Salutations, dear readers, from a faraway time. I have written this testimony of existence for the future generation who may find this book in a rusty, old-fashioned library filled with cobwebs and nightmare-inducing shelves with faces of ghosts. This story of mine is a tale of both successes and failures, portraying not only my life's struggles but also the lives of everyone who was by my side during the very start of the world's awakening.

The divinities of time and faith struck me and my friends a long time ago. Punishing, awe-inspiring, and dreadful were those times when everyone had no idea of what had happened. Perhaps ignorance had given us a semblance of short-lasting happiness, which in the end turned into an everlasting drive to keep marching forward, not realizing the seriousness of the dire fable we had just found ourselves trapped in.

Our world, as we knew it, had undergone tragic changes but also fabulous ones; hence, many difficulties lurched on the road ahead of progress and stability. Matter of fact, this story of mine is so special that nothing but an infinity of words and colors could describe the perilous endeavors and adventures we've had. But that'd be a lie. Emotions also have to be added to the recipe if one truly wishes to understand what we have been through more than a thousand years ago.

Time itself had altered its course and shifted from spacial cracks to another universal and existential crisis looming over us as doomsday seemed to be upon us. We lost in arrogance what we gained in knowledge, and only through suffering and enlightenment could we save the world from its impending fatality. Now, let me tell you something you should forever remember. This world of yours is not what you think it is. 

As such, no lies shall be omitted in this novel of mine; instead, it shall speak only truths and realities. However, as this is a peculiar story, it will be written as if it were a biography of my life. The inconceivable life of Aiden Glain, the greatest Ascended in the universe. 

And my story starts now.

***

For presentations again, my name is Aiden. Aiden Glain. At the beginning of this story, I was seventeen years old, 1.71 meters in height, white-skinned, mid-length- hair, possessor of cute, very tiny ears, a short nose, and colorless eyes.

I had some minor physical health problems, meaning I was quite slender, weighing only 50.4 kilograms, and although I had almost no fat, I was also not very muscular, which translated to me being quite weak. Having always hated myself for not doing more sports just because I was too lazy and had no definite reasons to practice daily, I ended up gaining physical health problems. I truly lacked motivation and a goal to practice, but I still did some boxing all alone in my garage for a few years; however, I never exceeded the level of a semi-amateur boxer.

To be honest, my body condition had gotten so bad that it ached from everywhere, and my arms were so sore that it felt like my limbs and bodily tissues would tear apart if I moved them too abruptly. It had been like that for the past six months since I've been a third-year high schooler. So even if I wanted to get back to practicing boxing or doing some push-ups, I could never unless I wanted to hurt myself even more.

I think my daily stress may have been the reason why my body was like that. I did not recuperate from my sleep at all. Instead, as I dreamt and spent time sleeping, it was like my body was exercising. That's why when I went to the doctor, I described my sensations like this: "I feel like I'm doing sports for eight hours without stopping whenever I fall asleep because when I wake up, my whole body aches as if it had been hammered during the entirety of the night."

Obviously, it wasn't always that bad, and some days I even felt fine and could actually practice sports, but even during those days I still had excuses to not do so. I simply had no goals.

Today was the 7th of February. Monday again, 7 a.m. I woke up, ate, brushed my teeth, put on my clothes, and prepared my bag with the correct furnishings and books for today's schedules. I took my keys and bus card, preparing myself to leave home. At 7:52 am, I was out. As I walked down the road to my bus stop, I felt a knot in my stomach, extreme anxiety washing over me. 

This was not unusual. Sometimes, at random moments, I would feel this weird feeling of stress. It was like a superpower; let me explain. It had happened to me over a hundred times, and whenever it did, it meant one thing: either something very bad would happen later today or in the coming days. That was the case approximately 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time, it would be something good. 

Not only that, but I had even been able to tell if the event that would occur in the future was going to be negative or positive. I did that by remembering all the events, both bad and good, that happened when I had a little knot in my stomach or when I felt really sick and terribly anxious. And the feeling lingering in my body right now was indicating a certain, future doom.

Upon arriving at my bus stop right on time and waiting for over 10 minutes, the bus never came. In fact, a dreadful thought entered my mind as I recalled myself walking from home to here; there had been absolutely no cars or buses at all. I hadn't even seen any sign of human life. This was even more unusual than the growing anxiety rising in power within me since the path that I took was usually filled with traffic.

