In the year 2056, a blinding white light flashed across the entire Earth. For a while, no one thought much of it since nothing happened—until people began to develop strange abilities.
They all had one thing in common: they were under extreme stress when their powers awakened.
Ten years later, more and more individuals had awakened. The internet dubbed it "Forced Evolution"—a name inspired by how these abilities appeared in survival-like moments, almost like a supernatural version of an adrenaline spike. Society quickly realized that not everyone could awaken this evolution. As a result, schools were separated: one system for those with powers, and another for those without. These specialized schools helped students understand their abilities, while the other schools focused on teaching people how to counter those with powers.
⸻
Year 2072
In a dark room sat a slightly overweight boy, surrounded by a mess of cups, snack wrappers, and bowls.
"Alright! Finally got the sword!" he shouted.
This was Riven Harlow, a 16-year-old gamer who spent most of his life in front of a screen. He leaned back in his creaking chair, eyes locked on the glowing display: a digital black-and-gold sword with red energy lines running down its middle. Above it, the words flashed: "The End Game Sword."
He sighed in satisfaction.
Suddenly, the door slammed open. His eyes squinted as the bright hallway light filled the room. Standing in the doorway was a woman with sharp brown hair and an even sharper expression.
"You lost the job," she said slowly.
Sweat slid down Riven's cheek.
An older man with jet-black hair—like Riven's—stormed in and dragged him by the arm into the living room.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Riven shouted as he stumbled.
Seated on the couch was a tall, athletic young man who shared the woman's brown hair. He looked about 6'4", while Riven stood at 5'7". This was Jordan Harlow, Riven's twin brother.
"How could you lose your job and not tell anyone?" the woman scolded. "We had to hear it from your brother."
"She's right," their father added. "In a month, you and your brother will be going your separate ways. Why couldn't you just be more like him?"
Riven knew exactly what his father meant. Unlike Riven, Jordan had awakened his abilities—not through trauma or stress, but naturally. Natural Evolution. A phenomenon where people awaken powers with no trigger.
It's theorized to be even more powerful than Forced Evolution because it seems to be… random. Otherworldly. Almost divine.
Jordan was one of those rare individuals. His ability allowed him to control ink. It first appeared when he dropped a painting and the character on the canvas began to move, looking strangely three-dimensional.
Riven, however, had no powers. Still, he had always been proud of his brother.
Evolved people were in high demand. Jobs, schools, even military services chased after them.
"Anything to say for yourself?" their mother, Candice, asked.
After a pause, Riven shrugged and replied, "It was distracting me from my game. I was close to finishing."
Everyone's jaws dropped. Even Jordan, who had stayed silent, raised an eyebrow.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" their father roared. "You quit your job over some dumb game?!"
Riven nodded.
"But I completed it. I can get the job back if I want."
Candice, calm but disappointed, cut in. "You will… right?"
Riven nodded again.
His father ordered him to leave immediately and get his job back. Riven slipped on a black shirt and pants, then headed toward the door. As it clicked shut behind him, Jordan descended the stairs, a bag filled with paper in hand.
"I'm going to the park," he said.
"Okay, see you later. Good luck!" Candice called out.
"You know…" she added, turning to her husband. "We didn't have to be so hard on him."
"You're right," Kaden sighed. "But he needs something to ground him. Especially when his brother's a natural and he's not. Still… I believe, no matter what, they'll stick together."
Candice smiled and hugged him. "Yeah. You're right."
⸻
Riven walked down the street. Then he saw his brother in the park with what looked like a dog, but darker in color. It looked like Jordan was training the dog to learn tricks. When the boy spotted his twin, Jordan waved at him, and Riven responded by flipping the boy off and mouthing the word:
"Snitch."
Jordan just laughed it away as Riven went back to walking.
Around him, powered individuals filled the streets—some flying, some running too fast to see. One person had animal features. Another hovered mid-air while eating a sandwich.
