When Death Became My Brother

Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Class Awakener



A military convoy was moving through rough terrain when a soldier suddenly slipped and fell into a hole. Beneath him lay fragments of a shattered meteor.

"Are you okay, soldier?!" someone shouted as the convoy came to a halt, everyone gathering near the hole.

"I'm fine, Commander!" a voice called back from below, causing the tense soldiers to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

The good news? Proximity to the meteor didn't seem to cause any harm.

"Then get your ass back up here," the Commander barked.

"Wait… Commander, .this is a miracle!" the soldier shouted again, his tone now full of shock and excitement.

"What is it?!" the Commander demanded, curiosity rising among the troops.

"Come down and see for yourself, sir!"

The Commander hesitated for a moment before climbing down with a few selected soldiers. The rest stayed behind, positioned for emergency response or in case of a sudden animal attack. Ever since the awakening, animals had become larger, stronger, and had started developing strange powers of their own.

Inside the hole, a soft light flickered drawing everyone's attention.

As they approached the source, they found the soldier crouched beside something glowing faintly.

"A phone? A working phone?" the Commander asked, eyes wide in disbelief. "That's impossible. All standard phones stopped working hours ago. Only specialized military comms are supposed to function now."

"Yes, sir… but this one's working," the soldier said with a grin.

"How?" the Commander pressed.

"When I fell, my phone touched the meteor fragment… and it powered on," the soldier explained, still stunned.

"Anyone else carrying a phone? Test it out," the Commander ordered immediately.

Another soldier stepped forward, pulling out his dead phone. He hesitantly touched it to the meteor.

Blick… hum…

The phone lit up.

"It's true…" the Commander murmured, astonished.

The soldiers looked at one another in awe.

"I need to report this to the base right now," the Commander said.

*****************

At the temporary base....

"Bro… we're awakeners? How?" Seran asked as he and Nerez followed the soldier.

"I have no idea," Nerez replied. "But remember what they said about some awakeners being able to recognize others? Maybe someone like that saw us."

"Probably," Seran nodded in agreement.

Soon, they arrived at a more secluded part of the base. There were fewer people here but more soldiers.

Eventually, they reached a building.

"Inside, you'll find others like you. Go in," the soldier said, saluting before walking away.

"Wait, what?" Nerez blinked, stunned.

Seran burst into laughter. "Fool, you're an awakener now. That means you're basically a superhero!"

"Idiot," Nerez said, laughing too but his smile faded as thoughts crept in. Being a superhero? That's not for me. I hate the idea of putting others before my family… sacrificing the people I love for strangers? No thanks.

The two stepped into the building.

It was a wide open space, surrounded by hallways. The area was brightly lit. Soldiers stood at attention, and a few teenagers and adults were already gathered.

"I assume you're the last to arrive," a soldier said, observing them. "That brings the total to eight awakeners from 1,400 people. Not bad."

"That's bad, right?" Nerez whispered to Seran.

"Absolutely," Seran muttered back.

"Welcome," the soldier began. "You're now awakeners and you deserve to understand what that means. From this moment on, your lives are no longer the same as others. A casual movement, a random interaction from you, could kill a normal human if you aren't careful. That's why you must identify and control your cryptic power."

His eyes began to glow faintly.

The group was stunned.

So… they knew they were awakeners but didn't know their actual powers? And what was a "cryptic power"?

"Let me explain," the soldier continued. "I'm like Kyla,...I can see the red energy flowing through you. That energy is the source of your cryptic power. We call them cryptic because they don't follow any common logic or trend. Some people gain elemental powers like fire, ice, wind. Others gain strange powers like fate manipulation, soul control, energy manipulation. Mine is energy manipulation… but right now, I can only see energy, not use it."

He paused.

"We've recently developed a method to help you awaken your power fully. All you need to do is enter one of the capsules down the hallway. It will stimulate your body and trigger your cryptic power."

Everyone blinked in surprise.

"So… first we awaken our power. Then what?" Nerez asked, arms crossed.

"That's why you're here," the soldier answered. "Once awakened, your body will begin to adapt. Just like me .I can now differentiate life energy from red energy, and even other types. Once your power is awakened, using it becomes much easier."

"Smart," Seran whispered.

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up. It was my question," Nerez said with a smirk.

"Alright. Head down the hallway," the soldier instructed, pointing ahead.

The group moved. The hallway split into four separate paths, and they each walked toward their designated capsule.

Meanwhile, in an adjacent control room, scientists in white coats and soldiers stood over machinery.

"They ready?" the soldier who had spoken to the awakeners entered with a smile.

"Yes, Commander Lourk," one scientist replied. "With our discovery a few minutes ago by using meteor fragments..we've managed to adapt technology to the new energy frequencies of Earth. The meteors didn't just destroy tech… they changed Earth itself. For our technology to work, it must now align with this red energy."

"Transmit the findings to bases worldwide," Commander Lourk ordered. "We may awaken someone with a rare power."

The scientists nodded and got to work.

Everywhere on Earth, awakenings had begun. Humanity's population had dropped from nine billion to five. But even with that loss, billions remained..normal humans and awakeners alike. In just three hours, dozens of cryptic powers had already been recorded.

Some powers were common: fire, ice, wind, water, earth. Repetitive, yes..but powerful.

Then came the rarer ones: soul manipulation, gravity, mind control. These were stronger and far more destructive. One gravity user had already flattened an entire village by accident.

The capsule system was created to help awakeners gain control immediately.

Even so, truly rare awakeners were few. Kyla, Commander Lourk, and a handful of others were among the few elite.

Then came the legendary cryptic powers.

Fate manipulation..like the girl who saw the future and saved humanity.

Creation manipulation...one had been reported in another state.

So far, there had only been one user per legendary power. Tens of thousands had awakened… yet only a few carried these abilities.

"Begin the tests," Commander Lourk ordered.

The machines activated.

Seran and Nerez had already entered the capsules and lost consciousness.

Hum… hum… hum…

The capsules hummed softly. Monitors lit up with visual displays and data streams.

One by one, the awakeners triggered their powers.

The first capsule erupted in steam. The screen lit up:

[Awakening Successful]

[Name: —]

[Cryptic Power: Fire Manipulation]

[Power Class: C (Common)]

[Awakener Rank: Bronze]

[Threat Level: Above Peak Human]

Commander Lourk sighed.

It was a success… but a disappointment.

They already had thousands of fire manipulators.

One after the other, the results came in.

Common. Common. Common.

The disappointment deepened.

Finally, only two capsules remained.

Seran and Nerez.

Lourk narrowed his eyes. "It's that boy… the one who spoke to the crowd earlier."

Hope ignited in him again.

Maybe… just maybe…

Suddenly, warning signs flashed across the screen.

Two violent energy spikes erupted from both capsules.

Lourk stared at the monitor, stunned.

"This… this is....?!"

"Commander, what's wrong?!" a soldier asked.

Lourk took a deep breath… then grinned.

"Good news… We've got two super rare cryptic awakeners! Both are Class A!"

Cheers erupted.

Excitement filled the room.

They ignored the growing red warning signs flashing on the screen.

Because finally… they had found two exceptional ones.

Lourk had a theory. Most common awakeners had low red energy density. Even he, a Class B, only had twenty times that of a Class C.

But these two?

They had over a hundred times more.

A terrifying gap.

Their futures… boundless.

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