In the city of Greyford, at Greyford Central High School, a tan-skinned teenager sat by the classroom window, one hand propping up his chin. His name was Leon Grant, and he was watching his rowdy classmates with a mix of boredom and detachment.
It was the beginning of senior year, but most of the students were still shaking off their summer haze, barely acknowledging that school had started.
"Hey, Leon! What'd you do over the break? You look like you've been through a heatwave or something," his desk mate, Alex, asked, finally sitting down after roughhousing with a few classmates.
"Bricklaying, obviously." Leon gave a casual shrug.
Leon's family wasn't well-off. His parents were factory workers, scraping by to provide for Leon and his two younger brothers. He'd spent his summer working at a construction site, doing whatever odd jobs he could find to help support them.
"No way—like, real construction work?"
"What else? Look at these muscles." Leon rolled up his sleeve and flexed, showing off his arms, now hardened from a summer of labor. His muscles bunched visibly as he tightened his grip.
"Whoa, impressive!" Alex reached over, poking Leon's biceps in awe.
"Guess what I did over the break," Alex said, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"What'd you get up to?" Leon leaned back, half-lidded eyes giving his friend a skeptical glance. He'd known Alex long enough to know when he was about to brag.
"My dad signed me up for a survival course. Spent a month learning survival skills in the wilderness. I'm telling you, man, I'm strong as ever!"
"Oh, training to go to the Arcane Realm, are we?" Leon teased, shifting his posture and leaning against the wall, amused by Alex's excitement.
"Exactly! Once I get my awakening, I'll be your big brother in the Arcane Realm. Got your back, man!" Alex thumped his chest proudly.
"Sure, I'll hold you to it."
"But what about you, Leon? You planning to apply for the Awakening this year?" Alex asked, lowering his voice.
Leon shrugged, feigning indifference. "Guess I'll see how it goes…"
With his eyes half-closed, Leon's mind started drifting. The Awakening—what a strange concept, one that had only come into existence over the past three hundred years.
Three centuries ago, Earth had been void of anything supernatural, a world of pure science and technology. But after a cataclysmic event, everything changed. Earth had been "captured" by a massive, parallel world known as the Arcane Realm.
The Arcane Realm was a vast universe teeming with supernatural forces. As Earth drifted closer, the essence from the Arcane Realm began to bleed into it, like water filling a dry riverbed. Unseen forces poured into Earth, transforming it slowly.
To top it off, dimensional rifts and passageways sometimes appeared, offering pathways to the Arcane Realm itself—and from time to time, creatures from that realm crossed over to Earth as well.
For humanity, this shift was both a blessing and a curse. They faced powerful beings from another realm, and ordinary human defenses were next to useless. But they were also gifted with new powers from the Arcane Realm itself. By combining advanced technology with these newly discovered forces, humanity fought back and even began to push into the Arcane Realm to explore and exploit its resources.
The process of "awakening" was developed by scholars who realized that while Earth had begun to be influenced by the Arcane Realm's essence, human bodies were still too "mundane" to fully embrace it. A solution was found: by capturing and compressing the Arcane Realm's atmosphere, they could create "Awakening Chambers." Once exposed to these chambers, a person's body might absorb enough essence to be drawn directly into the Arcane Realm.
Only those "chosen" by the Arcane Realm would be granted the chance to evolve beyond human limitations. Entering the Arcane Realm through any other passageway would never activate the transformation. Those who succeeded in awakening could then choose from a multitude of paths: warriors, knights, sorcerers, wizards, shamans—so many supernatural professions.
Awakened beings had access to a life of power and possibility that most humans could only dream of. In fact, humanity was now divided between two worlds: the Arcane and the Mundane.
For those who remained mundane, opportunities were few, limited to whatever work they could find to get by. But those fortunate enough to awaken entered a world of possibility.
A sudden quiet fell over the room, and Leon looked up to see their homeroom teacher step up to the podium. The teacher surveyed the students with a thoughtful look, nodding as he took in their determined faces.
"Class, we've been together for three years, but now, we've come to the crossroads of your lives." The teacher's voice was steady and calm. "The choices you make this year will shape your future."
"Class president, please hand these out," he continued, gesturing toward a stack of papers on his desk. The class president stood and distributed the forms. Leon looked down at his copy: Greyford Central High School Awakening Application Form.
"Take these forms home and discuss with your families. Those who want to take part in the Awakening program should bring the forms back, filled out, tomorrow," the teacher instructed.
Awakening wasn't mandatory. The government didn't require every student to attempt it; some would rather take their chances and live out a mundane life. With the Arcane Realm stabilized, society had found a balance, and life went on. But for those who wanted to rise, the Awakening offered a chance to enter this "new world," like explorers in a modern-day age of discovery.
For those willing to take the risk, the Awakening was their only shot at breaking out of their lives on Earth and reaching something greater. Education resources were limited, and so were Arcane resources.
The Awakening program was an equalizer but also a gamble. Some of the wealthier students had extra resources, sometimes with family connections and specialized trainers, while ordinary students faced a much steeper path.
Still, for those like Leon, the Awakening was a once-in-a-lifetime shot.
Leon gripped the form tightly. He knew he had no choice—he'd take that chance, risk whatever it took, because the alternative was a life just like his parents'.
"Alright, that's it for today. You all worked hard cleaning up the classroom, so go ahead and call it a day. Head home early," the teacher finally announced.
The school bell echoed through the halls, and the students erupted with excitement. Leon grabbed his backpack, slid out the window, and headed straight for the school gates. He had a shift waiting for him.
After all, school wasn't his only responsibility. He worked evenings as a waiter at a local restaurant near home, and it was grueling. Not only did he serve tables and clear dishes, but sometimes he even washed dishes if the kitchen got overwhelmed.
A five-hour shift earned him a modest twenty dollars a night—a decent amount, and one of the few jobs that would still hire students on school nights. Plus, they threw in a free meal, so he couldn't complain.
As he rushed into the restaurant and changed into his work uniform, Leon knew one thing for sure: he'd make the most of this final year of school and of his one shot at the Awakening. He couldn't let this chance slip by, not when everything he wanted depended on it.