All Chapters of EX CLASS AWAKENING: THE GOD OF SONGS: Chapter 1
- Chapter 10
12 chapters
Freak accident
The ruined mall looked like a giant had dropped his toy box and walked away, leaving cracked skylights to spill purple evening light over groups of survivors. They clung to bits of old life with tough determination, like weeds growing through concrete cracks. Tony Burbry wiped greasy hands on his torn jeans and grinned wide as the old generator finally coughed awake. It powered up strings of Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling, turning the place into a small, flickering home. Kids ran laughing through shallow water in the hallways, while grown-ups traded cans of food for old clothes and shared quiet stories about the world before everything changed.Lila Burbry walked in from her latest raid, boots splashing, eyes bright with victory. She spread her arms, and clean water poured from the air into big barrels. "Aqua of the Sea, ready to serve!" she shouted with a big smile and a playful bow. Droplets floated around her like happy little stars, and everyone cheered. Tony watched fr
X class
The night air outside the theater felt thicker now, heavy with the kind of quiet that comes right before everything explodes. Tony stumbled through the broken doors, broken trombone pieces clutched in his shaking hands like some weird trophy from a cosmic prank. His head buzzed with leftover energy, every heartbeat sounding louder in his ears, as if his own pulse had decided to join the new soundtrack playing inside him. Beasts growled somewhere in the dark—low, hungry rumbles that used to make his stomach twist with fear. Tonight they sounded different. Almost... curious.Lila burst around the corner of a crashed truck, water already swirling around her fists like angry blue snakes. Her eyes found him instantly, wide with panic that melted into pure relief the second she saw he was standing. "Tony! What the hell happened? The whole building shook, and then these things started howling like they heard dinner being served!" She sprinted the last few steps, grabbing his shoulders, check
melody
The settlement gates came into view like a beacon of stubborn hope, solar lanterns swinging gently from chains, casting warm yellow pools on the cracked parking lot. Tony's legs felt like jelly, but the new energy buzzing under his skin kept him moving, kept the grin plastered on his face even as fear nibbled at the edges of his excitement. Lila walked beside him, one hand hovering near his elbow like she expected him to suddenly float away or explode into confetti. The sleeping beasts stayed far behind, still curled up on the highway in peaceful rhythm, and Tony couldn't decide if that was the coolest or scariest thing he'd ever done.They slipped through the side entrance, past the night watch who gave them sleepy nods and curious glances at the broken trombone parts Tony still carried like precious relics. The main hall was quiet now, most people tucked into sleeping bags or makeshift tents strung between old store counters. Only a few insomniacs sat around low fires, sharing whisp
Titles
The morning light filtered through the mall's broken skylights in thin, dusty beams, painting golden stripes across the sleeping settlement. Tony woke with a start, heart racing as if his dreams had been full of crashing symphonies and silent voids. He sat up on his mat, blinking against the brightness, and realized the air felt different—crisper, almost humming with possibility. The broken trombone pieces lay beside him like loyal soldiers, and when he touched the cold brass, a soft vibration ran up his arm, warm and welcoming.Lila was already awake, crouched by their tiny stove, boiling water for instant coffee scavenged from some long-forgotten warehouse. She looked over her shoulder, eyes still carrying yesterday's mix of awe and worry. "You slept like the dead. Or like someone who just became a god. Which one is it?"Tony rubbed his face, grinning despite the lingering ache in his bones. "Both, probably. My head feels like a radio stuck between stations." He stretched, joints po
The wind listens
The settlement hummed with morning life, sunlight slipping through the broken skylights in thin golden lines across the concrete floor. Tony sat on an overturned crate outside their curtained corner, pretending to sharpen a knife while his fingers kept touching the broken trombone pieces in his lap. Every few seconds he tapped one, and a small ripple happened—dust floated in slow circles, a kid's toy car rolled an extra inch by itself. Tiny things. Safe things. But every one made his stomach flip with excitement and a little fear.Lila came out from behind the curtain, hair tied back, holding two plates of flatbread and some dried fruit they traded for yesterday. She sat next to him, gave him a plate, and took a slow bite of her own before speaking. "You've been humming again. Quiet, but steady. People are starting to look over."Tony made a face. "Was it loud?""Not loud," she said. "Just… there. Like the air is breathing with you." She looked around at everyone doing their morning t
