Today was a very special day. The school was massively overpopulated, packed with students from every grade. They clustered tightly in their usual groups: friend circles, classmates, after-school clubs, and – most prominently – the sports teams and cheerleaders.
It was impossible to say if it was officially lunchtime or not, but everyone was crammed into the cafeteria. Strangely, no one was eating. No one stood in line to buy food. They simply sat, packed within their allocated groups.
The noise was overwhelming, a constant roar. Hearing what any specific group was discussing, let alone what individuals within those groups were saying to each other, was nearly impossible.
A fifteen-year-old boy walked towards an empty school courtyard. Only the sound of the blowing wind and the sight of cars parked almost everywhere greeted him. The school doors were closed.
He approached the doors, took a deep breath, and pushed them open. He stepped inside the empty, quiet corridor, his face immediately downcast. He didn't know, or even notice, that nobody else was actually in that corridor.
He kept walking, face down, completely unaware of his surroundings. Without realizing it, he bumped into one person – the one person he wished he hadn't bumped into.
"Sorry," the boy, Aleks, mumbled.
The person he bumped into was none other than Lacey Walkers, a girl infamous throughout the whole school for loving to play the victim. So, what did she do after bumping into Aleks?
Lacey did something Aleks knew she was capable of, but he had neglected to think – or assure himself – that she would actually have the guts to do it today, of all days.
What Lacey did was the real definition of someone craving attention, as if she desperately needed to show off something today.
The bump with Aleks wasn't severe. It wouldn't have caused anyone to fall or break anything. It was more like a simple shoulder-to-shoulder nudge.
But because something was definitely off about today, Lacey created an immense amount of unnecessary drama for herself. She deliberately threw herself backwards onto the lockers. The impact caused a loud BANG. There was a sickening SNAP as her shoulder dislocated and bruised. She then fell heavily to the school floor. After a minute or so, there was another distinct, sharp CRACK as she somehow managed to break her own leg.
Aleks didn't truly witness or see everything unfold clearly. His mind was full, preoccupied with something else. But he heard it all: the bang against the locker, the snap of the dislocated shoulder, the thud of her fall, and, after a pause, the crack of the breaking leg.
He turned around swiftly, concerned, wanting to see what the hell had just happened. To his surprise, it was Lacey lying unnervingly quiet on the floor, as if the suffering she'd just inflicted on herself was nothing. But the moment Aleks locked eyes with her, something changed.
The second he tried to approach her, attempting to help her, she erupted.
She screamed her lungs out, "SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME! HE'S GONE CRAZY!!!"
Aleks froze. He couldn't believe what he was hearing – and seeing. And just like that, the once empty corridor was instantly overflowing with students who had no idea what had actually happened.
But because of who was crying for help, and because they also saw who was standing near her, they instantly assumed the worst. Without knowing the story, they judged.
"What do you think happened?" a cheerleader whispered loudly.
"Didn't you see? Aleks just went all psycho and attacked her!" another cheerleader lied smoothly, as if stating a simple fact.
The other cheerleaders gasped dramatically, pretending they couldn't believe the horrific sight.
False rumors weren't confined to the cheerleaders. Other students began weaving their own tales:
"Oh man, did you see what that monster did to poor Lacey?" a nerdy boy asked, pretending to be deeply frightened. To sell his story, he tightened his grip on his chemistry books.
"Remember, I called it," another boy commented smugly. "He was bound to snap one way or another."
The false rumors and accusations were bad enough. But Aleks didn't expect things to turn from worse to absolute nightmare.
One of the most popular people in school erupted from the crowd. He looked intensely pissed off, yet somehow satisfied. It was Dan Daniel, the school's top student and captain of almost every sports club that existed.
"What the hell happened here?" Dan demanded, his voice cutting through the noise. He held an English novel in his hand, momentarily forgotten.
Everyone murmuring suddenly fell mute and silent. Dan was known all around school—not just for his academic brilliance, but for his otherworldly good looks. He was the definition of true beauty.
Dan took a moment to process who was on the floor. He couldn't see clearly without his glasses. He didn't need to say a word—he simply snapped his fingers.
"Oh, right!" A boy emerged from the crowd and handed him his glasses.
Dan put them on, adjusting them to see exactly who lay injured. To his shock, it was Lacey Walkers—his own recently acquired girlfriend.
