Chereads / AOTSOD大 / Chapter 4 - Chapter Four

Chapter 4 - Chapter Four

"Wait, wait, wait. Before you start chewing my ear out, we have to settle on a name for you. I can't keep calling you the 'Oracle System'." Dorian made air quotes as he spoke, trying to figure a way out of the rubble encasing his former basement.

"Sure, sure, a name would be nice. And if you want to get out of here, just try the stairs." The voice of the System pointed out. Kai looked around for a bit before locating a set of uneven stairs that were made from piles of rubble.

Carefully scaling through the dirt and collapsed ceiling, Dorian successfully made his way out of the ruins of the building. His first breath of fresh air after so long left him shocked.

"Um... what the heck?" Dorian turned around, taking in the sight of city he grew up in, completely ruined. Demolished building, sunken streets and desolate lands. It was the definition of a wasteland.

[This is the aftermath of the Apocalypse. Upon the opening of the Void dimension, the stability of the world was thrown off balance. Beast beyond what humanity was capable of fighting were unleashed upon this world, wreaking havoc and destroying nations.]

A small clip played out in Dorian's vision, showing him what had descended upon this city. Various black holes floated up in the sky, releasing a constant stream of monstrosities. All sorts of monsters poured out from the portals, setting their sights on the defenseless humans in the city. From the smaller portals, creatures that couldn't fly and were bound to the earth crawled out, unleashing their powers. From the larger portals that hung in the sky, winged beasts shot out, crashing against buildings and killing countless people.

Smoke filled the sky and raging pillars of fire bloomed in the horizon. It was a true bloodbath.

The scene faded away from Dorian's vision, replaced by the wasteland all around him. He looked around once again, clenching his fists.

"First things first, we're giving you a name." Dorian said firmly, turning back to the hole he climbed out of. "Secondly, you're gonna tell me how exactly I can protect myself in this new world, and thirdly, we're finding a way to get the heck out of here." With that said, Dorian made his way back down the hole that led to what was left of his home...

.....

After a good round of calling random names, Dorian and the AI life form referred to as the Oracle System finally decided upon a name.

"Psyker it is!" Dorian threw his arms up, totally fed up with the attitude he had been getting for the past hour. "Next of the list..." Dorian rolled his eyes and spoke, "What can I do about all those things running about outside there? Just one of the weakest ones are enough to totally trash an armed human. Not to mention me." He gestured at himself, as though he was the prime example of a harmless individual.

[Err... Didn't James explain that to you?] Psyker feigned ignorance. If he had a face, he would be rolling his eyes at how clueless Dorian was.

"No... He didn't" Dorian stated plainly.

[Let's get things straight. You're kinda dumb.]

"Hey..." Dorian began but was cut off by Psyker's voice in his head.

[But I don't blame you. For someone who'd been stuck in a Cryo-sleep Pod for twenty one years, it's expected.]

"What?!" All of a sudden, it dawned on Dorian that he hadn't even paid any attention to how long he had been asleep for. "Twenty one years?!" He nearly fell off the stone he was perched on. His mind reeled from the sudden shock. If he had slept for twenty one years, then that meant he wasn't a teen anymore! His good looks, his charm, all gone!

Psyker simulated a mocking voice and said to Dorian, [Feeling a little old, eh, pretty boy?] Dorian had the sudden urge to teach Psyker a lesson, but sadly, he couldn't do a thing against him.

"Just tell me what I need to know." Dorian forced out through gritted teeth. If it wasn't for the fact that he couldn't do anything to Psyker, he would have been strangling someone by now.

A stream of information flowed into his brain as Psyker explained everything.

[With the distribution of the Oracle System to the various world leaders, many sub-programs were created. With help from the other AI life forms that are in control of the Systems, humanity came to a discovery on how to further evolve their genes, helping them adapt better to climate changes, radiation, and whatnot. After countless experiments and alterations, a supplement was eventually spread out en-masse. It was referred to as 'Geno-fluid. With the introduction of this geno-fluid, countless people awakened what is now referred to as the Super gene and are now referred to as Supers.] Psyker's voiced droned on and on in Dorian's head.

[Although the geno fluid distributed to the masses were all the same, it achieved varying results. The proportion of strength was widely distributed. Not everyone was on the same level. Thus came a ranking to evaluate the Supers and separate them in to different grades. These grades run from grade E, the weakest of the bunch, to grade A; although there have been some cases of Supers who's abilities have clearly surpassed the boundaries of grade A.]

With that short bout of explanation, Psyker had summarized how humanity had managed to survive all these years. Despite being dealt a heavy blow by the forces of the Void Dimension, humanity still stood on its feet.

After processing all that Psyker had to say, Dorian couldn't help but ask, "If there are geno-fluids that awaken Super genes, where do I get mine?"