I woke up to warmth. Not the kind that wraps you in a blanket and tells you everything's okay, but the kind that presses against the skin and reminds you that you lived.
I was leaning against something rough and cool rock, worn down and smoothed by time and storms. My hand instinctively pressed against it, the sensation grounding. I opened my eyes slowly, squinting as my vision adjusted. Above me, the sky didn't shift or brighten.
There was no sunrise or sunset, just the endless swirling dome of electric blue, the boundary of the Endless Storm. The warm rain patted gently against the invisible barrier shielding us.
And for once… it didn't feel threatening.
I let out a soft sigh. It escaped before I could stop it. Relief, pain, disorientation... but at least I was alive.
I heard someone sharply inhale and turned my head, just enough to see Rythe staring at me with her usual half-impressed, half-bewildered smirk.
"You're awake?" she muttered, as if she wasn't sure whether to be shocked or annoyed. Then came the kicker. She chuckled.
"Damn… you really are an Ennéa. Sometimes I forget."
I blinked at her, groggy and confused.
"What the hell does that mean?"
She cocked her head and walked over, crouching in front of me with a mischievous grin.
"I mean, look at you."
I did. And I almost threw up.
My armor was cracked in some places, shattered in others. Blood had crusted across my chest and along my ribs with too much blood. But the wounds themselves? They were healed. Not pretty, not painless, but closed.
"You passed out for thirty minutes," Rythe said. "Just thirty. Your body snapped back like it's on steroids and vengeance."
"Pain's still there," I groaned, clutching my side as I sat up straighter. "Feels like someone used me as a chew toy."
"Still," Rythe shrugged, "the rest of us would've been dead. You? You're built like some kind of twisted miracle."
I looked down at my bracelet, the one attached to my fractured wrist. But now it read:
Morning. Day Five.
I hadn't even realized.
Baldie stepped forward, arms crossed like he was trying to decide if I was real or not.
"You should've been spider meat."
"Thanks," I muttered.
He actually smiled. "You weren't. Because I applied my Flux to the others."
That made me blink. "You have a Flux?"
He nodded. "Invisibility Flux. Makes me invisible. And anyone I want."
My head tilted. "Then why not use it on me?"
He looked at me like I was missing something obvious.
"Didn't have to. You're an Ennéa."
"Right," I exhaled. "That again."
There was no point arguing, not when they all nodded in agreement like it was fact.
I leaned my head back against the rock again, breathing in. Every muscle in my body was stiff, pulled tight like a bowstring. My insides felt like someone had thrown them into a blender and hit max. Still, the ache was dull now. Manageable at least, probably temporary.
Sunglasses whistled. "You survived the forest's 25% survival zone. That alone's enough to write a whole damn book."
"And we didn't walk out empty-handed either," Rythe added. "We got three tonnes of Synsiline. Forest-grade. That's rare as hell."
"We're gonna be rich," Sunglasses grinned. "No more crappy assignments. No more struggling."
And then, it happened. My hands started to glow.
A faint bluish hue appeared, like the same pale fire from the Endless Storm's dome, started crawling across my palms. The light bled into my skin, veins lit up, my bones ached like they were being reforged.
Everyone froze.
Sunglasses took a step back. "Uhh…"
"Is she…" Baldie squinted.
"She's awakening," Rythe whispered, eyes wide. "Her Flux…"
Before I could ask what the hell they were talking about, something burst out of me.
Thousands of thin, delicate, ethereal blue strings erupted from my back, my shoulders and my fingertips. They weaved through the air, dancing like mist. And before anyone could move, they wrapped around my team.
I screamed—or tried to—but the sensation wasn't violent. It was… comforting, like being wrapped in a warm web that didn't suffocate, only embraced. Everyone stood there confused but still as the strings flickered and hummed against their skin.
And then just like that, the strings vanished and reappeared as shimmering blue thread wrapped around my fingertips, pulsing like a heartbeat.
I stared at them.
"What the hell… was that?"
Baldie's jaw tightened. "That… was a Flux awakening."
"A what?"
Rythe exhaled and sat down beside me. "You've never had one, huh. Well… looks like you've got an Alteration or Conceptual Flux."
Everyone stared at me like I had just been given a crown. Or a curse.
I blinked. "A what Flux?"
Rythe held up her hand and started counting fingers.
"There are five types of Flux. And you just unlocked one of the rarest. Listen close. This is your crash course."
She told me about the five types of Flux.
Combat Flux. These are the warriors. Think enhanced strength, weapons forged from thought, or elemental blades. Perfect for meatheads."
Elemental Flux. They have control over natural forces. Fire, water, wind, lightning, you name it. One of the most common, and the most versatile."
Psyche Flux. These affect the mind. Emotion control, illusions, telekinesis, anything involving mind abilities. Dangerous if mastered.
Alteration Flux.
She pointed at me. "That's what you have. We think. Not fully confirmed, but… it fits."
"Alteration?"
"It alters something fundamental," Baldie explained. "Space, physics, reality. Yours looks like it manipulates properties of contact and sensation, strings that aren't really there, but are."
"Could also be trapping, sensory control, matter-weaving," Rythe added. "Hard to pin down but it's powerful."
"And the rarest," Sunglasses said with a grim tone, "is the Conceptual Flux. Only a handful in the world have those. They manipulate abstract concepts."
"If you ever meet one," Rythe muttered, "you don't fight them. You run. A perfect example is Phaser. He has a Conceptual Flux but we just don't know which one."
I swallowed. "But I don't have a Concept Flux. Right?"
"No," Baldie said. "Yours is Alteration. And even that puts you in the top 2%. Flux like that can be weaponized in insane ways. Most people don't live long enough to awaken them."
I looked down at the threads coiled around my fingers. They responded to my thoughts. I made one of them extend outward and wrap around a rock, then retract.
"This is mine…" I whispered.
"It is now," Rythe said, stretching her arms. "Congrats, Ennéa. You've joined the club."
The others chuckled lightly, still processing. There was tension in the air, not with resentment but jealousy. And awe.
And all I could do was sit there, staring at my fingertips, knowing the forest changed me forever.
I had a Flux. And I was finally awake.
But the women I heard... show are they? I'll just ask Phaser when I get back.