"So, when do you wanna go?"

"Uh...go where?"

​​

"Duh, the Awakening Lab!"

"Oh, right...whenever is fine, I guess," I shrugged in reply.

Today was the 6th of September in the year 2110, which happened to be my fifteenth birthday. To me, a birthday was just another day, but my sister insisted on making a big deal out of it. I was also old enough to go through my Awakening Procedure, but I wasn't in any particular rush...going after a few days or going right away made no difference to me, so if I could procrastinate, I might as well do so.

And besides, I was pretty sure the chances of me becoming an overpowered Prodigy like my sister were low, and my father was bound to blow a casket when I inadvertently failed to meet his expectations, so putting it off a few days was actually preferable.

"You should be more enthusiastic and excited about this, Zax...most of your classmates turned out to be Prodigies, right?" She replied, handing me another slice of cake.

I do think that celebrating birthdays is kinda stupid, I mean, with each birthday, you're one year closer to death...that being said, I definitely don't mind the cake aspect of the whole thing.

"Yeah, out of twenty-three in my class, eighteen have gone through the procedure, and eleven of them turned out to be Prodigies," I replied with disinterest, before chomping into the slice of cake.

Mm, it's so soft and the chocolate cream inside was, well, creamy and had a slight crunch with sugar, and the dark chocolate frosting on top was heavenly...

"That's pretty rare, usually you just get like three or four Prodigies in a class of twenty to twenty-five. Hey, are you even listening?"

No, I wasn't...I could hear that she was talking, but I wasn't actually listening to what she was saying.

"Sure, uh...you were saying something about Prodigies?"

"...you weren't listening, were you? I know you don't really have an opinion on birthdays, but it won't kill to go out and celebrate with your friends or something you know," She replied with a sigh.

"I don't have friends."

"Huh, didn't you-...o-oh, never mind," She trailed off, as I averted my gaze.

Tch, really didn't want to be reminded of that...

After that day, things at school got even worse than they had been before, naturally. I would often find my notes ruined, my desk trashed, my lunch thrown on the floor, and a variety of other petty pranks. As a countermeasure, I stopped bringing any belongings to school, using my I-Watch holo-screen to type out notes and buying lunch from the cafeteria.

For a while, Bytra stayed out of it, but recently, just as I'd predicted, she started joining in as well. She got her wish, she had become one of the 'popular kids' and avoided becoming an outcast, but to maintain that status, she had to fit in by joining the others in bullying me. For now, it was only condescending remarks with no eye contact, but it shouldn't be long before she's all in just like the others.

Things weren't great at home either. With my fifteenth birthday here and my sister's twentieth birthday coming up, our father had increased our training workload even more than before, more so for my sister since she'd be applying to the X-Warrior Academy at the end of the year, and assuming she passed the entrance exam, would start the two-year course there at the start of next year.

She had been pretty busy as a result, and was tired whenever she was at home, so we hadn't spoken much lately. If we had, she probably would have figured that the whole 'friend' thing I had was laughably short-lived.

"So, uh, how's it going with you, the whole training for the Academy entrance exam thing?" I inquired, changing the subject.

"It's not really a big deal, all this excessive training is just unnecessary," She replied with an exasperated sigh.

"True, you're way OP, so you'd probably ace the exam without even breaking a sweat," I remarked in agreement.

"That's not what I meant, I'm not that arrogant, Zax!" She laughed slightly, "I'm just saying...father is going way overkill with it, these days I'm at the training facility more than I'm at home, and I'm just so tired! Do you have any idea how hard it was to convince him to let me take a day off for your birthday today?"

I could imagine...

"Yeah, I know I have it bad with the training, but you've got it so much worse. I'm glad I'm not in your position."

"...you could give me a more empathetic reaction, you know," She sighed wistfully.

"My relief at not being in your position outweighs my sympathy," I replied honestly.

"Bro...you've got issues."

"Yeah, I know."

I began to reach for another slice of cake, but it looks like I had eaten it all. Too bad, that was delicious.

"You've really got a sweet tooth, don't you? Don't look so dismayed, I bought some eclairs too. Next year, I'll get a bigger cake, so cheer up!"

Huh, had my thoughts been that transparent? This is...embarrassing.

"N-no, you've got it wrong. Sure, the cake was good, but I- mfph!" I began, before she interrupted me by stuffing an eclair into my mouth.

...mm, this was delicious too. The cream was the same as the cream used in the cake, and the dough was perfectly soft and fluffy...this is heaven. Not that I believe in God or the afterlife.

