chapter 2: An Ancient Box
"Watch your step, Tristan! You piece of trash don't die by falling over the stairs!" shouted a boy down the college hallway.
He continued walking, trying to ignore the daily bullying that plagued him.
"what is wrong with this people, always looking for trouble" Tristan muttered to himself.
It bothered him every day, and he couldn't help but retaliate.
Growing up, Tristan had an issue with his eyes, so the government provided him with glasses to help improve his vision. As he walked, he had to constantly push his glasses back up, as they had slipped down his face. He knew he needed a new pair, but he couldn't afford one, so he made do with the worn-out glasses he recently had. Despite their condition, they were his lifeline, allowing him to see clearly.
Some parts were broken and covered in glue, and they didn't even fit properly on his face. Tristan then turned around and notice the boy taunting him down the hallway. Frustrated, he immediately raised his middle finger and shouted
"Hey,fuck you! I swear you don't even know how many fingers I'm holding up!".
The boy, feeling insulted, clenched his fist and started running towards Tristan.
Tristan thought to himself, "Oh no, this guy again! He's always trying to bring me down."
The tension escalated as the boy confronted Tristan, saying
" Crap!, see this level 1 piece of trash!, I should be the one asking you that question".
"When are you going to learn that you don't belong in this world?"
The boy then placed both hands together, clenching his fists , causing a mysterious blue liquid to form into a ball. When he was a few distances away from Tristan, he swiftly launched it towards Tristan, who had no time to react because the ball of liquid was too fast.
All he could do was grit his teeth and ready himself to bear the pain. As the liquid hit Tristan, lifting him off the ground and crashing him into the wall.
He felt a burning sensation all over his body from the impact.
katcha! , the wall break
"What the hell is going on?" one of the students nearby exclaimed, "are they fighting again, especially on the last day of college?"
A few students had immediately gathered outside as they were curious about what is happening. A blonde hair female student rushed over to the damaged part of the wall to check on the student's safety. As the dust settled, Tristan's slightly curly golden hair came into view. However, when the female student realized it was him , she immediately restricted and acted as if nothing happened. When she returned to her friends, Tristan noticed that they were laughing at her like mad
"I can't believe you tried to help that trash".
" I didn't notice it was him." The blonde girl retorted with blushed cheeks.
After that, Tristan stood up, clean the dust off himself and picked his glasses off the floor. Once again , one of the parts had fallen off.
"Oh no, Not again...Damm it." he exclaimed.
It was Tristan's last day of college, and he had really hoped that, just this once, someone wouldn't mess with him. He was sick and tired of it and wasn't the type to ignore it either.
He had seen so many people who chose to stay silent and give in to the bullies, and they ended up being treated even worse than him.
Tristan didn't feel like sticking around at college like the rest of the students.
As he walked by, he noticed groups of people talking, some discussing their future plans, others laughing, and some even in tears, knowing it might be the last time they'd see each other again
but Tristan didn't feel like he belonged in any of that.
When he finally got home, he immediately goes about his unfinished work. Tristan lived in a small one-bedroom apartment with just a bed, desk and TV.
Tristan didn't really watch anything on the TV; he mainly used it as background noise. Since he had no living relatives and was just 15 years old, the government provided him with that apartment. In his bedroom, right beside his bed, there was a leather suitcase that held all of his personal belongings, neatly packed. As soon as Tristan entered his room, he instinctively pulled open the drawer next to his bed. Inside the drawer, he kept a square-shaped, ancient box that weighed just a few grams. It was quite mysterious and made him wonder what secrets it held
The box was ancient and all black ,on top of the box has a golden marking and a crystal gem in the middle.
"it another day,here goes nothing" he muttered to himself "let's try again today." he placed the box on the desk.
"Test number 56,Sulfuric acid and Nitric acid. which one should I try first, I think both will be faster to break it down. let's see how it goes." Tristan then begins pouring both liquids out of the test tubes slowly and onto the book.
" zero reaction again, not even a smoke."
Tristan felt disheartened but he continued to pour all the liquids in both test tube onto the box but despite his efforts, there was no reaction, not even a mark left on the box.
Tristan wore his gloves and carefully picked up the box to examining it properly to be sure if there was really no damage done to it. But,as he expected it remained unchanged.
Frustration welled up within him as he pondered the nature of this mysterious box.
"Hmmm, what exactly is this box made of?" he wondered out loud
"so I failed this time again, why won't this piece of shit open?"
"what is the used of something that can't be opened?"he muttered
His thoughts drifted to his parents
"why did mum and dad even have it in the first place?"
With determination, Tristan had attempted to open the box a whopping fifty-six times, but all his efforts proved fruitless.
"I tried opening this box for fifty six times but all my efforts was fruitless "
Not only would it not open , but it seemed impervious to any form of damage .
Tristan had tried everything imaginable–burning it, cutting it into pieces, breaking it down, even hammering it with all his might,..... and so on, but all that to no avail .
The box remained stubbornly sealed, revealing nothing of its contents.
As Tristan stared at the unyielding box, a mix of curiosity and frustration coursed through his veins. He couldn't help but feel a sense of defeat, yet a part of him couldn't let go of the mystery. Perhaps, he thought, there was a reason why this box resisted all attempts to open it.
"Maybe, just maybe, there was something extraordinary hidden within its seemingly impenetrable walls."
