Adam Highstein, a young teenage boy with short dark hair and brown eyes, had been looking forward to his awakening since he became aware of what it was. Growing up, he had seen his parents do wonders with their powers and wanted the same for himself.
He wanted to become an explorer like his father. He wanted the glory that came with standing above his peers. He wanted to become the strongest. Such was his dream... and the dream of every human on New Earth.
Laying on his bed, Adam glanced at the time on the wall. It read 10:24 pm. He could not wait to turn sixteen, which was just a few hours away. Staring at the ceiling of his room, his mind wandered back to the stories his parents had told him about the old world; about how things had changed.
It was some thousand years ago when the world changed.
No one knew what had triggered the change or its source, but that day had been the darkest day in humanity’s history. Billions died in one single day, and that had only been the beginning. Global infrastructure damage never seen before hit the planet like a cataclysmic storm.
Massive tsunamis hundreds of meters high swallowed coastal cities and countries like monstrous beasts of old, volcanoes brutally erupted, shooting out toxic gases into the atmosphere, earthquakes of continental proportions devastated the land, planes fell out of the sky, and continents split apart.
It was a literal apocalypse.
Society as mankind knew it had brutally collapsed, a dark reminder that the universe was still full of mysteries and unknown dangers.
An energy wave never seen nor documented before had swept over the solar system, bathing the planet in a strange form of energy no one at the time could ponder.
Self-preservation became humanity’s first instinct. Nothing else mattered beside food and survival. It looked as though the Earth was on the verge of total annihilation.
Death and destruction became commonplace.
But as the days, months and years passed, people began to notice a change. The air quality had changed, and gravity was gradually increasing. But people felt lighter, stronger, more alive than ever. Animals and plants were evolving.
There was something in the air, some kind of strange energy.
Whatever had brought death and destruction to the world was also changing it. Humanity was adapting, the changes more pronounced in the newer generation. Hair colours deemed unnatural became the new normal. But that was only the beginning of the changes that came.
A few years after the apocalypse, another wave pulsed through the world. But unlike the destructive wave that collapsed society and claimed billions of lives, this pulse had been a lot weaker.
This pulse had been no ordinary pulse either. It was information. It was something that rewrote the fundamental laws of reality, something that made fiction a reality.
It was a system awakening.
A system had awoken in the surviving populace. Every single individual awoke with a system. And with each system came an affinity that granted a piece of reality itself — natural or artificial.
But despite its futuristic and surreal appeal, many had not survived the awakening of the system. The young and aged died in the millions. The system came with its own powerful spark.
And almost as though it were learning from its mistakes, the system suppressed its awakening in children till they reached the age of sixteen.
It was too strange, too calculated.
No one needed to be told. Someone or something out there was responsible for the changes sweeping through the world. So the question rose: who was responsible, and why.
Regardless, the world was never the same again.
And so a new race took hold... a race for power and control. Humans did what they did best... They fought to establish supremacy. Different people, different ideals. It was a devastating race. Years passed before a semblance of order and society rose anew.
But were the changes truly over? Was whoever or whatever responsible for the world’s evolution truly done with humanity? This was a question that had remained unanswered for hundreds of years.
As these memories surfaced within his mind, Adam slowly drifted to sleep. He wanted to stay awake till morning. But for some reason, he could not keep his eyes open.
***
[System Initializing...]
"Hehe, finally..." Adam grinned the moment the system panel appeared before his eyes.
[Initiating System Integration Process...]
[Standby...]
[...30%...50%...78%...100%]
[Wel-]
[...]
’...’
[Third Genesis System Online]
"Third Genesis?" Adam echoed in confusion.
Unlike what he was familiar with, his system awakening broke every conceivable notion humanity had about what systems were.
"What’s with the name? Is it like the third of its kind or what, and since when did systems have names?"
Unconcerned about his apparent confusion, the system prompt continued flashing before Adam’s eyes, displaying his stats and then some.
[Host: Adam Highstein]
[Bloodline: Highstein Blood]
[Unique Skill: First Principle - Awaiting]
[Physique: Titan Genesis Physique - Awaiting]
[Affinity: Genesis - Awaiting]
[Tier 1: None]
[Realm: None]
[Strength: 20]
[Agility: 18]
[Vitality: 20]
[Perception: 19]
His stats looked normal for an evolved human in a new age. But a unique skill was something entirely new.
[Proceed With True Awakening?]
Adam took a deep breath and replied in the affirmative. He had many questions, but those questions would have to wait until after his awakening. Even so, he could barely contain his excitement.
[Commencing True Awakening...]
[Brace for pain]
"Wait, what!"
A guttural roar of agony tore out of Adam as he fell on his back. His scream echoed through the silent house, attracting his parent’s attention.
"Adam!"
Adam could not register anything other than the agony tearing through his body. He jerked and rolled around, falling off his bed until the floor with a thud.
"AHH...!"
Tears and snort marred his face, his eyes reddening at the intensity of the pain wrecking through his body.
"Adam, what’s wrong?!"
Bursting through the door to his room, Adam’s father and mother rushed in, concern and fear visible in their movements.
"Adam, can you hear me? Adam, what’s going on?!" Jonathan called desperately, unsure as to what to do. He was hesitant to touch his son without knowing what was happening.
"Do something, Jon!" Jenny knelt beside her husband, her left hand clutched tightly onto Jon’s arm. "What’s happening to our son?!"
"Call for help. Now!"
Hesitant at first, Jenny did not move from her place. Adam was still squirming, his veins bulging from under his skin.
Gritting her teeth, Jenny rushed out of the room to call for help.
"Hang in there son."
Jon whispered as he prayed for his son’s well-being. He knew his son would awaken his system today, but never had he imagined it would be accompanied by whatever he was going through.
System awakening had become so normal that it no longer seemed special. Once a person reached the appropriate age, their system awakened right after. In most cases, teenagers could not sleep and would await the system awakening.
But Adam had been able to sleep despite his excitement. His parents had slipped something into his food to help him sleep so he would be in a good condition when his system awoke.
Meanwhile, Adam was experiencing agony like never before. It was a miracle he hadn’t passed out from the extreme pain.
He could feel his muscles breaking down and reconstrating, his bones becoming firmer. He was evolving, but this was too sudden from what he knew about evolution and advancement.
[True Awakening Complete]
Adam’s screams came to a sudden halt as the pain came to a sudden end. Even so, he could feel the pain lingering in his body. For now, however, he was far too weak to think of anything.
But right before darkness claimed his consciousness, he saw a note flashing before his eyes.
[Note to Host: It is advised to keep system’s package to self]
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