Prologue — Null Awakening (AS)

Record from Year 712, Post Fall.
The 211th Awakening Tournament.

Estimated time before System collapse: 14 years, 3 months and 27 days.

---

Drevon’s world was fractured and patchy, like a child had splattered paint all over shattered glass. A high pitched hum played in his ears, a symphony of iron-breaks whistling together. Men and women shouted his name, as the smell of sweat and dirt tickled his nose.

Where was he? The details were blurry, like he was forgetting something important. Everything hurt, even breathing. The world kept moving all around in his vision. Blood and snot tickled down his nose, dripping onto the dirt below.

He looked around and saw people watching. His mother was among them, alongside his eight year old sister, Shayla, and older brother Keiren. They were watching him, arms clutched close to their chest. He heard his sister shouting something that he couldn’t quite make out. He focused on her lips, trying to read them as best as he could.

Look… up?

He lifted his head up, and saw a dark shadow lurking, watching him. Its eyes were a deep red, hair a luscious black set around a narrow face, with a glare so sharp it felt like it would cut through Drevon. A young girl, about twelve years old, as old as he was, and one he knew too.

“Raya,”  he whispered her name, spitting the blood pooling in his mouth as things began to come back to him. He was in a fight, the last round of the tournament, and he needed to win.

In the distance, through the cacophony of voices, Drevon heard a heavy voice countdown.

“Seven… Six…”

Drevon blinked the tears away from his eyes. They helped clear his sight, if only just a bit. He needed to move.

“Five… Four…”

With a twitch, Drevon slunk onto his knees, pushing himself up with his arms. He had to get up. Before it was too late.

“Three… Two…On—”

“No!” he screamed, tensing every muscle in his body as he managed to get onto his feet. For a moment, the voices turned quiet. Drevon stumbled and staggered, unsteady on his feet, looking at the girl standing across him through blood covered eyes.

“No,” he repeated, a lot more firmly this time.

A roaring wave slammed Drevon, making him stumble back. The crowd screamed his name, overjoyed to see him stand back up. They loved a close fight, they always did, and he was here to give them one.

Drevon pressed one finger against a nostril and blew out the blood from his nose trying to fight off the blurry patches in his vision. He’d taken a direct hit to the head and was disoriented, but he hadn’t gone down without a fight.

Raya stood across from him with one arm limp by her side. He’d dislocated her shoulder when she’d struck the blow to his temple. Her right arm would not be of any use in the fight, so all Drevon had to do was keep track of her left.

He looked the girl opposite to him in the eye, blood still running down his face, and grinned.

“Fight!”

Drevon kicked the ground below him, charging head first at the girl as fast as he could. Raya, poised, spun sideways, redirecting his charge. Using his momentum, she spun around, aiming a kick at his knees from her heels.

Pivoting his foot, Drevon took the kick on his thigh, shooting a fist at Raya's side. The girl blocked his attack, but Drevon had anticipated as much. He shifted his weight, ducking under her left hook as he jabbed a finger at her dislocated shoulder.

Raya screamed in pain, stumbling backwards. For a brief moment Drevon felt a pang of guilt at his attack, but all of it was washed away when he sensed the gaze of the Chosen on his back. He could not lose today.

Taking the opportunity, Drevon struck a block at Raya’s chin. The girl ducked back, aiming for a kick at his gut, but the grazing of his fist against her lower jaw rocked her back enough to not knock him out. Yet it wasn’t painless.

Drevon felt air escaping his lungs, as a wave of pain traveled through his gut, and up into his chest. He grit his teeth through the blow, gathering his balance as he rushed at Raya once more. Path of the blooming lotus hammered into him by his clan flowed through his moves. Normally an art of precision and grace, it was now a frenzy of twist and turns, hooks, and kicks mixed into jumps.

It was a dance of skill and temper and tenacity. Blood and spit dripped down Drevon’s mouth, each blow scraping more and more. He took thrice as many hits as Raya did, but those he landed did far more damage than hers.

