At Mako's command, the video file was selected and started playing on the holographic screen that only he could see. It was a surreal experience, as who would not want to have a cinema in their mind, playing movies and videos just by their thoughts?
[Video Log #003541 Playing]
When the video was brought up, it instantly started playing. The first scene of the video is best described as utter chaos: dark skies, fire everywhere, the sounds of what sounded like giant cannons and guns being blasted, and people engaged in combat. Metal clashing against each other and explosions resounding in the distance are continuous.
The camera shook violently, moving up and down as if it were attached to someone running. At times, the screen blurred, making it hard to see clearly. The constant motion made Mako feel dizzy, like he was on a fast, out-of-control roller coaster.
After watching for a few moments, he realized the camera must have been strapped to a person's chest, someone who was desperately running through a battlefield, trying to survive.
After another few moments, the video's POV suddenly got very close to the ground, and the ground suddenly opened up just as the camera was about to hit it.
It was clear that whoever the camera was attached to had the Earth ability and had just used it to dive into a cavity they had created in the ground to most probably escape from the chaos that was ensuing on the surface.
"I think we will be safe here for a while." The voice of a man echoed as soon as the camera became stable, which was now in pitch-black darkness.
Since it was pitch black, Mako could only hear the audio for a while. He could hear the heavy breathing and a thumping noise, indicating that the camera was very close to the man's heart and could pick up his heavy breathing and rapid heartbeat.
The video glitched, distorting the audio with muffled noises. Then, suddenly, a small flame flickered to life, casting a dim glow inside the cramped space where the man had taken cover.
The light from the fire revealed his face, which appeared to be that of a handsome man in his forties. His features were worn from exhaustion. His fair skin was smeared with dirt and debris, the result of running through a battlefield. Deep wrinkles lined his forehead, and heavy dark circles sat beneath his eyes, making him look even more fatigued.
The flickering flame wasn't from a match or lighter; it was coming from his own fingertips. He also possessed the Fire ability.
His dark green hair was neatly trimmed in a style resembling a military cadet's cut. A subtle beard framed his jaw, adding to his rugged appearance. Despite his disheveled state, he wore a white lab coat over his battle-worn clothes and sleek, stylish spectacles perched on his nose, which seemed oddly out of place in the chaos.
He took several deep, shaky breaths before finally speaking, his tone urgent.
"Hello… If you're watching this, then I'm most likely dead, and you now have access to our life's work."
"The box you opened contains the final result of three long decades of tireless research and development, work that my colleagues and I dedicated our lives to in the hope of improving the world. But I regret to inform you… we failed." The man's voice was heavy with disappointment.
"One of our own betrayed us," he continued, his tone hardening. A trusted colleague had been secretly leaking information to the enemy, waiting for us to complete this revolutionary technology so he could hand it over for wealth, power, and his own twisted glory." He sighed, brushing past unnecessary details and focusing solely on the urgency of his situation.
After taking a deep, steadying breath, he pressed on. "The current year is 2489. We are a private organization operating under direct orders from the leader of the Resistance, tasked with developing a breakthrough technology that would change the way people gain power forever. But the traitor among us had other plans. He made a deal and intended to sell our creation to the leader of Black Wings."
A thunderous explosion roared from above, shaking the walls of the cramped space where the man had taken shelter. Dust and debris rained down, forcing him to pause for a moment. The intensity of the attack made it clear that his enemies were closing in.
"To put it simply," he said, regaining his focus, "There were six of us, not including the traitor. Just today, we completed the system; however, before we could even celebrate our success, the leader contacted us to warn us of an imminent attack. The Black Wings knew, and they were coming. We only had a few minutes to get out of there before they descended upon us to take the device by force." His words grew more urgent, his breathing more labored.
"We tried to teleport away, but our teleporter had been sabotaged. And that's when the traitor revealed himself…" The man's voice trembled with barely contained rage. "He signaled the Black Wings and let them into the facility."
