The air on Planet Azure was heavy with the scent of cheap fuel and ozone. For the thousands of students gathered at the No. 1 High School, the Awakening Ceremony was the only gateway to a better life. For Austin, sitting alone on the rusted bleachers, it was the day he finally decided to stop playing "Commoner."
A month ago, a heavy blow to the head from a group of school bullies had done more than just leave a bruise. When Austin opened his eyes in the infirmary, the boy who had spent three years hiding in shadows was gone. In his place was a soul from Earth—a ruthless corporate slave who had spent his life stepping on throats to reach the top.
"Independence?" Austin mused, his eyes tracking a bird circling the stadium. "The original owner of this body was a fool. He traded the Absolute Realities for a 12-hour shift at a convenience store just to prove a point. If I had this kind of 'Golden Spoon' on Earth, I wouldn't have just owned the company; I would have owned the continent."
As far as the new Austin was concerned, he had simply lucked into the greatest "Starter Account" in the history of the Omniverse. He was an interloper in a prince's skin, and he was going to play the hand he'd been dealt for all it was worth.
While Austin sat in the dust of a backwater planet, a tectonic shift was occurring millions of light-years away in the far reaches of the Absolute Realities. Deep within the Primordial Palace of the Zenith Family, the air was thick with a sound that would have terrified gods: the sound of uncontrollable, heart-wrenching sobbing.
The Patriarch—Austin's Great-Great-Grandfather—slumped on a throne carved from the core of a collapsed star, his divine robes soaked with tears. "Three years!" he wailed, his voice vibrating the foundations of the multiverse and causing nearby suns to flicker. "My Heart's Core! My Absolute Joy! He has been living in a 'studio apartment.' Do you know what that is? It's a room where you sleep and cook in the same air! It's a tragedy! A crime against existence!"
Beside him, the Matriarch was no better, her eyes red from years of mourning. She was currently reviewing a holographic list provided by the shadow guards, her aura flaring with cold, murderous intent. "Entry 9,822: A girl named Kavya Maran told Austin his shoes were 'tacky.' Patriarch, I want her entire family line erased. Not just killed—I want their past, present, and future burned from the records."
"We must wait," Austin's father whispered, gripping a silk handkerchief that could buy a galaxy. "The boy gave us the ultimatum. If we interfere before he asks, he said he won't speak to any of us for the next billion years! A billion years of silence! I couldn't survive a week!"
Back on the dusty stage of Planet Azure, the ceremony was reaching a fever pitch, blissfully unaware of the cosmic eyes watching from above. Ricky von Valerius, the son of the Planet's Overlord, had just finished his awakening, standing bathed in a pillar of blinding golden light that made the commoners shield their eyes.
[AWAKENING ANNOUNCEMENT: RICKY VON VALERIUS]
CLASS: Sun-King Warrior (S-RANK)
TALENT: Solar Flare (S-RANK)
ABILITY: Solar Corona Overload (S-RANK)
BLOODLINE: High-Human Sun-Descendant (A-RANK)
PHYSIQUE: Radiant Solar Body (S-RANK)
MARTIAL SOUL: Golden Lion of the Firmament (S-RANK)
SPIRITUAL ROOT: Divine Sun-Grade Root (S-RANK)
The crowd erupted in a frenzy of cheers. It was a perfect sweep of high-tier power, a combination rarely seen in the history of this remote planet. Ricky stood like a young god, looking down at the masses with effortless arrogance. Beside him, Kavya Maran—the girl who had spent three years pretending to be Austin's "sweet" girlfriend—was practically glowing with greed. She didn't wait for the ceremony to end before she walked toward Austin, her voice dropping to a cold, clinical whisper that only he could hear.
"Austin, let's be realistic. Today, I become the consort of an S-Rank King. And you? You're just a nobody with a head injury. I only stayed with you because I thought a 'profound' background might mean money. But you're just a commoner."
She leaned in, her eyes narrowing with a cruelty she had hidden for years. "Don't bother looking for me after today. We are no longer the same species."
With a mocking toss of her hair, she turned and kissed Ricky in front of the entire school. Ricky smirked over her shoulder at Austin, his S-Rank aura flaring like a physical weight, pinning the "commoners" to their seats. "Hey, 'Commoner.' If you need a job, my family is looking for someone to clean the monster stables. I'll even pay you double since you're so... pathetic."
Austin didn't argue. He simply walked up to the Awakening Stelle, ignoring the laughter and the jeers that followed him like a swarm of flies. "Standard corporate tactic," he thought, a predatory glint in his eyes. "Let the rival over-leverage their position. Let them think the market is theirs. Then, initiate the hostile takeover."
As his hand touched the cold surface of the stone, the "System" inside his mind didn't just ping; it roared with the fury of a thousand dying stars.
[TRUE AWAKENING INITIALIZED]
[RANK: PRIMORDIAL]
[STATUS: HIDDEN]
[NOTE: LOCAL PLANETARY HARDWARE CANNOT RENDER PRIMORDIAL DATA. DISPLAYING 'NULL' TO PREVENT SYSTEM CRASH.]
To the world, the stone remained dead. No light. No sound. Only a tiny, jagged crack appeared on its surface, as if the stone itself was terrified of what it had felt.
"FAILURE!" the examiner shouted, his voice echoing through the silent stadium. "Austin: Rank Zero! Total waste of oxygen!"
The laughter that followed was deafening, a tidal wave of mockery. Ricky stepped onto the stage, his Sun-King aura exploding outward. He didn't attack yet; instead, he hovered above Austin, looking down like a predator at a crippled insect.
"Next!" the examiner yelled, eager to shove Austin off the stage.
But Austin didn't move. He stood in the center of the arena, his face a mask of calm that unnerved the few who looked closely. He turned his gaze slowly toward the VIP box where the Overlord sat, and then back to Ricky.
"Wait," Austin said, his voice quiet but somehow carrying to every corner of the arena. "Before I go... I have something to say to the 'Future King' of Azure."
Ricky stopped, his golden aura flickering with amusement. "Oh? You want to beg for the stable job already?"
"No," Austin smiled, a slow, dark expression that made Kavya's heart skip a beat in fear. "I just wanted to thank you. For showing me exactly how much a planet is worth... when it's run by insects."
The stadium went deathly silent. Austin had just insulted the Valerius bloodline in front of the entire world.