1 Aventine Tidea - I
"I found it! Hahaha! Finally!"
Giggling at empty air, anyone who would see me would surely think I was insane.
Of course, such sentiments were only reasonable. They did not have the same gift as I — the power to see through all things.
The strength to find whatever I was looking for.
Ethereal, elusive, and invisible to all scientific instruments, was a singular point that pierced through the fabric of space and time. When I activated [Absolute Awareness], draining myself of that mysterious energy that Earth lacked, all of its existence revealed itself to me.
Dropping out of high school to travel the world was worth it.
The energy that leaked out of this small hole in the world was exactly what I was looking for. A very mysterious energy that only existed in video games and fantasy.
Mana.
"This is worth more than anything in the world," I said as I slumped back onto the damp, crystalline cave wall. This adventure of mine still had me in disbelief.
Looking at the backpack that I had thrown down, I sighed.
I did not have enough supplies to return. Food, water, and even the oxygen tank I had used to get here were all practically empty.
Finding this place was like a journey to the center of the Earth. It was a deep-sea cave system with pockets of air and grotesque amphibious beings that scientists had yet to discover.
Surviving here was as difficult as climbing Mount Everest.
Moreover, I had long gone past the point of no return.
"I've said my goodbyes long ago. I have nothing left. No strings and no attachments."
Faces flashed past my mind. My parents, my older brothers and sisters, and my friends. After disappearing with a note, I became a vagabond with no home, wandering the world with stolen gold I had uncovered using my ability.
I was also a wanted criminal in quite a few countries...
Well, that doesn't matter. I would soon disappear from here... from Earth.
Standing up, I stretched my body. I grabbed the backpack that I had thrown down and went through my belongings again. Aside from my nearly-depleted food and water reserves, I had my high-tech, government-only, deep-sea diving suit just in case. I also had a pair of pocket tool kits, a machete, a Glock 19 with a few magazines, camo clothes, casual clothes, soap and toiletries, bug spray, a pack of toothbrushes, some gold that I had struggled to bring around, and a few precious stones.
"This should be decent," I tried to calm my beating heart. Anxiety and excitement were two sides of the same coin. "Hopefully, I don't end up in a place as remote as here."
Adrenaline was rushing through my veins. Even if I appeared in the middle of a vast ocean or within a vast desert, I had enough faith in my abilities that I would survive.
"January 1, 2025... I'll note that down on the walls here. Today is the day I venture into a new world." Giggling, I carved out the date and my initials on the crystalline wall. Then, turning around, I stepped into the range of the [Gate]. "Happy twenty-first birthday to me."
***
Aventine stepped forward, and the world around him began to shift. The infinitesimal point of worldly intersection grew exponentially with every inch he advanced.
The world was spaghettified, stretched into thin lines before his eyes. The moist cavern he had been walking in turned into a tunnel of warped space.
—Step, step, step.
It felt like hours had passed, yet Aventine knew he had only been walking for a few minutes. Various doubts had sprouted in his mind as his excitement cooled. Was this the right choice? Would everything be worth it in the future?
"Sigh, I need to have more faith in myself. I've already gone this far. What's there to lose?"
After a long walk, Aventine eventually made contact with the portal hidden between atoms. He held his hand out, holding the tiny point within his palm.
Then he closed his hand, balling it into a tight fist.
At that moment...
As if someone clicked exit on his existence...
—Pop!
His body disappeared from the world.
***
In shallow Outer Space, still within the moon's orbit.
In the International Space Station.
"Hey," Jeremiah, one of the astronauts on board, was looking out the window. "...Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
Micah, his comrade, tilted her head. "See what?"
"That," Jeremiah pointed at the storm of dust and debris that seemed to have formed over the entire Pacific Ocean. It was akin to a typhoon, with purple thunderbolts, and clouds that climbed high into the atmosphere.
"Huh... That doesn't seem normal, now does it?" Micah frowned, feeling an ominous premonition.
Something was definitely wrong.
"Clearly?" Jeremiah was exasperated. "It also appeared out of nowhere, without any warnings. Of course, it isn't normal!"
Space was rippling, and an inhuman roar resounded even through the vacuum of space. Audible, even on the ISS.
If Aventine were present, he would be able to identify the swirling blue existence at the eye of the storm. It was a true [Gate] — the first of its kind.
A dimensional rift of an absurd scale that had torn its way into existence, and a whale-like monster rivaling the moon's size rushed out, swimming through space itself.
"What in the world...?" Jeremiah and Micah were both stunned silent.
The rest of the crew on the ISS had also come to watch. None of them knew how to react as the whale-like monster rushed towards them at break-neck speeds.
"...Guys, please know that I love you all." One of the astronauts coughed.
Another could only laugh, "I never expected to meet our end like this."
"Goodbye, world—"
Outside the window was a gaping maw of darkness. There was nothing they could do in the face of such a being. All they could do was face the abyss, helpless and hopeless.
Then, with an unnerving,
—Crunch!
The ISS was swallowed whole.
***
On Earth.
Honolulu, Hawaii.
A tourist, still holding his camera, watched as monsters surged from out of the sea. They were like the tide. Unstoppable by any human means.
From afar, he could hear the screams. The tortured cries. As rusted tridents were thrown through the frail bodies of the humans. The police fired their guns, yet their bullets seemed to bounce off of the sea monsters' skin.
No one could fight back.
As the tourist's knees gave out, and despair subsumed his soul...
It was then,
—Ding!
[Earth is on the verge of destruction. As per the Solaris Treaty, initializing worldwide digitization...]
[Digitization Complete.]
[The Gaea System has come online!]
[Welcome, Hunter Louis Hilves!]
A set of notifications appeared before his eyes.
***
Meanwhile.
In another world.
The first thing that Aventine saw upon arriving, was a set of gleaming blue screens.
[Earth is on the verge of destruction. As per the Solaris Treaty, initializing worldwide digitization...]
[Digitization Complete.]
[The Gaea System has come online!]
[Welcome, Hunter Aventine Tidea!]
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