Breaking The Simulation

Cumulonimbus Awakening

One advantage of Cale's slim stature was his natural nimbleness, allowing him to weave through tight spaces more easily without exerting too much strength. Utilizing this advantage, Cale was able to pull ahead of the other youths back in the crowded market, an achievement that filled him with immense satisfaction and joy enough to make him ignore the bouts of pain filling his chest that was gradually building up.

The pain in his chest was a constant companion to Cale, a frequent reminder of the inadequacies of his birth. Cale hopes to make up for this inadequacy by awakening in hopes that it would change his fate.

Awakened individuals held a highly esteemed status, their diverse abilities unmatched in functionality, leading to a massive desire and demand for them. Regardless of the time or place, there was always a need for them. This led to unparalleled support and favoritism shown to awakened individuals by the government, resulting in everyone wanting to awaken in this era.

Thus, the tradition of gathering outside the Coccyx on Blessing Day to await their awakening began, allowing people to showcase their abilities to the entire world. It was a form of self-advertisement that was tacitly supported by the government, which permitted such gatherings to occur.

As an orphan with no one to care for him, Cale naturally yearned to enjoy the status that being awakened would afford him, filling the void of vanity hidden deep within him. It wasn’t his first time gathering in the square—but hopefully, today would be his last—it would be the day he burned his brightest.

The entire square was in a fever pitch of activity, filled with a sprawling sea of bodies pressing tightly against each other like mating snakes curling into a ball. People pushed and stepped on each other's toes while screams of agony and pain occasionally rang out.

“Ouch!”

“Who the hell is stepping on me?”

“Arrh! Pervert, get your hands off me!”

Anticipating the chaos, Cale pressed his back tightly against the wall where he perched. With cautious steps, he moved quickly along the wall to a position in his memory. He was already familiar with the route having previously scouted the location during previous awakening days starting from when he was 9.

In no time, Cale reached his goal. There was a low-hanging ledge above his head which despite his height Cale could not access as it was slightly out of reach.

That was no problem, though. With a single move, Cale grabbed onto the person closest to him and used them as support to propel himself upward until he could reach the ledge.

“Ouch, bastard!” Cale’s unwilling footstool complained.

Cale ignoring this and using considerable strength, he hoisted his entire body onto the ledge, with his back against the wall, managing to balance himself there, only then after the fact did he give the previous person an apologetic look in remorse and thanks.

“Sorry.”

Continuing onward, Cale moved along the ledge to the position he had previously scouted. There, a portion of the wall was broken away due to severe neglect, revealing a small gap wide enough for one person to sit comfortably without the worry of being crushed by the excited crowd below.

Cale found all of this easy to accomplish. Although his heart was weak, preventing him from exercising vigorously, a little conditioning meant to build strength and stamina was something he could manage on his own, allowing him to perform these feats.

However, Cale was not the only one with this idea. Several other athletic youths had already claimed various spots to escape the crowd, some even climbing higher to more obscure perches on the wall—places Cale would never be able to reach, even if he wanted to driving pangs of jealousy through Cale once again. But it was enough that he had managed to avoid being crushed by the crowd below.

Cale shifted his focus from the throng of people and concentrated instead on the sky above. Though it was still late evening, the sky gradually darkened to an inky black like the depths of the sea. The light slowly disappeared, reducing visibility and causing more cries of pain to emanate from the square. Accidents were bound to happen today, but the chance to awaken overshadowed those concerns.

The only components that remained clearly visible were the gathering clusters of cumulus clouds, illuminated by the occasional flash of lightning that zipped through the dark sky.

Suddenly, a fierce howling replaced the cries of the crowd as strong winds descended and swept across the surface of the earth. Tucked into the narrow space in the wall, Cale was nearly thrown out by the powerful gusts, managing to maintain his balance by gripping the wall just in time.

But that was not all…

Above him, a brilliant flash of light illuminated the sky for a brief moment snaking across the storming sky in forks of blinding lightning, quickly followed by a loud thunderous clap. It was a sharp and frightening sound, and as the first passed, a second clap echoed, followed by a third, fourth, fifth, and many more.

The successive flashes of lightning and claps of thunder resembled the work of a powerful eldritch entity striking a divine hammer on the anvil of the cerulean realm, sending shivers down the spines of everyone present.

At the same time, a build-up of anticipation grew in the hearts of everyone in the fortress and beyond. Witnessing all this, it felt as if something within them was rising, attempting to surge up to the surface and burst free from their chests.

Cale was no exception; however, for him, this feeling transcended the mere anticipation. It felt as though a presence existed within him, quietly whispering in his ears, informing him that the time had come.

“Time for what?” Cale questioned.

“Time for what?” He asked again loudly this time when he didn’t receive a response

Time for what, Cale did not know. Yet that presence continued to speak to him, its voice growing louder with each clap of thunder. At first, it was a quiet whisper, then a gentle shout, and finally, a great and defeating roar that shrouded everything in deadening silence.

Cale tried calling out again but no words came out. His voice was lost to the silence as if given as sacrifice to the unknown hidden in the void.

The voice that once filled his heart had disappeared, and lightning no longer flashed above, leaving no thunderous crash in its wake. All that remained was an inky blackness, creating the illusion that everything that had happened before was nothing but a mirage.

Yet Cale knew it wasn’t a mirage, for that presence within him remained, its intent hovering around him. This time, however, it felt as if it were gazing at him with deep, hungry eyes, urging him to look back. But Cale dared not do so, fearing he would be consumed if he did. He hesitated, struggling with the decision of whether to look or not. In an instant, the choice was taken from him as the presence suddenly intensified, filling every inch of his being

“What is happening?”

All of a sudden, the sky brightened abruptly with a single flash of lightning as if the day had returned, revealing the massive cumulonimbus clouds looming above. At that moment, the heavens released their burden upon the earth, allowing blessings to soak into the ground once more.