Aleks knew Dan Daniel's reputation well. This wasn't someone you crossed. You never hurt anyone he cared about—though teachers and adults remained oblivious to this darker side.
Aleks braced himself. His fate was sealed.
Dan strode past Aleks without even glancing at him. He remembered the book in his hand and resumed reading it as he approached Lacey. He crouched beside her.
"Darling, are you okay?"
Lacey sold her performance flawlessly, pouring on the anguish until empathy radiated from the entire crowd.
What happened next? Aleks would be lying if he claimed he saw it coming. As he turned, hoping to explain the truth, Dan's novel slammed into his face. The impact sent Aleks flying backward.
Aleks crashed through the cafeteria doors, landing helplessly inside. Escape was impossible.
All he saw was Dan leading the entire school toward him, knuckles cracking ominously.
"You know," Dan mused, "I should thank you. I recently became Awakened and wanted to flaunt my new powers. You've made the perfect demonstration."
Aleks forced himself to stand. He knew he couldn't land a single blow, but he had to try. He clenched his fists and raised them.
Dan smirked, visibly impressed. "Now everyone… watch and learn."
In less than a blink, Dan vanished—reappearing beside Aleks. Aleks saw no attack, but he felt the punches—brutal, precise, overwhelming. The crowd gasped, equally stunned by the invisible assault.
Finally, Dan released him. Aleks crumpled to his knees, humbled at Dan's feet.
"Please forgive me," Aleks begged—even though he'd done nothing.
Dan's smile radiated cruel satisfaction. He was in control, and power was his ultimate addiction.
Aleks lay beaten and bruised beyond recognition, fearing death—until a teacher arrived.
"What's going on here?"
The crowd parted silently, revealing the scene. The teacher's eyes flickered between Dan and Aleks's broken state. He paused, seeming poised to intervene…
"Oh. I suppose this… doesn't require my attention." He offered Dan a conspiratorial smile. "Carry on."
The teacher turned, closed the cafeteria doors firmly behind him, and walked away.
What had just happened was pure injustice. But what could Aleks do? He knew, bitterly well, that he should have expected something like this. A teacher hadn't even bothered to help him.
Strangely, it didn't make him feel much. He was used to this treatment. See, Aleks wasn't like the other kids. He was a rare, special case at fifteen: he still hadn't gotten his own Awakening.
Throughout the school, he was known universally as "the one who couldn't be awakened." This label was a target, inviting bullies eager to flaunt their powers. Dan wasn't the first.
Dan delivered a sharp kick to Aleks's nose. Aleks felt the sickening crunch of bone breaking. Before he could even react, Dan did the unthinkable: he hauled Aleks up, pretending to dust him off.
"You know... I should be sorry," Dan said, his voice dripping with false sincerity. "I don't know what got into me." He raised his hand. "Let's forget what happened here. Call it a truce? What do you think?"
Aleks knew it was a trap. But he desperately wanted this nightmare over. He raised his own trembling hand.
Dan moved in for the handshake. Just before their hands could meet, Dan's smile twisted. This time, it revealed the true Dan – vicious and triumphant.
He drove his foot into Aleks's chest. Aleks felt his breath explode outwards – a desperate, final gasp for air... Then he was weightless, hurtling backwards. He crashed through the cafeteria window.
While flying backwards through the air, Aleks had completely forgotten about the precious item hidden inside his jacket: the ancient, unknown scroll. It was the sole inheritance left to him by his parents, tragically lost during the first wave of the invasion.
As he hurtled towards the ground, the scroll slipped free. It tumbled out, unfurling itself in the rushing wind. For some inexplicable reason, after years of struggling to decipher its alien language, the symbols suddenly became clear to him.
Before he could crash land, the words on the parchment detached. They floated like radiant, living hieroglyphics, glowing with an inner fire. They surged towards him, burning themselves onto his skin, searing deep into his chest.
Bu-dum.
Bu-dum.
Bu-dum.
His heart pounded three heavy, resonant beats.
Simultaneously, his eyes ignited – blazing with an intense, golden yellow light, as if they themselves were burning. An encrypted notification materialized before his vision:
[Ding]
[You have successfully become...]
He couldn't finish reading the message. Aleks slammed into the unforgiving ground.
His heart gave one final, feeble thud.
Then stillness.
His eyes, the golden fire extinguished, closed for the final time.