The Awakening of Eden

Year 218 of the New Empirical Calendar

Eden de Sylvain

The city pulsed with life. Towering skyscrapers of reinforced steel and glass loomed over the streets, their sleek surfaces reflecting the warm glow of the afternoon sun. Below, a maze of roads and walkways bustled with activity—crowds of civilians moving between shops, workers hurrying to their next destination, and Awakened patrolling in uniform, their presence a quiet reminder of the world's dangers. Public trams rumbled along their tracks, weaving through the city's districts with practiced efficiency, while electric cars hummed softly as they navigated the roads.

Eden sat by the window of a high-rise café, as he watched the city move below with a steaming cup of espresso in his hands. The bitter aroma mixed with the scent of fresh bread and roasted mana-infused beans, a staple luxury only available in high-tier cities like this. His posture was relaxed, yet his eyes, a piercing shade of violet, remained ever observant.

A news broadcast played on the café's TV-screen, summarizing the latest breakthroughs in mana technology and international efforts to counter the gate crisis. Ever since the Awakening reshaped the world, humanity had learned to coexist with the supernatural, adapting as best they could. The governments of the old world had dissolved, giving rise to new nations led by Awakened rulers. Each country was governed by a central authority, supported by powerful legacy clans that shaped their policies and defenses. Though they operated independently, these nations set aside their differences when necessary, uniting against the ever-growing threat of the gate crisis.

However, it wasn't enough. It never was.

No matter how much humanity advanced, the mana gates only grew stronger. New threats emerged with every passing year, creatures beyond comprehension clawing their way into reality. Eden knew this truth better than most.

His wristband vibrated. A priority alert.

The café's background noise faded as Eden's focus sharpened. He tapped the device, and a projection materialized above his palm—a crimson warning flashing in bold letters.

Tier 6 Mana Gate Detected – Immediate Response Required.

His heartbeat slowed. The notification alone was enough to send chills down anyone's spine. Tier 6 gates were cataclysmic events, the kind that could erase entire countries if left unchecked.

Eden's communicator buzzed again, this time with an incoming call. He accepted it.

"Eden." The voice on the other end was calm but urgent. It belonged to Commander Aldric, head of the United Awakened Response Division. "We need you at the breach site. Now."

"Location?"

"Central District. It manifested near the Sky Spire."

Eden exhaled sharply. The Sky Spire was one of the tallest buildings in the city, a hub of commerce and governance. If the gate broke, the destruction would be catastrophic.

"I'm on my way."

He cut the connection and downed the last of his coffee before standing. Every muscle in his body was already preparing for the battle ahead. As he exited the café, the world outside had already begun to change.

Jagged cracks of energy surged across the gates surface, its form unstable, writhing like a living entity. The surrounding air grew heavy, thick with mana so dense it distorted space itself. People ran in panic, fleeing to underground shelters as sirens wailed across the city.

Eden activated his comms again. "Status?"

Commander Aldric's voice came through. "All available Awakened are en route, but we have a problem. The energy signature from this gate… it's different. We don't know why, but our sensors are picking up an anomaly inside. Our best people won't arrive in time before it fully destabilizes."

Eden understood immediately.

If no one entered now, the gate would collapse, spilling whatever horrors lurked within onto the city. Waiting wasn't an option.

"I'll go in alone," Eden said, already leaping onto a transport rail and using his mana to propel himself toward the Sky Spire.

"Eden—" Aldric started, but Eden cut him off.

"There's no time."

He soared above the fleeing crowds, his form a blur of motion as he shot toward the ever-growing vortex. The moment he arrived, he stood at the precipice, gazing into the cosmic rift that loomed before him.

Eden took a breath, steeled himself, and leaped into the abyss.

The moment Eden stepped through the gate, the world around him twisted and stretched, warping into something otherworldly. He found himself standing in an endless expanse of swirling stars and cosmic light. The ground beneath his feet was solid, yet it shimmered like liquid stardust, shifting subtly with each step he took. It felt like he had been dropped into the heart of the universe, where time and space blurred together in an endless sea of eternity.

His breath came slow and measured, his body tensed, waiting for the inevitable attack. And soon enough, it came.

Figures emerged from the void, forming out of the same cosmic light that surrounded him. At first, they were formless, vague silhouettes of energy, but then they solidified into something eerily familiar—armored knights clad in ancient steel, their visors obscuring any trace of humanity. They stood motionless for a moment, swords gleaming under the celestial glow, and then, without warning, they charged.

Eden reacted swiftly attempting to activate his awakened ability Telekinesis however, to his surprise his ability refused to activate. Confusion from the refusal caused him to lose focus for a moment, and that moment was enough. 