"My colleagues and the facility guards were vastly outnumbered, but with the fear of the system falling into the wrong hands, they had no choice but to stand our ground. All so they could buy me some time."
"They delayed them for as long as they could, holding off their assault while I deleted every ounce of research and data from the facility." His voice was raw with emotion. "Everything... Three decades of work... was erased in mere minutes."
"With the only finished version of the system safely in my possession, I quickly rushed to regroup with my colleagues, praying they had held out long enough for all of us to escape together. But when I arrived at the rendezvous point... It was too late."
"The leader of the Black Wings had arrived and was now standing in front of the mutilated bodies of my friends, awaiting my arrival." The man spoke with immense pain in his voice as he recalled the events that led to his current situation.
"The leader of the Black Wings had come for the system, and he had no intention of leaving without it. Seeing as there was no escape, I had no choice but to shadow phase as far away as I could... leaving all of my colleagues behind."
The exhaustion was evident in his voice now. His strength was fading with each passing second, but he refused to stop.
"It's been twelve hours since the attack started… and they're still after me," the man said, his voice shaking with exhaustion. "I ran as far as I could, but the Black Wings… they've locked down the entire area. No one's getting in. No one's getting out."
He took a shaky breath, pressing his back against the stone wall of his hiding place.
"The Resistance tried to send help, but they can't even get close. The Black Wings have set up a massive perimeter, tight, controlled, and unbreakable. Every path is blocked, and every road is guarded. Even the skies are locked down."
His fingers trembled as he pushed his glasses back up his nose. "It's not just a barricade… It's a trap. They don't want to stop the Resistance. They want to stop me. I can't go forward, I can't go back, every exit is covered. There are Black Wings at every choke point, every hidden pass, every escape route. They're waiting… watching… making sure to catch me the moment I slip through."
He let out a bitter chuckle, his grip tightening into a fist. "They don't care about anything else... They only care about the system, and they know I have it, so they will stop at nothing until they find me."
He exhaled slowly, his voice barely above a whisper now. "I don't know how much longer I can run. I used all of my energy to shadow phase outside the Dark Wing Leader's range of detection, but I can't do that again."
"With the way things are... I won't be able to recover enough energy to reach a secure location before they find me..." the man said as he began speaking to himself. The only viable option now would be to start charging my ability so that I can send the system far away from the Dark Wing's reach."
"This message will most likely be my last. If you're watching this, then you are now the owner of this system."
Tears welled up in the man's eyes, but he quickly wiped them away, forcing himself to maintain a firm, composed expression. With a deep breath, he spoke, his voice steady yet heavy with emotion.
"My name is Lionel Grey, and I now entrust the Universal Power System to you."
He paused for a moment as if to gather his thoughts before continuing.
"This system… it is the culmination of thirty years of research, an artificial intelligence unlike any other, built upon the knowledge and technology of ten different worlds. We designed it with a singular purpose: to create a warrior powerful enough to restore balance, to bring peace not only to our world but to the entire universe."
Lionel's gaze grew more intense, his words carrying the weight of his conviction.
"If you are seeing this, then you must be one of our descendants. The box was programmed to activate only when it recognized the bloodline of those who helped create it. Whether you come from the Grey, Lionheart, Beyla, West, Katz, or Khan family… you now bear a responsibility far greater than you may realize."
He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his dirt-covered hair. "The power within this system is immense… but it is not a gift. It is a duty. A tool to carve a path toward a better future. We gave everything we had to ensure that it would never fall into the wrong hands… and now, it's in yours. Use it wisely."
The recording showed Lionel slowly rising to his feet. He reached toward the camera, ready to end the message, but then he hesitated. His hand trembled for a second before pulling back.
His eyes glistened as a sorrowful smile formed on his lips. His voice, once so controlled, cracked ever so slightly as he spoke again, softer this time.
"And to my daughter… Amy Grey." He swallowed hard, his breath hitching. "If somehow you find this recording... I can only hope that you've grown into a strong, kind young woman. The only regret I have… is that I wasn't there for you when you needed me most."
