The Aethyros Stadium sprawled across the landscape like a monument to human ambition and magical mastery. Towers of obsidian and spires of gold carved into impossible geometry stretched skyward, their surfaces etched with runes that pulsed with life. The terraces, packed with millions of spectators, seemed to stretch beyond the horizon. The air was thick with mana, a tangible hum that vibrated through bones, hearts, and minds alike.
Neil Runders stood near the back, hand tightly entwined with Sophia Beth's. The two of them had grown up together in the shadow of mediocrity, teased and overlooked, yet here they were—about to step onto the Grand Altar of Awakening, the place where every seventeen-year-old would have their soul scanned, measured, and bonded with a System. Today, destinies would be written.
Sophia's emerald eyes shone with nervous excitement. "Neil… it's finally our turn. Are you ready?"
Neil shrugged faintly, a small smile touching his lips. He had spent seventeen years being powerless, being ignored, being nothing. Today, that ended. He did not feel fear, or hope, or anticipation—only a raw, humming awareness that everything was about to change.
---
The announcer's voice erupted across the stadium, amplified by spells older than empires.
"Seventeen-year-olds! Step forward and claim your destiny!"
Names were called. Children ascended the Grand Altar one by one. Glowing runes appeared above their heads: [Scholar's System], [Warrior's System], [Archer's System], [Mage's System]. Some powers were modest, some legendary. Kingdoms could rise or fall depending on the outcome of this selection.
When Neil's name rang out, a hush fell over the stadium. Even the Grand Altar's runes flickered, sensing the anomaly approaching. Neil's steps toward the center of the altar were deliberate. He barely noticed the gasps of the crowd, the tremor of the ground beneath his feet. His focus was inward, attuned to the Primordial Nexus pulsing within him, a force far beyond comprehension.
> [System Awakening Initiated…]
[Soul Signature: Anomalous. Exceptionally Unique.]
[ERROR.]
[Primordial Nexus Detected.]
[Host Cannot Contain Infinity. Rewriting Reality…]
The floor of the altar cracked violently. Black lightning erupted—Oblivion—erasing stone, air, and light itself. White flames—Eternia—blazed outward, creating mountains, rivers, and forests in a heartbeat. The two forces collided and swirled inside Neil, forming a storm that defied all known laws of magic.
---
Beside him, Sophia's system activated in response. Aetherion Core manifested as a radiant emerald aura, extending outward like ripples across reality itself.
> [System Activated: Aetherion Core]
[Sub-Branches Unlocked: Elemental Mastery, Dimensional Awareness, Infinite Reflexes]
[Mana Capacity: Near Infinite]
[Potential: Undefined]
Sophia's abilities were beyond mortal comprehension. She could manipulate fire, water, wind, and earth simultaneously. She could bend light and space to create illusions and warp her enemies' perception of reality. Even time itself seemed to bend slightly around her, as she executed movements and commands faster than anyone could perceive. But as magnificent as she was, Neil's presence completely dwarfed her brilliance.
Where Sophia's aura bent and controlled, Neil's obliterated and rebuilt. Mountains and rivers were not only created but erased and reformed simultaneously. Oblivion tore through the fabric of reality, while Eternia rebuilt it in his vision, forming landscapes that defied logic and physics. Neil did not simply wield power—he was power incarnate, the Primordial Nexus made flesh.
---
The crowd's screams escalated into chaos. Nobles fell to their knees, terrified of the uncontainable forces. Soldiers and mages tried to resist, but Neil's aura distorted every spell, every barrier, every weapon in reach. Birds froze mid-flight, the wind stilled, and the sky itself seemed to bend in response to him.
Sophia's green aura rippled to stabilize fragments of Neil's energy. She created bridges and shields, controlling minor currents of his power to prevent total destruction. It was clear that without her support, the stadium and city would have been utterly annihilated. Yet, even as she shone brightly, Neil's cosmic storm made her presence secondary, almost negligible in comparison.
> [New Title Acquired: The One Who Should Not Exist.]
[Sophia Beth: New Title Acquired: The Aetherion Sovereign.]
Neil raised his arms. The forces of Oblivion and Eternia collided around him in a blinding vortex of black and white energy. Mountains crumbled and rose, rivers of fire and void clashed and fused, and the sky tore open, revealing glimpses of other dimensions. His sub-branches activated spontaneously:
Oblivion Sub-Branch: Null Rift – A tear in reality itself formed beneath his feet, swallowing entire terraces of the stadium, then reforming them instantly.
Eternia Sub-Branch: Genesis Flame – White fire spread outward, creating forests, towers, and rivers in seconds.
Oblivion Sub-Branch: Void Chains – Black tendrils coiled around the surrounding city, consuming stone and metal before reforming them into alien shapes.
Sophia's Aetherion Core adjusted continuously, redirecting micro-currents to prevent collapse of the stadium, but her energy was nothing compared to Neil's, which continued to tear and remake reality at will.
---
From distant towers, mages sensed the surge. Even kingdoms hundreds of miles away quivered as Neil's awakening sent shockwaves through the magical lattice of the continent. Soldiers fell to their knees, nobles whispered fearful prayers, and scholars began frantically recording events they could never hope to explain.
Beyond the sky, gods watched silently. From a throne of dead stars and shattered planets, Nullarion, the First Godslayer, opened crimson eyes. His smile cut across dimensions.
"So… the child of Nexus is awake. And his companion… interesting," he murmured. "This will be fun."
Neil didn't notice. He barely perceived the crowd, the cries, the trembling earth. His focus was the raw, infinite pulse of power coursing through him. Reality bent, rewrote, and reformed under his will. Mountains rose and fell in his thought. Rivers of pure mana carved new valleys. Stars and clouds split and danced to his rhythm.
Sophia's presence was the only constant. She stabilized minor portions of his energy, and though she was powerful beyond imagination, Neil did not need her. Her role was supportive, reactive, secondary. Yet her hand in his remained, the only tether to a shared past.
---
The stadium itself was no longer recognizable. Terraces had twisted into impossible shapes. Towers melted and reformed. The city below shimmered under the pulse of two intertwined powers. Oblivion and Eternia collided, creating zones of absolute destruction and absolute creation. Sophia's Aetherion Core created pockets of controlled reality, threads of order in the chaos.
Neil, the One Who Should Not Exist, stood at the center. He did not feel joy, or fear, or triumph. He only felt the infinite heartbeat of creation and annihilation, the Nexus itself alive in him.
The world, in every corner, felt it. Kingdoms, distant mages, warriors, nobles—all sensed an anomaly that could rewrite existence. And somewhere far away, Nullarion prepared. The First Godslayer had seen the emergence of a force capable of rivaling gods, capable of reshaping the cosmos.
Neil did not care. Not yet.
All that mattered was power, infinity, and the Nexus flowing through him. The world would kneel. The universe would bend. And beside him, Sophia Beth—powerful, yes, radiant, yes—was secondary, supporting the unstoppable force he had become.
The Primordial Nexus had awakened. Neil Runders had ascended. And the world would never be the same.
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