A man in his mid-twenties walked down the bustling street of New York City. He was looking pale and unhealthy, with bushy, uncombed hair, wearing a bleached black shirt and a faded blue trousers. He totally looked different from others.
The world was totally different from when he was still 10-year old, it has rapidly evolved in the past 15 years.
An old man across the street was busy with a bank transaction on a green transparent interface.
A woman in a coffee shop was busy with a call on a blue transparent interface. Infact, everyone was busy with their interface.
In this era, everything was governed by highly advanced technology. Phones, televisions, laptops, desktops had become relics of the past, replaced by AI-controlled transparent interface.
Earth has risen to it's peak in technology. Businesses thrived , economy flourished, problems dwindled. Yet admist this prosperity, Ronny remained unaffected.
Ronny walked down the street thinking of where he could get something to eat for dinner. He stopped and brought out his old-fashioned brown wallet from his back pocket. He opened it and brought out a crumpled dollar bill.
"Tchhk..."
Ronny didn't evolve despite humanity's prosperity. He was stuck in a bygone era. A skilled swordsman, one who's talent wasn't needed in this new era. A swordsman wouldn't stand a chance against a soldier armed with a Nuclear Revolver A5 gun, except he has a death wish. Ronny could have leveraged his swordsmanship to make a living, but his heritage from a clan with the Feral Strike ability complicated things. Unable to harness this power and clueless about navigating the modern world, Ronny felt like a relic, stuck on the sidelines.
"Everyone can't be rich..you should be grateful you have someone in this world to discriminate"
He will always give this reply to people who made jest of his appearance.
"Was that one mango, young man?"
"Yes"
"That will be $5.99"
"$5.99 for a mango?" Ronny scoffed in disagreement to the high-priced mango.
"Do you live under a rock? $6.00 is no longer valuable in this era" the shop owner replied.
"I only have a dollar " Ronny said displaying the crumpled dollar bill in his left palm.
"First you argue about price, then you bring out cash!!" The man was already pissed.
Cash was no longer needed anymore. People now spend through digital currency interface called "Aether". It was available to those who owned an interface, which costs around $10,000 depending on the abilities of the interface.
Ronny didn't own one.
He came out of the shop and took a deep breath. He watched as everyone went by with their personal activities.
If only swordsman fit in this world....
Moreover, he also didn't have a good degree before the evolving began. He used most of his time trying to learn Feral Strike that he barely went to school.
"Water-soup again I guess" he muttered to himself and started heading home.
His 'house' was an oddly stable tent roughly built out of junks. Long thick twigs where thrusted deep into the ground and a blue nylon blanket was draped over the twigs forming a tent. Trash cans were placed at the corner of the tent to hold down the makeshift structure.
The tent was built by Ronny under a bridge, at the entrance of a creek, beside the Seaton Sewer. One of the trash cans had a boldly written sentence with ink 'HOME SWEET HOME'.
He entered the oddly stable tent, stretched and sat on a faded green fabric. The tent was sparse built to minimal standards. A half-torn picture of his 10-year-old self was glued to the blanket with adhesive tape.
His sword laid on the green fabric.
He drank water from a dirty yellow bottle and retired for the night.
He had barely fallen asleep when a strong gust blew his tent away. His eyes snapped open, as he was shocked by the sudden change in weather.
He heard murmurs and chatters from people walking on the bridge.
"What's that?" A woman screamed.
Ronny heard her scream and looked up to the night sky.
Behold!! A fleet of spaceships hovered above in the sky. The spaceships were drawing nearer and nearer.
Where did this spaceships come from? Is this another advanced technology?
A lot of questions ran through Ronny's mind.
A spaceship crashed onto the bridge with tremendous force, splitting it in two and spilling the blood of onlookers who had been gazing up at the ships in awe. Ronny grabbed his sword and swiftly moved away before it crashed on him.
This was happening all over Planet Earth!!
Spaceships kept landing on different parts of the Earth.
Ronny remained calm and collected. He drew out his sword slowly as he approached the spaceship. The spaceship opened and let out a thick smoke and hissing sound.
An unfamiliar figure came out of the spaceship.
Its body vaguely humanoid, but elongated and slender. Its skin shifting color from deep violet to sickly green depending on the dim light of the moon. Its head is large and elongated with two multifaceted eyes. It had no nose. Most of its body was covered with shining metal and micro-circuits. A series of razor sharp, articulated blades extended from his foream casting ominous shadows on the ground.
"Huh?" The alien tilted his head and stared at Ronny's sword. "Are you an Ascendant?" He asked pointing at Ronny. His voice screeching and glitching.