Another-...before I could bite into a second one, my door swung open and my father poked his head in. He gave me a disapproving look as he saw me, my mouth stuffed with the rich, creamy chocolate while I held an eclair in each hand.

"Quite a disgraceful sight as always, I see. Never mind that, let's go."

It took me a few seconds to finish chewing my mouthful, before I swallowed it and answered...

"Actually...can I go tomorrow?"

He didn't take that well.

"Huh!? Why would you even-!?"

"W-wait, father, that was just a joke! He, uh...said he'd go with me in a couple of hours!" My sister quickly chimed in, giving me a look to play along.

Seriously...? Guess I don't have a choice...

"Yeah, sorry, I think I've just had too much sugar and felt a bit restless. Just a joke, I'll go with sis a bit later," I sighed reluctantly, playing along.

"I do not appreciate your juvenile jokes, Kilzachs. Very well, make sure you go soon," He replied, calming down a bit, before leaving and slamming the door shut.

"Fucking seriously?" I groaned, slumping onto my bed.

"Hey, language, little brother...but you have my sympathies. Let's go after you finish up these eclairs, 'kay?"

It was a little past 1:30 PM right now...

"...no, I'll save them for afterwards, going out is going to be tiring," I replied after mulling it over for a bit, "Let's just go now."

...

We took a bus to the Teleportation Point and teleported to the Research and Hospital District. We then took another bus to the Awakening Lab and walked in, my sister informed the receptionist that I'd turned fifteen and was here for the Awakening Procedure. They scanned my I-Watch to confirm that, and then a researcher led us to a small room inside the building. My sister was made to wait outside, and I was taken inside.

"Alright, young man, let me explain how the procedure will go. It is quite simple," Said the researcher, before explaining the process.

First, I had to take off my clothes and get sterilized, which involved a quick, freezing cold shower using a sterilizing fluid mixed in with water. And then, I had to enter what was called an Awakening Pod, which closed shut after I entered and lay down in it. Restraints wrapped around my limbs and torso to keep my body in place, and I felt a slight stinging pain in the side of my head as the chip got inserted into my brain, before the pain faded as I felt a sudden sharp coldness against the side of my head, making it numb.

Next, radiation began flowing into me, the frequency of the waves made me feel a bit queasy, but I could also feel something stir inside me, as the XFE Circuits began forming a network through which my XFE could flow...I see, so this is what it feels like to be able to manipulate the XFE inside you...

I instinctively knew how to move the energy around inside my body, it didn't feel like anything that was new to me. Guess that's what the brain chip is for, it was kinda creepy how natural this felt. Suddenly, a voice began speaking inside my head, it sounded like my own voice, but more...robotic...

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The Awakening Pod then opened with a hiss, a chill running down my spine as I once again got exposed to the cold air in the room. I quickly got out of the pod and dried myself before putting my clothes back on, fumbling a few times before I put on my glasses. My eyesight isn't exactly terrible, but it was kinda blurry without my glasses. Also, I kinda had a headache.

So, it looks like my expectations had been met...I hadn't exceeded the Threshold, and I was a normal Paragon, not a Prodigy. I wonder what the last bit of the Awakening Procedure was about, after the voice let me know about my XFE capacity, it seemed like there was something else, but it kinda sounded like static...which was weird since it was literally in my head. Hm, maybe it was just my imagination, I do feel a bit nauseated from the radiation.

"Hm, looks like the procedure was successful. Did you hear a voice in your head?" Inquired the researcher, taking out a scanner and pointing it at me, "Ah, your XFE falls below the Threshold, I see. Any pains or issues, either physically or mentally?"

"No, not really, nothing major. Yeah, I heard a voice, it said my XFE was successfully stimulated and stuff."

"Hm, nothing out of the ordinary, then. Very well, you may leave, please contact us if you feel as though anything is wrong."

For a moment, I considered informing him of my mild headache, slight nausea and that static-y thing at the end, but I decided not to, they're probably no big deal, anyway.

"Sure, thanks."

With that, I headed out the room, my sister was waiting outside, seated on one of the sofas in the lobby.

"Hey, little bro, how'd it go?" She greeted me as I walked over.

"Normal, I'm below the Threshold. Let's go home."

Her expression paled a little, and a nervous look of dread appeared on her face.

"Uh-oh...father isn't gonna be happy about that. You should brace yourself, Zax, it could get nasty," She replied in a serious tone.

"Why, though? This is something that's completely out of my control, this outcome was a ninety-five percent possibility, those odds aren't exactly in my favor, you know."