A single tear slipped down his cheek as his expression crumbled. "I'm sorry for being such a terrible father. I hope… that one day, you'll find it in your heart to forgive me."
He took a shaky breath, then whispered his final words, his voice thick with emotion.
"Happy eleventh birthday, sweetheart."
With that, the screen went dark.
[Video Log #003541 Ended]
Mako's face was rolling as he took a few minutes to digest the information in the four-minute video.
Mako knew little about his family's history. His parents had died in the last war before he was old enough to remember them, and his other grandparents had also passed away, leaving only his grandmother, Amy Grey, to raise him. She was the only family he had ever known, caring for him until he turned fourteen.
Now, as the truth unraveled before him, Mako realized that Lionel Grey, the man in the recording, was his great-grandfather. He had built the house he was living in. Never in his wildest dreams had Mako imagined that his family had played such a significant role in shaping the world.
Mako rewatched the video log several more times to try to capture every detail and emphasize what his great-grandfather had entrusted him with.
According to the video, his great-grandfather's and his other friends' legacy was now inside his head, and he had assigned Mako the responsibility of using this great power to bring about peace.
Peace.
Humanity had chased after it for centuries, yet it always seemed just out of reach. There were always those who thrived on chaos, who wanted to see the world burn.
Mako thought back to his childhood, to the way he had been bullied and treated like he was worth less than nothing just because he didn't have an ability. And it wasn't just him. Anyone without power, no matter their age, was discarded, ignored, or used. That was just the way things were.
For years, he had wished for things to change, for people to live without fear, without being judged by their strength or status. Now, the chance to make a difference had unexpectedly come to Mako, yet he found himself hesitating.
Bringing peace to the world? That wasn't something a single person could do. And even if this so-called system could make him stronger, he had no idea what it was capable of or how it would change him.
But one thing was clear... This wasn't the way Mako wanted things to be. Too many people had been cast aside, left to suffer while the powerful did as they pleased. And if nothing changed, that cycle would never end.
A quiet determination erupted inside him as he spoke, his voice steady. "I don't know if I'm the right person for this, Lionel Grey. But I know that your blood runs through my veins, and my grandmother, your daughter, didn't raise someone who backs down."
He exhaled sharply, steeling himself. "I don't know if I'll succeed. I don't even know where to start. But I'll figure it out. I'll do whatever I can to make sure your sacrifice wasn't for nothing."
After Mako made that statement, he slowly got back up again and decided to leave the secret room and move back towards his bathroom from where he had come.
Before leaving, though, Mako grabbed everything in the little room. He didn't know if they were valuable or not, but since they were kept in the same chamber as the system, he decided to think the latter and picked everything up before finally making his way back out of the secret passage.
When Mako made his way out of the secret door, he noticed sunlight coming through the bathroom window. This meant that he had spent around 10-12 hours in the secret chamber, mostly being knocked out by the system's integration inside his body.
His great-grandfather's video was so rushed that many key details were not mentioned, while some were very broadly mentioned. This left Mako thinking that there must be some way to access all the other audio or video logs that may be stored inside the system to better understand how it works.
"I can worry about that later, but first, I better make some breakfast. My stomach is killing me." Mako voiced out as he decided to put these worries in the back of his head and deal with things one at a time.
Mako quickly washed his face and body, which was covered in dust and dirt from being knocked out in the chamber. He made his way to the kitchen to fix himself a small breakfast, but as soon as he was about to reach for the fridge, he suddenly heard a ping go off in his head.
*Ding!*
[A New Daily Quest has been issued]
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Author's Note: Hey guys! Universal Power System is one of my favorite projects, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. This is my very first work, so expect some amateur writing and a few slips. However, I always try to learn and correct myself so I can create a more coherent narrative. I hope you guys enjoy it. Don't forget to check out my other works!
Come say hi to me on Discord: https://discord.gg/TvjkrdnbE2