"Wait!" the pizza delivery guy blurted out, his voice rising with sudden excitement. "When you said hidden powers… did you mean cheat skills? Special abilities? Or maybe… a hidden system or something?"
His eyes lit up. That anxious, jittery fear he'd carried since we arrived vanished, replaced by wide-eyed wonder, like a kid stepping into an amusement park for the first time.
And honestly, I got it.
In isekai stories, the main character always gets something broken. Maybe they level up by doing nothing. Maybe they absorb powers or destroy armies with a thought.
So yeah… if this world followed those rules, maybe this wasn't a death sentence.
Maybe it was a golden ticket.
A chance to be more.
The king tilted his head, a small crease forming in his brow.
"Cheat… skills? I… do not understand what you mean."
The pizza guy hesitated, rubbed the back of his neck, and tried again.
"Uh, I mean… do we have special powers? Something that makes us stronger than normal people?"
This time, the king's expression eased. He nodded.
"Ah… yes. Something like that. What you call "cheat skills" perhaps can be referred as "Divine blessings". They are gifts… bestowed by the angels. Each of you will receive one.
"And once awakened, these blessings will shape you. Your strength, your speed, your mastery of skill, they'll grow far faster than that of any ordinary person. Tenfold. A hundredfold, even. You will reach heights our people could never dream of."
Then, with a sweep of his arm, he made an offer that felt almost too easy.
"If you wish, we can awaken these gifts now."
The chamber was still for half a breath.
Then the pizza guy's hand shot up.
"Yes, please!"
But before anyone could move—
"Wait."
My voice cut through the silence.
And the moment froze.
_______________________
The king's eyes shifted toward me.
I stepped forward, and said with a respectful bow.
"Your Majesty. That still doesn't answer the question."
I met his gaze.
"You speak of divine blessings, but what sets us apart from the people of this world? Are those blessings only for us? Are we the only ones who can receive them?"
The king didn't look surprised. If anything, he seemed ready for it.
"No. In our world, everyone who has potential is allowed for a chance of awakening."
I frowned.
"Then… we're not special, are we? If anyone can be blessed, what makes us different?"
A quiet pause followed.
Then the king answered.
"Of course you're different. The summoning spell chose you, and only those with exceptional potential, whose souls resonate beyond the veil, can cross the boundary between worlds. And once awakened, summoned individuals tend to receive far greater divine blessings than anyone else."
"Hmmm…"
I had to admit, that was a pretty solid explanation. The summoning spell acted like a filter, picking out potential heroes from among the billions on Earth. Kind of like how, in chemistry, you use the right solvent to separate different substances.
But even so, I still wasn't convinced.
"With all due respect, Your Majesty, 'potential' is vague. It sounds like an excuse anyone could use."
The king sighed.
"I see. If you seek understanding… then I will show you."
He turned and paced slowly toward the tall windows at the far end of the hall. His voice echoed in the silence.
"There is a story, a tale passed down through generations, one that speaks of this world's beginning and the truth buried deep in its past."
He paused, then looked back at us.
"So when I finish, you will all understand."
_________________________
Long ago, about five thousand years ago according to the stories, this world, Azef, came into being.
It was not born of chaos or chance but shaped with purpose. The angels of Heaven brought it forth. These were not mere messengers like the angels of Earth but the highest gods, divine beings of light and power, wielding the very force of creation.
And they were not alone. There were other mythical beings who had walked alongside them: dragons, titans, and ancient spirits who had existed since the dawn of time.
Together, these divine and primeval forces carved Azef from the void. They shaped the mountains and seas, the forests and stars. In time, they breathed life into the world, into its people and creatures.
Humans, elves, dwarves, beastkin, and many more. Each race was a reflection of its maker's vision, born of will and wonder.
For over three thousand years, Azef flourished in peace. The land was rich, the skies clear. Magic flowed freely, and civilizations thrived. The angels watched over all, distant but benevolent, as guardians of balance and harmony.
But then, without warning, the sky tore open.
From beyond the fabric of this world, something came. Rifts formed in the sky, and from them poured the forces of darkness.
Demons.
They were beings of chaos and shadow, monsters that knew only destruction. They descended upon Azef like a plague, burned cities, devoured forests, corrupted the very ground they walked on.
And so, war erupted.
For hundreds of years, Azef fought back. Not just humans, but dragons and elves, titans and beastkin… All races stood together as one. Leading the force of resistance was the angels themselves, descended from their celestial thrones, their light blazing across the skies like falling stars.
It was a long war, a bitter one.
But eventually, piece by piece, the tide began to turn.
The rifts were sealed. The demon gods were slain, or cast back into the void from which they came, or sealed away at a separated corner of the world.
And just like that, Azef was saved.
But salvation came at a cost.
Too many angels had fallen in the war. Their once-mighty hosts were now scattered and broken. Those who remained stood weary and diminished, their strength fading, their numbers far too few.
They understood the truth, even if no one dared speak it aloud:
If the demons ever returned… Azef would not survive.
And so, the angels made a choice.
They gathered one final time in the highest reaches of the celestial realm. There, they gave up what remained of their divine power in a final sacrifice.
With it, they wove a barrier: a vast and luminous shield, spun from the very essence of their being. It wrapped around the world like a second sky, radiant and strong.
Even so, the angels knew it wouldn't last forever. One day, the shield would fail, the rifts would reopen, and the shadow would rise again. At best, it might hold for a thousand years.
So they left behind one final gift: their blessings.
Once in a lifetime, any human in Azef deemed worthy by the Kingdoms could awaken their power by receiving a divine blessing, which would be bestowed through the fruit of a sacred tree.
In this way, the angels were planting the seeds of future strength.
They believed that, in time, the people of Azef would grow strong enough to stand on their own, to obtain divinity, and defend their world when the barrier finally fell.