A bluish flash. A brutal shock.
The impact was instantaneous, without warning, without mercy. Stood Wathins didn't have time to think. His hands touched the metallic piece, and in the next moment, an explosion of energy surged through his body, consuming his nerves. It felt as if the very air around him had caught fire. The pain was intense and unrelenting, racing through his body like a lightning strike. His muscles contracted, his skin burned, and the world around him blurred. He felt small, crushed by the force that seemed to be tearing apart his very essence.
He fell to the ground, bones cracking upon impact. His face twisted in agony as he tried to scream, but no sound came. Only a desperate grunt, as if the energy had stolen his voice. The blue light from the chest before him pulsed, cold and mocking, as if it were watching his suffering, indifferent to human pain.
Still feeling the shock burning through his hands, Stood tried to move, but his muscles wouldn't respond. The sensation that his body no longer belonged to him, that the ground was slipping away from beneath his feet, overwhelmed his senses. He looked at the blue light, feeling a cold chill run down his spine.
It was then that Elisa appeared.
She rushed into the warehouse, her eyes wide with panic as she saw what had happened. Her expression was instant, pure terror. In a moment, everything she knew was out of control.
— Stood! What happened to you? — Her voice trembled, and she knelt beside him, touching him cautiously. But Stood could barely focus. His mind was foggy, as if he couldn't comprehend what was happening. The shock had been so strong that the world around him seemed to spin, everything disintegrating.
— I... I don't... — He tried to speak, but the words came out wrong. He tried to stand, but his legs wouldn't cooperate, and he nearly collapsed again. — No... I'm fine.
But he knew he wasn't. The pain that shot through him was something he couldn't ignore. She looked at him with suspicion, but without hesitation, she helped him get up. The pain in his head was like a constant hammer, and he knew something was terribly wrong. The silence between them stretched, heavy, as she helped him walk back to his house. Each step felt like an effort. The world seemed to be moving too slowly, as if the gears of reality were failing.
When they reached his house, she helped him inside and laid him down on the bed. He collapsed onto it, but the sensation inside him only grew worse. The pain in his hands was nothing compared to what he was feeling inside. What had started as a slight warmth and discomfort quickly intensified into something deeper, something that wasn't just physical. It felt like his body was changing, like every cell was being restructured. He couldn't explain it, but he felt like he was being remade from the inside out.
It wasn't a fever. It wasn't the flu. It was an indescribable feeling of something greater, deeper — like his very genetic code was being rewritten, as if the essence of who he was was being erased and replaced by something new.
Who was Stood Wathins?
He'd always known he was different. Tall, with messy brown hair and dark eyes that seemed to hide a restless mind, he was more than just an average teenager. Stood had always felt out of place, smarter than everyone else around him, but still disconnected. He never quite fit into the expectations of his small town. His thoughts were always on a different level, a frequency few could match. He understood things quickly, intuitively, but his life had never been anything more than routine and shallow conversations. He never imagined that this simple moment of curiosity, this search for something more, would lead him to a destiny he couldn't even begin to comprehend.
And Elisa?
Elisa was everything he wasn't. She had an uncontrollable energy, a voracious curiosity that made her irresistible. She lived next door, and she had always been the only one able to break through the walls Stood had built around himself. She understood him, in a way that no one else did. It was as if she knew what he was thinking before he even said it. Their friendship was unshakable, a silent connection between the two of them. And she was the one, silently, who had always accompanied him in his search for answers, even if, at that moment, none of them were clear.
But that night... that night would change everything. Stood didn't know if what was happening to him was just a fever or if something much bigger, much more terrifying, was taking hold of his body. The feeling of disconnection was growing. His mind was flooded with images, flashes of the future, as if he could see what was coming but couldn't fully grasp it. Everything seemed like an unbearable whirlwind, a flood of knowledge and fear.
He closed his eyes, but he couldn't escape the feeling that he was losing control over his own existence.
