
“That would be concerning if you were a normal patient, but from this day onward, you can no longer be considered a normal patient.” The nurse's smile widened slightly, as though she was happy to deliver this particular piece of news. “Congratulations, Mr. Gold. It appears you've Awakened.”
I stared at her, not quite understanding what she meant.
For several seconds, I simply looked at her.
“I... what?”
“I'll call the doctor. He can explain the results much better than I can.”
She left the room before I could fully take in the news.
I had long since given up on Awakening. There had been a time when I was particularly jealous after a student from the class next to mine Awakened a combat-type ability, and for quite a while I had hoped that something similar might happen to me.
Reality, however, had not been particularly kind. People generally Awakened around the age of eighteen, and once that period had passed, the chances dropped dramatically. I had eventually comforted myself with the knowledge that not every ability brought good fortune, since some caused enough misfortune to ruin the lives of the people who Awakened them.
Yet the rapid beating of my heart and the shortness of my breath betrayed everything I had told myself in the past.
The doctor arrived just as I was finally beginning to calm down, although part of my heart was still pounding with expectation while I wondered what kind of ability I might have Awakened. There were examples of people Awakening after their prime age had already passed, but I had never seriously imagined that I would become one of them. After all, growing up meant having to let go of some dreams and accept the burden of reality.
The doctor stopped beside me and gave me a slight smile before turning his attention toward the documents in his hand.
“Mr. Gold, it seems the nurse has already given you the good news before I had the chance. We ran some additional tests after your health results came back exceptionally well, and it appears that you've Awakened an ability belonging to the spatial-manipulation type.”
“A spatial-manipulation type!?”
Jackpot!
Spatial manipulation was ranked among the higher-tier abilities a person could Awaken. Unless I happened to be extremely unlucky and my ability turned out to be limited to teleporting myself a few centimetres, I no longer had to bother with things like engineering lectures and fluid mechanics.
Ha ha ha.
Goodbye forever, Professor Abrams. Let us never meet again.
“Young man, are you all right?”
The doctor's question brought me back from my daydreaming. I gave him a slightly embarrassed but still happy smile as I continued thinking about my suddenly much brighter future.
“I’m fine. It’s just that I never thought I would Awaken like this. Also, what about my parents? They were supposed to be out of the city. How did they react when they heard the news?”
The doctor's expression became slightly complicated.
“They were quite worried when they first heard what happened. From what I understand, they were already preparing to head to the airport when our second call came. But once they heard you were awake, perfectly healthy, and had actually Awakened, they decided there was no need to rush back and kept to their original schedule.”
My expression probably became just as complicated as his after hearing that, and I forced a small smile.
“It’s fine. Thank you for letting me know. Could you also tell me where my clothes and belongings are?”
The doctor pointed toward a safe partially hidden in the corner of the room.
“The code is 0-9-9-9. You’ll find your belongings inside. Also, the information regarding your Awakening has already been forwarded to the Awakening Administration Bureau. You should pay them a visit tomorrow, after you’ve had some rest.”
After finishing his explanation, the doctor took a breath and his expression became serious.
“You must not use your ability until you obtain your Awakener license from the Bureau, unless you want to end up facing punishment.”
I nodded with a slightly tense expression after hearing the warning. There had been many cases of people becoming overly excited after Awakening and unleashing abilities they had no idea how to control, sometimes with disastrous consequences. After enough accidents and disasters, the government had passed a law prohibiting newly Awakened people from using their abilities until they obtained a license from the Bureau.
The doctor left shortly afterward.
Well, he said I couldn't use my ability. He never said I couldn't try to sense it, right?
After persuading myself to bend the rules slightly, I climbed out of bed and stood. The first thing I noticed was how much lighter my body felt, and when I looked over the parts of my arms and legs visible beneath the patient gown, my muscles seemed more defined than I remembered.
It appeared the doctor's words hadn't merely been for show. I really was one of the many people whose physique had improved alongside their Awakening.
Then there were my senses. All five seemed sharper than before, but even that was nothing compared with the strange connection I could feel with the space around me. It was difficult to describe, yet I genuinely felt as though I could reach out and manipulate the space surrounding me if I tried.
I stopped there.
After all, a hospital was one of the worst possible places to cause trouble.