Unveiling Powers

Chapter 1: Unveiling Powers

The next day at school was odd, to say the least. Normally, the most excitement one could expect involved petty squabbles or the occasional fire alarm drill. But today, there was an electric tension in the air, a barely contained anticipation that permeated every hallway and classroom. Horraine walked through the corridors of Excelsior High School, his mind still grappling with the events of the previous day.

The announcement from the gods had transformed the world overnight. People everywhere had chosen their powers, and now society teetered on the brink of an unprecedented era. Horraine's thoughts swirled as he navigated the familiar routine of classes, his gaze flickering over his classmates. Some wore expressions of awe, others confusion, and a few seemed deeply contemplative. It was clear everyone was aware of their newfound abilities, but the initial novelty was tempered by an undercurrent of fear and uncertainty.

When the lunch bell rang at 11:00 AM, Horraine felt a knot of anticipation tighten in his stomach. He made his way to the school's gazebo, their usual meeting spot, eager to hear what powers his friends had chosen. As he approached, he saw Shaheem Philips and Theo already waiting. Shaheem, with his dark skin and sharp eyes, looked as relaxed as ever, while Theo's brown eyes sparkled with excitement. She wore her six-form uniform with an air of confidence, her brown hair neatly tied back.

"Shaheem, spill the beans. What's the power you went for?" Horraine asked, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.

Shaheem chuckled. "I went for something called 'Equivalent Exchange.' I can swap places with anything in my range that's below or slightly above my weight. But the real kicker is the Lucid ability; it's like a Domain Expansion from JJK. It lets me exchange with anything, living or not, regardless of weight. Of course, there are some restrictions which I will eventually get over."

"Hmm, I see. Wait a minute, where have I heard this before?" Horraine asked, puzzled.

"It's from the story Bob was making for my character, remember?" Shaheem reminded him.

"Oh right, I forgot about that," Horraine said, finally recalling the conversation.

Theo leaned in, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "That sounds amazing! Alright, Horraine, your turn. What did you choose?"

Horraine took a moment to collect his thoughts before explaining, "Shaheem, you should remember this one. It was one of my favorite self-made abilities: 'Infinite Arsenal.' It allows me to create or recreate abilities and powers as long as I understand them. There are restrictions, though, like needing energy, limitations on the number of abilities I can create, and a requirement to fully comprehend the powers I want to recreate."

"Right, I remember it. The one based on Complete Arsenal that could recreate powers from other verses, right?" Shaheem asked for confirmation.

Horraine nodded. "Right, that's the one."

"I see. Knowing you, you already have an ability that you recreated, didn't you?" Shaheem asked, but it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Sometimes you know me a little too well, but yes, I did," Horraine said, sighing.

"Alright, Theo, your turn," Shaheem said, turning to her.

"Ok, well, I didn't pick out anything complicated like you two, but I picked one of my favorites," Theo mentioned.

"Ok, spill," Horraine said.

"Well, the one I have is Requip," Theo said with a hint of pride.

"Wait a minute, you mean Erza's ability?" Horraine asked, surprised that she had that ability.

"Yeah, why do you sound so surprised?" Theo asked.

"Well, I had expected it to be taken by someone else," Horraine replied.

"I was just lucky then," she said with a smile.

"It seems so," Horraine agreed.

As the excitement of their newfound powers filled the air, Horraine's concerns from yesterday couldn't be ignored. He glanced around and lowered his voice, "Guys, did you ever stop to think how reckless this is? I mean, have they not seen what we've done with the resources we have? It's 2024, and more chaos has happened in the last five years than in the entire twenty-first century combined."

Shaheem and Theo shrugged, hitting him with a touche.

"Well, yeah, but maybe they're just high, drunk, or both," Shaheem said with a shrug.

"Or maybe they're just bored as hell," Theo added with a thoughtful expression.

Horraine sighed, acknowledging their points but still troubled by the potential consequences. "Yeah, I said something similar yesterday. This is a problem. I don't trust humanity with something like this. It's a ticking time bomb."

