It was the last day of school for the children on Arc Inferna, their last day as free children. It is the law set by the military a hundred years ago for every person who turns 18 to be enrolled in the military for training on Arc Aegis for 2 years. Arc Aegis is the largest human military base, floating only 10,000 kilometres from Arc Elysium. Every student is excited, for many, this will be the only time that they will travel outside Arc Inferna.
Many students were at the school compound, taking pictures and celebrating the completion of their childhood.
Somewhere in the Abandoned Quadrant of Arc Inferna.
Adam lay sprawled in the dirt, his vision blurred from the swelling around his eyes. Blood dripped from his split lip onto the cracked metal floor beneath him. His body ached with every shallow breath he took, ribs screaming in protest from the relentless kicks he'd endured. The laughter of his tormentors echoed through the empty corridor of the lower district, the forgotten parts of Arc Inferna where no one cared to look.
"Is this all you've got, Outcast?" Bryan sneered, standing over him. His immaculate uniform and golden hair glinted under the flickering lights, an indicator of his class, an Ascendant human. He was flanked by his lackeys, all grinning with sadistic delight.
"Maybe we went too easy on him, even if we actually kill him, no one will care if one outcast class boy disappeared" one of them chuckled.
"Nah," Bryan replied. "He's not worth the effort. Trash belongs in the gutter."
He delivered one final kick to Adam's side, eliciting a painful grunt.
It is true, Bryan would have killed Adam. But he was afraid that the Kennedy family might not keep quiet if one of their pet outcasts went missing.
As an ascendant class and the son of a director of communications on the arc, he could certainly kill an outcast boy and no one will ask him why, but Adam's sponsor in the school is the Kennedy family, both politically and genetically above his family's authority, they are a family of Pures and no one will dare offend Pures.
The boys turned to leave, their laughter fading as they disappeared down the corridor. Adam remained motionless, listening to the distant hum of the arc's engines as it maintained its altitude. He could hear his own ragged breathing, each inhale a struggle against the weight of his broken body.
"Outcast!"
The word echoed in his mind. It was what they all called him instead of his name, a reminder of his place at the bottom of society. The lowest class. The forgotten ones. This is the treatment one gets for not having a superior genetic composition.
"Why...?" Adam whispered hoarsely, tears mixing with the grime on his face. "Why am I always the one suffering?"
For what felt like hours, he lay there, wallowing in despair. Memories of his sister Eve flashed through his mind, her perfect smile, her accolades, her future as an honorary Ascendant guaranteed. It made him happy that she was on the road to escape their fate of being an Outcast class human. Unlike him, she was destined for greatness.
But not Adam.
He was nothing. Worthless.
The thought gnawed at him as he dragged himself to his feet, using the wall for support. His legs trembled beneath him, but he forced himself to move. One step at a time, he limped deeper into the abandoned quadrants of the arc, a place where even the lights barely functioned, casting long shadows over abandoned structures.
The air grew colder as he ventured further, his breath visible in the dim light. Rusted machinery and broken consoles littered the path, remnants of a bygone era when this part of the arc had been bustling with life. Now, it was nothing more than a graveyard.
Adam wasn't sure why he kept going. Perhaps it was to escape the humiliation. Or maybe, deep down, he hoped to find something, anything to change his fate.
His footsteps echoed through the desolate halls until he stumbled upon a massive doorway, its frame twisted and corroded. Beyond it lay a chamber bathed in a faint, otherworldly glow. Curious, Adam pushed the door open with what little strength he had left.
Inside, the glow emanated from an ancient artifact resting on a pedestal in the center of the room. It was a stone tablet, covered in symbols that pulsed with a soft, rhythmic light. The air around it felt charged with energy, making the hair on Adam's arms stand on end.
He approached cautiously, each step resonating in the quiet chamber. Something about the tablet called to him, a whisper at the edge of his consciousness.
"What is this?" Adam murmured, reaching out to touch it.
The moment his fingers brushed the surface, the glow intensified. Symbols flared to life, spinning around him in a vortex of light and energy.
His mind was flooded with information, images of worlds beyond comprehension and powers beyond imagination.
While in this hypnotic state, he saw places, filled with lush greenery, unlike he had ever seen, a world thriving, an advanced technology. He also saw brief images of war, humanoid creatures he had never seen before, wielding weapons of unbelievable horror, for a brief moment, he saw the face of a man, or what looked like a man. His body was shrouded in a mysterious aura.
When their eyes met, he lost consciousness.
The last thing he saw was the deep golden eyes of the man glowing fiercely and staring deeply into his eyes.
System Activation Initiated.
A voice resonated in his mind—calm, ancient, and commanding.
