__ 21st December, 2030 __
Standing in front of the wall mirror, Uche stared at his reflection in silence. He looked rough for an eighteen-year-old. Rough skin hardened by hard labour, dark circles under his eyes, and darkened lips from excessive smoking. However, even with all that filth, he possessed sharp features that made him stand out: a chiseled jawline that left many envious and a light-brown complexion maintained despite years of construction work under intense heat. His cornrow hairstyle suited him perfectly.
"It's today…" Uche muttered to himself.
A decade ago, the first set of awakeners were born. Across the planet, hundreds of people aged eighteen began vanishing without a trace, throwing the world into chaos. Fear gripped everyone's hearts as world government bodies scrambled to come up with an explanation for the incident. But it didn't stop there, as more people kept vanishing every single day. It didn't take long before the world caught on to the trend: the victims were youths disappearing on their eighteenth birthday.
However, this information was useless. It couldn't bring back those who were gone, and it couldn't stop other eighteen-year-olds from vanishing right in front of their parents.
At this point, the world was terrified. People demanded answers, but no one had any. This dragged on until, a month later, a small fraction of the people who vanished returned—completely different from before.
And that was how ascendants were born.
These ascendants gave matching accounts of being transported into a strange world where they were granted special abilities. In this strange land, which they eventually called The Sanctuary, they could level up like in video games, grow stronger, and upgrade their abilities.
However, death in the Sanctuary meant permanent demise. That was why over four hundred and seventy thousand people had been recorded missing, yet only five thousand returned even after a month. It was safe to assume the rest were either dead or still lost in the Sanctuary, searching for a way back.
This new information took the world by surprise, birthing several new questions. However, the loudest of them all was, "Why are humans awakening?"
Of what purpose do ascendants serve?
It didn't take long before an answer emerged.
A void seed appeared at Mount Nyiragongo in Congo, unnoticed until it matured into a gate. Void creatures of various kinds and sizes swarmed the region, and a brutal battle ensued between Congo and the void creatures while the world watched in silence. These creatures were grotesque and unnatural, like monsters pulled straight from twisted Dark Souls imaginations.
It quickly became clear that conventional weapons had no effect on them. At the time, Congo had failed to produce an ascendant from the previous selections, leaving them defenseless against the monsters.
At this point, African nations made their biggest mistake, later termed 'The Great Folly'. They remained silent and watched as Congo fell to the void creatures, city after city. Everyone expected intervention from the Western world, unaware that even world powers dared not send their newly acquired assets—ascendants—to die in foreign lands when their own safety was not yet assured.
What was happening in Congo could happen to them. Why bother with the plight of outsiders when they had yet to fully understand the threat themselves?
Adamantly believing foreign intervention would come, African nations refused to act until the entire Congo was overrun in three months. Nearly fifty million deaths were recorded, while the rest were forced to flee to neighboring states.
In just three months after the first appearance of a gate, the void creatures had gained a stronghold in Africa, with a permanently open gate that became a supply line for reinforcements. Neighboring countries that had refused to get involved were invaded, and it finally dawned on African leaders that they had doomed their continent.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world learned from this folly. Nationwide searches for void seeds began. While other continents fought desperately to stop void creatures from stepping foot on their soil, African countries were left struggling to deal with existing gate breaks while also trying to prevent new ones from occurring within their borders.
Ten years later, the void creatures had reached Cameroon. A billion people were dead worldwide, with Africa bearing seventy percent of the casualties. Several countries had been erased from the continent, giving the void creatures more land to convert into strongholds. A decade of observation was enough for the world to realize that these creatures were not moving aimlessly—they were either intelligent or being controlled by something intelligent.
Becoming an ascendant in this part of the world meant being thrown straight onto the front lines in a desperate attempt to contain the mess created by selfish old men a decade ago. Many people fled the continent before turning eighteen to avoid such a fate, but for someone like Uche, even that life sounded better than the one he currently lived.
What he was doing was existing, not living. His plan was simple: become an ascendant today, or put an end to his miserable life. He had only held on this long in hopes of a miraculous change in his fortune on his eighteenth birthday.
That day was today.
Huff!
Uche exhaled loudly and slowly opened his eyes. "It's only 9 a.m. I can't keep standing here all day."
Pushing his thoughts aside, Uche examined his small room, only large enough to fit a one-person bed, a small reading desk, and a modest wardrobe. For someone who had lived on the streets for over a year, he had always been grateful for this place—and for Father Victor, the priest who had taken pity on him and given him a job despite him being underage and underqualified.
Even today, the old priest had sent over a plate of jollof rice, chicken, and some orange juice, along with a small note that read, "May the Lord be with you. Happy birthday, son."
Since losing his family, the old priest had been the only source of warmth and kindness in Uche's life.
"If I succeed, I'll repay your kindness. If I don't, you'll have to do me one more favor and dispose of my corpse."
Despite speaking of his possible demise, Uche's expression remained calm, as though he were talking about something as simple as going to sleep. The aroma of the meal filled the room, but even though he rarely got to eat good food, the anxiety gnawing at him killed his appetite.
He didn't own a phone, leaving him with no way to distract himself. With no choice, Uche lay on his bed and stared at the stained ceiling in silence. His mind drifted back to all the information he had managed to gather about the first trial after several visits to cybercafés just to access the internet.
Ascendants awaken a system, revealing the class they have awakened, sometime during the day. Those who don't receive the message get to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing they won't be teleported to an unknown land filled with dangerous creatures as late as midnight.
Once teleported, ascendants find themselves in one of five citadels designated as starter points in the first Sanctuary. Whichever citadel they appear in determines their starting region and the environments they will face.
Uche waited for an unknown amount of time, occasionally drifting between sleep and consciousness due to boredom. Still, he endured and refused to move from his position until he received the confirmation message.
Soon, noon struck, and time continued to crawl forward. Each passing minute gnawed at Uche's nerves and fueled his anxiety. He remained in place until the sky turned amber beneath the setting sun.
Then it came.
[Uche Chibo has successfully awakened a class, Dungeon Master!]