The first knight swung its blade. He twisted his body, the weapon narrowly missing as he stepped back, feeling the air split where the sword had cut. His training kicked in instinctively. He spun, launching a precise counterstrike with his bare hands. His fist met metal, but instead of solid steel, the knight's form fractured like brittle glass, shimmering into the air before reforming once more.

'They're not real,' he realized. 'They're constructs.'

That didn't make them any less deadly.

More knights descended upon him. Eden ducked beneath a sweeping blow, shifting his weight to dodge another, his mind racing. He couldn't fight them like normal enemies. They weren't bound by the same physical rules. He had to adapt.

Summoning the mana coursing through his veins, he struck out with precision, not aiming to break their bodies, but to unravel them. His strikes became sharper, more refined, targeting the seams in their glowing forms. Each impact sent ripples through their figures, distorting them like shattered glass caught in slow motion.

One by one, they fell. And yet, the battle seemed endless. Time blurred, his movements growing automatic, instinct guiding his strikes. Seconds stretched into minutes, minutes into something far longer, yet he had no way to measure how long he had truly been fighting. His mind told him it had been hours, but his body felt as though mere moments had passed.

Then, at last, the final knight crumbled into nothingness, its body scattering into shimmering motes. Eden stood amidst the fading remnants of battle, his breath steady, his body untouched, but his mind reeling. Something was wrong.

The moment the last enemy fell, the world shifted again.

The star-filled void pulsed, the swirling cosmos parting like curtains to reveal a single path forward. The air felt different now, heavier, denser, charged with an ancient power. As he stepped forward, he could feel the very essence of time unraveling around him, warping and stretching like an unseen force was playing with reality itself.

And then, he saw him.

A man stood in the center of it all.

Unlike the knights, he was not a construct of energy. He was real—terrifyingly real. His presence was overwhelming, an undeniable force that made Eden's instincts scream in warning. The man radiated power, not in a violent or oppressive way, but in a manner that made it clear he existed beyond normal limitations. His robes were woven with threads of light, flowing as if they were untouched by the laws of physics. His silver eyes gleamed with an unfathomable depth, the weight of countless ages reflected in them.

Eden didn't need to ask to know the being before him was beyond human comprehension. Even without sight, he felt the sheer vastness of its presence, like standing before an endless ocean where time itself ebbed and flowed.

The figure was tall, draped in robes that shimmered like the night sky, constellations shifting across the fabric as though they were alive. His features were sharp yet ageless, his gaze piercing despite Eden's blindness. Power radiated from him—not like fire, not like lightning, but something far deeper. A force that had always been and always would be.

The being regarded him with quiet amusement before speaking. His voice was steady, deliberate, carrying an undeniable authority that resonated deep within Eden's soul.

"Time is a river. Some fight against the current, others drift without resistance. Tell me, warrior, which is the correct path?"

Eden's thoughts spun. A test? A philosophical riddle?

Fighting against the current meant struggle—an attempt to defy fate. Drifting meant surrender—allowing oneself to be carried without purpose. Neither answer sat well with him.

"Neither," Eden said finally, his voice steady despite the weight pressing down on him. "Time doesn't care about those who fight or those who submit. The only path is to move with purpose. To use the current to reach where you need to be."

Silence.

The figure studied him for a long moment, and then, a small smirk formed at the corner of his lips.

"A clever answer. But words alone are meaningless. You will prove your worth."

Eden tensed. The air around him trembled. He barely had time to react before the world shattered.

He was no longer standing before the being.

Instead, he was falling.

The sensation of weightlessness consumed him, but before panic could set in, his feet met solid ground. The environment around him was vast and endless—a void filled with floating islands of stone, each one shifting as if they were pieces of a cosmic puzzle.

And then, he felt it.

Something was wrong.

He turned sharply, his instincts screaming a warning—only for a sword to whistle through the air toward him.

Eden barely managed to dodge, twisting his body as the blade missed him by inches. His heart pounded as he regained his footing, feeling the weight of a presence behind him.

A knight stood there, clad in ancient, blackened armor, his visor hiding his face. The air around him crackled with distorted energy, as if time itself was unraveling at his touch.

More footsteps echoed.

Eden's breath slowed.

They were everywhere.

Dozens of knights emerged from the shifting void, each wielding weapons that shimmered with unnatural light. There was no hesitation in their movements, no pause. The first knight lunged again, and Eden moved on instinct.

He ducked beneath the strike, feeling the blade pass just over his head, then lashed out with a counter. His fist struck the knight's armored chest, but instead of impact—

His hand phased through.

Eden's eyes widened. Before he could recover, another blade sliced toward him. He twisted away, narrowly avoiding it, but he was already off-balance. More came, relentlessly attacking from every angle.

He couldn't touch them but they could touch him.

This was impossible.