Yet, their exchange did not last, coming to an abrupt end. Drevon struck at Raya’s chin, putting all his weight into the blow when a counter-strike from Raya landed on Drevon’s throat. His body froze at the sudden shock, as the flow of air to his lungs got disrupted for a moment. Taking the chance, the girl grabbed his neck, pulling him closer as she landed a knee into his gut.

Drevon keeled, drool dripping from his mouth as his vision began to darken at its edges. He shot his fist blindly outwards, not feeling whether it hit or not. The ringing in his ears drowned out every sound. Tears flowed from his eyes, as he collapsed onto his knees, feeling far more mortified than he’d thought he would be at his loss.

At least he’d given his all.

The arena turned silent. His vision was blurred, mind dazed and lost in the chaos when the sharp ring for the end of the match came, jolting him awake.

“And the tournament ends on a spectacular blow! We have our winner, Drevon Li Yun from the Blooming Lotus clan!”

Drevon’s eyes widened, his vision returning for a moment. He saw Raya, lying unconscious on the ground next to him. Blood dripped down her chin. Blood that covered his fist.

“I… won?” Drevon murmured, still not sure of what had happened.

A wave of Life-Essence poured over him, bathing him in a green glow. The essence coursed through his body, making every inch of his skin itch. Within moments, his injuries patched themselves, as the blood covering him vanished into the light.

Drevon breathed in wonder at the miraculous spectacle of the Healers. Raya stirred near him, waking up. He watched her expression drop for a brief moment at the realization of her loss.

Pulling himself to his feet, Drevon offered her a hand. She regarded him quietly for a moment, before grasping his offered hand as she pulled herself.

“You got lucky,” Raya whispered in his ears, pressing his shoulder once.

Drevon grinned in response. “I always do.”

Cheers drowned the two of them, as nearly all clans within the Embrace celebrated his victory. His gaze wandered up at the pedestal set at the center of the Arena, where he saw the Chosen watching him.

Among them was a woman, with fiery orange hair and golden eyes that glimmered in the light. Her face was perfect, like a sculpture crafted by a master craftsmen given life, yet a single scar ran across it, crossing through her cheek and down onto her lips.

Livia Florence, a living legend within the embrace and one of the five Peak-Gold rankers to exist within the Embrace, smiled at Drevon, her orange eyes shining. Then, with a sudden step, she jumped off the platform she stood on.

The crowd gasped as the woman fell through the skies. With a flash of golden light, her Device Lux manifested around her body.

Blades humming with essence formed wings behind her. The golden and white essence-metal of her device curved around her body, forming gauntlets, greeves and a chestplate market with ornate designs. A spear made entirely of metal pulsing with golden light rested in her palm as the Lightbringer set her feet on the ground, proudly displaying why she was named as such.

Drevon watched the woman’s Device breathlessly.

Her gaze sweeping across the arena before settling onto Drevon, and the others that had joined besides him.

The top five of the tournament would all be given a device each, marking them as practitioners from this day onwards. But it was only the victor, who would get to apprentice directly under one of the Chosen.

Drevon grinned, unable to hold back his excitement at the prospect.

“Congratulations, to all five of you children. You all possess strength greater than those of others, both your own age and otherwise,” Livia spoke, her voice projecting itself across the entire arena. “Now, you will embark on a long path towards being something beyond mortal.”

There was a beautiful smile stretched upon Livia’s lips, one that was only added to by the scar on her face.

“Ivan, Klaren, Vixaria, Raya and Drevon. Today, all five of you will inherit the blessing of our great mother Avlon aiding us in protecting our home, so that the past may never repeat itself again,” the Lightbringer said, looking each of them in the eye, before her gaze stopped upon reaching Drevon.

Then she turned to face the arena, spreading her wings of blades out, showering the area with golden light. “With the glory of the All-Mother in our hearts, we conclude the 211th Awakening tournament. A new generation of warriors begins today!”

