Dust blew through the rusted alleys of Old Vendral, the poorest district on the planet Gia. Skyscrapers loomed like ghosts over tin-roofed huts and cracked streets. In the middle of the chaos, Emmanuel James, skinny and dark-eyed, walked with worn-out shoes that slapped the pavement louder than his heartbeat. He had just finished another 12-hour shift at the recycling plant. His hands were cut, his pockets empty, and his dreams crushed by a world that had no mercy for the poor.
But today… was different.
On the edge of the slums, where ruins from the Ancient Era had been left buried for centuries, Emmanuel found a cave exposed by a recent quake. The elders always warned the youth: "Don't go near the cursed lands. That's where the gods were silenced." But hunger and desperation made fear irrelevant.
Inside the cave, it was cold, unnaturally so. The air buzzed like electricity. Faint blue lights traced patterns on the walls, forming symbols no one had seen for millions of years. At the very center, on a pedestal made of unknown black metal, sat a stone. Smooth, oval, and glowing with dark violet light. It seemed… alive.
Emmanuel stepped closer. His breath caught. A voice—not loud, but deep and ancient—echoed in his head:
[Host Compatible. Initiating Transfer.]
"What—" Emmanuel tried to speak, but his body froze. His hand moved on its own and touched the black stone.
Pain. Blinding, burning pain seared through his mind. Images flashed—planets, machines, starships, codes, war, death, survival. He screamed, but no sound came out. Then everything went black.
When Emmanuel awoke, he was no longer in the cave. He was lying on his bed in the slums, shirt soaked in sweat, heart racing. But something was wrong—or rather, something was… right.
> [Welcome, Emmanuel James. You are now the Host of the Gia Core System. All technology blueprints, historical data, and resource conversion protocols unlocked. Defense Priority: Activate Earthborne Protocols. Threat Level: Dreson Imminent.]
"What the hell is going on?" Emmanuel whispered.
> [You are the last hope.]
Outside, the sky of Gia thundered, though there was no storm. In distant space, far beyond the eyes of Gia's leaders, something old and deadly stirred.
And on that day, in the body of a poor boy who once lived and died on Earth, war began anew.