When man meets fate, man succumbs.
Destiny is a cage in which no one can escape... Not even God!
____________________
Ding!
[God is Dead...]
[Congratulations, you have been chosen as the new gatekeeper!]
The world before me was dark and void of any form of light. Peaceful is the only word that could describe the feeling that came with the darkness.
That was until this panel appeared before me. On it were words in a language I could understand, but knew nothing of it.
What is a gatekeeper?
Heck, who am I, and why the hell is God dead?
My eyes flicked open, revealing a plain white ceiling with a few rows of bright fluorescent tubes. The scent of fresh linen and something faintly floral greeted me, but before I could observe my surroundings, my mind was assaulted by a stabbing pain that made me wince in agony.
It felt like my head got run over by a truck.
'Wait, what is a truck?'
'Why am I thinking about things I have never seen before?'
Suddenly, the pain subsided and was replaced by a low beeping sound, like the one you would hear from a cell phone...
"Cell phone... What is that?" I spoke a language I couldn't recognize, yet I understood it perfectly.
This is not the normal English Americans speak....
'English?'
'America?'
'What are those?'
And then, the pain returned....
Pa!
My palms slapped my head hard, and my fingers dug into my hair and gripped tightly—just a second away from plucking them out of my scalp.
Ding!
[Gatekeeper System Booting...]
[Memory Synchronization Process Activated...]
At this moment, I felt an invisible force grip me from behind. It pulled me into the eternal darkness I had just escaped, however, there was something new.
[Adam Black memories unlocked.]
Ahead was a massive mirror that covered the entire horizon, displaying the life of young Adam Black, born into the Imperial States of America in 2050.
This world was different. I'm not sure what I used as a reference, but I was certain this was not the Earth I came from. This earth was in chaos, and powerless humans died in the tens of thousands every day.
It all started in the year 2020, when new mineral resources began appearing across the world. Alongside these new resources were [Talents].
This was the name bestowed upon the abilities humans awakened during this era. These unique abilities set them apart from normal humans.
However, the purpose of granting humanity these abilities was revealed soon after. In 2022, the first rift appeared in Congo and drew the attention of the world. This put the small country in the spotlight as their military quickly quarantined the area, and they prepared for an inevitable battle.
Exactly 72 hours after its appearance, the rift opened, and chaos was unleashed.
In 24 hours, the country was overrun by monsters that could only be found in fantasy tales, novels, and movies. Through the fall of a nation did the world realized that normal human weapons were ineffective against these monsters.
Only awakened humans could stand against them.
This realization changed the world's social hierarchy and values as more rifts began appearing across the world. However, this tragedy did not come without its advantages.
Within the rifts were minerals and resources beyond what Earth had to offer. These resources could turn a third-world country into a superpower overnight!
Countries that adapted quickly to the change began to seize dungeon resources. The rifts humans once feared became national treasures, leading to wars and alliances over dungeon control.
Nations began to fight over who owns the rights to dungeons found on neutral or disputed lands, throwing the world into chaos and reshaping the maps.
Nations were wiped out, many annexed, and a good number overrun by and conquered by the beasts from the rifts they coveted.
The United States of America was one of the few first-world countries that came out stronger from the chaos. It had seized the opportunity to conquer not only all northern American countries but also invade Southern America in 2030 and succeeded in unifying the region in 2035, leading to the formation of the Imperial States of America.
Campaigns like this happened across the world, leading to the fall and rise of new empires and reshaping the world completely.
After watching Adam's 18 years' worth of memories in merely a second, I found myself back in the room, looking up at the plain ceiling.
In just a few seconds, I had consumed enough information worth a lifetime, but I was still confused.
"What does all of this have to do with God's death?" I muttered.
The panel popped up over my vision, and letters flickered to life on the screen.
[Gatekeeper System Booting Complete...]
[God is dead, and the universe is collapsing. The balance has been shattered, and you have been chosen to be the next Gatekeeper... That is your punishment.]
"My punishment?" My eyebrows knitted.
I don't even know who I was before becoming Adam Black. So why do I have to suffer for a crime I do not remember?
[Congratulations!]
[Gatekeeper Talent unlocked]
[New Skill Acquired: Door]
[Opens a rift that leads to a small pocket dimension which only the host can access.]
