"Look into my eyes," Luminelle said to Zane, her voice a velvet whisper that coiled around his senses, pulling his gaze like a moth to a flame. Zane met her stare, his breath catching as her emerald eyes, alight with the churn of countless stars pressed into twin galaxies, swallowed him whole. Each speck in her irises danced, drawing him deeper into a cosmic void where time seemed to dissolve. He was adrift, spellbound, her beauty a siren's call that drowned out the world. "Good luck on your tutorials," she murmured, her tone warm as a distant sun, but Zane's mind reeled, caught in a dreamlike haze. The last image burned into his vision was Daikyn Zodiache, the Master, lifting his stone cup, tea steaming faintly under Zoic's violet sky, the liquid catching the light like molten starfire.
Zane blinked, and reality slammed back. He stood atop a shattered skyscraper seven stories above a battlefield choked with ash and the guttural roars of Geminis. Crumbled marble columns lay strewn like fallen giants, their surfaces scarred by claw marks. Cracked streets glowed faintly with the flicker of dying flames, casting eerie shadows. A storm brewed overhead, its clouds swirling with unnatural energy, the air heavy with the acrid sting of smoke and blood. Zane's white hair whipped in the gusts, his face splitting into a wry grin. "Never thought I'd be glad to see this hellhole again," he said under his breath, hands buried in his pockets, peering into the maelstrom below.
Onilia's lessons surged through his mind, sharp as a blade. The world of Awakeners was a chaotic tapestry of powers—some sparked by desperate wishes, others by primal fears, or spun from the system's capricious dice. Abilities could evolve, growing deadlier with mastery, while others remained stubbornly static. Some Awakeners chose their class, carving their path; others had roles forced upon them, molded by the system's unseen hand. No rules governed it, only the Creators' whims. They were ancient beings who maintained balance and stirred only to crush Error-rankers sowing discord. Beyond Earth's fragile sphere, infinite multiverses and uncharted planes loomed, realms the Awakener community had yet to breach. Onilia had spoken of the Tower, a 200-floor structure where rankers were tempered. Reach the thirtieth floor, and you earned the ranker title; climb higher, and your rank soared. Onilia had clawed her way from Beta to Apex, a grueling ascent few mirrored—most Apexes bled for every step. Her warning rang loudest: the system was a wild beast, untamed and fickle, defying all logic.
[System Notice]
You have arrived at the tutorial site. Analyzing… Awakened rank pending determination.
Zane scoffed, his blue eyes glinting as the holographic text shimmered before him. "Analysis? Save it. Just slap a name on me—Handsome King, God of Beauty, or maybe King of Cool Guys." His grin sharpened, unbothered by the screams tearing through the air below. Geminis rampaged, their claws slashing through panicked crowds, blood pooling on the shattered cobblestones. "Tough day for them," Zane remarked, leaning over the edge, his posture casual, hands still pocketed, as if watching a street brawl.
His gaze sharpened, catching glints of resistance. Awakeners fought back—some stood at a distance, hurling spells that lit the gloom: fireballs roared like comets, ice shards gleamed like daggers, and bolts of raw energy crackled. Others dove into the fray, their enhanced bodies moving with brutal precision, fists and blades meeting Gemini hides in a dance of steel and bone. "There's the Awakeners," Zane muttered, his mind whirring. "Gotta figure out the lay of the land before I dive in. Hang on, Ariel. I'm coming for you."
He stepped to the rooftop's jagged edge, his white hair flaring upward in the wind, scars stark against his pale skin. With a reckless grin, he leaped, plummeting like a comet, the air howling past him. He hit the ground with a bone-rattling boom, pavement splintering beneath his boots, a shockwave of dust rippling outward. The chaos swallowed the sound—survivors too consumed by flight or fight to notice. Zane rose, hands still in his pockets. He stared at his storage ring, where Ruinblaze waited with a quiet promise of destruction. His eyes, cold as frozen lightning, swept the battlefield.
Zane's lips curved into a fierce smile. "Let's see what this tutorial's got," he said, stepping forward, his boots crunching over debris.
He looked to the right, watching a man in his mid-thirties shove a woman in her early twenties to the ground, drawing the Geminis' attention like a coward tossing bait. The beast lunged, its claws flashing, and Zane's mind flickered to Ravenloch, where he'd been trapped in a classroom with the Whisperkin, its eerie hum still haunting him. "Come to think of it," he said, a grim smile tugging his lips, "I hope those cowards made it out safe. Won't get my shot to kill them otherwise." The woman's screams faded as the Gemini ripped through her, but Zane turned, his white hair catching the ashen breeze, and walked away. His boots crunched over the debris-strewn streets, as he searched for someone with answers.
"I wonder why Geminis kill but don't eat," he muttered. "Just saw a woman ripped limb from limb, and I felt nothing. Pisses me off how she screamed, overreacting like she was choking on acid." His thoughts drifted to Zoic's brutal training under Instructor Marius. On the first day, they'd been locked in a vast chamber, oxygen sucked out, replaced by a colorless gas Daikyn had crafted. It didn't harm the skin but, once inhaled, dissolved organs in a searing agony. Revival was instant, trapping them in a cycle of rotting and regenerating. Zane had screamed with the others, his insides melting, until he chose to suffocate instead. But the gas seeped through his pores, his ears, amplifying the torment. He screamed till he lost his voice. They endured until their bodies adapted, organs no longer dissolving after countless cycles. That was just the start. Nightmares of melting flesh kept him awake for weeks, the pain etched into his bones, his resolve hardening with each sleepless night.
Zane kept walking through the chaos, shattered buildings and twisted street signs looming under a stormy sky.
