So many times in life do we think that if things were a little different starting out, had a better family, or was able to go to a new school that we would be able to do so much more than the hand that we're dealt with.
How many times in our lives do we actually have the chance to start over? Not just in the way our life was headed but in the way that ALL our lives were headed? To think that the road you were taking not only got completely destroyed but to be put on a new road that had surprises here, there, and everywhere?
To show the world what you're made of and no one has a head start against you. Not the billionaires out of touch with reality, not the soldiers that know how to fight and strategize, and the people that have political power before...The Fall.
We were all normal before The Fall. Before my life was upturned and thrown out the window. Before I was given this new life to navigate and somehow come out alive. The excuses of the past mean nothing when you're fighting for your life everyday. Apparently I'm allowed to rest only the bare minimum.
If you're so curious about what happened, then here's my story.
***
There were so many things that made Edgar's life so average. He was your average height, average income and unfortunately...average hairline.
He was fully Hispanic but growing up in Southern California all his life and integrating more into the American lifestyle he basically became "white washed" and didn't take part in a lot of his typical Hispanic culture as an adult.
He was 5'8" tall and had dark brown hair that unfortunately had the beginnings of a receding hairline with a widow's peak getting bigger and bigger at the age of 25.
Currently he was staying up late playing his favorite video game. Growing up he was a COD fanboy and played everything but over time he realized that the companies that put these games out pushed out the exact same thing every year with very little things to keep the game interesting. He started to dive more into single player story games.
More specifically God of War. The masterpiece that continued to help him grow even now.
As a teenager he got into the franchise watching his older brothers play it and he became astounded by the fighting and the story of a man who given reasons to hate a group of people more than anyone and to constantly be the reason for his own suffering having its own tragic sense with someone constantly trying to stop feeling such intense pain but only feeling more the farther the journey went.
It wasn't ever resolved for the main character, Kratos, until the addition in 2018 with the same name as the original game that came out on the PS2. The journey that Kratos took with his son inspired Edgar to better himself because one of his biggest male role models was also growing in his own way.
His desire for self improvement became even greater with the sequel in 2022 of God of War Ragnarok. Of Kratos realizing that things will only change if he himself changes.
That Edgar's future will change only if he himself changes. To change the way he has always been and to be open to taking on new obstacles. Even if it ends in pain. In failure. To continue to be better than he was before and to push forward until his goals were completed.
After beating the game for the fourth time and looking at his phone that said it was 2 am he sighed before taking his headphones off and turning off his PS5. He slowly cracked his neck and tensed his trapezius muscles and slowly relaxed them while pushing his shoulder muscles down to give him a good stretch.
It wasn't healthy to stay up so late but he couldn't help it. Every time he played he was always sucked in to the world of magic and story that the characters in the game had access to. To participate in the story that seemed so simple due to the game playing things out in a specific way. Why couldn't life play out in a specific way if you chose certain options?
As he got in bed and thought back to how his life has played out there were definitely many regrets. Not trying hard in school. Not taking himself too seriously. Saving more money. Trying harder in certain relationships. That was all in the past though and no amount of regret would change the past.
As he got into bed, however, he wished that if he could he would love to start over but not from day one. He'd start over from right now if he could if it meant he had the option to.
It was at this moment that the earth shook.
And the loudest bang he'd ever heard in his life scared him so bad that he jumped a foot in the air. He stood stunned for a second before opening his door and rushing through his living room to look outside to see what caused that loud noise. His mom and dad following from their room that was down the hall from his room.
It was so late in the morning that it should've been dark out but looking to his left as soon as he got out of the door showed Edgar that there was a blue wave of...something? Energy? That was rushing his direction from what seemed like Ventura and it just seemed to get higher and higher like it was a dome that was spreading outwards and as soon as it got to his house he thought he was about to die but...nothing happened.
He ran into the street to see the blue dome expand and continue to go further until it stopped somewhere that he couldn't place. It was at least another 10 miles away at least.
That was when he felt like his veins were on fire. The pain that rushed his body was something so great that he opened his mouth to scream and let out no noise. Like when you laugh so hard that there's no more air in your lungs to let out a laugh but you try to laugh anyway. This was that but with screaming in pain.
He grit his teeth and tried to stay standing but he fell to his knees and continued to scream with no noise. The physical pain was joined by emotional pain when he saw his parents in the yard of their house lying on the ground in pain seemingly on the verge of dying.
His heart lit ablaze with new determination. Not to save himself but to save his family. To be there to support the people that gave him the opportunity to be the good person he was. Or at least try.
He climbed to his feet one shaky breath at a time and grit his teeth so tight that he swears he heard a crack sound. He moved his body. No. FORCED. His body to move forward. To save his parents. To do... something! Anything!
As he got closer he noticed that they were glowing the same blue that the dome was. They had whatever energy that was inside of their body and if he was right then so was he. He put that information away for later and even though he wasn't a doctor in any way, shape, or form he just felt like he need to do something to save them. So he put his hand on their heads and tried to -who knows?- will it into his body?
"Whatever the fuck this blue energy shit is get the fuck out of my parents!" He shouted out loud with so much strength that for a second he was surprised with how loud his voice became. Like a loud booming sound came from his stomach and out his mouth.
It seemed to be working and slowly the blue glow around his parents went away and they were no longer spasming on the floor. After the blue color went away from his parents the pain came back once more to Edgar's body but it seemed easier to handle this time.
He clenched his fist as slowly the pain went away and the only thing he felt was...strength! He had never felt so strong before. He had regularly been going to the gym since he was 21 but even all that exercise never let him feel as strong as he did in this moment.
When he relaxed his hand and looked around he noticed that there seemed to be police sirens going off in the distance and other people that had come out to see what the big bang was earlier were either dead or the few that were able to survive the energy from the dome were still struggling to overcome it or had already finished taking it in.
As Edgar tried to think about what was happening and what any of what just happened was his vision became obstructed with a square panel with a blue glow that was completely transparent except for the words it had on the "screen."
His eyes opened wide after realizing what the words in front of him said and his mind stopped working after he read what the blue screen said. It said...
[Congratulations on surving the activation of your magic system! You are the first of many beings in The First City to activate your system!]