The Primordial Beast System has chosen you. Do you wish to accept the offer and rise beyond your limitations?
When Adam regained consciousness, his heart was racing. Was this real? Or was it a fever dream brought on by my injuries? Adam questioned himself.
But the power surging through him felt undeniably real. A warmth spread through his battered body, numbing the pain and filling him with a newfound sense of relief.
It had been a while since he had felt such relief. The information the mysterious tablet had forced into his subconscious had made him numb.
Adam has lived all his life on Arc Inferna, one of the seven giga-floating sanctuaries that keep humanity in the sky, safe from the extremovores. Being the 5th generation children of the Arcs, they have only heard of the surface from stories and history books.
From time to time, they will be shown video records from a time when humanity was free and roaming on the surface.
It all changed 250 years ago, after the great ascension wars that resulted in the destruction of the moon, humanity almost destroyed itself. That was when the most powerful men and women stood together and united the world under a single military ruler, the supreme emperor.
In the wreckage that fell from the moon, very large deposits of a new mineral element were discovered, Nytherite, a crystalline mineral that allowed humanity's longing for unlimited energy to become a reality.
Technological advancement took a leap hundreds of years ahead, allowing for inventions and innovations that seemed almost magical.
But Nytherite was a double-edged sword, as it fulfils humanity's dream for an unlimited energy source, it was silently favouring every other living organism on earth more, allowing them to thrive, speeding up their evolution and dominance, ultimately corrupting them and turning them into unstoppable beasts.
It didn't take long before the extremovores dominated the surface, hunting humans for food and almost driving humanity to extinction.
Putting all of the resources together, the human federation under the first Supreme Emperor built the seven Arcs and fled the surface with the last survivors.
Now at the bottom of the food chain, humanity was desperate for a way to evolve, it was the law of nature. Unless the humans adapted to this new scale of dominion, they were going to perish.
The First Supreme Emperor set in motion a research to develop a serum from the DNA of Extremovores, which would allow humans to awaken their genetic and evolution potentials as well.
By the time of the Second Supreme Emperor, the serum had been created and human society was reorganized on the Arcs.
Humans were categorized based on their genetic superiority and potential. Race, nationalism, religion and other human forms of segregation were abolished. On the arcs, your genes dictate your value as a person.
Three class of humans were created.
At the top of the groups are the Pures, who can be identified by their deep blue eyes and silky white hair. They possess the highest form of genetic purity and potential. It is rumoured that when Pures are injected with the awakening serum at the age of 18, they awaken S-ranked abilities. They are treated like nobility, they hoard the most resources, and live extravagant lives.
The second class are the Ascendants, humans with medium genetic purity and the second-highest compatibility with the awakening serum. Most Ascendants end up joining the military or serving in important positions for some of the Pure families. They usually have either blonde or red hair with brown or green eyes.
The last class are the Outcasts. They are at the bottom of human society on the arcs, they have unrefined genes that make them prone to illnesses, their genetic purity levels are the lowest and they are forced to take the roles that no one else would.
Even after awakening, the best an outcast can achieve is to become a porter for the salvage crews that periodically venture to the surface in search of resources. This is because they can only awaken D-class abilities or below.
As an outcast-class human, Adam and his sister Eve had the privilege of attending school till the age of 18, thanks to the Kennedy family sponsorship which their mother had secured for them before she died.
Adam's mother had served the Kennedy family for more than 20 years as a house help. The Head of the family was particularly fond of her because he despised having the cleaning robots in his house, and she kept the Kennedy mansion apartments clean.
As a reward for her service, when she died 5 years ago, the Kennedys took over Adam and Eve's guardianship till they turn 18 years old and become enlisted into the military.
"I will not become anyone's slave!" Adam murmured to himself.
"I accept!" he whispered, his voice trembling.
The voice repeated, unwavering.
Are you sure you want to accept the Primordial Beast System and awaken your true potential? This decision is irreversible. The system voice said again.
Adam thought of Bryan's sneering face, of the countless times he'd been beaten down and humiliated. He thought of the life he'd been forced to endure, always at the bottom, always overlooked.
No more. He resolved.
With a determined glare, Adam clenched his fists. And answered again. "I accept."
The chamber erupted in light, enveloping him in a cocoon of energy. Numerous symbols etched themselves onto his skin, glowing with ancient power. The pain was overwhelming, but Adam welcomed it. This was his rebirth, his chance to change everything.
As the light faded, he stood taller, his eyes burning with newfound resolve. The Primordial Beast System interface hovered before him, a translucent window that looked like a holographic projection displaying countless possibilities and paths to power.
For the first time in his life, Adam felt hope.
And he vowed, he would never be at the bottom again.