Periun, Kettlia
Ashtarium Nation
North American continent
November 22nd 2019
"Host's soul core has been awakened. Bodily modifications complete. Mana lattice upgraded. Ability Factor unlocked."
Jack drifted weightlessly in a silent, star-strewn void, suspended before a burning sphere of radiant energy pulsing with slow, hypnotic rhythms. The darkness around him shimmered faintly, as though the very fabric of space held its breath.
He turned, eyes wide with confusion. "Where… where am I?"
A voice echoed—not from outside, but within him, resonating across the architecture of his thoughts.
"Host Jack Ryan has been summoned into the internal realm of the Ascendant Codex."
"Codex?" Jack blinked. "What the hell is happening?"
"You have bonded with the Ascendant Codex," the voice replied, calm and mechanical, yet ancient in cadence. "It is a metaphysical construct—artificial, yet alive—tasked with initiating and guiding the Ascendant process. Your soul core has been awakened. Your Ability Factor is now active. The Codex selected it based on data encoded within your Ethereal Gland."
"The what?" Jack asked. "Ethereal gland?"
"The Ethereal Gland is a metaphysical organ located within the mind-soul interface," the Codex explained. "It is the vessel through which the soul translates its essence into the physical world. It determines the form of your Ability Factor and your path of cultivation."
"Ability Factor," Jack whispered. "No… this isn't real. I'm dreaming. Or… Joe knocked me out."
"Incorrect," the Codex replied. "Host Jack Ryan is currently unconscious… but this is no dream. Contact with the Codex confirmed your eligibility. The Ascendant Seed within you has been activated. It is my purpose to awaken and guide such individuals—those who can walk the path of cultivation."
Jack turned toward the glowing sphere, his voice barely audible. "So this… this is real?"
The orb flared in response, bathing the void in a sudden surge of golden light. The Codex continued:
"Jack Ryan has entered the Foundational Phase of cultivation. You are now an Ascendant. Your soul core is your foundation—nurture it, refine it, ascend. But be warned…"
The light flickered, dimmed.
"…The Codex has detected an imminent external threat. Host consciousness will now be returned to the physical plane."
"Wait—what threat?" Jack shouted.
But it was too late. A force seized him, dragging him backward through the void as stars blurred into streaks. The sphere vanished behind him.
He gasped awake.
Rough hands gripped his arms and legs. Joe and his gang were dragging him across the floor, unaware that the boy they were manhandling had just been reborn. Jack tried to move his right arm, only to feel resistance vanish. The goon gripping him was hurled forward as though he weighed nothing, crashing into a metal shelf with a hollow clang.
Jack blinked. The moment felt surreal.
The others froze, stunned by the unexpected burst of power. But Jack's mind moved faster. His thoughts sharpened by the surge of energy coursing from his Ethereal gland—nestled deep in the mind-soul nexus—his mental clarity had deepened, processing reality in fractions of a second.
Reacting instinctively, Jack lashed out with his free hand, striking the thug clutching his legs. The man yelped as he sailed backward, colliding with another shelf. Both collapsed to the floor with a metallic uproar.
Startled, the rest of the gang released him.
Jack didn't stumble. Somehow, he landed cleanly, his balance effortlessly centered—his body responding with a new grace, as though it had been fine-tuned.
He rose to his feet slowly, wide-eyed.
A strange electricity danced beneath his skin. A tingling sensation shimmered through him, as if each cell had awoken, recharged, alive. His body felt lighter, faster. His senses buzzed with hyperclarity, his mind cutting through confusion like a blade through mist.
He had never felt so awake.
Then a voice echoed from outside the room—sharp, authoritative."Who's there? This is a restricted area. Identify yourself. Unauthorized entry is a criminal offense."
Jack's heart skipped.
"Shit," he hissed. Jail wasn't an option—not now, not when everything was on the line. One incident on his record and his shot at the top university would vanish.
And then—something pulsed within him.
From deep within his soul core, something pulsed. A ripple. A hum. A flicker of space bending around him. His body lit with faint glyphs—rings of radiant energy forming a circle beneath his feet. Then the circle expanded, moving past the space in the room.
"Host ability has been activated for use. Zone Drive: Zone Placement."
Reality warped. For a moment, Jack felt weightless, like every molecule of his being had been unfastened from gravity and position. The room stretched, twisted, and then—snap.
He was gone. In his place, only a lingering distortion shimmered faintly in the air… the space he had just occupied, now empty. As if the world itself was still recalibrating around the void he'd left behind.
_
Jack reappeared high above the world—suspended in open sky. Vertigo struck like a hammer. Nausea surged in his gut as his limbs flailed, the vast expanse below yawning hungrily. Wind screamed past his ears. A heartbeat later, gravity claimed him.
He plummeted. The scream ripped from his throat, wild and instinctive. Just as the ground rushed up to greet him, reality twisted again. The world blinked—and so did Jack.
He vanished mid-fall.
In the next instant, he slammed into solid flooring inside the museum, reappearing with a loud crack on the same marble tile he'd toured just an hour ago. Shocked gasps filled the hall as bystanders stumbled backward, eyes wide.
He groaned, lying flat, a spiderweb of cracks radiating from beneath him. But strangely… the pain never came. Jack sat up slowly, brushing dust from his clothes. Around him, stunned faces stared, some people muttering, others backing away as though they'd witnessed a ghost.
His head swam. Voices overlapped—laughter, footsteps, conversations, whispers—all pouring in at once. His vision sharpened unnaturally, taking in movement, color, heat, light, the subtlest shifts in motion. Information bombarded him. Too much. Far too much.
Even with his enhanced mind, Jack could barely endure the onslaught. His heart thundered, breath stuttering as his senses overloaded. Then—snap—it ended. The noise dulled, his perception narrowed. He took a deep breath, steadying himself as silence returned, his mind reeling in the echo of too much awareness.
"What the hell was that…" Jack muttered, staggering to his feet. People parted around him, whispering. Someone murmured something about him being drunk.
Then the Codex's voice, cold and calm, resonated in his mind:"Ascendant's neural capacity was insufficient to handle the sudden sensory influx."
Jack winced. "Sensory influx from what?"
"Ascendant Jack's Ability Factor grants expanded spatial awareness within a defined radius," the Codex explained. "When triggered without conscious modulation, it passively draws in all environmental stimuli, amplified through mental energy."
Jack exhaled, rubbing his temples. "So... I saw and heard everything around me. All at once."
"Precisely."
He ran a hand through his hair, still dazed but smiling now—bewildered and exhilarated. He'd teleported. Twice. And whatever this power was, it felt real. Like something out of a comic book.
He couldn't wait to tell someone—
"Jack! There you are!"
Carrie's voice cut through his thoughts like a beam of sunlight.
Jack turned just as she hurried up to him, her brow furrowed in concern.
"I've been looking everywhere for you," she said, breathless.
"Me?" Jack blinked, still caught between sky and stone. "Why?"
"I wanted to make sure you were okay," she said. "I was worried Joe and his gang did something." Her voice was warm, sincere.
Jack's heart flipped—not from fear this time, but from the simple joy of being seen.
"Well… as you can see," he chuckled, forcing a casual tone, "I'm in one piece. I managed to get away."
Before she could reply, a stern voice interrupted. One of the teachers was approaching, chastising them for wandering off. Jack and Carrie exchanged glances, then reluctantly rejoined the rest of their class as the tour resumed, though Jack walked with a new weight beneath his skin. Something had awakened. And the world would never feel the same again.