System Beast Lord

Chapter 2: World Awakening

It was dusk in the city of New York and the skies were clear. People were returning to their respective homes and several creatures returned to their nests and homes.

Meanwhile, on top of a very tall skyscraper, a mildly chubby man in a hooded cloak was seen conversing with what seems to be a wisp of darkness. The wisp emanated a terrifyingly strong presence that made certain debris float midair as though gravity didn't exist in that area.

“Are all the preparations done?” A guttural voice escaped the wisp, sounding like a beast's growl and metal sharpening against metal or stone.

“Yes your majesty. The runes and the arrays are in their respective positions as you've commanded. All that is needed now is your power, my lord.” The cloaked man replied in a submissive position, a knee bent and his head bent low.

“Very well. Let this plane of existence be a part of the ‘other realm' with this awakening.” The wisp replied, satisfaction evident in its deadly voice.

“Activate the runes, I'll release the essence now.” It added as it began to levitate towards the sky.

The cloaked man went on his knees and spread out his arms, looking into the sky. He then began to chant in an unknown tongue. With each chant, the air came alive with energy as the wind started to pick up speed slowly.

The wisp of darkness was high into the sky already, it then slowly shimmered out of existence. At that point, it was as though a tank full of wind exploded from that point as invisible ethereal energies blew out in all directions.

The energy acted like an electromagnetic pulse because it caused a city wide blackout. Soon, the entirety of everything that the energy touched started to become wet as though they were drenched with water.

The cloaked man finished his chanting with a loud scream, one so loud and magical that the gravity of the world seemed to reduce a bit.

“It is done, let the repopulation begin. Let the world awakening begin!” The guttural voice from before chanted from everywhere and nowhere at once causing black rain to fall from the grey skies.

“All is according to your will, Lord E'el Toa. And I, Amado Korra, will follow you to the very end.” The man said as he stood to his feet, his eyes glassy and glowing a dull green. He had a full black beard with a few strands here and there being grey in colour.

He made his way to the edge of the building and jumped over the edge of it. The wind roared in his ears and it filled his cloak. Mid fall, he shimmered out of existence as though he was never there.

…

“Arrrrrrrgh! This freaking city though! A blackout at a time like this?! I wanted to grind to Titans league!” A boy with bright red hair vented out with frustration as he smashed his fist on the table before tossing his headphones on the bed.

This was none other than Nelson Makker, Eric's bully. He was clad in just baggy trousers, so his ironclad muscular torso could be observed. He picked up his phone in anger and went on to the popular social media platform, Casebook, but it was just loading with no progress.

“Ah great, not only is there no electricity but now there is no service! Arrrrrrrrrgh!” He yelled and almost threw his phone into the wall but he restrained himself at the last moment.

He was about to move out of his room when he heard a loud bang from outside. It was so loud and powerful that his overhead lamp rocked a bit.

“Holy crap…” He quickly made his way towards the window, he opened the curtains and he noticed the black liquid staining his glass.

“Ew, what is going on?” He commented with a disgusted expression. His vision focused on what lay yonder and his eyes widened in shock.

He took a step back, his breath shaky as he swallowed hard. His hands were shaky and his body shivered.

Right in front of the window was a small creature, no smaller than a school bag. It was red and it possessed bat-like wings on its back. Its breath causing the glass to start to glow red with each exhale. The creature purred slowly as it maintained eye contact with Nelson, neither side moving a muscle. The tension was very thick, very suffocating but Nelson managed to breathe slowly and shakily.

Nelson was momentarily distracted as a blue holographic screen appeared in front of his face;

[Human of Planet Earth, do you wish to accept the system and survive your current situation?]

[Yes][No]

The momentary distraction caused the little demon to shriek and burst through the glass window, sending sharp shards everywhere.

‘Ah shit!’

…

Eric and Erica had barred the doors and windows as they remained perfectly silent ever since the blackout. They could hear the screams and cries of people from outside.

Erica was whimpering softly as she held on to her perfectly calm brother.

‘This can't be what I'm thinking is it? This is a game interface right in front of my eyes and judging from the screams coming from outside, this isn't a joke’

The screen before him read;

[Human of Planet Earth, do you wish to accept the system and survive your current situation?]

[Yes][No]

“Hmm… Eric, do we pick yes or..?” Erica managed to voice out timidly.

She was scared and the commotion outside wasn't making the situation any better for her.

‘So do I pick yes or no? Normally a system shouldn't give one a choice like this. Now that there's a chance to refuse, actually refusing it would be dire.’

Eric smirked and gave the system a mental command.

‘Yes.’

The screen changed and displayed in series;

[Congratulations, you're now an awakened one.]

[A random trait will be chosen for you. You can then acquire more from your journey of survival.]

[Random trait ascertained. You have been assigned ‘Zoopathy’]

[Awakened current stats will now be ascertained.]

And with that the screen disappeared.

‘Huh? What the hell?!’ Eric was astounded by what he saw.

“Eric? Do we pick yes or no? It has started to count down.” Eric asked again, panic evident in her voice as she tugged on Eric's shirt.

“Ah yes. Pick yes.” Eric replied hastily.

“Yes!” Erica yelped sharply and the screen in front of her changed;

[Congratulations, you're now an awakened one.]

[A random trait will be chosen for you. You can then acquire more from your journey of survival.]

[Random trait ascertained. You have been assigned ‘Cryokinesis’]

[Awakened current stats will now be ascertained.]

“Hmm, Eric? What's cryokinesis?”

“Cryokinesis? Ah…” Eric instantly picked. “That's like ice manipulation. Yeah, Ice control.”

Being the nerd that he is, he knows a lot of things from a lot of fields.

“That's pretty good. Compared to mine, that's pretty decent for real.” Eric added with a pained heart.

‘Tch! She now has to protect me from whatever is causing commotion outside, if she can anyways. How do I…’

His thoughts were interrupted by the shattering of glass upstairs.

Eric placed his index finger on his lips and proceeded to take the metal bat that was by his side and pass it to Erica. Eric tiptoed and took a steel crowbar and approached the stairs.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?” Erica grabbed his arm roughly and cautioned in a hushed tone.

“Relax, it's probably just a brick that went through the window. I'll be back.” Eric replied in the same manner.

As he was about to turn, his ears picked up soft purring and Erica's face had contorted into that of horror.

“Don't move.” Eric simply replied and turned his head slowly, his heart slamming into his chest as his breathing became shaky and heavy.

Before his head could turn to see whatever was before them, the system screen opened again;

[A grade 9, Lesser Demon Imp, has set its sights on you. Survive!]

‘Ah shit. And so it begins.’