Breaking The Simulation

Heaven’s Favorite

At that moment, the eyes of the fair-skinned woman began to emit a luminous light. In an instant, a large holographic screen projected from her retinas, displaying a stream of data with parameters that were unknown to the onlookers.

Several calculations were performed rapidly until a final reading was presented. Upon seeing the result, the woman's face creased into a frown, slightly warping her delicate features.

Beside her, the plump woman waved her hands in the air, which glimmered with an azure light decorated with strange and bizarre symbols dancing within it.

While this was happening, a storm was brewing within the hearts of those kneeling before the three powerful women.

Behind the women, those kneeling remained doing so with their heads down, their eyes only daring to look at the feet of the three women. But within those eyes hide various emotions chief of which were primarily astonishment and glee. For these people, they were as insignificant to the women as a speck of dust on the back of an ant, yet to be in their presence was an honor unlike any other.

Provost Yumi, record keeper of the Tower of Knowledge was the foremost authority on all knowledge in the fortress, having access to a vast archive of past and present knowledge while possessing intelligence said to be unmatched by anyone else.

Beside her, Magistrate Yelena was the chief administrative officer in the entire fortress, residing year around within the coccyx as the sole deciding power on all executive, Legislative and judicial affairs of the fortress. Being before her was like being in the presence of the god of destiny who could decide your fate with a single thought.

Finally, the admiral—known only as that by ordinary people—she was the foremost secular powerhouse in the entire fortress said to possess the strongest worldly might amongst all. None were said to be her match and she was rumored to have forged a bronze undying body in the depths of battle using the bones of her foes as iron and their blood as fuel to power her unstoppable might.

These three women, each an expert in their own fields were never spotted together in normal days yet here they were together to investigate the source of the anomaly today.

That they had witnessed the sight themselves… this single moment might as well be the brightest moment of the lives of everybody gathered, one they could brag about for years to come

Time passed quickly and both Provost Yumi and Magistrate Yelena finally stopped their investigation. A look of contemplation appeared on their faces as both considered the results they had just acquired.

Just then, turning to the fair-skinned woman, the Provost Yumi asked, “Did you succeed? What were your findings?”

In response, the fair-skinned magistrate shook her head. “The results were unfathomable—unable to be analyzed, regardless of what parameters I employed.”

“I take it you also didn’t have any success?” she inquired of the plump woman.

“Indeed,” the Provost Yumi replied with a nod.

“I tried several spells I know most of them obscure and barely known, but everything turned out void.”

At this point, the admiral finally spoke, her voice deceptively sweet. “Is there something that both of you cannot analyze in this realm? That’s surprising.”

Shaking her head, Provost Yumi replied, “The Cerulean Realm is vast, and we’ve yet to explore every corner of it. There are bound to be things or situations that neither of us has encountered before. It just so happens that one of them is right before us, allowing us to uncover its mysteries.”

“Even for you who is said to hold all the knowledge of the world?” The admiral asked, her words pointed.

Ignoring the underlying implication in the admiral's words, Provost Yumi said, “It happens that while I couldn’t identify what this anomaly is, I was able to locate its source. Once everything settles, we can simply secure it and try to understand what’s going on,” she continued.

At this juncture, the fair-skinned lady interjected, “We must move quickly, for we surely aren’t the only ones who sensed the anomaly. Who knows what sort of attention it could attract?”

“Agreed.”

All three women concurred. With barely contained anticipation, their eyes focused on the stormy cloud and zeroed in on Cale, who was undergoing his awakening.

…

Within the eye of the storm, Cale was in a world of hurt. Pain wracked his entire body, filling him with a desire to end it all. Yet, the pain wasn’t physical; but was a result of the rapid changes occurring within him on an existential level.

Awakening is the process of reformation, where the essence of one’s being is forged anew. It isn’t a rebirth but rather a transformation into something better than one’s original self.

The experience of awakening is generally mild, as the transformation doesn’t occur all at once. Instead, like a switch being flipped, one’s awakening only serves as a trigger for a constant and gradual transformation into transcendence. However, this wasn’t the case for Cale.

Cale felt as if he was being emptied from the inside out—like a hole was being shoveled through him—while at the same time, something was forcefully stuffed inside him.

It was akin to being repeatedly punched in the gut, as a tsunami of pain cascaded over him. Additionally, a tingling sensation coursed through his mind, as if a million ants were crawling in his brain. This feeling was due to the whispers in his ears, which sent an overwhelming amount of knowledge flooding into his consciousness. It was an agonizing experience that made Cale yearn for the sweet embrace of death to release him from his torment.

Fortunately, at a certain moment, Cale blacked out, and his consciousness drifted through a dark void reminiscent of the primordial essence that preceded the formation of the universe. Here, Cale’s spirit was invigorated, achieving a delicate balance between pain and relief.

In the outside world, changes began to unfold ever since Cale started his awakening. The central square, usually lit sporadically by the bursts of light that followed each awakening, was suddenly plunged into an engulfing darkness.

No new bursts of light appeared in the night sky, which typically signaled the end of the blessing day due to the lack of awakenings. This was unusual; not only did no new lights appear, but the ones that had been illuminating the darkness began to lose their brightness rapidly, as if being consumed by some unseen entity, leaving Cale as the only source of light in the entire square.

This sudden development was an anomaly never witnessed before. Observers quickly analyzed the situation using various methods, only to arrive at a staggering conclusion: something was interfering with the awakening in the central square. The omnipresent mana, which catalyzed the awakening process, was being consumed at an unbelievable rate, preventing people from awakening and causing those who had already begun their awakening to end prematurely. The consequence would be that the potential of their awakened abilities would be severely affected, leading to weak and unstable powers.

The implications of this realization left those witnessing it in bewildered astonishment.

Even the three overseers were alarmed by the situation. An event like this had never occurred in the history of past blessing days. Their thoughts raced as they tried to understand what was happening.

With a wealth of experience and knowledge, the three overseers shared similar conclusions and theorized two possibilities.

The first was that something was wrong with the mana present. Mana, the omnipresent source of all energy in the Cerulean Realm, is the key to awakening with awakening only being possible when mana reaches a certain natural concentration in the atmosphere , which usually takes about five years. Therefore, if there was an issue with the mana present, it might explain the current situation.

However, this speculation had its flaws, as the anomaly seemed limited to the area surrounding the central square. Beyond this region, everything appeared normal, and no anomalies were detected.

This led to the second theory: that someone was responsible for the disturbance.

Different individuals require varying concentrations of mana to awaken, and generally, the higher the required concentration, the stronger the awakened power. Since mana is evenly distributed during blessing day, an individual needing a significantly higher concentration of mana to awaken would likely create an effect that could influence the awakening of others.

If this were the case, it would not be unprecedented. Individuals who could cause such an effect during their awakening are referred to as Heaven’s Favorites. They are exceedingly rare people who often awaken incredibly powerful abilities.

In the past seventy years, no Heaven's Favorites have been seen within the fortress, and currently, there are none alive within its walls. However, among Heaven's Favorites, none have ever created the same impact as Cale. Understanding this, the eyes of the three overseers gleamed with intense desire.

The birth of a Heaven's Favorite signifies not only the awakening of a potential powerhouse but also the emergence of an irresistible opportunity—one so tempting that no one could afford to overlook it.

Immediately, the trio looked at each other to see within the others eyes the same conclusion they themselves had reached.

“We must acquire this opportunity. No one else could be allowed to possess it.”

As such, plans were being formulated within the minds of the three who decided tacitly to band together to keep this opportunity for themselves.