'This was no longer a game, it is my reality, one in which I have been ignorant of my surroundings, this life is not a blessing nor a curse, it is both,' A young man named Nova Axilion thought as he stood before a glowing crystal ball of rare artifacts from the divine to awaken his abilities, as he remembered how he first came to a world in which he did not belong, a few months ago.
Life on earth was no longer the same after the first wave of the apocalypse had hit mankind a few years back, causing many things to change, monsters beyond humanity's imagination appeared through portals formed within areas, coming from where no one knew.
However, one thing was certain: the gods had a different plan. In a way, mankind was dying, and they needed to evolve in order to survive in a world now overrun by magic.
The gods did not care or to be precise one god, the one they looked up to did not care about the consequences of his actions, he did not do his duty to protect the humans who looked up to him, and depended on him.
As time went by, things began changing when mankind began evolving after the first wave of the apocalypse, guilds began forming, some began gaining new abilities, new occupations were formed, as they began to coexist, to survive and the world developed much more into something they had not ever imagined before.
Technology, being the main source of one of the many reasons they survived, evolved beyond comprehension, but despite it all, there was a downside.
How long would it all last until they were overrun and possibly wiped out of existence? This was the question on the minds of most of the younger generation, and they were worried about the future to come.
But everything changed one day, when the second and final wave happened, killing hundreds of people, when it was concluded, those who survived which were millions, quite a few among them began gaining abnormal abilities.
They were able to do things they could not do before and use elements that would have been possible only in books or games.
It all became a reality and society was never more different.
Everything had changed, people were separated into classes, giving those who had abilities more privilege than those who were normal and worldwide status began changing as long as you had an ability they deemed worthy.
The world had become unrecognizable, and the cities were futuristic, looking as though they came right out of the movies. Anything was possible by then, the changes that took place engraved itself within the planet and into everyday life.
Until one day, a game was created, one that took the world by surprise, making the impossible possible and the future of technology brighter than ever, one that many awaited its official release, after seeing the beta tests, over the years, a game which its players would be able to venture into it, to experience it for themselves or so they thought.
One day, within the mansion walls one of the high-class families in the city, lay a young man of no more than twenty-one in a large king-size bed, staring up at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts as tears prickled at the corner of his eyes.
In life, people thought the rich would have it all, however in his case, in which he wished he was born into a lower-class family, one where he would at least have the love of those around him, to push him to live his life, unlike his current one, in which people only cared about the status he had.
The young man was one of the so-called heirs within the family, except unlike his other siblings, he did not gain an ability, he did not awaken a talent and he was not even normal, he had a disfigured limb due to an accident many years ago.
In a simple version, he was what they called the disgrace of their family, someone not worthy to be among them, no one showed him love, or respect.
He had nothing, unlike his siblings, he had to fend for himself, work to get what he wanted, he was only an heir by name and to keep up appearances in the public.
His own family disgusted him, due to which he had a habit of admiring many families from the lower class, in which most of those things would not matter, for not everyone knew that not because you were rich, meant you were happy.
However, there was one little light in his life, his nephew, a young teenage boy who always tried to make him happy despite the warnings from the other family members to stay away from him, despite the warnings from those who treated him with scorn.
"Uncle! Uncle!" A young male's voice echoed into the room as the teenager barged into the room holding many ad papers in his hand, snapping the young man out of his thoughts.
"What is it, Ken?" The young man asked as he sat up on the bed, looking tired and his dark brown hair disheveled.
"Etarion Online will be released today!" He said in a cheerful tone, the game that millions had been waiting for and upon hearing that the young man smiled at him as he covered his left leg and got up from the bed, grabbing his cane.
The boy handed him his coat and he collected it from him as he looked out the window of his room, thinking about all the things he had seen about the game on the internet, including the beta tests.
Games were one of the many ways he used to escape the reality he lived in, a life he never wanted, a family that was no different than strangers in which he knew nothing of love or warmth, those were just words to him, in the cold darkness of the life he lived in.
"Hey, shall we go get the gaming system? I already made an order, if we get there in time, we will not have to wait long, will you come with me?" The boy asked him and he glanced at him.
"Alright, let's go get you the game," He responded and the boy smiled brightly as they left the room together.
Seeing the excited look on his face—an expression he never had—made it difficult for him to refuse the boy's request. He did not want to be the reason the boy lost that smile. Curiosity also played a part; he wanted to understand what made this game different from the others and whether the claims about it were true.