The evening sky painted hues of orange and purple as Alex Turner found himself in an unfamiliar landscape. Confused and disoriented, he stood in the heart of a forest unlike any he had seen before. The towering trees seemed to whisper ancient secrets, and the air carried a faint but strange energy that tingled his senses.
As he tried to recall how he ended up here, fragments of memories flashed before his eyes—an enigmatic portal, a blinding light, and a sensation of being pulled across dimensions. It felt like a dream, yet the sensations were too vivid to be mere imagination.
"I must have been teleported to another world or something," Alex muttered to himself, rubbing his forehead in an attempt to clear his thoughts.
A rustling sound nearby caught his attention. Alert, he turned toward the source, only to spot a figure darting among the trees with incredible speed. Curiosity piqued, Alex cautiously followed, his instincts and survival skills kicking in.
After a brief chase, he stumbled upon a clearing where the figure finally came to a halt. Alex's eyes widened as he beheld a girl with long silver hair, clad in an elegant yet practical attire befitting an adventurer. She turned to face him, her eyes glinting with a mix of curiosity and caution.
"You're not from around here, are you?" she inquired, her voice holding a note of uncertainty.
"No, I'm not," Alex replied, "I... I'm not sure how I got here. I remember a strange portal, and then I ended up in this forest."
The silver-haired girl raised an eyebrow, seeming to assess him carefully. "A portal, you say? That sounds like a case of 'The Awakening.' You must be one of those Awakened."
Alex furrowed his brow in confusion. "Awakened? What does that mean?"
"Come, let me explain," she said, gesturing for him to follow her to a nearby clearing with an old, moss-covered stone. She sat down gracefully, and Alex followed suit, eager to understand more about this mysterious world.
The girl introduced herself as Evelyn Frost, a skilled sorceress who harnessed the power of ice and frost. She explained that Gaia was a world where humans awakened unique abilities called "Aeons" during a special celestial event known as the "Nexus Awakening." The Nexus Tower, a separate entity, connected to planets like Gaia, qualifying them for the Aeons' energy production.
"I have a feeling you might be an Awakened too, just like me," Evelyn said, eyeing Alex with a mix of intrigue and surprise.
Alex was taken aback but also fascinated by the idea of possessing extraordinary abilities. "What do I have to do to awaken these... Aeons?"
"That's what we're about to find out," Evelyn replied with a hint of excitement. "The Nexus Awakening is upon us. If you're an Awakened, the tower will call you, and you'll undergo trials to prove yourself. Follow me. The tower's location is close."
With a newfound sense of purpose, Alex followed Evelyn deeper into the forest, his heart pounding with anticipation. He couldn't deny the thrill of the unknown and the potential that lay ahead. As they approached The Nexus Tower, the very embodiment of the universe's instinctual will, Alex knew that his journey had only just begun.
(These Chapters are only me trying to find a direction in which I can move forward the novel so don't take them seriously as I will make many changes to improve the quality and length of the chapters.)