Awakening
As Akoi let his mind wander, the sun-baked earth beneath his feet transformed into the soft sands of a distant beach, and the clammer of hammers on metal faded into the gentle lapping of waves. He was lost in a world of his own, where the drudge of labor and the weight of responsibility didn't exist.
"Akoi! Get back to work, boy!" The sharp voice of Master Kofi pierced the air, shattering Akoi's reverie. He blinked, his gaze snapping back to the reality of the settlement. The other workers shot him disapproving emotions as they continued their tasks, their faces slick with sweat.
Akoi's settlement was one of many that sprouted from the ashes, built by survivors who'd lost everything. They huddled behind makeshift walls, bracing for the next Time Rend .
Akoi hastily grabbed his hoe, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. He was about to strike the earth when the ground lurched beneath him. A deafening boom echoed through the valley, followed by another, and another. The air vibrated with the fury of cannon fire.
The workers froze, their tools suspended in mid-air as they stared at the settlement's walls. The ancient stone barriers, once a symbol of protection, began to crumble, stone and dust exploding into the air as the cannons pounded against them.
Panic set in. Shouts and screams erupted as people scrambled to gather their belongings and flee. Akoi's eyes locked onto Master Kofi, who stood frozen, his face white with fear.
"The Akenten are attacking!" someone cried, and the settlement erupted into chaos.
...
Before they could make sense of anything ,the Time Rend erupted, spewing zombies into the settlement's ruins like a plague unleashed. The Akenten attack had left them exposed, and now the undead horde had them surrounded. Panic clawed at Akoi's throat, his breath caught in his lungs as he stumbled into the fleeing throng.
His mother, Commander Elara, barked orders, her voice a beacon in the madness. "Get the survivors to safety! We'll hold them off!" She led the five Awakened soldiers, fighting a desperate rear guard action as Akoi stumbled into the fleeing throng. The air reeked of sweat, blood, and the putrid stench of the undead.
The screams were deafening. Zombies closed in, their dead eyes fixed on the living. Akoi's mother fought with a ferocity that belled her calm demeanor, her powers tearing through the undead like a scorching wind. But there were too many. The survivors were herded like cattle, trapped between the rock of the zombie horde and the hard place of the Akenten's cruel blades.
The Akenten intercepted their escape, their leader's laughter cutting through the din. "You think you can outrun us?" he sneered, his men moving to encircle the survivors. The zombies closed in, their jaws snapping, and the survivors' screams turned to panic.
Akoi's mother fell, killed with a cold precision that shattered something inside him. Rage obliterated fear. He grabbed an AK-47 and charged into the horde, bullets blazing. Zombies swarmed him, their bites tearing into his flesh, but he didn't feel the pain. All he saw was the Akenten leader's smirk.
Akoi fell to his knees, his vision fading. The screams around him didn't stop. He vowed to make the Akenten pay... if he survived.
Time stretched, agony seeping into every fiber. Akoi lay in a drowning sea of darkness, his life flashing before him: laughter with friends, his mother's proud smile, the feel of the hoe in his hand...
Midnight struck like a gavel. A voice echoed in his mind: [ Name: Akoi.]
[ Age: 16. ]
[ Level: calculating... ]
[ Body condition: fatally wounded ]
[/Auto healing activated/ ]
Akoi's mind stalled as numbers flickered in his vision:
[ Zombies killed: 20]
[Experience earned: 200]
[ Level progression ]
- Level 1 >> Level 2: 10 experience
- Level 2 >> Level 3: 30 experience
- Level 3 >> Level 4: 50 experience
- Level 4 >> Level 5: 80 experience
[ Level: 5 ]
[ Awakening details ]
{When someone awakens, they recover to peak condition.}
{ Experience is earned from zombies killed a day before awakening counts towards levels.}
{Level-up rules: choose a skill at each level; upgrade existing skills if already chosen.}
{Unique talent granted at Level 5 awakening}
His wounds knitted shut, pain receding as strength flowed back. Akoi's eyes snapped open. Vengeance burned brighter than ever