After struggling to open it, he finally admitted defeat. Feeling a bit defeated,with not other methods in mind, he then decided to take a break from the relentless pursuit.He knew he needed to clear his mind and gain a fresh perspective. So, he set aside the box for now and went to rest on his bed and turned on the TV for some background noise to refresh his mood. He never really paid attention to whatever was on but the sound of the voices coming from the TV provided a sense of comfort and alleviated his loneliness and sadness.
As he settled in, he glanced at the clock and noticed it was already 6 o'clock. The TV happened to be tuned into a news station, and the anchor announced something that caught his attention.
" The peaceful agreement between the Chaos race and humans, which had held strong for nearly six years, was now facing a new challenge. The military warned of rising tensions and the impending possibility of another battle. The news of an approaching war weighed...."
The mention of war had been broadcasted on the TV more recently since that day.
Twenty years before now, the human race was visited by the chaos race, a month after that mysterious temple and powers descended on earth along side with the beasts .These beings resembled the dalki, but with razor-like teeth that added an air of menace to their appearance.
Upon their arrival, they immediately dismissed humanity as weak and vulnerable, boldly declaring that they should surrender their authority, resources, and become their subservient slaves.
However, the human race refused to bow down in the face of such tyranny. They rose up, united in their determination to defend their freedom and prove that they were not to be underestimated. The ensuing battle showcased their resilience and unwavering spirit, setting the stage for the current state of affairs.
Now, as the mention of war permeates the airwaves once again, memories of their past struggles resurface, along with a deep sense of concern but now they are stronger than then.
Back to Tristan, who grew up not knowing who his parents was and what they looked like. He was told about their deeds in a short video and with their images two years ago.
How it all happened was broadcasted on the TV again for the new generation to see.
In the midst of this revelation, humanity faced a grave threat and was on the brink of defeat , and been pushed back by the chaos race. Just when it seemed like all hope was lost, individuals with extraordinary abilities emerged from the shadows, joining forces with the military to fight this desperate war.
These gifted individuals shared their knowledge of harnessing their powers, becoming beacons of hope in the darkest hour. With their guidance, humanity turned the tide of battle, standing strong against the chaos race that threatened to enslaved them.
However, despite their best efforts, the battle reached a stalemate. Neither side could gain the upper hand. It was a crucial moment, a time for tough decisions. A fragile truce was forged, which leads to signing the agreement between them. But unfortunately, the greed of humanity got the better hand of them and instead of sharing these special powers with everyone, those in power, the very governmental officials entrusted with protecting the people, succumbed to their desire for wealth and control of power , decided to keep high rank abilities for themselves and their own monetary gains . Instead of sharing it , only those with money were able to afford and learn the most powerful abilities while the ordinary folks were left with scraps.
Tristan, who lost his parents in the battle, was taken care of by the government. At the age of ten, an officer delivered an ancient box that belonged to his parents.
"Hmmm, this world is so unfair?" he muttered to himself while resting on the bed.
After a few minutes, he got up and walked over to his desk. He picked up his worn-out glasses with the fallen part and decided fixing it.Unfortunately, he ran out of glue. Frustrated, he jokingly wondered
"why now, did I do something wrong in my past life to deserve this hardship?."
He decided to cut open the container,
thinking there might be a little glue left in the container.
"Maybe there will be a little, I can use to fix my glasses" he thought.
He picked up the blade and proceeds to cut it. In the process, he accidentally cut himself and exclaimed in pain.
"Aah! its hurt"
He left the blade and the container, but the blade fell onto the crystal gem in the middle of the box and the blood on it drop on the gem. To soothe his wound, Tristan put his finger in his mouth. Suddenly, a bright light emitted from the box, illuminating the room.
The ancient box, which was previously unbreakable, started melting.
Tristan couldn't believe his eyes as he watches , the mysterious box in front of him slowly begin to melt and at the same time, something strange is happening in the sky outside. There's this weird light that's there and not there, almost like an illusion.
Meanwhile, in a distant town, an old man with a long white beard spoke in hushed tones about the alignment of the seven stars. He spoke of a great power that would be unleashed, but also of the potential of destruction it would cause when falling in the wrong hands.The old man's voice grew weaker with each word, until finally, he took his last breath, leaving behind only a sense of foreboding.
Back to Tristan, he's completely shocked and speechless as he witnesses all of this.
It was as if the very fabric of reality was warping before him.Suddenly, an ancient text flew out of the melting box and with the crystal gem goes straight into his forehead and disappears. It's like something out of a fantasy story! And just like that, everything returns to normal, and the box vanishes into thin air.
As the box disappeared into nothingness, Tristan felt a surge of weakness wash over him. He stumbled and overcome by an overwhelming sense of fatigue. Just as he was about to succumb to sleep, a voice echoed in his mind.
"Requirements met , did the host accept the ultimate system and it abilities"
"YES OR NO"
The voice warns him that denying it will result in death.
"Count down begins,10,9..,6"
Tristan was shocked again, "I don't have a choice in this too but it sound like it did give me a choice."
"5,4,3..."
With no time to fully read the rest of the messages, Tristan exclaims "Yes" and before he passed out completely
"congratulations..." that was the only word his heard and with that, he slipped into unconsciousness, his fate now intertwined with the enigmatic ultimate system.
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