Dawn Architect

Chapter 4: Deviation from destiny

I slowly open my eyes, disoriented. 'Where am I, what's going on, what was that light' even in confusion organized my memories The last image I have is of me dying on top of that glass castle. But there are also those memories of being beaten and captured by those men. I feel dizzy, like I'm caught in a whirlpool of emotions and memories that I can't quite understand.

I try to calm down, but my thoughts are in chaos. what is going on? what are these memories, who am I? I remember being an older man, but at the same time, I have vivid memories of being a child. what is going on?

After a moment of confusion, I manage to organize the memories swirling around in my head and yet the conclusions I come to are split in two. I believe that somehow I went back to the past after dying in that crystal temple. But Another part of me believes that these memories are an illusion, implanted in my mind.

"What's really going on?"

The struggle between these two possibilities confuses me. The nostalgia of my childhood memories mixes with the bitterness of my adult life memories. I don't know what to believe, which way to go. Knowing that if I keep exploring these existential doubts I will get nowhere I decide to leave them in the back of my mind 'I have to face the situation I am in now' I tell myself to focus my attention elsewhere.

I look around and see my friends asleep in the cell, their faces familiar but strange at the same time.

"This is killing me, these conflicting feelings "

I mutter to myself. I look outside the bars of the cell and can see several other cells containing other children I had never seen before, and empty ones that seem to be waiting for more children to occupy them.

Memories of the events that occurred at this moment came into my head like a distant memory from my youth. I remember that the adults who kidnapped us were gang members who worked for traders who sold people illegally on the black market. They would take homeless children and auction them off to wealthy people, either for manual labor, as a collection and even as slaves to satisfy their desires.

As a young boy, I was sold to a high-ranking noble house who adopted me for my elemental attributes. Because of that I had a decent fate, as it allowed me a life where I wouldn't have to worry about what to eat every day. Sure, it wasn't all good, but it was a better change compared to living on the streets.

But I can't say the same for my friends. After they were auctioned off, that was the last time I saw them. I never heard from them again, but when I had a chance to look for them, I could never find out who bought them and what their fates were. Part of me thinks of them as a bitter memory, but another part of me thinks of them as comrades who stood by me during a difficult time.

Although I am still a bit confused, I decided to follow what I feel is right for me, and the conclusion is the same. 'I'm going to free them from here, but how?'

I thought for a few moments and the obvious solution popped into my head. In this world, people have the ability to awaken and thus become mana users, which allows them to do things that would be impossible for normal people.

They can strengthen their bodies, handle elemental energy and more, but first one must have the ability to awaken. It usually happens naturally at a random age, but you can do it with the help of external objects such as pills or by asking for help from people who know how to awaken another. The latter two methods, unless you have connections or a lot of money, are difficult to achieve, so ordinary people can only hope it happens naturally.

But I, who used to be an awakened one or so my memories say, so I remember my awakening, I think I know how to self awaken since I remember what the feeling of mana is like and I have experience handling it and that is important if I want to do what I am planning.

So I started taking a meditative position and regulating my breathing to more easily feel the mana particles in the air. I close my eyes and sink into a deep meditation, looking for the mana particles in the air around me.

The sensation is familiar, comforting even. Slowly, I begin to accumulate them in my chest, letting them flow through me like a stream of renewing energy. Slowly, I slowly gathered them in the center of my chest.

 Mana particles are an energy very sensitive to the will of living beings, so I used my will to slowly absorb the particles through my pores and direct them to my chest. Hours passed since I started and I was reaching my goal. 

When the accumulation of mana reached a certain point, I could hear a breaking sound that caused changes within me and a surge of energy that was previously absent in my body. "Heh-heh," I laughed gleefully as I observed the results.

"I successfully managed to awaken."

I said raising my voice in excitement. It was just a theory, but I was glad that it worked.

[[DETECTING USER AWAKENING, ACTIVATING GAIA SYSTEM]]

[[WELCOME NEW USER, I AM AT YOUR SERVICE]].

In the middle of my celebration for my awakening, I heard a voice directly in my head. Which startled me, catching me off guard, only after recomposing myself, I asked several questions in quick succession.

"Who are you...why do I hear you in my head...what is the GAIA system?"

The voice replied in a lifeless voice.

[[I AM AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CREATED SPECIFICALLY TO ASSIST AND SUPPORT THE USER AND GUIDE THEM IN THE USE OF THE GAIA SYSTEM]].

[[THE GAIA SYSTEM IS A SYSTEM GIVEN TO THE USER TO MORE EASILY ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS]].

said the voice in my head concisely, as if waiting for my questions. Although I'm not a big fan of novels that have system and game elements, I have read a few, so the situation becomes easier to digest. I went on to ask:

"Where are you from, who sent you, are you related to my return?"

His answer was something I more or less expected.

[[THE USER'S AUTHORITY LEVEL IS TOO LOW, I CAN'T ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS]].

With a tone of suspicion, I asked him something he considers an important point and I need a clear answer.

"Are you related to some of 'those' Gods?"

[[I CAN ASSURE THE USER THAT I AM NOT TIED TO ANY GODS YOU KNOW OF AND I DO NOT PLAN TO PERFORM ANY ACTIONS THAT WILL HARM THE USER]].

Her words left a few points to discuss, but I decided not to question her further as I felt it would be in vain. If indeed this was done by a force that wanted to harm me, they would not use such indirect methods. With that in mind, I decided to bite the bullet and accept whatever this system is.