Humanity had grown a lot over the years, through wars, climate changes, and many more things. But none of the changes compared to the great opening of the gates.
The gates were portals to another world. No one knew if they were the same worlds or not, but these worlds carried a massive change for Earth, bringing Mana, and also monsters.
Creatures of every shape and size came out of these gates. Humanity had never seen anything like this. Guns failed, missiles couldn't do much against the stronger monsters. The end of humanity was looking close.
That was until the first Awakened were born, people whose cells and bodies were changed by the Mana that had been released, giving them special abilities and unique powers that they could grow through training.
Humanity finally had a chance, as it seemed that these abilities they had could actually harm these monsters. And so the war against the monsters began. Humanity awakened more and more, and the battle finally began to look like there was hope.
But after the first battles all around the world, the world was no longer the same. The Mana had terraformed it, and world powers had already fallen.
So the United Awakened Guild was built, a system that controlled the Awakened, the gates, and, for the most part, humanity. They created Zones rather than countries, and diversity had become the new order of the day due to the massive displacement that the opening had caused.
Many, many years after that, humanity had evolved even more. Awakened were seen as heroes who go into the gates and battle the monsters behind.
Everything now revolved around them and the gates. The old world was nearly forgotten, and the current reality was the only world that remained.
[... ]
Year 2120, Day 26 Month November, 6:00 a.m.
Beep beep
The blaring sound of an alarm filled the small room. It screamed like it was forcing the person on the bed to wake up.
"Urghhhh." A groan came from the bed, and then a hand raised up and started searching for the alarm in a frantic manner. It finally found it and clicked on the button, stopping the alarm.
The hand rested on the back of the alarm for a few seconds. There was a mark on the back of the hand, no, a tattoo would be a better name. It was a couple of circles with a triangle inside.
The hand retracted from the alarm and under the sheet. Then, after a few seconds, the sheets were thrown off. A young boy no more than eighteen lay on the bed. His black hair was scattered, his face looked tired despite just waking up from sleep.
He rolled off the bed and landed on the floor with both hands. Despite his slim build, he was fit, with well-sized muscles.
He started some pushups, going all the way to fifty before getting up and walking into the bathroom to clean up.
A few minutes later, he walked out of the bathroom with a towel on his neck.
Bam bam
He heard banging from his door. He already knew who that was. "Ella, for goodness' sake, stop banging whenever you come to my door. Knock like a civilized person," he said.
There was no response for a few seconds, and then, bam bam. She slammed into the door again.
"Breakfast is ready, bro." A sharp female voice came from the other side. He let out a tired sigh. He had gotten used to his sister's eccentric behavior; she was just a troublemaker.
He put on a better shirt, a simple black T, and some shorts before walking out of his room. It was a small house with only two rooms, a sitting room, a kitchen, and two toilets.
He walked out barefoot and headed toward the kitchen. Inside, there was a young girl, probably sixteen years of age. She had the same black hair as he did.
She was slim and somewhat average height, but her face was a beauty to behold. She had on pink bunny pajamas and an apron. She was setting the small dining table for breakfast.
"You could have at least taken off your pajamas," he stated as he walked in. She turned to look at him, then let out a sly smile before striking a pose with her hands on her waist.
"You know nothing about early morning fashion, bro," she said and gave a wink.
"You're just too lazy to get out of it," he argued back.
She stuck out her tongue, her way of admitting guilt. He let out a sigh before walking to the door of the house to check for mail. He spotted two through the mail slot and picked them off the floor.
He looked at the front of the first one. It had his name written: (To Silva Tallon). He ripped it open and pulled out the letter. Looking at the content, his heart dropped already. It was from the landlord; their rent was due, and they were behind on payment by two thousand Credits.
He closed his eyes for a few seconds to calm down and then opened the second. His heart sank deeper; it was from the school that his sister went to. He was yet to complete her tuition.
He clenched both letters in his hands. He took a deep breath. Normally, this would be something to make someone break down in panic, but he tried to calm himself.
"I'll just have to go all out in the gates today. I have to do whatever it takes to make the money," he muttered under his breath.
"Bro, is everything alright?" his sister asked. He quickly stuck the letters in his shorts pocket and turned around with a smile.
"Yeah, no mail," he said. She walked back toward the kitchen, but her eyes lingered on his hand in the pocket. Yet, she didn't say anything.
Ever since their parents vanished all of a sudden, her brother had been forced to make ends meet for them.
The moment he became sixteen, he got lucky to awaken an ability, but it was an E-ranked ability, and a sensory type, making him an F-ranked Awakened.
Despite being among the lowest of the low, he still tried his best, giving his all in risky situations to help her and make sure her life was good. He bore the burden alone, and she saw it, but she didn't know how to help.
Not saying anything, they got on the dining table and had their breakfast. Then she left to go take her bath and leave for school.
After she left, he got back into his room and got dressed a black hoodie and trousers. He looked at the bedside drawer. His phone was there; it was a low-end version that he managed to get for communication.
He picked it up and was about to leave when the phone buzzed. He saw the contact it was his friend Peter so he picked it up immediately.
"Hello."
(Yo bro, where are you at? A new D-ranked gate just opened in town. Lewen is putting together a quick party to go. He needs a sensory type as well, so I vouched for you,) Peter said.
"Lewen?" Silva asked with a frown.
(Yeah, I know you don't really like Lewen, but you are a good sensory type and you know how to use your ability. So just come. I know you need the money. So come to the guild branch,) Peter said.
Silva let out a sigh. "Fine, I'll be there soon," he said before hanging up. Something in him told him not to go for this raid, but he desperately needed the money regardless. So he grabbed his bus keys and left the house, heading for the guild.