Startled by the ominous sight of the lone road that seemed to beckon me, I did the only thing that I could think of. I walked to my school. It was only four kilometers away on foot, so if I marched quickly, it would take only 40 minutes, perhaps less if I ran. And since there seemed to be none present around for now, this meant that I wouldn't feel shy or embarrassed about running at full speed with a school bag on my back.

It was 8:11, and school started in exactly 24 minutes. I had French lessons, and I knew the French teacher accepted students who were only 10 minutes late with proper verbal excuses. That meant I had 34 minutes. I could do it if I ran, so I bolted at full speed right away. Still afraid of the fact that I could meet people while running, I was scarily reassured when I didn't see anyone during my course. That was so weird. It couldn't be that there's a lockdown and I haven't been informed about it, huh?

No, impossible. My parents weren't home this morning since both of them start their work at 4 am. And if there had been such a thing as a lockdown, they would have told me. So, reassuring myself that being alone was but a mere coincidence, I continued running. After running three kilometers, I stopped because I had no juice left. I'd do the final kilometer while walking, fast walking.

It was 8:36 am; only 500 meters left; still no one in sight. I wanted to text my friends that my bus didn't come and that I'd be a little late, but when I checked my phone, it left me in shock: 15 unread messages, a few from each of them, all saying the same thing.

"I missed my bus, so I'll be late. By the way, is it only me, or did you also realize how empty the roads are?"

"Hi Aiden, I missed my bus, so could you please tell the teacher that it's normal if I arrive late, pleaseeee :)"

"Yoo Aiden, did your bus not come too? I just got a message from both Arthur and Benjamin saying they had missed their bus. Also, what's up with the empty road thingy? I do feel like the streets are quite devoid of life indeed, but it can't be the same for all of you, right?"

"Wait, Benjamin just told me he also missed his bus. What the hell is happening? He also told me the roads were empty for him. He has seen no cars and no adults, only one middle school student walking to his school."

''Oh well, never mind, Aiden; I'm pretty sure your bus never came too. LOL, what's up with the traffic? Seriously, man, there ain't a bug flying in the air. I kind of feel freaked out; to be honest, this feeling of being alone is weird, man.''

I answered all of them that I had indeed not seen any buses or cars and that I was forced to walk to school, just like them. Well, except for Kal; his 19-year-old sister was there to drive him.

But clearly, I was not ready to see the scene that was now before my eyes. I had arrived at my school, and when I could see the doors, what greeted me was the equivalent of a music concert crowd. Thousands of students or so people were clustered around each section of the outside of the school area. Nobody seemed to be inside.

Struggling to find my group of friends in this sweltering swarm of people, calling Kal seemed to be my only hope. After successfully responding, he told me where they were. After reuniting with them, we all asked questions to each other, and one sentence that we all pronounced together was, 'What in the actual fuck is happening right now?'

"There are no adults among us, by the way; I don't know if you realized'', said one girl from a group of friends next to us.

"True guys, don't you feel weird about how everyone here seems to be saying the same thing?'' said Kal in a low voice, as if not to be heard by the women.

''What is it?'' both asked Benjamin and Arthur.

''The only few people all of those guys met were only non-adults.''

''Wait, what?'' I spewed out in disbelief.

''Yooo, that's creepy, bro, but that must be a coincidence, right?'' said Arthur.

Benjamin remained silent.

''The facts are in front of our eyes, my friends,'' Kal said, more amused by the situation than afraid.

''Well, it's true that there is no teacher, no school monitor, no staff member. No one is here among the adults; the doors of the school are closed, and the interior is dark; no lights can be seen, so I assume there may truly be no adults present right now.'' I said in a serious tone. 

''That.. now that you mention it that way, it does feel scarier...'' Responded Kal, now no more amused by the situation.

''Perhaps we shou...''

***

BOOM...

The earth shook beneath Aiden's feet, trembling so violently. Yet it wasn't the ground breaking and splitting apart as in a typical earthquake. Instead, it was an oppressive sound in the air that forced everyone to their knees. It was as if an invisible, godly pressure had saturated the once gentle air, replacing its oxygen with poison. The vibration and resonance were so intense that it nearly caused everyone's ears to bleed.

Suddenly, a mighty and domineering voice reverberated from all directions, saturating the air with its transcendental aspect. The voice echoed across the entire world and could be heard by all humans. It carried with it a divine aura that compelled everyone to instinctively show reverence.

As all eyes turned towards the sky to listen to the voice, the man began to speak... 

''Hello, Humans. I am here to announce a drastic change that will soon sweep this world and its living creatures. Actually, there will be multiple of those drastic changes. But before we proceed, allow me to introduce myself.''

''I am God.''