Date: UC 0453.021.13 Time: 4:59
Kenos tossed and turned on his bed made of dry grass and moss, the dull throb of his head keeping him from finding rest. Every shift sent jolts of pain through his body, reminding him of Rax's earlier attack. Eventually, he surrendered to the early morning light filtering through the cracks in the walls, rising to begin his day.
After sorting out his small cottage, where he lived alone, he made his way to the slaughtering house, a grim place where the stench of blood and the waste of monsters echoed in his mind as he approached, a familiar and unsettling reminder of the life he had been forced into.
As he worked, handling the grotesque waste of the creatures, he felt the weight of the task pressing down on him. Just then, he heard a familiar voice.
"Kenos, what happened to you?" Lyra asked, concern lacing her tone as she approached, her vibrant presence a stark contrast to the grim task at hand.
"Nothing happened," he replied tersely, trying to shake off her concern. He didn't want anyone's pity today.
Lyra didn't back down. "Come on, you can tell me. You look like you've been through a fight."
Kenos felt the heat rise in his cheeks, a mix of frustration and embarrassment. "I said nothing happened!" he snapped, the annoyance bubbling over. He immediately regretted his outburst when he saw the hurt flash in Lyra's eyes.
"Fine, then," she said quietly, stepping back. Kenos could see she wanted to help, but he wasn't ready to share the burdens he carried.
As break time arrived, he tried to shake off the earlier encounter. Kenos sat alone, staring at the ground and picking at the blades of grass. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Rax leaning against a wall, a smug smirk plastered across his face.
"Look who it is," Rax called out, his voice dripping with mockery. "The mighty Kenos, back from his little adventure in the stars."
Kenos chose to ignore him, focusing instead on the distant mountains as they rose against the sky. He wouldn't give Rax the satisfaction of a response.
When his shift finally ended, he trudged back toward his solitary cottage, the ache in his head still lingering but dulled by the familiarity of the path. Each step felt heavy, but he took solace in the thought that soon, everything might change.
Upon reaching the cottage, he pushed the door open, the familiar scent of the place washing over him. The warmth inside felt inviting, a small refuge from the trials of the day. As he settled into his space, Kenos tried to let go of the tensions that had clouded his morning.
Time: 23:58
Kenos lay on his bed of dry grass and moss, staring at the ceiling of his small cottage,
Suddenly, a warmth surged through his body, as if something had ignited deep within him. Cosmic energy started to pour into him, filling every part of his being with an intense, pulsating heat. At first, it was almost comforting, but within moments, the warmth turned into a scorching fire.
A crushing pain began to rise in his chest. His muscles tensed, and his vision blurred as his consciousness started to slip away, as if he were being torn apart from the inside. His mind struggled to hold on, to understand what was happening, but the agony was overwhelming. It felt as though he was on the edge of oblivion, moments away from being consumed entirely by the force inside him.
At the height of the pain, when he thought he could endure no more, something else reached out to him. A faint connection, like the distant call of a kinship, pulsed through the cosmic energy. The whit of the star—the essence of the star that was lost in boundless space and time—seemed to respond. It moved toward him, a fragment of its essence merging with his energy.
The star's essence wrapped around him, calming the storm within for a brief moment. It felt protective, familiar, as if it had been waiting for him. But as the essence merged with him, it began to fade, its energy extinguishing before it could fully take hold. Kenos felt the power slipping away, leaving behind nothing. The essence, though comforting, had not granted him the anything else, since it had no energy left it absorbed the cosmic energy of kenos.
He didn't understand. He had been told that the awakening would bring immense pain, but it was supposed to be followed by power, by clarity. Instead, all he felt was emptiness. The cosmic energy left him as quickly as it had come, giving him nothing in return.
He didn't realize there was something else, hidden deep within the energy that had entered him. His body, too weak to process it, had shut down before it could take effect.
As the last of his strength faded, Kenos lost consciousness, his body going limp on the bed. The awakening had come—but he had yet to understand what it truly meant.
Kenos stirred awake as the soft light of dawn crept into the cracks of his small cottage. His body ached from the ordeal of the night before, muscles sore and head pounding. He blinked, trying to shake off the heaviness that clung to him like a weight. As he sat up, something unusual caught his attention.
Right in front of his eyes, as if floating in midair, was a glowing display.
"Happy Birthday,Kenos."
The words hovered there, bright and clear, almost unreal. Kenos blinked several times, rubbing his eyes, but the display didn't vanish. It wasn't a dream. It was real.
He stared at the screen in stunned silence, his heart racing as the system's voice followed, resonating in his mind with a mechanical clarity:
"Astrum system intialized. Welcome Kenos, To path of ascension"
.....