Waking up, Mark was glad that he didn’t dream of the nightmare again. Maybe it was because he was excited when he slept, or maybe some other factor was at play. He didn’t know what it was, but he was glad. Checking the clock, Mark was surprised at the time.

07:30

Mark did his morning ritual as normal; get clothes, shower, and brush his teeth. Walking out of the restroom and feeling refreshed, another wave of excitement and anticipation hit him. He quickly cooled down and went to go wake up Ryan, only to see the door already opening.

“Yawn... Mark, you’re already up? That’s a surprise.”

“Yeah, I guess it’s because I am excited for my awakening. I wonder what my stats and skills are going to be.”

“No clue, that’s up to your talent and the items sacrificed. Fingers crossed it’s good, though!”

“Yep, fingers crossed.”

While Ryan started his morning routine, Mark pondered over his awakening for a little bit longer. Snapping out of his daze, he headed to the kitchen and opened the fridge.

“Hmm...I wonder what we should have for breakfast.”

Rubbing his chin, Mark decided to go simple and cook two omelettes. Cracking the eggs, chorizo, sausage, and cheese into a bowl and whisking it, he poured it into the frying pan and cooked it for a minute on each side. Plating the omelettes and sprinkling some chives above them, he pours some hot sauce on the side for decoration. Pouring some milk into two cups and bringing it all to the table, he waits for Ryan to come to the table.

Ryan, sitting down, thanked Mark for the meal and dug in. Finishing the meal at the same time as Mark, Ryan got up and went to the couch, turned on the TV, and turned on a show.

Meanwhile, Mark washed the dishes and put them back in the cabinet. Afterwards, he decided to finish cleaning the house. A few minutes into the cleaning, he heard a knock on the door. Walking to the front door, he opened it and saw a package on the doorstep. Closing the door and taking the package inside, he opened it and saw a surprising item: a Kernel of Void.

Kernels of Void are rather self explanatory; they are very small pieces of the void which have been contained in a durable kernel. All information about the kernel is classified and little information is known about it. While the item was impressive, it was only somewhat rare, as someone with the power to access the void could easily take out hundreds of small pieces of it weekly.

Deciding not to ask Ryan about how he got it, he set it next to the other materials. He then headed to his room and cleaned it thoroughly. While cleaning it, he came across the book that his parents gave him. Mark had completely forgotten about it since it had yet to have any use to it. Sitting down on his bed, he scrutinized the book for the first time in a long time.

From the void-black spine, to the blood-colored cover and pages, he checked every detail. Attempting to open it again, he sighed in disappointment. Muttering to himself, he said,

"Stupid book...I wish that you would at least do something."

Glancing at it one last time, he decided to throw it in the pile of materials in the living room. Quickly putting his cleaning materials back in the closet, he headed to the living room. Arriving there, he saw Ryan lounging on the couch and watching a show that came out recently.

"Hey Ryan, how do you like the show so far? Is it good?"

"Yeah, it's nice. You should watch it some time with me."

"Alright, might as well."

Setting the book down next to the materials, he sat on the couch and they re-winded to the first episode.

After a few episodes Ryan suddenly paused and turned to Mark.

“Shoot- I totally forgot to say this earlier since we were excited about your awakening. Happy birthday Mark!”

Blushing slightly, Mark smiles and replies,

“It’s fine...I also forgot. Back to the show!”

They both scratched their head and chuckled at each other. Resuming the show, time flew by.

Before they knew it it was 14:00, an hour and a half before Mark’s awakening. Since awakenings could occur any time within an hour of the adolescent’s thirteenth birthday, they had to be ready at any moment for it to happen.

Laying down a 10 by 10 foot tarp in the garage, they quickly carried all of the materials and carefully laid them on the tarp, making sure to put the fragile ones on top of the heavy ones.

Wiping the sweat off of his forehead, Mark said,

“Whew, some of those were really heavy. That was a lot of work.”

Smirking, Ryan said, “That was only some light work. You are just weak and frail.”

“Maybe if someone would have helped me with that someone’s wind to make it lighter, it would have been easier. But instead, that someone refused to help me and instead laughed at me during the process.”

Scratching his head with an awkward smile, Ryan replied,

“Okay, okay, you aren’t weak. But you have to admit it was funny watching your face as you struggled.”

“Maybe for someone it was funny.”

“Hehehe...”

Checking to make sure all the items were on the tarp, Mark realized that he forgot about the book again. Running to his room, he grabbed the book and ran back to the tarp. Placing it on the tarp, he panted for breath.

They decided to sit down and wait until his awakening occurred, which took about 45 minutes.

Synchronization successful. Awakening ready.

Would you like to proceed?

Yes No

Mark was surprised when a box suddenly appeared in his vision. Seeing his surprise, Ryan asked,

“Did it appear? I was also surprised during my awakening.”

“Yeah, what do I do now? It is asking me if I wish to proceed.”

“Focus on the ‘Yes’ option for a few seconds. It should change then.

Focusing on the 'Yes' option, new text replaced the old text.

Received input. Sacrifices required to continue.

Continue when all of the sacrifices have been prepared and put into a 10 foot by 10 foot area.

Continue

Focusing on the 'Continue' option, new text appeared.

Received input. Sacrifices identified.

Sacrificing.

0%...

6%...

23%...

56%...

82%...

Error

Suddenly the progress countdown came to a halt. Confused, Mark asked Ryan,

"Why did the progress bar stop?"

"What do you mean? The sacrifice progress bar?"

"Yeah, it just suddenly stopped."

"That's weird, as far as I know that has never happened bef-"

Cutting Ryan off, a brilliant crimson glow filled the room.