The Ultimate Awakener

Cruelty Of Life

Looking up to the dark beautiful sky filled with glinting stars, Elion could only sigh with weary expression. “This life is a mess for a person like me, I wish I'm something useful.”

He was just sixteen years old, and he was already facing the backlash of life. All around him were things he wished he could have—things others had so easily, but he could barely afford a square meal.

He was seated on a chair just outside an ice cream shop. In his hands, he held a pair of ice creams he had used the last of his money to buy. Even though life has been cruel to him, he doesn't have to keep blaming himself and instead have a glimpse of freedom and happiness from the taste of the ice cream he was licking.

He gazed up at the city’s massive wall, towering high into the sky like an endless maze, and at that moment a thought ran into his mind,

“How did this even come to be? It's really fascinating that something like this can be built by humans. The awakeners are really unimaginably powerful; if it weren't for them, the last of humanity could have ended a century ago.”

The wall was so tall and perfectly built that it seemed impossible. History has it that the awakeners are the ones who have performed the wonders.

The wall stood tall and covered kilometers away, rounding the entire massive city, which houses thousands of humans and the last of humanity.

The city was divided into three parts: a part for the royals, a part for the average people, and a part for the poor to the poorest. And Elion fell under the poorest.

While lost in the amazement and wonders of the wall, he heard his name called out. The voice was sharp and brief, and in the next seconds, he felt a newspaper slamming against his face.

Elion swiftly turned, and a man was standing in front of him, his eyes reddened and his face contorted with anger as he spoke. “You good-for-nothing… I told you to take the batteries home, and you’re here staring at who knows what…”

The man was Elion's stepfather—one of the worst people he wished he’d never had in his life. Yet every day, he was forced to face the scorching cruelty of his stepfather, leaving him with no choice.

“Stand up now and get the hell out of here. I don’t want to come back and see you sitting here like a jobless fool.”

After saying these words, he slammed the ice cream Elion was holding in his hands to the ground.

Elion snapped.

He stared at his stepfather with burning rage, but one reality kept reminding him that he can't do anything about it.

Years ago, something had happened—something that plunged the entire world into a survival mission where only the strongest and the royals could survive. It was an apocalypse era where monstrous creatures appeared from an opening called the shadow gate.

After this appearance, the creatures took over the world and slew any living thing in their path, almost driving humans to extinction. After almost a century had passed, the Vanguard City was built with its towering walls and was the only city left of the last survival of humanity, and anywhere beyond the city's massive wall was absolute death.

Soon, Elion reached home and dropped the batteries where they were supposed to be. Thereafter, he went to his sister, who was lying on the couch not feeling too well.

Elion pulled out the medicine he had bought for her from the town and desperately urged her to swallow it.“Clara, you have to take these drugs. They’ll help stabilize your condition.”

Clara had been feeling sick for almost a day, and James—their stepdad—never cared. Even worse, he gave her house chores to do before heading out to the bar, where he always drank himself into a stupor and came back home acting like a madman.

Clara gently rose from the couch, her body shivering. She collected the drug and swallowed it along with the water she had gulped into her throat.

Elion went inside the bedroom and returned with a duvet; thereafter, he covered her with it. He sat close to her, his hands running softly over her hair, coaxing her to stay calm and reassuring her that she would get well soon.

“Don’t worry, Clara. I’m always here for you.” He lit up a bright smile from his lips.

Clara meant everything to him. Their mother, Sophia, had been sick for over a month and had spent most of her time in the hospital, lying on a sickbed. During that period, their stepdad rained hell on them, making life even more difficult. Adding to the fact that his sister was just ten years old.

Soon after, their stepfather, James, returned, staggering to the kitchen, and when he found out that Clara hadn’t done what he had asked her to do, he burst into a rage.

Annoyed, he aggressively stormed towards Elion, who was sleeping beside Clara with his hand gently running over her hair.

James yanked Elion's hands off her hair, as though wanting to pull it out from its socket; thereafter, he grabbed Clara by the arm and began dragging her toward the kitchen while murmuring disgustful words from his mouth:

“You disrespectful bitch… Why the hell didn’t you do what I asked you to do? if you really want to live under my roof, then you do as I say, or I kick your ass out of my house.”