"Yeah, I'm sure, kid must be very lucky or something."
"By the way, I'm Elara, the big guy is Draven, our tank, the sleezy guy with the sword is Luke..."
"Hey... who are you calling Sle..."
"The lady with the spear is Rhenae, and yeah, there's also Quan, with the bow, we are what people call ascenders. I don't know how long you've been out of the loop, so tell me, what is the last thing you remember?"
"The last thing would be a cataclysmic explosion, a shockwave... and then, nothing. Just darkness."
Kael's face darkened for a split second at the memory, but he recovered quickly, fast enough that Elara didn't notice
"What!" all five of them shouted in unison.
Quan stepped forward, grabbed Kael by the shoulders, and shook him.
"Are you messing with us? You're saying the last thing you remember is The Fall? That can't be true!"
"What is The Fall?"
"Oh my, okay, calm down. We'll get there." Elara shoved Quan off Kael and took a breath.
"Suppose what you're saying is true. You've been comatose, somewhere, for five hundred years, since The Fall... and only just woke up? That's quite the story."
"Five hundred years? I guess... that explains some of it?"
"What did you say?" Elara asked.
"Huh? Nothing. Maybe I'm just out of it. Five hundred years sounds... crazy. Maybe I've got amnesia or something."
Kael was pretty convinced of his suspicions, but it would be better if they thought he was lying to them, he forgot, or maybe he lost it.
That would make things less complicated lest someone become very curious about how he survived that long.
"Yeah... that would explain a lot." Elara folded her arms.
"Anyway, like I was saying, we're what people call Ascenders. Ascenders make up about ninety-five percent of Earth's population. We're the ones who awakened abilities after The Fall. The other five percent? Regulars. People who didn't awaken any abilities."
"Okay, I get that. But what's wrong with being a regular?"
Elara's tone grew grim. "After The Fall, billions died. Only half a billion survived the initial cataclysm. But the apocalypse wasn't even the worst part." She paused before continuing.
"The next hundred years were called the Dark Century. Abominations, monsters like the ones you encountered, emerged in massive numbers.
Those who were there at that time, like Draven here, say it was like the abominations were driven by one goal and one goal alone, to hunt US."
They nearly drove humanity extinct. Sure, people awakened abilities like are said, what we call Dream Arts, but no one knew how to use them properly.
Half of the remaining five hundred million perished in that century alone. Still... humanity did what it does best.
We adapted.
We got stronger.
We learned to control our abilities.
We organized. Built strongholds on the one continent that remained. With the little we still had, we held on from the brink of extinction.
Over time, with the Sovereign leading campaigns, we reclaimed two more continents."
"The Sovereign?"
"You'll learn more soon. Just know this, she's the one ruler of Earth since the Dark Century."
"You mentioned Draven being there during the dark century, not to be rude, but how old are you, Draven? I mean, a lot seems to have changed, so I'm assuming life expectancy changed?" Kael looked to Draven.
The tank replied without looking back at Kael. "I'm four hundred thirty-two this year, I'm more on the older but less powerful spectrum of ascenders, so don't expect much."
"Wow, I'm honestly surprised. I would have never thought this is how things turned out. So dream energy is also the cause of an extended lifespan. And Elara, how old are y..."
Kael looked at Elara just as he was about to ask, but he cut his question short when he saw the icy look on her face.
Clearing his throat, "You were saying?" Kael asked her to continue her explanation.
Elara continued. "So, Dream Arts. To use them, you need three things: a Dream Core, Dream Circuits, and Dream Energy. The Fall exposed Earth to Dream Energy. Your circuits absorb that energy, your core stores it, and then you channel it back through the circuits to either empower your body or affect the world around you. Most people can only do one of those things well. It depends on your circuits. Some are built for internal power, like enhanced strength, speed, and reflexes. Others can project energy, casting elemental spells and such."
Kael nodded slowly. "Alright... and where do regulars fit in all of this?"
"That's the issue. Regulars... they couldn't fight back. And when survival became everything, Ascenders became our only line of defense, humanity's lifeline. Regulars were seen as dead weight. Useless. Leeches. Even enemies to humanity's survival."
Her voice grew tighter.
"The Sovereign made it clear: all human life was valuable. He warned that if anyone tried to persecute regulars, he'd wipe them out himself. Still, prejudice stayed. Regulars were, and still are, treated like trash. If you're lucky, you don't end up as someone's slave."
"That bad?"
"Worse. Especially back then. One time, while the Sovereign was away fighting a particularly strong abomination, an uprising occurred. Led by a powerful Ascender named Lois, a group started what came to be called The Slaughter. They massacred regulars by the thousands. The streets ran with blood."
Kael's expression turned grim.
"What happened to them?"
"The Sovereign returned. She fought Lois personally. But ended up not killing them, said the battle would destroy what was left of our home. Instead, she banished them. No one's seen Lois since. They're considered terrorists now."
She exhaled and shrugged.
"Since then, regulars have had it slightly better. No more open massacres. But prejudice? That never really went away."
Kael sighed.
"So... things aren't looking good for me, huh?"
"Definitely not."
Elara grinned.
