Dusk and Dawn - two necessary components to reach Zenith. The Dawn part was responsible for contact with energy, at the will of man.
This was no accident. A person could not reach the Dawn stage simply by being near a source of energy or in the midst of battles between two Awakened. A person had to direct the energy into their body deliberately. Only then could the sunrise – the Dawn – arise in the inner space.
Then, a person had to advance to the next stage – the Dusk, which was responsible for the urge. Essentially, this could be any sufficiently strong feeling, emotion, desire, sensation, or the like.
The impulse itself was important, so that the person's urge, hitting its peak, would set the energy in motion. This way, the two parts brought a person to Zenith, which led to the creation of the Genesis Core.
After these stages, a person becomes an Awakened, starting their new path.
Each part had its features, which Garet was experiencing right now.
The night no longer seemed so dark, and the red beast was not as frightening as before.
"Wait, have I become stronger?" Garet clenched his fist. "But wasn't that supposed to happen at Zenith?"
There was one thing about the Dawn that ordinary people did not know — it could only happen once. The awakening process was similar to a normal day, because there could only be one sunrise in a day. In this case, that day was a person's life.
If Garet couldn't use the energy in his body to achieve the Dusk and thus reach Zenith now, he would never have another chance. No matter how much energy he absorbed in his second or third attempt, nothing would happen.
In either case, the red beast was right in front of Garet, and he had no choice but to defeat it. This was his only way.
"Alright, show me what you've got. I'll fight to the end!" Garet clenched his fists tightly, looking fearlessly at the red beast. It was better to die now, in pursuit of his dream, than at the Monster Wave.
Garet knew that most people achieved Zenith through pain or fear. It was the most effective method used by the instructors at the Thornspire.
However, Garet didn't want to reach his Zenith in this form.
'If I'm this afraid of a simple monster, what kind of future awaits me?' Garet thought as the red beast lunged forward.
BAM!
Garet's fist slammed into the monster as its body flew sideways and crashed into a tree. His eyes widened at the power within him.
"This... Could I really do it?" Garet looked at his hands. "Become an Awakened, become free from fear. I want this!"
Like all beginners, Garet made a critical mistake — he let his emotions take over.
The red beast lunged at him, digging its claws into Garet's shoulders and knocking him to the ground.
The long fangs were inches from Garet's face when he threw his arms forward at the last moment, stopping the monster's wide-open jaw.
If it weren't for the energy from the Dawn, Garet would've lost his arms, but there was no despair in his eyes. On the contrary, the light only grew stronger.
'Hah, I can win... I can do this, I just need to put all my strength into it!'
Neither the fangs nor the claws digging into Garet's shoulders bothered him. He continued to put all his strength into snapping the monster's jaws open.
A multitude of emotions changed, while the bright rays in his inner space became denser. The light, like the sun, moved across the passage of the day, heading toward the top.
The initial fear, the excitement of power, the pain, the possibilities, and other parts of the urge, one after another, cycled through Garet until he reached the final point.
Suddenly, Garet felt a lightness in his hands as the jaw snapped open. Blood flooded his face, drowning out the dying monster's howl.
Then, Garet's eyes flew open, filling with a never-before-seen light. He realized what he did, he remembered all the fragments of the Awakened battles he saw, how they stood in the middle of a field covered in blood, the survivors and the conquerors.
Now, for the first time in his life, he was in their place. He finally had the opportunity to become free and escape the pit he was born into.
This feeling was - the Rapture, the highest bliss, and it was enough.
The rays of light became dense enough to distort space, creating an orb consisting of many complex fragments woven together by electrical discharges.
Then, the light turned into darkness — the Dusk —and only the bright light at the top remained unshaken.
It was Zenith.
[Dawn and Dusk dissipated. Zenith was reached.]
[The Genesis Core was created.]
[Touch the Genesis Core to reveal your Zenith.]
Unaware, Garet blinked. The next time he opened his eyes, he was no longer at the foot of the cliff, but in a completely different place.
Garet glanced around.
A beam of light fell on a dark core floating in the middle of a blue, cloudless sky in the void.
What he was now witnessing was what every Awakened had gone through. The light above showed that Garet reached Zenith, but he had to unlock the power hidden behind it.
"This, I did it?"
Step. Step. Step.
Garet approached the Genesis Core with a slight tremor in his hand as he touched it.
The Genesis Core shook, releasing an electric discharge that ran through Garet.
Then, the flash moved to the side, forming a complex structure with a red flame in the center.
Garet gulped, not sure what was happening.
Soon, the light fell on him, scanning every part of him, whether it was his body, his mind, or his present and past.
[The Zenith Grid is forming.]
[Calibration required.]
Each Awakened was unique, and calibration was responsible for that. Two main factors determined Garet's strength and abilities.
The first was his nature as a person, his character, his worldview, and even his past decisions that had greatly affected him.
The second was the urge he felt before the Dusk, which in his case was the Rapture.
Thus, even those who became Awakened through fear, which was the most common case, had completely different powers at the beginning of their path.
Time after time, the red grid, resembling a constellation, changed its shape, trying to find the right one for Garet.
Only after a few minutes did the grid stop. Garet didn't know this, but for other Awakened, this process took a couple of seconds. The reason could be either him or his unusual urge.
[Zenith Grid formed.]
There were no further instructions, but Garet knew intuitively what to do. He stepped forward and touched the red flame.
[Zenith answered your call. The Dusk and Dawn considered.]
Then, the small red flame turned into a black sun engulfed in crimson fire, billowing at the edges.
[Your Zenith is revealed.]
Symbols flashed before Garet's eyes, bringing him information about his power.
[Crimson Blight
The urge that led you to power is as bright as the sun, a dazzling and inspiring force. But your desires are dark, giving free rein not to light but to wandering darkness.]
Basically, this was Garet's first ability. He figured out how it worked during his first battle, and the Genesis Core knew it.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
The Genesis Core shook, sending an electric charge through the Zenith Grid.
[The first Anchor of the Zenith Grid will open upon its next contact with energy.]
The light floating above dimmed, just as the blue sky lost its light, turning gray and approaching darkness.
"Wait!" Garet exclaimed, throwing his arm forward, but he only grabbed a leaf that fell from a branch.
He found himself in front of a slope, and two dead monsters lay at the roots of the tree.
For a few seconds, Garet said nothing, while a happy smile slowly grew on his face.
"Hah. If I'm now an Awakened, then I can enter the Thornspire!"
In anticipation of a bright future, Garet quickly got up from the ground. He had a lot to learn to become stronger and harness all the secrets of the Genesis Core. His desire to do so had never been stronger.
But as soon as he turned toward the Pit, his eyes widened and his face turned pale.
The Thornspire, which previously warned only of a group of monsters, now showed three red flashes, burning like evil stars.
The Monster Wave was coming, and it was unlikely that the Pit and the city's residents would survive it.