Chapter 3: The Awakening
Rose stirred from his long slumber, the cool, damp earth pressing against his skin as he slowly opened his eyes. For a moment, he couldn't quite place where he was, but as his senses sharpened, he realized he was in the forest. The familiar scent of the woods filled his nostrils, and the soft rustling of leaves above him confirmed he hadn't been disturbed. He had chosen his resting place wisely, about 40 kilometers away from the village. He had planned this carefully—ensuring that no one would find him while he regained his strength.
As he rose from the ground and pushed aside the wooden board that had covered him, a sense of power surged within him. He could feel it—the essence of the 18 fallen tribe members now flowing through his veins. It was strange and foreign, yet unmistakably familiar. He flexed his hands, feeling the energy course through him, and for the first time in years, he realized that his essence had begun to replenish.
His thoughts turned to the tribe, and to the powers he had granted them. As he stood still in the clearing, he tried to make sense of what had happened during his absence. His mind was sharp, and memories that weren't his own began to surface—memories of the tribe members, of their struggles, and of their final moments before death. He could feel their essence within him, their strength, their victories, and their failures. It was as though a piece of them had become part of him, a tapestry of lives woven together.
Rose focused his thoughts, sifting through the memories he had absorbed. He realized that the powers he had granted weren't the only things that had changed. There was something else in this world, something that had affected not just the giants, but the very fabric of reality itself. Deep in the essence of the dead, Rose found hints of strange particles—something that seemed to be the source of the strength and abilities of the titans and the people he had empowered.
He pondered for a moment, trying to understand what he had uncovered. These particles were everywhere, embedded in the world's fabric. He named them X-particles, and from the memories of the fallen tribe members, he learned that these particles were not just random—they were quantized. Some people possessed only a single particle, while others had much more. The more X-particles someone accumulated, the stronger they became.
It was all coming together now. The memory of the flame reader—one of the most powerful among the tribe—stood out in particular. According to the essence he had gathered, the flame reader had 8 X-particles, making him one of the most formidable members of the tribe before his death. But what intrigued Rose even more was the way these particles seemed to affect the abilities of the people who possessed them.
Take the teleporter, for example. A person who originally possessed only 1 X-particle could teleport a mere 10 meters. But with Rose's unique ability to absorb the essence of the dead, he now possessed 43 X-particles. With this, he could teleport up to 400 meters—or more. His powers, compounded by the accumulated X-particles, made him far stronger than any of the tribe members ever were during their lifetimes.
The realization hit him like a thunderclap. It wasn't just about the powers he had granted them—it was about the X-particles themselves. The particles were the key to the titanic strength of the creatures that ruled this world. Rose had not only gained the abilities of the fallen but also inherited their X-particles. The more X-particles he accumulated, the stronger and more powerful he would become. He now had 43 X-particles from the 18 dead, each one adding to his growing strength.
Rose's mind raced as he sifted through the memories further. Most of the tribe members had died in a fierce battle with a 5-meter-tall tiger beast, a monstrous creature that had attacked the village. The memories of their final moments were filled with pain, fear, and defiance, but ultimately, the tiger had overwhelmed them. Some had died trying to defend their families, others while attempting to flee.
But what intrigued Rose the most was how the X-particles seemed to give the dead an advantage even in death. The powers they had gained were now his to command. It wasn't just the abilities that they had awakened during their lives, but the sum of their X-particles—something that would make him far stronger than any individual had been while alive.
Realizing that the time had come to understand more about the world and what had happened during his slumber, Rose knew that he had to return to the village. He needed to see for himself what had become of the tribe and how the world had changed in his absence.
"I need to know what happened," Rose muttered to himself. "I need to see the village after all these years."
With renewed purpose, he turned and began walking toward the village, his thoughts racing. The memories of the fallen tribe members filled his mind, and he couldn't help but wonder how much more had changed in the years he had been buried in the earth. How had the tribe fared without him? What had become of the people he had entrusted with his powers?
As he walked, he felt the X-particles within him surging, a new power awakening. He wasn't the same as before. The world would see him now, and he would see how it had transformed in his absence.
The journey ahead was uncertain, but one thing was clear—Rose was no longer just a survivor. He had become something much greater. And with that power, he would face whatever awaited him in the village, and whatever new challenges the future held.