The air smells wrong.
No—it's smells somewhat familiar.
W-w-what!!!
It smells refreshering, Like nature itself was wrapping around him in something warm and gentle.
But that was the problem.
I had almost forgotten what fresh air felt like.
In my previous life, even the wind carried a metallic taste. We had to adapt to that sour and pungent smell , forcing our marinated lungs to filter out the toxins until they gave up.
Every morning, I would cough up dark residue, just like everyone else.
But now…
This air... it feels warm, gentle, slightly sweet. And most importantly it's clean. As if someone had
washed the sky with water and cleansed the clouds with soap.
Ethan quickly woke up and looked around.
He found himself surrounded by people of similar age in a place seems like a playground.
Suddenly, the memories hit him like a truck.
"Wait… what is this…?"
"…These memories—"
"…they're not mine."
He rubbed his temples to soothe the pain.
A dull ache still throbbed in his head. "…So, apparently I'm Ethan Moore now."
He gave a dry laugh.
As he gradually inspect his hands, he notice they were younger. Smooth, devoid of calluses, like they had never experience the hardship of the life.
"What's going on?" he mutter, trying to make sense of everything.
"Hey, Ethan! Are you alright?" a voice interrupts.
Ethan flinched.
A boy standing beside him wearing grey coat, silver emblem, his hair perfectly combed, and wide eyes full of concern.
"Sorry," Ethan said. "I was just… a bit dizzy."
He holds out his hand to Ethan. "Don't tell me you're freaking out already."
Ethan took his hand, allowing the boy to help him up. "…Not exactly."
He doesn't seem convinced looking at Ethan's pale face.
He snorts. "Man, even if you pass out now, I'm not carrying you."
Ethan sat beside the boy named David and looked around analyzing the surrounding.
At first glance, it looked like a field : open space, groups of students gathering around.
…Or at least, that's what it looked like.
Just with glowing pillars, floating drones, and a giant altar in the sky.
Above us, a floating hexagon shaped platform hums softly with faint lines glowing across its surface.
The Awakening Altar.
That is where our awakening ceremony will be held.
Basically, once you hit eighteen, the world's will named EVE grants everyone a fragment—a corner of existence that becomes your realm. At first, it's empty and needs to be filled with cards.
Mountains, rivers, forests… You name it.
But everything depends on how you grow it.
The realm doesn't turn into a planet overnight. Over time, it develops twelve card slots—one per month, twelve in total.
Each card you integrate into the realm forms a part of its foundation, what this world calls [the "laws"].
Every integration of a card makes the realm grow a little. Adding something new, shapes the World's Rules. By the twelfth card, the fragment finally solidifies into a full-fledged planet. That's when you officially become a beginner-god.
Additionally, the demi-god can also integrate Race Cards alongside the law cards. The Race Card typically provides population of maximum of 500 individual.
A Race Card can be added every six months, meaning a demigod has the chance to integrate two races before the planet is fully formed.
And every single card matters. Each one decides the strength of the world's foundation and the potential of their godhood.
"Attention students," a calm voice echoed from the speaker tower.
"The Awakening Ceremony will begin shortly. Please gather in front of the platform in your assigned order."
David tapped my shoulder. "Lets go Ethan. We should hurry up and check which group we are in."
"Sure," I said, following him. My chest was tight, and my heart having that weird buzz of anticipation.
The air around us was just as tense.
Suddenly, A girl walks past us. Her eyes were sharp, and her uniform was covered in faint golden patterns, like a phoenix wrapping around it, making it stand out from the rest.
"That's Claire," David whispers. "She's one of the top students and also the most popular girls in our school. Her family's well-off too."
I blinked, watching her walk away.
"…Yeah," I muttered. "She's way out of our league."
David shrugged. "Yeah, that's Claire for you. Top student, popular, rich... it's like life itself gave her the premium version."
The line moved quickly.
One by one, each group made its way onto the altar.
One after another, a faint glow surrounded each of them.
They closed their eyes without a word.
A few moments later, they opened them again.
Some were smiling. Some had tears in their eyes. Others just nodded and walked away.
Then it was Ethan's group turn.
Ethan stood still for a second before forcing himself forward.