Cheers and shouts shook the ground beneath them, as the arena joined together in excitement. Drevon glanced at the other children beside him, varied expressions set on their expression. Some that stood nervously, others that stood straight and proud, yet they all shared one common emotion. Of unbridled excitement at what was to come.

Drevon turned towards the Lightbringer, watching her device in all its glory. Day dreams of mystical weapons flowing around his own hands filled his mind.

He couldn’t wait to find out what he would get.

***

Drevon stepped into the sacred grounds, taking in the sights. It was a hall of metal, with precisely cut square tiled floors, likely constructed by the Crafter and Tinkerers. Within the hall, many weapons and trophies were on display. Constructs of forgotten essence-tech set besides mounted fangs and heads of powerful essence beasts felled by the chosen warriors.

“Don’t mind those, this corridor is for the clan heads and all their politics. Most of us don’t really like to parade around displaying so much meaningless vanity,” Livia said, waving dismissively at the displays.

Drevon glanced at the woman walking in front of him, her steel-ended hills causing loud clicks against the floor as she made her way. He still couldn’t believe he was talking to her. Or that he would one day be fighting by her side. It didn’t feel real.

“Is there a different entrance for the Chosen?” Ivan asked. The boy had a lazy smile on his face, that fit extremely well against his olive colored skin, and was lacking any reverence towards the legendary woman.

“I like to just fly in. Echo, similar to me, tends to teleport directly to wherever whatever is happening. It’s really tedious to walk when you can do either. The others, more unfortunately, take the entrance from the training chambers,” Livia said, glancing back at Ivan. “You’ll get to see those when you’re ready to rank up to Iron.”

Drevon took a sharp breath in. Iron, the rank assigned to the first stage of all practitioners. Any practitioner at the stage would form a core, and be able to use all sorts of Essence arts. He imagined himself shooting lightning bolts from his fingers, or plumes of fire launching from his hands.

“Who is Echo?” the only other girl in the group asked, raising her hand. Drevon believed her name was…

“Good question Vixaria!” Livia said, smiling at the girl. “Why don’t you ask Echo that when you meet her. She’ll be delighted to tell you all about herself!”

Even Drevon could spot that trap. Taking the opportunity, he decided to answer the question instead. “Echo, formally titled Echoless, is the only space essence practitioner in the Embrace. Her Device locus is a chaser type and she’s capable of fairly long distance teleportation. Not the most famous of the Chosen by any means, but extremely vital nonetheless.”

“Someone’s done their homework,” Klaren said in a deep voice, giving him what Drevon thought was a smile, and not murderous grin. He believed the boy was trying to be encouraging, but against his massive frame and constant glaring expression it was really hard to think so.

Drevon’s gaze drifted across to Raya, who was the only one who’d remained silent the entire way through the chambers. The girl noticed his glance, looking back at him momentarily before returning her gaze back front.

What’s up with her?

Any conversations that may have been happening stopped as all of them reached a massive door frame. A floating core of light was set at its center, extending little with flickering characters of light flowering across throughout the body.

Arcane paths. Lost essence-tech from before the great fall.

Livia pressed her palm against the door frame. Golden light flowed through the flickering Arcane paths, as the door slid open with a hiss.

“Alright children. Step right in. Things will never be quite the same for you after this,” Livia said, walking inside the chamber.

Drevon looked agape at the interior of the chamber. Little devices of Essence-tech filled the chamber, pulsing arcs of pure Essence across them.

“Don’t just stand there, champion,” Klaren said, pressing a palm on his shoulder as he walked past him, quickly followed by Ivan, and the rest.

Snapping out of his daze, Drevon stepped into the chamber, as Livia walked up to a table set with five glowing cubes of essence-metal. There were symbols carved into each side, as the cube shifted and moved, in an ever constant state of change.

“These are what you call Device cores. The gift that we have All-mother Avlon to thank for. The five you see in front of you in particular are Essence Combat Devices, or ECDs. These are the things that you most commonly associate with the word Device, but that’s a misconception,” Livia said, smiling.

