The fluorescent Lights of the classroom flickered against the bland walls of Amos High school. Dust motes danced like tiny spirits in the air. Theo sat slouched in the back row, the soles of his boots tapping idly against the metal floor. At six-foot-three and a built body, his frame nearly swallowed the tiny, claustrophobic space, golden-brown hair falling in a neat middle part, green eyes sharp beneath thick brows. A straight nose and crooked smile.
"Rise, Theo," the teacher commanded, his voice slicing through air slightly infused with Spirit Power. A wiry man with silver-streaked hair and molten-copper eyes, he had the quiet authority of someone who had seen more awakenings than any student could count. " Give the class a breakdown of the events between humanity leaving the Shielded Planets and the discovery of this world."
Theo pushed himself upright, stretching his long limbs. He was Seventeen, almost eighteen, he felt the familiar tug in his chest—the anticipation of awakening. Soon, his system would choose him, and his life would pivot from preparation to pursuit.
He cleared his throat. "When humanity left the Shielded Planets over two centuries ago, we didn't know where we were going. We left behind stagnation, suffocating oversight, and the quiet certainty that our paths were already decided. The first explorers drifted through voids filled with uncharted star systems, until they found this world—a planet untouched, humming with something beyond science… Spirit Power. It saturated the land, the skies, the rivers, waiting for us to awaken to it."
Some students leaned forward, captivated, while others scribbled notes, Theo's voice carried across the class room, Deep with a hint authority.
"This discovery changed everything. The first generation to reach eighteen unlocked systems—a framework unique to each person. Systems rank from D to SS. They define the pace of growth, the limit of potential, and, for a time, they divided humanity. Lower-tier systems meant slower development, weaker Spirit Power, and often servitude to those with higher-tier systems. For decades, inequality wasn't just social—it was encoded into existence itself."
Theo's gaze swept the room, landing on faces marked with curiosity, unease, or awe. "The first Civil War erupted when the truth was discovered: effort could overcome innate limitations. Even those with D-tier systems could upgrade their system through relentless cultivation. The war ended not with the destruction of the weak, but with acknowledgment that anyone—anyone—could reach the highest heights with persistence and will. Today, every human bears the same chance at greatness, but the challenge remains: only the strong, the disciplined, the cunning, survive the trials of Spirit Power and system growth."
"This is why Theos exists," Theo continued, voice dropping. "A place to cultivate, to awaken, and to prove that you can rise. The pyramid —it's a trial. The higher you climb, the more dangerous, the more rewarding it is. Every floor teaches a lesson: survival isn't guaranteed, power isn't granted to the lazy, and the weak are forgotten."
He paused, letting the weight of the history hang in the silence. "And now," he said softly, almost to himself, "it's my turn. Soon, a system will choose me. And when it does… everything will change."
Theo sat back down, feeling the first stirring of Spirit Power in his blood. His eighteenth birthday was tomorrow.
Theo's stomach lurched as the train tore through Amos City, a silver bullet racing over the streets below. The city blurred into streaks of color—neon lights, steel towers, and shadowed alleys—all mixing into a dizzying whirl of movement. School had just let out, and the sidewalks were clogged with students, their chatter and laughter swallowed by the roar of the speeding train.
Amos High dissapeared behind the train, a proud stone-and-glass monument clinging to the heart of downtown. Beyond it, the skyline stretched in chaotic harmony. Sleek, metallic spires bristled with holographic displays, their surfaces shimmering like liquid silver. Beside them, older buildings loomed, massive and ornate, their mystic carvings whispering stories from centuries past. Amos City wasn't just a place—it was a living collision of eras, a heartbeat of history and technology intertwined.
Theo's gaze lifted, catching the space station hovering above the city like a silent guardian. People traveled there to leave Amos—or even to leave the planet Yurin entirely. His thoughts drifted to humanity's reach: the Human Federation had risen after the Civil War, the planets colonized since, the bastions that had stood the test of time—Earth, Ated, Miro, Mars. Twenty-four worlds and counting. The train lurched to a stop Theo had arrived to his stop.