A silver-haired boy with a beautiful face looked out from the window of the room he was in.
The view beyond the glass was vast and alive. Twin moons hung in the sky, one glowing a soft blue, the other radiating a calm green hue. Their light spilled across the massive city below, painting the rooftops in pale colors that shifted with the drifting clouds. The towering structures, shaped like curved spears of glass and steel, stood proudly against the sky. Hovercraft zipped along invisible lanes, glowing lines of light blinking across the horizon.
Inside the room, the silence was thick. Not uncomfortable, just still. The kind of stillness that only existed the night before something important.
Ken didn't speak. He didn't blink either. He just watched.
Then, as if to break the weight in the air, the door burst open without warning.
"Ken!"
The voice was familiar, loud, and full of life.
"You didn't forget what's tomorrow right?"
The individual stepped fully into the room, his green hair a striking contrast to the metallic walls around him. His blue eyes sparkled with a kind of boyish charm, and his movements had a casual recklessness, like someone who never worried about the consequences.
Ken turned slightly, still calm.
"I am, Kael," the silver-haired individual named Ken said to Kael, the green-haired individual.
The words came out evenly, almost cold, but there was a quiet sense of understanding between the two.
How could Ken forget what was tomorrow?
Tomorrow was the day every youngster wished to experience.
The Awakening Day.
"So, let's sleep early so that we can get there on time," Kael said as he jumped into the bed and closed his eyes.
"Okay, we gotta sleep now," Ken spoke as he got to his bed and closed his eyes as he layed on the bed.
The room dimmed slowly, lights lowering in response to their stillness. Outside, the twin moons drifted behind cloud cover, casting the city in a softer tone. Ken stared at the ceiling for a few moments longer, then finally allowed himself to rest.
---
The Awakening Room was as beautiful as always. It had a glow that wasn't just light, but presence. The kind that made people go quiet without knowing why.
Droids moved throughout the chamber, carrying different things and setting them carefully in place. Some were small, spider-like and fast. Others hovered slowly, arms folding in and out of their compartments as they arranged tools, screens, and data panels.
In the center of the room, three glowing cubes rotated in the air, spinning in slow circles around each other. Each cube glowed in a different shade, casting soft reflections on the polished floor.
The room was filled with students murmuring and talking among themselves. Some were excited. Some were nervous. Others were trying hard not to show anything at all.
There were three doors at the far end of the room. Each one large, metallic, and framed in lines of white-blue energy. They stood like gateways to something far greater than anyone could guess.
Near those doors was a stage. A platform raised just enough to make someone standing on it feel like they were being watched. An old individual stepped up onto that stage and held the mic. He looked like he'd been through more than one Awakening in his time, though not all of them his own.
He was the principal.
"As you all know, today is your Awakening Day." The principal spoke as he looked at the students present.
His voice was calm, almost too calm, like he was used to saying these words over and over again every year.
"I hope that you all are ready to go to the Dream Realm, otherwise known as the Awakening Realm," the principal said as he looked at the three doors.
---
Awakening Realm or Dream Realm are a realm where the individuals who have graduated are tested.
The Dream Realm is also known as the Awakening Realm as you know.
In the Dream Realm, you are transported to a parallel systematic world where you have to complete the task assigned to you and not die.
I believe that I have explained the basics and the rest will be explained later.
---
"Go to the Awakening Realm in order in a line," the principal spoke as he got away from the mics and reached the three doors present.
"These three doors are the way to the Awakening Realm. Take these amulets with you so that when you die, you will be teleported here," the principal said as he holded a green amulet with star shapes in his hands and lifted it.
The students took the amulets, holding them like lifelines. Some stared at them too long. Others just nodded and moved forward.
Then, one by one, they entered the Awakening Realm.
---
As Ken walked into the Awakening Realm, he was teleported to an obsolete temple.
The sensation of arrival wasn't smooth. His boots hit stone and his body stumbled forward. He wasn't ready for the landing and ended up falling down, knees scraping slightly against the rough floor.
Ken fell as he wasn't able to stand still after the teleportation.
The temple had a heavy silence to it. The kind that made his ears ring slightly just from the absence of sound.
At the front stood a statue. It was large and old, carved in strange proportions. The statue wore a demonic-looking mask and had two straight horns that reached high into the air like spears. Its expression was unreadable behind the mask, but somehow still gave off a feeling of amusement. Or maybe threat.
The temple also had an altar in its middle. The altar had strange patterns. Symbols that seemed to twist when you weren't looking at them directly. The air around it felt heavy, like the space was thicker there.
Ken stood up and cleaned the dust from his shirt. His eyes scanned the room slowly, methodically. He didn't want to miss anything.
Then he proceeded to look around the temple to see if there's any exit.
He circled the space. Checked the far walls. Tapped his knuckles against parts of the structure, hoping for some echo.
Nothing. There was no door or something that may lead him somewhere else.
He looked around for a moment and said to himself, "What do I even do now?"
His gaze suddenly reached the altar in the center and he hesitated as he said to himself, "Do I have to do something on this?"
As he said that, he saw a cockroach on the altar.
He got near to the altar and squashed the cockroach.
But the damn thing survived.
It darted to the side, wings spreading, and flew toward him. It moved faster than he expected.
It bite Ken before dying.
"Agh," Ken muttered, shaking his hand. The bite stung more than it should have. Blood beaded up, and a single drop fell onto the surface of the altar.
As Ken's blood dropped upon the altar, he heard a strange noise in his mind.
[The Altar of a nameless creator has been activated]
[The statue of Eternity, GRIM, has been unsealed]
Ken suddenly heard someone moving and as he looked behind, the statue had vanished.
Ken rubbed his eyes after the statue disappeared.
Ken heard a voice.
"Heheeh, You scared?" The voice spoke in an childish tone. His voice creeping around Kens ears.
Ken looked behind and saw the statue now in a humanoid color with the same demonic mask and horns.
---
A/N:
So, I am gonna give you some knowledge about this world.
The story is in a world where different universes, galaxies, solar systems, planets exist and yes, people can travel to different planets, solar systems, galaxies, universes.
The planet Ken is in is called 67-NELTUNE. Ranked 19th in the Meco Galaxy.
The statue's name is Grim if you had focused.
This is it for Chapter 1 I guess?