A woman's voice stopped him. She clutched a wounded child, a girl no older than six, blood seeping from a gash on her shoulder. The woman's face was gaunt, dirt-streaked, her right leg bent at a sickening angle, a raw claw mark slashing her left thigh. "Sir, please take her and run," she begged, her voice raw, holding the unconscious girl out.
"Sir, please take her and run," the woman pleaded, her voice cracking, eyes desperate as she held the girl out.
Zane paused, his eyes narrowing. "You'd die for this kid?" he asked, curiosity sharp in his tone. He had expected her to ask him to save them both, but she chose to save the child, knowing she could no longer walk. His father would've scoffed at the idea, abandoning even kin for survival.
"She's not mine," the woman said, her voice trembling but firm. "Found her crying in the street when the panic hit. I tried to help her, but we got attacked. Please, get her out of here."
Zane's mind raced. 'Helping a stranger's kid? Foolish. She'd have escaped faster alone. Now she's begging me to make the same mistake. What a joke.' He turned to leave, his hands in his pockets, as a Gemini's shadow loomed closer, its claws glinting. "Sorry, I've got somewhere to be."
"Sir, please, I'll do anything," she cried, her voice breaking. "Don't you have someone precious? Save her for them, please." Zane's thoughts snapped to Ariel, her fierce grin flashing in his mind. 'I need info anyway. She might know something.'
He spun back, his face unreadable. "Look at you trying to make me the bad guy. Fine," he said, his voice low, stepping toward the woman. "I'll take the kid, but you're telling me everything you know about what's been going on for the past two days." He scooped the girl into his arms, her weight slight, her blood smearing his jacket. The woman nodded frantically, relief flooding her eyes.
"Watch out, mister!" the woman shrieked, her voice slicing through the chaos like a blade. She thrust her trembling hands upward, pointing frantically at the monstrous figure looming behind Zane. Her wide eyes gleamed with terror.
[System Notice]
You have encountered a Gemini.
Species: Silver Bear
Rank: Beast
Stats:
- Strength: A
- Agility: A
- Speed: S
- Intelligence: B
Final Rank: Silver Bear A
Abilities: Resistance to sharp objects
Weakness: Brute force
The Gemini towered over them, a hulking beast standing nearly two meters tall, its massive frame dwarfing the crumbled buildings around it. Unlike any earthly bear, its fur shimmered like polished steel, glinting ominously under the stormy sky. Its dark blue eyes burned with a feral hunger, locking onto Zane with predatory intent. The ground quaked faintly beneath its weight, cracked pavement splintering further as it shifted its lumbering bulk.
Zane, still cradling the small child in his arms, turned slowly to face the creature. Zane's sharp eyes narrowed, studying the Gemini with a calm that seemed almost unnatural. "Two ranks below an Elite, huh? Not bad," he muttered, his voice low but steady, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
"We're doomed!" the woman gasped, her voice trembling, her face pale, drained of hope, as she stared at the Silver Bear's gleaming claws and bared fangs. Around them, the city was a graveyard of twisted metal and shattered glass, with jagged skyscrapers leaning like drunken giants against the roiling, thunderous sky. Rain drizzled lightly, mixing with ash to form a gritty sludge that coated everything in a mournful gray.
The Silver Bear roared, a bone-rattling bellow that echoed through the desolate streets, shaking loose pebbles from nearby ruins. The sound snapped the attention of nearby civilians—Nays, ordinary people caught in the apocalypse's grip. Pandemonium erupted as they screamed and scattered, their footsteps splashing through puddles, their cries swallowed by the storm's growl. A man tripped over a broken curb, scrambling to his feet as others shoved past in blind panic.
The Gemini charged, its massive paws pounding the ground, sending tremors through the earth. Its silver claws gleamed like polished daggers, slashing through the air with deadly intent, aimed straight at Zane's head. The woman shrieked again, covering her eyes, certain the blow would end him.
With a deafening CRASH, the claws struck, the force shattering the pavement beneath Zane into a spiderweb of cracks. Dust and debris exploded upward, obscuring the scene in a choking cloud. The Silver Bear pulled back, expecting to see its prey torn apart, but instead, it howled in agony. Its massive paw was mangled, silver fur torn and bones twisted, as if it had struck an unbreakable wall. Zane stood unharmed, his jacket barely ruffled, the child still safe in his arms. His eyes glinted with a quiet confidence, unshaken by the beast's fury.
"For a Gemini, that was a pathetic swing," Zane said, his voice cool and taunting. He gently set the child down on a nearby slab of concrete.
The woman gaped, her hands still raised, frozen in shock. "How… how are you okay?" she stammered, her voice barely audible over the distant thunder.
Zane cracked his knuckles, the sound sharp like snapping twigs. "Let me show you what a real punch looks like," he said, his smirk widening into a fierce grin. Without warning, he vanished—or so it seemed to the woman. One moment he stood before her, the next he was a blur, a streak of motion too fast for her eyes to follow. He surged forward, his fist cocked back like a loaded cannon.
With a ground-shaking strike, Zane's fist collided with the Silver Bear's skull. The impact was cataclysmic, the pavement buckling beneath the beast as shockwaves rippled outward, sending puddles splashing and debris skittering. The Gemini's head snapped back, its tongue caught between its teeth, ichor spraying in a gruesome arc. Its massive body crumpled, legs buckling like a toppled statue, and it crashed to the ground with a thunderous THUD. The beast lay still, its once-fearsome form now a broken heap, dark blue eyes dimming as ichor pooled beneath it, steaming in the cold drizzle.
Zane straightened, shaking out his fist as if he'd merely swatted a fly. His jacket flapped in the wind, rain streaking down his face, but he seemed unbothered, his gaze fixed on the fallen Gemini.
[System Notice]
You have defeated a Gemini.
Gemini Rank: Beast
Species: Silver Bear