His heart pounded against his ribs. Each step toward the altar filled him with both anticipation and nervousness.
When he finally stepped onto the platform, a light slowly surrounded him, embracing him in a warmth that reminded him of his mother's embrace.
As the light swirled around him, a strange mix of hope and dread flooded his senses, consuming everything around him.
Then, in an instant, everything faded away.
Ethan found himself standing alone in a place that felt familar yet somehow broken.
The sky above was gray-black, covered by thick clouds that blocked out everything beyond them. The ground beneath him was cracked, dry, and blackened. In the distance, dead trees stood like skeletal sentinels. Pools of thick, dark liquid lay motionless in the shadows.
He couldn't understand why this place was here.
Then the smell hit him.
Pungent, acidic smoke mixed with the stench of burnt oil.
Ethan swallowed hard.
Ethan stared at the ground beneath him. This wasn't what he had imagined.
He had expected empty land, waiting for life to take root.
But instead, what he got was a ruin.
"Is this some kind of twisted joke?" he gasped, heart hammering, fear gripping him tight.
"No..." he whispered.
His eyes widened as the thought finally hit him.
This wasn't just some ruined world.
It was showing him where he came from, his origin.
Just then,
The [System] pinged in his vision, polite yet utterly indifferent:
----------------------------------------------
[Divine Realm Awakening in 3... 2... 1...]
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[Divine Realm Awakened]
Realm Name: [Undecided]
Size: [1.00 km²]
Status: [Unstable - High Pollution Detected]
Resource Index: [Low]
Environment Characteristics: [-70% Growth Efficiency]
**Recommended: Fire/Metal/Decay Type Race Cards]
**Warning: Other Races types may suffer extreme penalties.]
----------------------------------------------
Ethan's expression slowly changed.
"So this is really my realm..."
He had expected to start from nothing but a clean blank slate.
A world where he could build everything from the ground up.
Instead, fate had given him a dying world.
And somehow, he was supposed to make something out of it.
Before he could think any further, his vision began to blur.
----------------------------------------------
[Returning to the real world.]
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And then he was back.
Ethan stumbled off the platform, barely catching his balance.
The people around him probably saw nothing unusual. Just another student returning from the awakening.
But Ethan knew better.
His realm was already dying before he had even begun.
Ethan slowly clenched his fists.
Fine.
If this is what I've been given...
Then I'll drag it back from the brink.
Ethan's lips barely moved as he muttered to himself.
Back at the benches, the others were buzzing with excitement.
Everyone had something to say.
"I got a volcanic realm!"
"My realm was full of crystals. The whole place was filled with crystals and caves."
"There was this huge glowing lake in mine. It looked incredible."
Ethan stayed quiet, listening there.
A boy beside him was already planning ahead.
"I'm going Flamekin. My realm had lava everywhere."
"That's not even a question," someone laughed.
A girl scribbled furiously in her journal, brow furrowed.
"Does anyone know if desert realms work well with insectoid races?"
"Probably." someone said. "Didn't the teacher mention something about that?"
The conversation continued around Ethan.
Then a voice came from beside him.
"So, Ethan. What did you get?"
Ethan thought about the smoke.
The blackened ground.
The smell of burnt oil.
"Nothing too interesting. Just a barren place."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah."
He shrugged as casually as he could.
The others soon went back to talking about their own realms.
Ethan's wristwatch beeped sharply, a notification flashing in bright letters.
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[You have 24 hours to select your first Tier 1 Race Card.]
[Please proceed to your assigned classroom immediately.]
Available Race Cards:
1. Slime : A basic, gelatinous creature made mostly of fluid.
2. Goblin : A small, mischievous humanoid creature that can breed quickly.
3. Stone Golem : A tiny monster made entirely of stone.
4. Mushroomling : A small, mushroom creature that has somehow gained a sentinel.
5. Azureleaf seedling : A blue-silver plant commonly found throughout the world.
6. Bunnykin : A small, cute humanoid creature with high mobility.
7. Fenhopper : A small, frog-like creature.
8. Bonekin : A fragile but eerie undead creature made entirely out of bones.
----------------------------------------------
The notification disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
Around him, students began murmuring and making their way toward their assigned classrooms, each one eager to see what their first race could become.