The next day, Elisa wakes up early, feeling a strange sense of anticipation. Determined to understand what is happening to STOOD, she decides to go to his house. Upon arrival, she is greeted by his mother, who welcomes her with a warm smile and invites her inside. When Elisa asks about STOOD, his mother seems a bit distracted and doesn't provide a clear answer. Elisa, as polite as always, asks for permission and heads upstairs to his room.
As she opens the door, she cautiously approaches the bed. The room is softly lit, and STOOD is lying there, seemingly asleep. When Elisa touches his shoulder, he suddenly turns toward her, as if pulled from a nightmare.
— STOOD! — she exclaims, surprised. — Your eyes... they're glowing neon blue! What's happening?
He gets up, visibly confused, and walks over to the mirror. His eyes reflect an intense, almost supernatural blue. He tries to find an explanation, but nothing seems to make sense. Then, something extraordinary happens: STOOD feels a surge of mental clarity. The world around him begins to transform into a series of mathematical formulas and equations intertwined with the laws of physics and chemistry. Everything that once seemed abstract now appears logically comprehensible.
— I... I don't know what happened, but... — he begins, his voice calm but filled with awe. — It's like my mind has expanded. It's as if I can understand everything all at once, with a clarity I never imagined.
Instead of going to school, STOOD makes an impulsive decision. He feels an urgent need to return to the junkyard. Something inside him is crying out for answers. He needs to share what he has discovered with Elisa before he can fully understand what is happening.
At the junkyard, STOOD leads Elisa to a secluded corner where a large metal sheet covers a pile of rusty objects. He approaches with almost superhuman strength and easily lifts the sheet. Beneath it, a partially disassembled robot is visible, its parts scattered but still carrying an unusual energy.
— Look, Elisa, this... this is part of me — he says, his voice low, almost reverent.
What he didn't expect was for Elisa, curious, to reach out and touch one of the metal pieces. The moment her fingers make contact, a mild electric shock surges through her body, catching her off guard. The shock isn't as intense as the one STOOD experienced, but it's enough to knock her down, leaving her disoriented. STOOD rushes to her, concerned, but before he can speak, Elisa passes out. He holds her, and the robot, with its residual energy, seems to pulse faintly on the ground, as if waiting for something.
When Elisa regains consciousness, she feels a surge of energy coursing through her veins. It's not just adrenaline; it's something deeper. They lock eyes, and without a word, something indescribable happens. Their thoughts begin to intertwine, as if a mental bridge has been established between them. Communication is no longer verbal.
Are you okay? thinks STOOD, and Elisa instantly feels his concern in her mind.
Yes... but what is happening to us? she responds mentally, still feeling the shock reverberating through her body. Images and sensations flood her mind.
Both of them sense that the transformations happening within them go beyond the physical. Their capacity for learning, for understanding, seems to be amplifying. But one thing is clear: they cannot let anyone discover what they are experiencing. The risk of being manipulated or falling into the wrong hands is real.
After a long silence, they make a decision. What they are living through must remain a secret. They can't share what's happening to them. With a simple nod, they agree to part ways for a while, each reflecting on what comes next. But their communication doesn't stop. That night, as STOOD undergoes more physical modifications, he feels that the next step is clearer: they need more than just answers.
They need control. Control over their abilities, over their minds, and over the destiny now unfolding before them.
With their new abilities, they quickly become experts in navigating the internet. No longer just consumers of knowledge, but true devourers of information. Every piece of data available becomes a crucial part of a larger puzzle. But they don't stop there. With sharp intellect and skillful precision, they begin to hack into government and private networks, accessing data, plans, and systems, gathering everything they need to understand what's really going on. From there, they devise an audacious strategy to achieve what they want: money. There are no longer any limits.
Using their vast knowledge, they begin to make money almost instantly. In no time, with supernatural precision, they start buying and selling with surgical accuracy. Every move is calculated, like a chess master making their next move. The fortunes they accumulate grow rapidly, and soon they find themselves at the top of an incalculable financial empire. But their true goal goes beyond money or power.
Now, what matters is understanding the full extent of their abilities and what they are truly capable of.
And, more importantly, it's about what the future holds for them.