Ronny was confused. An unfamiliar creature emerged from a spaceship and is asking him weird questions.
"What the hell is Ascendant?" He thought.
"Don't you speak my language?" The alien voice screeched again.
"What are you?" Ronny summoned confidence to ask the alien.
"Are you an Ascendant?" He asked again totally ignoring Ronny's question. "That weapon is for Ascendants, which means you're a threat to The Nexus Protocol"
" All threats must be wiped out"
He charged straight at Ronny who already prepared a defense attack.
*BOOM*
A punch landed on Ronny's sword which sent him flying into the creek.
The cold water shocked Ronny's senses as he plunged into the murky creek. The force of the alien's blow had been immense, far exceeding any human strength he had ever encountered. He gasped for air, the stench of the sewer filling his lungs.
Pushing himself up, Ronny wiped the grime from his eyes, his grip tightening on the hilt of his sword. He watched as the alien stood at the edge of the broken bridge, its multifaceted eyes glowing menacingly in the dim moonlight. The creature's metallic limbs and razor-sharp blades glinted, a terrifying contrast to the familiar cityscape now marred by the wreckage of the alien spaceship.
"Ascendant?" Ronny muttered to himself, the word echoing in the stillness of the night. He had never heard the term before.
The alien didn't wait for an answer. With a guttural screech, it leaped from the bridge, landing with a metallic thud on the bank of the creek. It moved with an unnatural speed and agility, its bladed arms whirling in a deadly dance.
Ronny knew his old-world swordsmanship was his only advantage. The alien's advanced technology was formidable, but its movements seemed almost… rigid, relying on brute force and precision weaponry. Ronny's training had instilled in him a fluidity, an instinct honed through years of practice.
He dodged the alien's first strike, the razor-sharp blades whistling past his ear. The air crackled with an unfamiliar energy as the alien moved, its metallic body humming with power. Ronny parried a second blow, the impact jarring his arm. The alien was strong, incredibly strong.
"The Nexus Protocol demands your termination," the alien shrieked, its voice a grating metallic rasp.
Ronny feinted left, then lunged right, his sword a silver blur in the darkness. He aimed for a joint in the alien's metallic arm, hoping to disable its deadly weaponry. The blade struck true, sparks flying as metal scraped against metal.
The alien recoiled, its multifaceted eyes narrowing in what Ronny perceived as pain. It lashed out with its other arm, forcing Ronny to retreat. The fight was unlike anything he had ever experienced. This was not a duel between swordsmen; it was a clash between a relic of the past and a harbinger of an unknown future.
He had to understand what this "Ascendant" meant, and why this creature saw him as a threat.
Ronny danced around the alien's heavy blows, the creek bed offering precarious footing. He noticed the alien relied heavily on its bladed arms, its movements powerful but telegraphed. Its metallic body, while strong, seemed to have exposed joints and areas where the metal plates connected.
Recalling his swordsmanship training, Ronny remembered a technique his master had taught him – targeting the points of articulation, the weaknesses in any armor. He needed to be quick, precise.
The alien lunged again, its blades aimed at Ronny's chest. Ronny sidestepped, using the momentum of the attack to his advantage. He dropped low, his sword flashing upwards in a swift arc. The blade found its mark, slicing through a joint in the alien's leg.
A screech of metallic agony echoed through the night as the alien stumbled. It tried to regain its balance, but the damaged joint buckled. Ronny pressed his advantage, moving with a speed the alien seemed unable to match.
He noticed a section on the alien's torso where the metallic plating seemed thinner, revealing a network of glowing micro-circuits beneath. It looked like a vital point. As the alien struggled to stand, Ronny gathered all his strength and lunged forward.
His sword pierced the thinner armor, sinking deep into the alien's core. The glowing micro-circuits sparked and sputtered, and the alien let out a final, glitching shriek. Its body convulsed, then went still, collapsing onto the muddy bank of the creek with a heavy thud.
Ronny stood over the fallen alien, his chest heaving, his sword dripping with an oily, black fluid. He had done it. Against a creature from another world wielding unimaginable technology, his archaic skills had prevailed.
Just what seemed like a neverending night, a black interface with blue outline appeared in front of Ronny.
[ CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR AWAKENING ASCENDANT]
[AWAKENING PROTOCOLS:]
[ KILL : A CLASS S KRYLL ]
[AWAKENING REWARD: $2000 AETHER CURRENCY]
"Huh? Class S kryll? $2000?!!!!"
"What the hell is happening?!"
As more spaceships descended across the globe, Ronny knew one thing for certain: his life, and perhaps the fate of Earth, had just taken a terrifying turn. He, a swordsman out of time was now thrust into a fight for its survival.