Agony tore through Asthon's body as his organs shifted, and his muscles and bones broke only to rebuild themselves stronger. His wounds sealed at incredible speed, every cell being replaced with something far more potent.
He knew what was happening to him…
He was going through an awakening…
"Well… everything is going perfectly," Asthon muttered, forcing a grin as pain twisted through him.
Despite the pain, he couldn't help but smile. He knew what awaited him after the awakening was completed.
****
Humans who have undergone an awakening call themselves Awakened, possessing terrifying physical strength and a unique power special to each individual.
Awakening forms a mana network and awakens special power slumbering at the depths of one's soul.
Mana, a mythical energy visible only to the Awakened flows through this network, fueling the use of their extraordinary abilities. To commence Awakening, an intense desire to continue living in life-and-death situations is needed.
So there were only around 50 Awakened in the world, but each one was given unimaginable wealth by the rulers of the world.
So to many becoming Awakened was a dream…
But all his life to Asthon becoming an Awakened was cursed because the nature of being one was violence. But now? It is nothing short of a divine blessing.
***
Asthon rose up as the pain faded away, replaced by unimaginable power overflowing in his body.
Just then something whispered in his ears…
(First Awakening completed…)
(Congratulations you have become an Awakened!)
Asthon frowned clearly confused by the strange whispering and mumbled.
"Is this also some sort of power of Awakened?"
Just then… he heard the sound of weak murmurs.
Asthon's eyes darted around, spotting Voric standing near Krylian, casually staring at him emotionlessly.
Voric had probably gone to finish Krylian off earlier, but now he seemed more interested in him.
Krylian's lips were moving up and down, as if desperately trying to say something, yet only incoherent words escaped his mouth.
"Don't worry, I will save you…"
Asthon stared directly into Voric's eyes and declared, his voice carrying a chilling sense of dread.
"Get away from him… While I'm being nice."
Voric stared at him, their face devoid of any emotion. Voric looked at Asthon with open interest and said,
"You've gone through an Awakening?"
Surprised, Asthon raised an eyebrow.
"You know about Awakening?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I? After all…"
Voric paused as his armor began to glow faintly, and another sliver rod materialized in his right hand. A subtle pressure spread across the area. Then Voric added calmly.
"I went through a similar process a few years ago."
Asthon's face turned pale. He bit his lip as his heart pounded wildly, like it was trying to escape his chest.
That glow and pressure. There was no mistake.
Voric was Awakened too.
Things had taken a turn for the worse.
Asthon grimaced, let out a bitter laugh, and muttered,
"Well… look at that. Even aliens can awaken. Guess we humans were never that special, huh?"
Voric abandoned Krylian and lunged at Asthon with terrifying speed, clearly seeing Asthon as the bigger threat.
Asthon's mind raced, searching for a way to eliminate the threat but found none. He didn't yet know how to access the slumbering powers he had awakened.
He could feel them, waiting, dormant, ready to be unleashed all except one: a power every Awakened possessed.
But would it be enough? He had no way of knowing.
"Well… it's better than nothing…"
He drew a deep breath and willed the mana circulating through his body into his sword.
The mana obeyed, flooding into the blade and making it glow faintly. Its sharpness improved drastically; it felt sharp enough to cut anything in half.
Satisfied with the sword, Asthon locked onto Voric charging toward him. The rods were seconds away from piercing him.
He had no time to dodge.
Instead, Asthon swung his sword towards the rods, collided with them, producing a loud metallic shriek, and cracks began to emerge on the rods.
The rod groaned, twisted under pressure, and then broke with a thunderous SNAP! Sparks flew, silver fragments slammed onto the ground.
Unfazed, Voric stared at the broken pieces. Then they began dissolving into silvery mist, which spread like smoke before gathering into the surviving rod. The mist was slowly being absorbed.
Whatever this was… it was bad.
"I can't give him time to breathe."
Asthon's sword lunged toward Voric, but by the time he reached him, the mist had fully vanished, absorbed into the remaining rod.
The rod's appearance stayed the same, but its movements sharpened. It struck him with elegant precision, targeting vital points.
Asthon blocked each hit, the two exchanging countless blows in rapid succession.
But unlike before, Asthon's sword couldn't even crack the rod… not even a single scratch.
Worse, with every strike he felt mana draining from his blade, siphoned away and weakening his attacks. Gritting his teeth, he forced more mana into the sword to maintain its power.
But a newly Awakened didn't have much mana to begin with… and his reserves were already fading fast.
"I need to finish… him soon…"
It was easier said than done. He kept searching for an opening, but found none not without immense risk.
There were moments he could strike but the price of a single miscalculation was a clean hit from that rod.
And his armor couldn't be reinforced with mana due to a lack of precious material. His sword could, and judging by Voric's gear, so could the rods.
"Should I take the risk? I don't have much time."
Asthon thought for a moment and then decided to take the risk to finish it soon; he kept exchanging blows after blows with Voric, looking for an opening with the least amount of risk.
Then he saw it.
Voric hurled its rod toward his face, leaving its chest momentarily exposed.
Instead of blocking the attack, he slipped aside. He funneled more mana to his sword and slashed it towards the body armor.
At the same time, Voric too retreated his rod, pointed the sharp end to his chest, and sent it hurling towards him,
Before the rod could pierce Asthon's chest, his blade collided with Voric's armor, letting out a piercing shriek. The force behind the impact disoriented Voric's body, causing his attack to miss.
Despite all this, Voric didn't move an inch, his armor refused to break…
He kept pushing… his muscles felt like they were burning from the strain… not giving up.
Until… the armor finally cracked, blue sparks formed, shards of metal bounced on the ground and Voric was finally sent flying backwards with fierce force.
"Now!"
Grinning, Asthon was just about to lunge towards Voric to deliver a fatal blow.
But just then he paused, staring ahead…
At a distance an object around half the size of a small football field was hovering in the sky, heading towards them at an incredible speed.
The colossal object was painted white, metallic, shaped like a colossal triangle, and looked futuristic.
Asthon's face paled, his body trembled, and his heart beat violently like trying to escape his chest. Only a few words with a hint of sarcasm escaped his mouth.
"...Well well… why does everything have to go so damn perfectly?"