The boy then entered the convenience store.
"Um, hello," the boy called out.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" the woman behind the counter asked.
"Hey, I was wondering if I could get my job back." Riven gave a nervous smile.
"Do you really think you can just quit out of the blue and then come back like nothing happened?"
Riven nodded his head up and down.
"The answer is no. Now thanks to you, my shifts have been doubled."
"Okay, but wouldn't it make more sense if you hired me back so your shifts would go back to the same way?"
"Yes, but I'd rather have the person who caused it in the first place to have no money than have any money at all."
"Geez, who pissed in your cereal?"
"You did, Riven. You pissed in my cereal."
The boy then walked out, knowing his parents were not going to be happy with the news he was bringing back.
"Why do I need a job anyway? I'm gonna have to go to the academy in not too long. By the time I get a job I'll only make like a few units," he thought. Even though he tried to brush it off, he was still saddened that he was going to disappoint his parents.
So the boy decided to look around in other stores to see if they were hiring. But over and over again he was denied. The boy was ready to go home after a long day of rejection. With his head down in shame, he thought of the faces his parents would make at him.
While walking, Riven passed an alleyway. Suddenly, he felt something grip him. His feet were swept off the ground. He screamed—but no one turned.
When the pulling stopped, he faced two strangers—one with pink hair, the other with black.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Riven demanded.
"Who we are doesn't matter," the pink-haired one sneered. "What we want is your life."
"Why? What did I ever do to you?"
"Why we picked you? Easy. You look weak. Unevolved."
"You make me sick just looking at you," the other snapped. "Now shut up!"
Riven kept yelling for help—but no one heard.
"Realize it yet?" the pink-haired man laughed.
"One of our evolved abilities blocks sound from reaching others."
Suddenly, the pink-haired man kicked Riven hard in the chest. Then the other grabbed a knife out of his pocket and stabbed him in the shoulder.
"AHHHHHH!"
Another stab—this time to the leg.
"AHHHHHHH!!"
"You people are insane!"
"Are we insane, or are we just using the power God gifted us?"
When Riven tried to crawl away, the black-haired man pulled him back.
Just as things seemed hopeless, a dog leapt out of nowhere, biting into one of the attackers.
The black-haired man screamed in pain and blasted the dog. It fell down—into ink.
"What the hell was that?!" one of them yelled.
Riven's eyes widened. "Jordan!!!"
His brother ran to his side, flanked by four ink dogs.
"I knew something was up when you weren't at the store," Jordan said, glaring at the two men.
The dogs split into pairs and tackled both attackers. Jordan rushed to Riven and drew a medic symbol on a paper, pressing it to his wounds.
Riven gasped. He could feel his injuries healing. He had no idea Jordan's ink could do that.
But the black-haired attacker stood, furious.
His ability blew all the dogs away.
"His Evolution—natural or forced—is a powerful one," Jordan muttered. "I could keep making more of these ink dogs, but at some point I'm gonna run out of stamina. And this guy is just going to keep blasting them away, which means I should use this."
He then scribbled what looked like a lion on a paper and put his hands over it, black substance covering the page. The inky beast came alive and lunged at the black-haired man, who tried to blast it away—but it was only pushed back a few meters before charging again.
The lion roared. The roar stunned the man, and the lion bit deep into his shoulder, clawing at him and leaving deep wounds. Still, the man was able to fight back a bit using his abilities.
The pink-haired attacker charged toward Jordan.
Riven tackled him—but his injuries slowed him down. The man easily flipped Riven over and began to pummel him. Over and over, the boy's face became bloody, punches cracking Riven's nose.
Jordan called his name and rushed toward him, but Riven's vision blurred.
Everything faded.
But before he went unconscious, the boy's eyes glowed a gray color. A glowing grey prompt appeared in front of him:
[System: User has gone through a Forced Evolution. Welcome, user, to the Forced Evolution System.]