1 A Different Earth
*drin drin drin drin*
The sound of an alarm clock was echoing in a single apartment situated in Verona, in its historical centre, where millenniums before the city prospered under the Romans. Rays of the sun were gently illuminating the room while bringing with it the warm feeling of early morning on a day of winter.
The alarm was still sounding after 5 minutes when a hand from under the white blanket reached out and turned it off. After again 5 minutes a head poked out of the sheets: it had brown hair, brown eyes and a corporate beard that cover his face starting from one cheek to another, yet there were still some white zones where there were no hair as if to highlight the young age of the man.
This time 10 minutes passed when suddenly a kick overthrew all the blankets and the body that was fully covered before came to view: a muscular frame with big shoulders, thick arms and massive thighs appeared. A striking particular was that the feet were outside the bed because the young guy was almost 2 meters.
The man slowly and with tranquillity sat down at the edge of the bed and after taking a deep breath, he muttered:
"Fuck."
"I really need to go bed earlier. I swear tonight I'll go at 9 pm: no novels, no games, just sleep."
Every morning he would wake up and promise that while failing miserably every night: is the gesture that counts right?
The young man stood up, his head almost touching the ceiling, and walked toward the bathroom. His apartment wasn't big, in fact, it had only three small rooms: the bedroom, the bathroom and the kitchen. It wasn't much, but he wasn't concerned and was happy with that: sometimes happiness is in the little things they say.
After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he walked in the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of milk, a cereal box and his phone to see the news. Subsequently having prepared everything on the table, he took his Moka, fill the reservoir with water and added coffee powder into the filter; to conclude he lighted a stove and put everything on it to make it warm while patiently waiting for his coffee to be ready.
His morning routine was to eat cereals soaked in milk while reading the new chapters of his favourite novel that, usually, were published during the night. Furthermore, at the end of the breakfast, just before leaving the apartment, he would finish with an Espresso to revitalize him and receive godly strength to survive the day.
His favourite story was now at a focal point: the MC was about to breakthrough in the last realm thanks to the pressure brought by his enemies. A clichè yes, but satisfying, especially the revenge against those pathetic villains.
"So short... aaa why the chapter is so short. I want to know what happens next..."
*sigh*
"Then I'll wait five days to stock some chapters and then read everything. In the meantime, I will start that novel, with good reviews and good ratings, of that famous author. Mm good plan, good plan."
*pat on his shoulder*
After shutting off the novel's site, he started browsing on the internet to follow what was happening all around the world:
' Breaking news: Yesterday British Prime Minister Taylor Brown has announced a new policy to... '
*scrolling*
' Good morning everyone. Today we will talk about the new technology of the great scientist Fredrick Mueller, built using the new materials found inside the Ruins, and the changes that will bring with it... '
*scrolling*
' Incredible scoop: Today Charlie Morgan, the first human to receive a Divinity, and the saviour of New York, has reached 1 billion followers on..."
*scrolling*
' Breaking news: Some hours ago, in different places of the world, numerous new Gates were discovered hidden in forests, under the oceans and inside cities. At this moment, different groups of archaeologists, protected by parties composed of Exalted Humans, are exploring these mysterious places to determinate which god they belong. The local authorities have yet to disclose new information about it but ... '
*scrolling*
' Breaking news: Minutes ago, an earthquake of 7.2 struck Japan. Fortunately, there were no deads but only injured, nevertheless, a tsunami is on his way right now. Authorities guarantee that 2 Exalted Humans with the Divinity of Raijin and Fujin are going to stop the wave before it can damage more... '
"New Gates discovered eh... two years have already gone since the first appearance and now the entire world revolves around them. Well, my work too so I don't really mind."
After saying that the man stood up, cleaned up the kitchen, dressed up, drank his coffee and went outside his apartment.
The price of the houses in the centre of Verona wasn't low, but he was able to sustain himself thanks to his job: the Miner.
Yet he wasn't an ordinary miner, he was a special one because unlike the regular job, he worked inside Ruins to excavate the new minerals and materials that were found in them.
The Ruins were regions placed outside Earth in different dimensions connected thanks to the Gates that function as a bridge between Earth and them.
Basically, the Gates are like doors that lead toward a room. Sometimes new Gates could appear out of nowhere, although most of the times they would be placed concomitantly with the entrance of ancient temples of Greeks or Chinese pagoda's: as long as the place is connected to the myths of whatever culture, it will spawn a Gate, they say.
The first time a Ruin appeared many people thought that they were dangerous or detained some terrible monsters, yet the reality was that they were... empty. Not only the first, but even the second, and the third and so on... humans understood that these locations were like treasure troves ready to be plundered, studied and conquered by everyone.
New minerals were found and new elements outside of the Periodic Table too: things that on Earth don't exist and will never.
Many industries boomed afterwards, and the application of these new discoveries granted the possibility to many fields to make stunning breakthroughs. For example, when Gates appeared, physics all around the world went crazy just to have the opportunity to study how these worked and how they were related to space; NASA even claimed that building spaceships capable of making jumps into the hyperspace was not a dream anymore and planets that people thoughts were unreachable, now were within grasp.
The interior of the Ruins differs one from another, be in the length or the width or what they are made of, this is why they are so unique, still there is one thing common to all: the presence, at the end of the Ruin, of a Divinity.
These Divinities are fragments of a god's power contained inside a peculiar sphere that can be transported on Earth. Afterwards, these remnants can be absorbed by humans and consequently inherit their might.
Sadly, there aren't that many Ruins, only a few millions around the world that we know the position, and the Divinities acquired are in the hands of the governments: they decide who will inherit and who doesn't.
The human who absorbs a Divinity becomes an "Exalted Human".
Exalted Humans are bulletproof to cold weapons, like swords, and light weapons, like pistols, but are still killable by heavy fire: that's why the governments can control and threaten them. At that level, they can manifest a fraction of the original might of the gods nevertheless, they are treated as the modern nuclear bombs: the more you have, the merrier.
Exalted are treated like heroes and idols by the masses, objects of faith, while the truth is that they are slaves with stunning clothes: magnificent to see, but still slaves.
New national disputes were born such as
" That Ruin is on my territory."
" That temple is dedicated to a god of my myths so the Divinity inside should be mine."
A new trend was born as a consequence called "Divinity Rush".
All the nations of the world fight each other, be in the dark with schemes or in the light with armed forces and wars, just to monopolize the resources inside and gain an advantage against their adversaries.
The rules of the world were changing faster than they ever changed before.