Lunch continued, with them sharing their abilities and discussing the implications. When the clock struck 12:30, the system initiated its complete update, unveiling further revelations.

"Notice: System update completed. Revealing extra features and information from the update. All users of the system are eligible to join a pantheon of their choice. Once your choices have been made, after a set period, representatives from each pantheon that match your alignment will be connected to your systems to be guides for the upcoming events. In 4 months, monsters will start to appear due to the introduction of multiple types of energies on Earth. Due to the multiple types of energies with varying properties, the monsters will become much stronger than they would have been. More will be revealed by your guides as time passes."

"Well, that's not good," Horraine couldn't help but think.

Ok, not everything was bad as I'm gonna assume the first thing was more than what it says it is. Then again, even if it wasn't, it's still good. Everything else, however, isn't so great. Well, at least there was a warning instead of it just happening and even more problems, so it's not horrible. Not that I think it's gonna help the idiots who don't catch the underlined meaning.

"Sigh, now to deal with this," Horraine muttered.

He looked back at the system screen. It had changed the message on it to the Pantheon choices, and they were the ones you would expect: Christianity, Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Shinto, Sumerian, Mesopotamian, etc. And believe it's quite the list—27 in total. Now the question is which one should I pick, or if I should pick one at all. To be honest, I do know seven of the pantheons that I would be comfortable picking either of them, but I'm going to avoid picking one for an experiment of sorts. Letting the system screen disappear, he turned his attention to Shaheem and Theo.

"Did you guys choose a pantheon?" Shaheem asked, his eyes flickering with curiosity.

"I went for the Greek pantheon," he shared. "What about you, Theo?"

"The Egyptian gods are my pick," she replied. "And you, Horraine?"

"I decided not to align with any pantheon," he said.

"Why?" Theo asked.

"An experiment," Horraine said casually.

"Should have known," she said, sighing.

"You know he was gonna do something like this. Why are you so surprised?" Shaheem asked.

"Yeah, true," Theo admitted.

"It's not that bad," Horraine responded.

"Oh, before, what's your alignment?" Theo asked.

"Neutral," Horraine replied.

"Neutral," Shaheem echoed.

"Huh, I'm the only good one here," Theo noted.

"I highly doubt that, but ok," Horraine responded deadpan.

"I agree with that statement," Shaheem agreed.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Theo asked, annoyed.

Both Horraine and Shaheem shrugged at her question. Then something caught Shaheem and Theo's attention. Catching this, Horraine asked.

"What happened?"

"The system is saying a guide is being assigned," Theo said.

"Same," Shaheem added.

"Huh, I thought that wouldn't happen for a while. Does it tell you who it is or a title for a hint?" Horraine asked.

"Wait, it's not finished yet. We'll tell you when it's done," they said.

"Ok, I'll wait," Horraine said with a shrug.

With nothing to do, Horraine made his system appear, planning to look over something, but he was greeted with a similar message.

"A system guide is being assigned…."

"What? But I didn't… Does it automatically give one anyway? I'm so confused," he thought, sighing as he waited for the system to finish its process. He was curious now.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Shaheem and Theo said theirs were finished.

"Who are your guides then?" Horraine asked.

"Hmm, let's see," Shaheem said with a hum. "It says that the goddess of the sunrise."

"Huh, I think I know who that is. I'm not sure… Wait, I do know who it is. I'm pretty sure that's Alectrona, also known as Electryone, the daughter of Helios."

"Huh, I see. Thanks."

"Yeah…."

"My turn," Theo said.

"Right, yours."

"Mine is the goddess of weaving," she said.

"Huh, that's much harder than Shaheem's, but I think that's Tayt pronounced as Tay-et."

"Thanks."

Horraine nodded, then turned his attention to his system screen and saw the title of the being watching over him. He nearly coughed on air.

"The Archangel of Light, Truth, and Wisdom has chosen to guide you."

He blinked, then blinked again. That title… He recognized it.

"Uriel!!" he exclaimed aloud, staring at his system screen in surprise.

Chapter 1: End