A voice echoed through the void—The mysterious beings voice. "Time bends for those who understand it. Fight as you are now, and you will lose."

"Then how am I supposed to fight?" Eden asked, but the question was met with only silence.

The knights advanced. Eden forced himself to move, weaving between the strikes. He could feel them, sense them through their mana—flickering like distorted images, their forms shifting in and out of place.

Time wasn't working normally here.

They weren't solid because they existed in different moments. The strikes that hit him weren't happening now—they had already happened. He was reacting too late.

Eden took a slow breath.

He had to see before they struck.

Closing his eyes, he stilled his mind, letting go of the panic. He focused. The blurred figures of the knights sharpened.

He saw it.

A flicker—a second ahead. The moment before they moved.

The next knight lunged. Eden moved before the attack even began, sidestepping effortlessly, his fist lashing out and—this time—connecting. The knight crumbled into nothing.

The battlefield shifted. The remaining knights attacked, but now, Eden was ahead of them. He wove through them, his strikes landing with deadly precision. One by one, they shattered.

And then, silence.

The last knight fell.

Eden stood there, panting, his body aching. Time had blurred during the battle—it could have been seconds, it could have been hours.

A slow clap echoed through the void.

Eden turned. The being stood there once more, watching him with approval.

"You adapt quickly."

Eden exhaled. "Was this the test?"

"No." the voice was calm, almost amused. "This was merely the beginning."

Eden stilled.

The Being took a step forward. "Tell me, warrior—do you wish for power?"

The air around them grew heavy. Eden's heart pounded, but he didn't hesitate. "Yes."

His gaze bore into him, measuring him, weighing him. "If you survive, you shall have it."

The world began to twist again, space folding in on itself. Eden clenched his fists.

Another trial was coming.

And this time, he had no idea what to expect.

The void around Eden shifted again. The floating islands of stone collapsed into the abyss, leaving nothing but a vast expanse of darkness. Then, the world twisted.

A new landscape unfolded before him.

Eden found himself standing in a desolate wasteland. The ground beneath him was cracked and scorched, as if ravaged by countless battles. In the sky above, time itself fractured—stars flickered between existence and oblivion, constellations forming and dissolving in an endless cycle.

Before him, the man stood unmoving, his hands clasped behind his back. His presence was absolute, an unwavering force within the chaotic storm of time.

"You have proven your ability to perceive the flow of time, Now, you must prove your will."

Eden narrowed his eyes. "How?"

The man raised a hand.

And the world burned.

A tidal wave of power erupted toward Eden—an unrelenting force that distorted space itself. There was no time to think, no room to escape. The moment the attack reached him, Eden felt everything—his body, his soul, his very existence—begin to unravel.

Pain unlike anything he had ever known tore through him.

His mind screamed, his instincts roared. This wasn't an attack. It was something deeper.

It was erasure.

He was being erased from time itself.

Memories shattered like glass. His past blurred. His name, his purpose—gone, slipping through his fingers like sand.

"Do you understand now?" the voice echoed. "Power is meaningless without proper will. The moment you lose yourself, you will vanish. Now, tell me, warrior—do you have the resolve to defy oblivion?"

Eden couldn't breathe. His body was gone, his thoughts fading. Everything was disappearing.

But deep inside, something held on. A single truth.

He could not disappear here.

Not yet.

Not when he had barely begun.

Not when he had a goal to reach and a future to claim.

Through sheer will alone, Eden forced himself back into existence.

A spark of mana surged through him—his very soul igniting against the weight of nonexistence. The pain remained, but he pushed through it, clawing his way out of the void. His consciousness snapped back into place, his body reforming, the pieces of himself coming together once more.

Eden took a shuddering breath.

He was still here.

He refused to be erased.

The being watched him with something unreadable in his gaze. And then he smiled.

"Good."

With a wave of his hand, the oppressive force vanished. The world settled. Time, once chaotic, returned to order.

Eden fell to his knees, his body trembling from the ordeal.

"You have proven yourself."

The man stepped forward, stopping just in front of Eden.

"You are not the first to stand before me," he said, his voice quieter now. "Many have sought my blessing. Most failed. A handful survived. But you…"

The god regarded him for a long moment seemingly looking through his very soul, then spoke the words that would change everything.

"You shall inherit my Legacy."

A surge of power flooded the space between them. Time itself bent and twisted around them, forming into something tangible—a radiant, ethereal light, pulsing with the essence of time itself.

He extended his hand.

"Take it."

Eden reached out.

The moment his fingers brushed against the light, his mind exploded with knowledge. Visions of time unraveled before him—past, present, future—all woven together in a tapestry beyond mortal comprehension.

He saw empires rise and fall. He saw the flow of history, the echoes of what had been and what could be.

And then—darkness.

The world faded.