[Name][Adam Black]
[Race][Human]
[Talent][Gatekeeper]
[Talent Tier][SSS-Tier]
[Stats]
[Strength][1]
[Speed][1]
[Vitality][1]
[Intelligence][3]
[Health Points][1/10]
[Energy Points][5/5]
[Skill]
[Skill Name][Door]
[Skill Tier][C]
[Skill Cost][1]
The texts were simple to understand, but hard to believe. Was this really happening?
Ignoring the texts, I briefly glanced at my surroundings. Sunlight filtered through sheer, cream-colored curtains, casting soft patterns on the marble floor. My bed felt more like something from a high-end hotel, with plush pillows and silky sheets that hugged my body just right.
To my right, a wall-mounted flat-screen silently played a nature documentary. Only now did I notice a sleek tablet on the bedside table that let me control everything—curtains, lights, even the room temperature.
If not for the IV in my arm and the faint beeping of the machines, I could've sworn I was in a five-star suite.
And that's what bothered me. Because, according to Adams' memories, the Black family was average financially and couldn't afford these expensive services.
Knock! Knock!
My train of thought was shattered by the aggressive knock on the door. This told me, whoever was on the other side of the door had an aggressive personality.
The visitor didn't wait for a response as the door slid aside, revealing two hulking men in black suits and shade. One was a bald, dark-skinned man with a scar stretching from his left jaw to his left cheekbone. Beside this figure was a blonde-haired and light-skinned man with a mean expression that could make children cry with a glance.
"Adam Black, we are from the TLA, and we are here to answer all your questions." The bald man said in a deep tone that made even the air quiver.[1]
Texas Limitless Agency was a government agency set up to handle the affairs of all Limitless, a name given to humans who awaken unique talents.
My wary gaze observed them silently for a minute or so before finally speaking.
"My family, what about them?" I asked.
From what's left of my memories, I can remember how I got here. We were on a vacation trip to Mexico, but on a highway, we met a traffic jam which was caused by the sudden appearance of a rift.
Strangely, the rift didn't wait 72 hours before opening, and chaos erupted. In the chaos of something that struck our car, my parents and sister were in the vehicle when it happened, so why am I the only one here?
"Unfortunately, they didn't make it." The blond agent answered nearly instantly.
"You only survived because you awakened at the final moment..." The bald agent chipped in.
I nodded in understanding, strangely unaffected by the news of my parents' death. My memories were full of intimate moments which showed my host loved his family dearly, yet I didn't feel a thing.
Was this because they weren't my real parents, or is my unnatural coldness proof that I was a terrible person in my past life?
I shrugged the thoughts aside and returned my attention to the bald agent.
"I'm guessing my awakening is the only reason the government put in so much effort to save me," I said, hoping to bait a reaction from them, but their faces remained stiff, and their eyes hidden behind the glasses made them hard to read.
The agents ignored my question outright and returned to the topic of the accident.
"The accident was... unfortunate. But it wasn't random," he said. "There was a containment breach. A dormant rift opened without warning—well, without proper oversight, to be honest. It was a government failure." The bald agent's voice was calm but heavy, like someone delivering a sentence in court.
I blinked. "So you're admitting fault?"
"Yes," the bald agent said bluntly. "And as such, under the Texas Limitless Act Section 7B, you're entitled to reparations. Specifically—ten million dollars."
I felt my eyebrows twitch. Ten million.
"For damages?" I asked slowly.
Ten million dollars was no small amount. To go from poverty to ten million dollars richer overnight and in the body of an eighteen-year-old was unexpected.
My new life here was starting on a positive note.
The bald agent nodded.
"For the loss of your family, psychological trauma, and the state's failure to properly quarantine the zone."
Before I could say anything else, the blond agent leaned forward, pulling out a sleek black tablet.
"That's not all," he added with a crisp tone. "You're also eligible for a full scholarship to the Texas Limitless Academy. That includes housing, equipment, personal tutors—the works."
I looked between them. "You make it sound like I won a lottery."
The bald agent's lips pressed into a thin line.
"While you lost your family, the empire gained another skilled Limitless... In our opinion, what happened to you is not tragic but a blessing to our nation since it turned out this way." The bald agent was cold.
The bald agent said those words comfortably, like he had spoken them a thousand times, and it reflected the reality of modern society.
Human life doesn't matter, only that of the limitless does.
Adam Black lost his entire family, but they considered it a win, since the tragedy brought about the awakening of a new limitless.
This is a dark world, one perfectly designed for a cruel soul like me.
[1] TLA stands for Texas Limitless Agency