"Buuut... don't lose hope. Believing in yourself is the most powerful spell you can cast."
He gave her a side glance."That sounds like a motivational poster."
"Shut up! Anyway, in recent years, regulars have found a niche. The need for weapons, potions, and pills is rising. Crafters and Alchemists, secondary professions, are valuable. It's not the battlefield, but it's survival. Maybe even success."
"That's... something. I'll think about it. Anything else I need to know?"
"That's most of it. You'll pick up the rest as you go. Just... stay out of trouble. Don't offend any Ascenders. Every human is welcome to settle in Raventhorne, so getting you in won't be a problem. Just keep your head down."
Before Kael could ask more, Draven's deep voice cut through the conversation.
"We're here." The group slowed to a stop.
Kael looked up, confused. "We're... where, exactly?"
Before them loomed an endless stretch of jagged rock and a steep cliff, forming the base of a towering mountain range.
From Kael's perspective, there was no visible path forward. No trail, no road, not even the faintest gap between the cliff faces.
"We're at the gate," Elara said cryptically, smirking. "Just watch."
Draven stepped forward and pulled out a compact, metallic device. Its surface shimmered faintly, and a flickering screen came to life as he tapped through a few interfaces.
A burst of static buzzed from it before a calm voice crackled through, some sort of communication protocol Kael couldn't understand.
Draven muttered a few words into the device, then twisted a dial on its side.
Then, without warning, the mountain groaned.
A deep rumble echoed across the rock face, vibrating through the ground beneath their feet.
Kael instinctively stepped back as a massive slab of the mountain began to shift.
The stone face split apart, revealing a hidden entrance large enough for an armored convoy to pass through.
Kael's mouth parted slightly in disbelief. "Is that... is that an actual door?"
The others had already begun walking toward the opening. He stood frozen, his mind reeling from everything he'd seen and heard so far.
His body didn't move until Elara glanced over her shoulder. She rolled her eyes and grinned.
"Come on, snap out of it. You'll want to see this."
Kael shook off the daze and jogged to catch up. The six of them passed through the threshold of the mountain's hidden mouth.
Inside, the passage was cloaked in shadow until lights flickered on in sequence, embedded in the walls and floor, guiding them inward like runway markers.
If Kael had any doubts about being inside a mountain, they quickly vanished. The walls around them weren't stone, they were reinforced with metal and energy-lined alloys, humming softly.
He couldn't tell if they were underground or in some secret base, but it was unlike anything he'd ever seen.
They walked for several minutes, and just as Kael began to wonder where the path led, the corridor opened up.
At the end stood a thick, reinforced gate with two guards stationed on either side.
Both wore sleek, red bodysuits, lightweight but unmistakably combat-ready. Their armor shimmered slightly, like it responded to some sort of energy source somewhere along the full suit.
Visors hid their eyes, but Kael could feel their scrutiny the moment he stepped into their line of sight.
One of them stepped forward. "Draven? Your group left with five. Who's the extra?"
Draven didn't flinch, responding curtly, "Found him in the ash fields. His name's Kael. We believe he's a regular, with a case of amnesia, he says he's been out of it for a long time."
The guards exchanged a glance. After a tense moment, the first nodded. "Understood. You may proceed. Make sure to get him registered."
The gate hissed and parted. Light poured in, it was harsh after the dim hallway, and Kael raised a hand to shield his eyes.
Then he saw it.
"Wow..."
The mountain cracked open like a shell to reveal a colossal city nestled in what looked like a deep gorge.
A huge, reinforced city.
Tiered layers of infrastructure wound up the stone slopes, blending into the mountain like veins of iron.
The structures looked harsh, strong, more of a fortress than a home. Buildings interlocked like armor plating, reinforced with metal and tech Kael couldn't begin to understand.
Everything screamed preparedness, durability, and war-readiness. The deeper down the gorge you went, the blander it all became.
There were even some structures further up above them, and considering they were supposed to be standing at the mountain range's base right now, the gorge going down made Kael feel like he was staring down at an abyss.
He also noticed how the buildings higher up looked kind of lavish, rather unexpected, considering how the city seemed to be built on the principle of durability.
But it was beautiful in its own way. A living, breathing stronghold carved into the earth itself.
Further up, tucked against the mountain's shoulder, an even more blaring contrast stood out, a sprawling, elegant estate of some sort.
Kael had an easy time spotting it up high. It stood out for looking even more luxurious than the buildings around it.
"This is quite...something. Quite the lineup. I cannot begin to imagine what it took to build this kind of fortress."
Simply, it looked regal. Powerful.
Kael didn't realize he'd stopped walking.
He stood still, drinking in the sight. The air here felt different, cleaner, more focused. If anything, it felt and looked like a controlled environment brimming with intent.
The intent is clearly 'survival'.
He stayed like that for a solid thirty seconds, barely aware of the others moving ahead.
A sharp jab to his ribs broke the trance.
"Hey, kid." Elara stood beside him, grinning as she leaned in."It's amazing, right?"
Kael blinked, still trying to form words."This... this is Earth?"
"Well, yeah, but not the one you remember," she replied. "Welcome to Raventhorne."