packing Light
The afternoon sun hung low and heavy, turning the settlement into a maze of long shadows and warm orange light. Tony knelt on the floor of their small corner, folding his one spare shirt into a tight square before stuffing it into the battered backpack. Every movement felt different now, like his hands carried an extra weight he couldn't see. The broken trombone pieces sat beside him, wrapped carefully in an old rag so the sharp edges wouldn't cut through the fabric.Lila worked beside him, rolling blankets into tight bundles and tying them with strips of cloth. Her hands moved fast and sure, the way they always did when she was trying not to think too hard. Every few seconds she glanced at the curtain, listening for footsteps, making sure no one was close enough to overhear."Two water skins," she said quietly, counting out loud. "Three days of food if we stretch it. Your knife, my knife, the little first-aid kit. That's it. Anything more and we'll be too slow."Tony nodded, zipping
Dusk
Dusk wrapped the highway in soft purple shadows, the air cool and thick with the scent of rust and distant rain. Tony walked between Lila and Elias, backpack straps digging into his shoulders, every step crunching on cracked asphalt that felt like walking on old bones. The settlement lights faded behind them, and ahead the road twisted through overgrown cars and vines, like nature was slowly eating the world back. Tony's mind raced with the new power humming inside him, a secret song waiting to burst out, but he kept it locked tight, focusing on the rhythm of their footsteps instead.Lila glanced over her shoulder every few minutes, eyes sharp and worried, her hand hovering near the water skin at her hip as if ready to pull a flood from thin air. Elias walked with easy grace, the breeze around him whispering secrets only he could hear, his face calm but alert. Tony felt a little safer with them, like they were a small team against whatever the night might throw, but the quiet made his
Flames
The highway stretched dark and empty under a sky full of stars, the kind that looked too bright and too close after living so long under broken ceilings. Tony walked in the middle, Lila on his left, Elias on his right, their footsteps falling into a quiet rhythm that almost felt like music if he listened hard enough. The packs were light on their backs, but the silence between them was heavy, full of things no one wanted to say out loud yet.Tony kept his hands in his pockets, fingers brushing the trombone bell wrapped in cloth. He didn't dare hum again—not after what happened with Darius. The memory of the flames dying with one clap still made his palms tingle. He glanced sideways at Elias, who walked with that calm breeze always circling him, like the air itself was his bodyguard."You've fought S-Class before?" Tony asked, voice low.Elias nodded once. "Not really, just once"Lila looked over at him, her face lit by faint moonlight. "You never told me the details.""Didn't want to
Train wreck
The road had curved away from the highway hours ago, dipping into what used to be a small rail yard. Twisted tracks snaked through tall grass and broken gravel, leading to a long line of rusted train cars that looked like a giant metal snake someone had chopped into pieces. One engine lay on its side, half-buried in dirt, its front smashed open like a cracked egg. The cars behind it tilted at strange angles, windows gone, roofs peeled back by time and weather. Vines crawled over everything, thick and dark green, turning the whole wreck into a green-and-rust jungle under the moonlight.Tony walked slower here, eyes wide, taking it all in. The air smelled wet and sour, like old metal mixed with rotting leaves. Crickets chirped in the grass, but not many—too quiet for a place this overgrown. Lila stayed close on his left, water skin already uncapped, a thin stream ready to whip out if needed. Elias walked on the right, breeze always moving around him, listening to things the rest of them
Rain of ice
The train wreck lay quiet now, the six wolf-mutants scattered like broken toys across the gravel. Tony's heart still hammered from the fight, but the new creature—the one that used to be human—stood tall in the moonlight, claws flexing, second mouth hissing on its throat. The pack circled it, growling low, welcoming their newest member.Lila stepped forward. "Stay back," she said, voice calm but iron-hard.Tony and Elias moved behind her without a word. The air around Lila began to change. It grew colder, sharper. Tiny beads of moisture lifted from the grass, from the puddles, from the very breath they exhaled. The humidity in the night air thickened, then pulled toward her like iron to a magnet. She raised both hands, fingers spread, and the water answered.It came fast.Droplets from every direction rushed in, spinning into a tight, swirling sphere above her palms. The sphere grew, darkening, until it was the size of a basketball, then a beach ball, then bigger still. The air itself