Drevon stared at the wondrous devices, his heart beating rapidly with excitement at the magic presented by them. This was it. The thing that allowed a normal human to fly across skies, or crush rocks with their bare hands. Making them more than mortal.

“Are you talking about Crafter devices?” Vixaria asked, raising her hand once more.

“Not just crafters. The Grafted — yes, I know they’re forbidden, but let’s not pretend they don’t exist — also are a form of Essence device. The lowest form, in some ways. Then there are the Crafter, Tinkerers and Augments. All of these qualify as well. But what makes these ECDs special, is their ability to grow. These devices will grow alongside you, they will change, evolve, and adapt, as you do. And that is precisely why the Chosen stand at the peak of the Embrace,” Livia said, her eyes glowing from the flowing light essence rising around her.

Drevon hung onto every word the woman said, before his gaze returned to the cubes of glowing essence set onto the table. Each passing second felt like eternity with the powers of his dreams, lying within arms reach.

“Seeing how you all seem thoroughly impressed, I’d say we should get on with the awakening then,” Livia said, picking one cube up in her hand.

“Vixaria, step right up!” the woman shouted with a sharp commanding voice.

“Yes mam!” the girl echoed, marching right up to the tall woman.

“Hold this cube in your palms, and feel the essence flow through you. Let it reach into your spirit, and bond with your soul. Don’t worry, it’s quite an intuitive process,” Livia said, placing the cube into the girl’s hand.

A frown covered Vixaria’s face, as she held the cube in her hand, when all of a sudden, the shifting faces of the mechanical piece of magi-tech began to spin faster and faster, releasing arcs of Essence from within.

A bright light flashed from within, and Drevon covered his eyes in fear of being blinded by it. Putting his hands down when the light faded, he saw the girl standing with a metallic bow, pulsing with Arcane paths all across it held in the girl’s hands, glowing with a green glow.

Blue light pulsed out above Livia’s hands, forming a screen that displayed a rapid stream of text. “Just a side note for all of you, a Device is an infinitely complex piece of essence-tech so it’s really difficult to summarize it in words that will make sense to us. Thankfully, someone already figured how to do that by making something we refer to as a Status page. It’s something you’ll call frequently to keep track of your growth.”

A moment after her words, the stream of text floating above her hand stopped forming legible words that all of them could read.

Name: Vixaria Lunare

Age: 11 years

Device: Nix

Grade: E

Type: Ranger

Essence: Frost

Rank: Unranked

Stats:

Attack: 6

Defense: 2

Speed: 4

Endurance: 3

Perception: 9

Mystic: 5

“Nix, a very pretty name for a very pretty device. An E grade Frost archer is also quite an uncommon type,” Livia said with a smile. Drevon watched her with his mouth agape, staring at the beautiful device resting in her hands.

Vixaria held the bow awkwardly in front of her, stumbling around as if dizzy.

“You should put that away sweet-heart. You don’t have the essence pool capacity to maintain your device yet,” Livia said.

The girl looked at the woman in confusion, unsure of how to put the bow larger than half her body away.

“Just put it back in your soul. It’s where the device comes from. De-manifestation is like… relaxing the muscle you tense when manifesting,” Livia instructed, manifesting her spear in her hand with a golden glow before making it disappear once again.

Vixaria frowned, focusing on the bow. With a sudden crackle of blue light, her beautiful device vanished, as the girl panted, seemingly out of breath.

“We’ll need to work on your capacity,” Livia said, before glancing towards the remaining four children. “You next, Klaren.”

The boy walked up to the tall woman, almost her match in height. Livia put another cube into the boy’s hand, as he stepped back and began to focus.

Klaren’s flash of light came a lot faster than Vixaria’s, and this time, Drevon was prepared for it. Quickly covering his eyes at the flash, he put it away to look at the boy’s device.