"Yeah, but that's only because you're thinking logically, Zax...do you really think father is thinking about this logically? I'm not even kidding, he honestly expects you to have gotten similar results to mine."

...deep down, I already knew all this, but...I had deliberately overlooked and ignored it all since, well...I could only imagine how my father was going to react to this. My sister looked really restless as we headed back, her brows furrowed in thought and with worry.

"Hey, chill out, Ella...there's no changing the outcome, I'll just have to brace myself like you said, and get through the storm," I tried assuring her, but the truth was, as we got closer and closer to home, my nerves and the sense of dread were only worsening.

On top of that, my headache was getting worse...probably due to the stress of the situation. It was making this whole thing worse though, I'd never had a headache quite like this before...it felt kinda like when you've got the answer to something on the tip of your tongue but just can't make it out, like that but a lot more painful.

"Y-yeah, it'll be okay...you might have to endure a lot of yelling, but I'm sure it'll all blow over before too long," She replied with an unconvincing smile.

She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than me, which only made me more nervous. A few minutes later, we reached the Teleport Point in the Research and Hospital District and teleported to the Residential District, taking a bus to the area our house was in, the both of us silent. This sucks, my head is killing me and I'm feeling way too much dread right now.

It felt like an eternity had passed by the time we finally reached home. We got off the bus and headed for the front door, my sister hesitantly opening it and walking it. I followed in after her, gulping nervously as we came across our father, seated on the living room couch with an impatient yet excited look on his face.

"Ah, you two are back. Let us go to the rooftop, I would like to see your abilities, Kilzachs!" He remarked, standing up eagerly.

I hadn't seen him like this since five years ago, when Kilella awakened her crazy strong abilities.

"A-actually, father...it didn't work out the way you hoped...he isn't a Prodigy," Replied my sister, standing in front of me protectively.

Ordinarily, I'd probably feel annoyed that she was treating me like a kid, but right now...I was too nervous to care, and besides, my headache had gotten even worse, it was kinda hard to think straight.

"Hm, another of your jokes, I see...do not drag your sister into your childish pranks, Kilzachs, it is not-."

"It's not a joke...I really am just a normal Paragon, not a Prodigy. But, come on, think about it...statistically speaking-...," I began in an attempt to convince him using logic.

I trailed off as an absolute death glare appeared on his face, a look that was a mixture of fury, disgust, confusion and disappointment. In that moment, the pain of my headache suddenly spiked, causing my vision to blur for an instant as my head began ringing, and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground on my back, and my nose kinda hurt...

"Father, no! Stop-...!"

Wha-...?

Oh, I see what happened. He must have punched me in the face while I was trying to shake off the ringing in my head, and before he could strike again, my sister stepped in with her ability.

"Do not defy me, Kilella! This...this is an utter disgrace!" He snapped, his eyes bulging with rage, before he turned his attention to me, "And you...you have always been a rather worthless existence in this house...I tolerated it for one reason, my assumption that you would become a powerful Prodigy as well. But, now...it is clear that you are as worthless as I always thought. I won't stand for this! I shall decide what to do with you later."

With that, he stormed off and headed into his study, slamming the door shut so hard that the frame cracked a bit. I always knew he never had the best opinion when it came to me, but...even I didn't expect such contempt and condescension. We may not have had the most friendly relationship, but he was still my father...his words hurt more than I expected.

"Zax, are you okay?" My sister asked softly, wiping my bleeding nose with some tissues.

My headache then grew even worse, feeling like I had something stabbing into my head...wh-what is this? It hurts...

"I'll be in the bathroom," I groaned, standing up and walking up the stairs, a bit shakily as I struggled to focus.

I managed to make my way to the bathroom door and twisted the handle down, opening it and stumbling in, before shutting and locking the door.

I was starting to sweat, my body felt like it was burning up, and my headache was so bad that my vision was starting to darken and narrow, it felt like everything was closing in on me, slowly crushing me.

I took off my shirt and glasses, setting the latter on the mirror ledge over the sink, before I tried opening the tap, desperate to splash some water on my face in hopes that it would ease the pain at least a little...but I couldn't muster the strength to turn the knob.

Suddenly, an excruciating pain shot through my body, I felt like I was going to explode...and that's when blood began running down my eyes, ears, nose and mouth, while my chest was in pure agony...wh-what's happening to me!?

The next time I knew, everything had suddenly gone black, my weak grip on consciousness fading as my body weakly slumped to the ground...

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