The moonlight was outshadowed by the streetlights. Cars were zooming about. Pedestrians were walking on the streets, talking on the streets. Some of them were going home while others were going out with their family and friends. The crowd looked to be relaxing but among them, one person was causing a bit of chaos.
Zeyn ran through the crowds. Sometimes he almost bumped into a person and had to do spin to change direction. One of his victims didn't like it. They opened their mouth, ready to scream, but then they saw his uniform. No way was he argueing with a potential hunter.
Zeyn marched on, he had to, he was late. The Awakening ceremony was in less than two hours and he was stuck waiting to cross the road. The light was red. The timer was ticking. Tick, tock, tick, tock. It turned green. Zeyn froze. His status page suddenly appeared.
[Zeyn Ambrose,
Age: 20,
Race: Human (Unawakened),
Class: N/A
Level: N/A]
He was already familiar with those stats. His focus was on the new sentence that appeared.
[Time till death: 1 hour and 15 minutes]
"What the fuck," he whispered. The timer slowly ticked away, Zeyn's eyes were moving around, suddenly made aware of all the potential dangers. The cars, sinkhole, the people, everything. He had to get home.
He sprinted off.
After a minute, he stood in front of his house. He had seen this door countless times yet it looks different now. There was no time to think about it though.
He took out his key and opened it.
The smell of roasted beef assaulted his nose, like opening a door during hot shower. He could hear his mother humming a tune, a happy tune, not one you'd expect when your life was on a timer. It made Zeyn's heart ache, his mother would die too.
"Hi, mom," he said and took of his bag.
"The food's gotten cold Zenny."
Zeyn smiled at his childhood name. He had always liked it. "That's fine, mom. I'm sure it'll be delicious."
He sat down and started eating. His mother sat in front of him, waiting. She always wanted him to try the food first. He dug in with his fork and shoved it in his mouth.
"Delicious." Zeyn smiled.
He remembered how the first time she wanted to prepare her own meals, his stomach wasn't right for a whole week.
"Thank you Zenny." His mother smiled and dug in, "How was the academy? Anything interesting?"
Zeyn eyes darted to the timer.
1 hour and 10 minutes left.
He hesitated before he lied, "Nothing new, atleast until I awaken."
His mother put her fork down and looked him straight in the eyes.
"Whatever class you get I'm proud of you Zeyn, you know that, right?"
Zeyn nodded, "Of course mom, but I need magic swordsman. I don't want you working even more shifts."
His scholarship at the Imperial Academy required him to awaken magic swordsman. If his awakening didn't meet the requirements the Academy would terminate his scholarship. His mother was already working 20 hours a day so that they can live in the city, she couldnt afford to pay the tuition.
"Zenny I would work all day if I have to," she said, her smile radiant.
Zeyn has asked her this question many times already, but he couldn't believe her answers.
"Mom are you sure you don't have a class? Or are you a vampire?" he put down his fork, "You know I'll keep your secret right?"
She giggled. "A vampire? What do they teach at that Academy? Of course not. I am just a human."
"Unawakened but definitely not normal," Zeyn replied.
She nodded. She was proud of that fact.
[Time till death: 60 minutes]
Zeyn's heart skipped a beat. He gripped the forked tightly, bending it.
He didn't have time for small talk.
He looked up from his plate.
"Mom, I have a death timer."
She paused. Then she started laughing. It wasn't a full on laughter but the kind you do when someone makes a funny remark.
"Whats up with you," she wiped away her tears, "We all die eventually."
"No mom," Zeyn shook his head, "I mean I can see the time till I die."
She raised her eyebrow. "Are you that nervous for your awakening?"
"No," he slammed the table, "I am dead serious mom." His heart rate was speeding up and so was his voice, "I only got 57 minutes left."
He never spoke to his mother like this before but this wasn't a normal occasion.
"Alright," she said in her serious voice, "If this is true, how are you going to die?"
"I-I don't know." Zeyn stuttered. He stood up and started walking around the kitchen, muttering incomprehensible words to himself.
His mother grabbed him on the shoulder and shook him out of his daze.
"Zenny you're not going to die."
He raised his eyes to meet her. "But mom-"
"But nothing. Just get dressed for the ceremony. I'll wait for you in the car." She said and pushed him towards his bedroom.
"O-okay."
He walked into his room, still a little dazed. His mother's confidence was infectious but not that infectious. Maybe he shouldn't have told her.
Zeyn stood in front of the mirror, clad in a blue uniform with the imperial crest on it. The fabric felt rough on his skin. Zeyn checked his appearance from all angles.
He was ready for his death, no, his awakening. He saw his desk being reflected in the mirror. Could he die without opening it, he thought.
Zeyn walked to the desk, opened the drawer and took out a small box wrapped in a bow. This box practically haunted him. When he turned 10, it appeared on his bed, with a note from his unknown father.
"Love you son, Dad."
Such a simple loving note. Yet Zeyn never opened the gift. His father was never a part of his life and his mother barely mentioned him. There wasn't any point in getting attached to the gift.
Walking to the garbage can, ready to throw it out, he stopped.
"Fuck it."
He had been holding this grudge for too long. If he was going to die then he'll do it without regrets. He sat on the bed, box in his hands. Zeyn ripped open the paper.
