Aaron flinched in his sleep as the cold white glow flooded the dark void around him.
His pale fingers grasped the sheet clenching it as if clutching a lifeline.
His breath came in ragged gasps ,his whole body drenched in sweat as of on ardous journey but in reality all he saw was that same darkness,where nothing but himself exist,that same strange room filled with weird instruments connected to his body.
He couldn't see anything,only the feeling. That feeling and terror of the unknown and the icy feel of fluids into his body.
A sharp cry- a baby's- rang out again, bouncing off metallic walls. He couldn't move, only float. Needles. A mask. Voices speaking in coded urgency. The sterile hum of machines buzzed at the edges of his skull and the silence.
He jolted awake,his breath a little hurried,eyes unfocused at first before reality sets in.
"Same dream huh" he muttered, rubbing his temple.
The ceiling above him glowed a dull amber flickering slightly as the district's power grid shifted. He turned his head towards the window. The sky outside was thick with ash clouds, the distant hum of air skimmers filling the early morning.
He swung his legs off the bed,cracked his neck and rose.
Downstairs,the smell of burning toast greeted him.
"Damn…..not again" he groaned wrinkling his nose.
A gentle chime sounded from his comms device and a holographic display flickered to life above his head "Breakfast!" came the rough voice of his dad, Captain Kayden Wills,retired Rank 4 Ascendant .
Aaron pulled on his uniform - black synth cotton with a silver trim and descended the stairs two at a time "Ok, I bet I'm going to outgrow this in 2 weeks."
Kayden smirked "Yeah you are growing quite fast for a Fifteen year old. "
"Sixteen…not Fifteen"
Whatever….." he rolled his eyes,examining the burnt bacon."You will be having ur awakening ceremony before then ."
Kayden stood by the stove, shirt half-buttoned, pouring synthetic egg mix into a skillet. He had a scar running down his neck,a souvenir from battles he never talked about. A power gauntlet rested on the kitchen table, next to a battered thermos.
"You look like you got run over by a crawler," Kayden said without turning.
Aaron smirked "I appreciate the compliment."
"Did you dream again?"
He froze for half a second "Yeah,bits and pieces. Same stuff."
The older man grunted " They will pass,maybe they are trying to tell you something."
Aaron blinked clearly amused "You believe in that stuff now?"
" I believe in scrambled eggs and getting to school on time."
The young man sighed,grabbed a protein bar off the counter, and stuffed it in his pocket. "You really should let me cook."
He raised an eyebrow "You want a burnt house or a burnt breakfast?"
" Neither but you're giving both."
Kayden gave a small chuckle,rare from him " Eat up,you have a big day ahead of you...you've got another round of injection drills today right?"
Aaron nodded, taking a huge bite "Yup… today's the last day. "
A woman's voice rang from the huge holoscreen in the room. "New from moon planet Frontline...General Marcus, A rank 5 Transcender and his troops successfully took down three Alien mothership,the situation is looking good for us Earthlings and it seems planet moon is about to be recovered..."
"Woah..Dad,he's so cool…" Aaron exclaimed with his eyes wide looking at the man on the screen with shining eyes.
"Yeah he is… Okay enough dawdling,ready to go?"
Aaron nodded, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "Yeah,I'm good to go."
As they walked out of the door, Aaron's comms device flashed displaying a holographic map of the city. The route to Springdale high Nova origin Academy was highlighted,with several security checkpoints and drone patrols marked along the way.
Walking to the bus stop with his dad, Aaron noticed the city bustling with activities.
People of all ages hurrying to and fro,their faces intent on their comms devices or the holographic displays floating above the streets.
His thoughts drifted. Many years ago,a blazing Meteor clashed into the Solar system distributing smaller meteors across it's planets.
While other planets were infested with intelligent extraterrestrial beings,Earth was infested with a strange Energy called "Qi" and the meteor contained paths of transcending human limits and accessing inhumane powers henceforth the Ascenders came into exist.
They awaken elements and with the help of their inherent and nutured spiritual beasts defends Earth against the invasion of aliens.
Over the past decades,humans has made significant technological advancement with the study of Alien's advanced technology .
While Earth face external threat of Alien's invasion, they also face internal threat of demonic beasts which evolved from normal species of animals on Earth after the Qi infestation.
Aaron was pulled out of his thoughts by a beep from his device,he tapped the comms device and his friend Ken popped up on the screen.
His loud voice boomed through the device" Where the heck are you…Uh Good Morning Uncle Kayden."
"Yo boy, how are you."
" I'm fine." He gave a sunny smile to the older man and then glared at his friend " Damn.. Aaron,you better hurry up,I heard the Witch is taking us today."
Aaron twitched his lips at the name, promptly ending the call to save his ears from the nagging " Ok.. I'm coming"
"Hey Dad, I'll catch up with you later, okay?"
Kayden nodded, patting his shoulder "Be safe kiddo and don't forget to keep your comms device on."
Aaron grinned, waving goodbye as the hover bus pulled up. He hopped on and the bus whizzed off towards Springdale High, leaving Kayden and the city behind.
Springdale High was located in Virelux prime city. It is a sprawling complex that covered several city blocks with a state of the art facilities and technological advanced training equipments. A high school that prepares novices for element attunement and awakening.
Virelux prime city,a small city in New Eden, a major continent formed from the old America after invasion, was a city like no other, a marvel of human ingenuity and technology. The city was protected by a network of defense systems and patrolled by Ascenders, who guarded against the constant threat of Alien's invasion.
The hover bus stopped in front Springdale High and Aaron swaggered off to his class. Noone asked him to stop when he saw the middle aged woman whose face was adorned with a menacing smile.
" Damn…I thought Ken was joking" he muttered under his breath and turned to give the woman what he thought was a warm and perfect smile.
" Morning Mrs Damien"
"Morning Mr Wills" her grin widened as she gestured with 3 fingers towards the field " Three laps"
His smile cracked.