Name: Klaren Archford

Age: 12 years

Device: Obex

Grade: D

Type: Enforcer

Essence: Force

Rank: Unranked

Stats:

Attack: 3

Defense: 11

Speed: 3

Endurance: 7

Perception: 3

Mystic: 2

A shield rested at the boy’s left arm, attached to gauntlets that covered both of his arms, up to his elbows. Similar armor covered the boy’s feet, glowing with a dim black glow.

“D grade Enforcer at awakening! That’s quite something, I must say. You’ll be a force to reckon with in just a few years Klaren,” Livia said with a smile, as the boy bowed his head, putting away his new device with a flash of light.

“Ivan, you’re next,” Livia said, as the boy rushed up to the woman with his ever present grin still stuck on his face.

Taking the device core in his hand, Ivan spun it on his index finger, as the core flashed with a bright light.

Name: Ivan Jay

Age: 11 years

Device: Tenax

Grade: D

Type: Brawler

Essence: Earth

Rank: Unranked

Stats:

Attack: 7

Defense: 4

Speed: 2

Endurance: 10

Perception: 4

Mystic: 3

Two massive gauntlets covered the boy’s hands, glowing with a deep brown glow within their seams. The device was almost comical in size, making Ivan’s fists nearly the size of his head.

“Another D type, this time a brawler. Earth too, a great element for your type. You’ll form quite a steady practitioner one day,” Livia said, as Ivan de-manifested his device, looking a bit strained.

“Your turn now, Raya,” Livia said.

The red-eyed girl walked up to the woman, picking the cube from her hand. Drevon watched the girl’s cube with keen eyes, as the mechanical device began to spin rapidly, burning with a bright flash.

A powerful arc of essence pulsed out from the core, pushing everyone nearby back. Drevon covered his eyes, struggling against the wave for a moment, before he turned his eyes towards the words displayed above Livia’s hand.

Name: Raya Au Celon

Age: 12 years

Device: Sanguis

Grade: C

Type: Striker/Conjurer

Essence: Blood

Rank: Unranked

Stats:

Attack: 12

Defense: 5

Speed: 9

Endurance: 8

Perception: 7

Mystic: 14

Drevon frowned as he watched Raya’s device. It covered her arm, all the way up to her elbow, yet it obviously wasn’t armor, and there were no apparent uses he could see from the attachment.

“Mother’s mercy, a C grade dual class type device. And… blood essence? That’s practically unheard of,” Livia said, looking genuinely surprised as she regarded the girl’s device. “Can you tell how it’s used?” she asked the girl, leaning in to inspect the device curiously.

Raya nodded, looking sideways for a moment at Vixaria. “It needs… blood,” she murmured.

Livia’s face grew darker. “Ah, I think I understand. We’ll need to keep this one in check. Nothing to worry about though hun, we’ve dealt with obscure essences and device types before. Light essence isn't exactly drifting across the Embrace either you know,” the woman said with a wink, as Raya stepped back, dematerialising her device.

“Alright then, it’s time for the champion at last. Let’s see what you’ve got Drevon,” Livia said.

Drevon’s head snapped towards the woman. Somehow, he’d become so lost in all the devices around him that he’d forgotten that his own turn was about to come up. His heart raced in his chest rapidly, and Drevon felt a powerful rush of excitement and anxiety filling him. He almost stumbled in his steps as he walked up to the woman and grabbed the cube in her hand.

“Focus on the cube and it’ll respond,” Livia said calmly.

Drevon held the shifting cube of essence-tech in his hand, feeling the tingling sensation of the essence leaking from within it. He closed his eyes, letting the sensation spread through his body.

Scanning User spirit…

Initiating Bonding.

Words floated in his vision, speaking directly into his mind. The essence from the cube flowed through his arms, moving across him. It was a chilling sensation, like the refreshing feel of cold water rushing over his face, yet, this time, the sensation came from somewhere deeper. A place he did not know existed within him.

Drevon felt the cube begin to spin rapidly, as it reached inside of him. A bond stretched from the core of his being to a space he couldn’t understand, shining with a dark shimmer. His device.

