Sol blinked, his vision hazy as he slowly sat up, feeling as though he had just woken from a dream he couldn't quite remember. His surroundings were familiar yet distant, as if reality had taken a step to the left. He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling, trying to shake off the lingering heaviness in his head.
Then, a voice echoed in his mind, clear and unmistakable.
"Synchronization update available. Beginning sync."
Sol froze, his breath caught in his throat. What?
His pulse quickened, his mind racing as he processed what he had just heard. Synchronization? But that shouldn't happen yet.
His teacher had been clear—painstakingly clear. The first synchronization would only occur on his seventeenth birthday, the day his affinity might awaken. And if an affinity never emerged, the synchronization simply wouldn't happen at all.
Yet here it was. Happening now.
Sol's hands clenched into fists. He still had over half a year left before he turned seventeen. So why now?
Before he could dwell on it further, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind once more.
"Synchronization initializing. Countdown: 10."
Sol's stomach dropped. What? No, no, no.
"9."
His heartbeat pounded against his ribs as he scrambled upright, his breaths coming fast. "Wait, what's going on?! Stop!" he shouted, clutching his head, but the system didn't respond.
"8. 7."
Panic surged through him. This wasn't supposed to happen. This couldn't happen yet.
"6. 5."
His vision swam. He gritted his teeth. "I'm not ready for this!" But the countdown continued.
"4. 3."
Everything around him seemed to dim, as if all the energy in the world was being sucked away.
"2. 1."
Then, zero.
All light vanished.
His body crumpled to the ground, face-first, his limbs twitching uncontrollably. The last thing he registered before slipping into unconsciousness was the cold touch of the floor beneath him and the mechanical hum of the ACE System working deep within his mind.
He was floating.
Drifting in an endless sea of darkness, naked yet strangely warm. A void stretched infinitely in every direction, swallowing all thought, all time. Then, somewhere in the distance, the system's voice echoed once more.
"Synchronization complete."
Sol's eyes snapped open. A sharp inhale filled his lungs as he jolted upright, drenched in cold sweat. His entire body trembled, his mind foggy with lingering echoes of whatever had just happened.
Breathing heavily, he turned his gaze to the ridiculous, oversized wall clock shaped like a giant lollipop. The bright colors mocked his disorientation, but what really caught his attention was the time.
Five hours.
He had been out for five whole hours.
Sol sat there for a minute, catching his breath, his mind still trying to process what had just happened. His body still trembled slightly, sweat cooling against his skin. After a moment, he muttered under his breath, "What the fuck just happened?"
Unexpectedly, the system answered him.
The usual dull monotone voice was gone, replaced with something different—something with a faint hint of emotion woven into it.
"Hello, Sol. My system has just been updated. Our synchronization rate is now at 20%."
Sol stared ahead, dumbfounded. His breath hitched for a second before he managed to find his voice. "Since when did you talk so much?"
The system, unbothered by the question, responded with a calm certainty. "As you grow, so do I."
Sol exhaled, rubbing his temples. Different scenarios and questions flooded his mind, theories forming and breaking apart in the chaos of his thoughts. His whole body still felt strange—off, as if something deep inside him had shifted without his permission.
His racing thoughts were interrupted as the system's voice spoke again, this time smooth, almost… reassuring.
"Would you like me to update you on all the new features we have unlocked?"
Sol hesitated, then shook his head slightly. "Before that—tell me why you suddenly synchronized." His voice was firm, the unease creeping back into his mind. "According to what my teacher told me, this wasn't supposed to happen until my seventeenth birthday."
The system paused. For the first time, it seemed to process his question rather than respond immediately.
"Synchronization was designed to occur upon the awakening of your affinity, not strictly on your birthday."
Sol's breath caught. "What? Then why did my teacher say—"
"According to my data, your synchronization should have aligned with your seventeenth birthday. However, for reasons I do not have the answers to, you seem to have awakened your affinity before the expected time period."
A chill ran down Sol's spine. He clenched his fists, his mind racing. He had awakened his affinity? Now? That wasn't supposed to happen—not yet. And if even the system didn't know why, then what exactly had changed? That wasn't supposed to happen—not yet. And if even the system didn't know why, then what exactly had changed?
Sol exhaled slowly, forcing himself to focus. There had to be something. Some reason. His mind raced through everything that had happened to him recently, eliminating possibilities one by one.
Training? No, he hadn't done anything drastic enough. His body hadn't been pushed to its limits, and there was no record of sudden awakening through normal means.
The ACE System itself? Maybe, but his teacher had designed it not to interfere with natural synchronization. If it had forced an early activation, the system would have known why.
Something external? Nothing significant had happened, aside from—
Sol froze.
The vision.
His breathing slowed as the realization settled. Could it have been that? Had witnessing something beyond mortal understanding somehow forced his body into awakening? Had the sheer magnitude of what he had seen triggered something deep within him?
The implications made his stomach churn. If his affinity had awakened because of that experience… what did that say about what he had truly seen?
His fingers curled into his palm as he muttered under his breath, "What the hell did I unlock?"