the realization

Chapter 2: the realization

The catastrophe had already occurred, but it was far from over. Some people, still paralyzed by fear, awaited their inevitable demise.

Their minds, caught between dread and disbelief, could do little but watch.

And then, something strange began to happen. A particle, almost imperceptible at first, lifted off the ground. Then another, and another, until they began to rise in unison. The particles quickly multiplied, expanding outward, gathering in a vast river of shimmering golden yellow. It spread across the entire planet in mere moments, its flow undisturbed, a sight both beautiful and terrifying. The particles, like droplets, glided over the surface of the river, riding the waves, as if bound by a force beyond comprehension.

Kurou stood still, eyes narrowed, feeling the change before it reached him. "Those... those are the particles from before," he muttered, lifting his left foot cautiously.

The golden river moved silently, and for a moment, it seemed harmless. Kurou lowered his left foot again, unsure of what to expect. A soft ripple ran through the earth, and the particles swirled around him. They pierced his skin like invisible tendrils, traveling up through his body in a brilliant cascade. The moment they touched him, a sharp, almost unbearable tingling shot through his spine, and his head throbbed violently.

"Ughh!... What is going on!?" Kurou cried out, his body shaking from the intensity of the sensation.

The sharp, electrical tingle inside his head intensified, and soon his mind felt as though it were about to explode. Waves of information poured in, filling his consciousness at an alarming rate, overwhelming him with knowledge he could hardly comprehend. It was as if his brain was overloaded, threatening to short-circuit entirely.

The pain persisted for a long moment before the flood of information began to slow. The sharp pressure in his mind eased, and Kurou collapsed to the ground, trembling, barely able to keep his balance. He looked around, seeing that others were experiencing the same overwhelming force.

The glowing river seemed to evaporate as some particles were absorbed back into the earth, but others remained, clinging to their hosts, now embedded within their very beings. Kurou sat on all fours, panting heavily, his heart racing. He could feel something new inside himself, a strange, pulsing energy that felt foreign and yet... familiar.

He turned his gaze to the others around him, equally disoriented, some standing, others still on the ground, their bodies trembling from the shared experience. "Do you feel it too?" Kurou asked, his voice shaky, but steady.

Lisa, still catching her breath, nodded. "Hmm…" she murmured, a quiet acknowledgment of what they had all just felt.

"This hot sensation flowing inside the body, you mean?" Sato added, his voice edged with uncertainty and curiosity.

"Yes, that's it," Kurou confirmed, still trying to process the rush of information he had received.

Before they could continue, an abrupt flash of light split the sky, cutting across the distance like a thunderbolt. It was a single beam, sharp and fast, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"What was that just now?!" Maria exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock, clearly reliving the terror they had all experienced not too long ago.

"That... was me," Kaito replied, his voice tinged with both awe and anxiety.

Sato, his face lighting up with excitement, bounced on the balls of his feet. "Whoa! How did you do that?! That was so cool!" he exclaimed, unable to contain his enthusiasm.

"I just felt the thing inside me, and I kinda focused it into my hand, like, I wanted to throw it away, but instead… this happened!

Kurou, still reeling from his own experience, turned to Kaito, his eyes narrowing with understanding. "Kaito, did you feel your brain overloading with information?"

"Now that you mention it," Kaito said, rubbing his temple as if still processing it himself. "Yeah, I did. My head hurt so much, but then it all calmed down pretty quickly."

Kurou watched him carefully. "Did you get any new information, something that might explain what just happened?"

"Yeah, actually," Kaito said, eyes widening slightly in realization. "I figured out that I could shoot lasers from my hand, among other things. But… it's a lot to process. I couldn't really take in everything all at once."

Lisa, still standing, nodded slowly. "Yeah, I got some new information about myself too." she agreed.

"Kurou, did you figure something out?" Sato asked, his voice laced with excitement, but also a hint of anxiety, as if he were afraid of the unknown.

Kurou paused, his mind still reeling from the flood of knowledge that had rushed in.

"It seems like… I got some information about clones, and duplicating bodies... What about you guys?"

Sato's eyes gleamed. "It just said 'speed' to me. But, honestly, I don't know what that means. Is it like, super speed?"

Lisa shrugged. "It told me 'weapon mastery.' But it's all still so new."

Maria, her voice still trembling, added, "Time control... that's what it told me..."

Kurou's mind raced, piecing everything together. "They're like superpowers... just like in the games we used to play, aren't they? Kaito can shoot lasers because that's what he got in his mind… and it's the same for us."

But then Kurou's gaze shifted, and something else seemed to click in his mind. The river of golden particles had spread everywhere, touching every living being. It wasn't just them who had been changed—others, too, across the planet, had likely experienced this same transformation.

"I think it's not just us," Kurou said, his voice a little more somber now.

"The particles—they affected everyone, didn't they? Everyone who was touched by them. The people out there, all over the world… they must have gotten something too., something that could change everything..."

Sato exclaims"that means we are not the only one who got the powers that means!?"

His voice filled with disappointment and his excitement faltered as Lisa follows with her hands crossed over her chest

"That seems logical, others might have gotten something too, it all then depends on what's to come... All on how others use it"

Kurou looked at his friends, each of them standing taller now, even with the weight of uncertainty hanging over them. They had just gained unimaginable power, and while they had no idea what consequences that would bring, one thing was clear:

The world was changing, and so were they.