Then the world crumbled into pieces. The device in his hand shot arcs of essence all around, as Drevon collapsed on his knees. A powerful surge began to build up within him, before spreading all across. He could hear his heartbeat, a thousand times within a moment, hear the breaths of everyone around him, hear the rustle of the clothes as they shifted and moved back from the pulsing wave rushing onwards. He was drowning in too much and nothing all at once.

Then the bubble collapsed as he felt an arm on his shoulder, pressing against him.

“Focus, Drevon. Focus on the core. Control it. This is a part of you, a part of your soul. No matter how large, it is you who controls it,” Livia said, her voice like a thread of hope in a stormy river.

Drevon focused on her voice, controlling the tide of essence building in his soul. It ebbed and flowed, threatening to break past his confines, but he pushed back.

Mine. You are mine.

Something seemed to cave in, as Drevon pushed. The core stopped spinning, taking form, as Drevon felt an object fall into his palm.

Device formation successful.

Still reeling from the experience, he opened his bleary eyes, and froze at what he saw. The ground around him was burned, singed from arcs of what looked to be lightning that had melted the metal everywhere except the spot he’d stood at. A barrier of blue protected everyone else from the onslaught, as they stood watching him with varied expressions of fear and concern.

“You nearly gave me a heart attack boy. That was something. I’ve never seen such a strong reaction from an awakening core ever before. Now, let’s take a look at what sort of monster you’ve awakened,” Livia said, smiling.

Drevon blinked, still dizzy from the experience, as he turned to look at Livia. His gaze then went to the object in his palm. It was a hexagonal piece of metal, glowing brightly with essence as numerous Arcane paths looped all around it in a brilliant six sided loop.

He watched his device, confused by just what he saw. That was when the Status page appeared, and Drevon’s heart sank down to his gut.

Name: Drevon Li Yun

Age: 12 years

Device: Inanis

Grade: Unavailable

Type: Shifter

Essence: Null

Rank: Unranked

Stats:

Attack: 0

Defense: 0

Speed: 0

Endurance: 0

Perception: 0

Mystic: 0

He stared at the status page, watching the myriad of zeros everywhere. Was this some kind of mistake? Or a joke? He turned to look at Livia, but the woman had a frown on her face, observing the status with a similarly confused face.

“Is this…” he trailed off, not daring to utter the words.

Is this real?

Livia glanced back down at Drevon, and put an arm onto his shoulder. “I will be honest, I’ve never seen a device with a zero stat, much less a zero in everything.”

Drevon almost stumbled back from her words, but he held strong, waiting for her to continue.

“But don’t give up hope. Your type also seems to be new, so it’s likely that we just don’t know how your device works. There've been plenty of strange Devices in existence before, where it took us a while to figure them out. Give it some time, and we’ll see how yours changes,” Livia said, patting his shoulder once before she turned to face the other four children.

“Alright. All of you should rest now. Awakening can be a pretty harrowing experience, so some sleep will do all of you good,” Livia said to all the others gathered around.

Drevon felt her words slip past his mind, as he continued to stare at the hexagonal seal resting in his palm. Tears gathered in his eyes, but he pushed them back. No, he wouldn’t give up so easily. If he was given a weak start, then all he had to do was work harder than anyone else.

Wiping at his tears, Drevon clutched his device tightly before manifesting it back into his soul as he made his way back. He had a lot of catching up ahead of him.

***

Livia Florence watched the boy go, letting out a quiet sigh. Her gaze shifted to the burnt up floor and the powerful display by the core and she couldn’t help but wonder how something like that resulted in a practically useless device. She shook her head, letting the thought go. It wasn’t her job to think over these things. Silently, she reset the status page for Drevon on her display panel, and began to make her report.

Yet, there was one thing she seemed to have missed. One detail, in the flowing streams of text for the Device that no one, not even Drevon had noticed. Words that changed everything.

Potential: Infinite

***

A/N: I'm doing better! New chapters for both Qi and Mark of Time should come out soon! In the mean time, I decided to share the alternate prologue I'd written last month for Armored Soul. I really like it, I hope you do too.