It was a dagger. It had a black handle, adorned with green runes signifying life. It had bloodstains on it. Zeyn used his appraisal skill, one of the few skills you can learn without a class.
The appraisal window opened.
[Dagger of Life,
Rank: SSS,
Origin: The fallen God of Life and Space]
"SSS?" Zeyn mouth went dry, "This is...impossible."
He couldn't wrap his head around this fact. Empires were built around SSS weapons. He could sell this and his mother and him would never have to worry about money again. But why who was his father? Where did he find this weapon? Why gift it to him? The more he tried to unravel the mystery, the more questions he found.
He shook his head.
"I'll give it to mom and let her sell it."
He stood up, his eyes darting to the death timer, 45 minutes and 10 seconds left, and the dagger.
What if he didn't have to die? Surely his mother wouldn't want him to die either right? Maybe he should use the dagger. But how? The appraisal said nothing on how to use it and only those with classes can cast spell. He had no idea what to do with this weapon.
"Zenny are you ready?"
His mothers voice from downstairs pulled him out of his thoughts.
He looked back to the dagger in his hands and it hit him.
"It's a dagger," he said.
"It's... a dagger," he repeated and bit his lip.
He took off his pants and revealed his thigh.
"This is dumb," he held the dagger up.
Yet the seconds kept ticking away and the dagger felt more and more tempting.
He held his breath. Death was already knocking on his door. A stab wound is nothing compared to it.
Then he stabbed his thigh.
He felt pressure first before the pain shot up through his spine. It was excruciating. The dagger glowed green. The flesh merged back together as if nothing happend but the pain remained. Zeyn was about to scream and cry. His body was sweating. The tears were gathering in his eyes but the seconds stopped.
The death timer was frozen at 44 minutes and 50 seconds.
He smiled. He gets to live.
The green glow from the dagger intensified and started to cover his body before disappearing. One second later the door swung open.
"Zeyn!" His mother stood in the doorway.
She stared at Zeyn, who was laying on the floor, in his underpants, holding his left thigh like a fool. The dagger was nowhere to be found.
"What are you doing?"
"Uh..." Zeyn gulped. What was he supposed to say? That he just stabbed himself to save himself?
He got up and looked for his uniform pants.
"I was um-"
"Were you masturbating?" his mother said.
Zeyn almost tripped. He couldn't believe his mother was saying that.
"No mom, I was," he paused.
[Time till death: 44 minutes 49 seconds]
The death timer started again.
Zeyn's eyes opened wide and he struggled to say anything.
"This isn't the time for that Zenny, we leave in 5," she closed the door.
"Shit!" Zeyn whispered.
He put on his pants, grabbed his coat and ran down the stairs.
The car ride to the academy was quiet. The honking cars were silent in his ears. They were driving through the Imperial capital of Alcrave. He would answer his mother's question but his mind was elsewhere. He had no future anymore. He was going to die.
Zeyn split from his mom and went to his peers. The academy's awakening hall was crowded with students, parents and instructors. Zeyn's class was up first. Zeyn was second in line, behind his rival Arlen. He was going to die in front of this guy.
"Zeyn! Finally!" Arlen said, clapping him on the shoulder. "The big day, huh? They say the awakening's like a rebirth. You walk in as one person and leave as someone completely new."
Zeyn forced a smile, "Yeah. Rebith. Sounds exciting," glanced at his timer.
[3 minutes and 11 seconds.] His heart started to speed up.
He looked around. He could see his mother in the stands, her eyes locked on him. He was about to look away when she waved and mouthed, 'Good luck.'
Zeyn smiled back and gave her a thumbs up. He'll do his best in the afterlife. If it even existed.
"You look pale buddy."
He felt Arlen patting his shoulder.
"Don't worry, man. Whatever happens, I'm sure you'll get a good class."
Arlen name was called and he stepped on to the podium. He knelt in front of the awakening stone before putting his hands on it. A golden light glowed around his hand, growing brighter with each passing second.
Arlen was this years magic swordsman. The golden light signified that.
Zeyn let out a long low sigh. He lost his scholarship and now hes going to lose his life. This day was getting even worse than it started.
"Zeyn Ambrose!"
His name was called and he walked towards the podium. He had a smile on his face but his mind was a mess of emotions. Anger, frustration and regret.
He knelt. He looked down and saw his hands were shaking. Zeyn took a deep breath and got up.
The hall was quiet. Zeyn and Arlen were the rumored prodigy for this generation. Guaranteed to become S class hunter.
He reached out for the stone and hesitated.
[Time untill death: 10 seconds.] It was time. He wanted to say goodbye to his mom at least.
A single voice yelled, breaking the silence, "You got this Zenny!"
His mother's words echoed through the hall. His peers were looking at her but she didn't care. She only had eyes for her son. She smiled at him. Tears were running down her cheek.
Zeyn smiled soflty. 'Sorry mom, I'll be going on ahead,' he thought and put his hands on the stone. He had two seconds to read his status before death.
[Zeyn Ambrose,
Age 20,
Race: Undead
Class: Death mage
Time to life: 3 days]
The status disappeared. The Imperial court put in countermeasures for illegal classes. The stone glowed red and caused a mana explosion. Zeyn died on the spot.
Authorities reported an unknown malfunction occured at the Imperial Academy, out of the 590 attendees, 589 died and 1 missing. Historians belief this incident angered the entity responsible for wiping the Empire out of existence.