[One Month Before Arrival on Mars]
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
I stared at the metal table lying in two perfectly sliced halves.
My right hand trembled as I slowly raised it toward my face. There wasn't a single scratch on my palm, yet I had just cut through a solid metal table without touching it.
Was this a dream?
No, the cold floor beneath my feet and the metallic smell filling my room were enough to convince me otherwise.
I swallowed hard.
"Holy crap… I've actually awakened!"
For years, I had read countless manhwas and novels about cultivation, supernatural abilities, and systems. I had always imagined what it would feel like to possess extraordinary powers.
But experiencing it firsthand?
That was an entirely different matter.
I clenched my fist, concentrating on the strange energy flowing beneath my skin. It felt warm and vibrant, like a miniature sun circulating throughout my body.
The moment I focused, the energy gathered around my right arm.
A faint silver glow appeared around my fingers.
"Whoa! That's so cool!"
I swung my arm experimentally.
A sharp gust of wind shot across the room, knocking my pillow off the bed and sending my clothes flying everywhere.
Silence.
I stared at the mess.
Then I grinned.
"I'm going to be unstoppable!"
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
A warning alarm suddenly blared from the ceiling.
[NOTICE: UNAUTHORIZED DAMAGE DETECTED IN LIVING QUARTERS.]
My smile vanished.
Oh, no.
Oh, absolutely no.
The ship's security system had detected the damage.
And considering that we were lower-class passengers, I could already imagine the punishment.
These rich bastards would probably charge me enough money to buy the entire ship!
I rushed toward the door, nearly slipping on my scattered clothes.
"TINA!"
I hammered on my sister's door.
"TINA! OPEN UP! I HAVE SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO TELL YOU!"
The door slid open, revealing my twin sister in her pajamas. Her black hair was tied into a messy bun, and her expression suggested that she was seriously considering murdering me.
"Michael," she said calmly, "if the ship isn't exploding, you have exactly five seconds to explain why you're screaming at six in the morning."
"I awakened!"
She blinked.
"Three seconds."
"I'm serious! Look!"
I raised my hand and concentrated.
The silver glow returned, illuminating the hallway.
Tina's sleepy expression disappeared.
She grabbed my wrist and examined my hand, turning it over as though searching for a hidden device.
"What did you do?"
"I cultivated!"
"You did what?"
"Cultivation! You know, like in those novels we used to read!"
She stared at me.
Then she stared at my hand.
Then she looked back at me.
"Michael, did you hit your head?"
"WHY DOES EVERYONE ASSUME I'M CRAZY WHEN SOMETHING AMAZING HAPPENS?!"
"Because you're usually doing something stupid."
Fair enough.
I sighed and explained everything, from my meditation session to the energy gathering inside my body and the unfortunate destruction of my table.
When I finished, Tina remained silent.
Finally, she looked at me with an expression I had rarely seen before.
Hope.
"Can you teach me?"
I smiled.
"Of course! That's why I came here."
We entered her room, and I explained the meditation technique I had been practicing for years. It wasn't anything complicated. I simply focused on my breathing, cleared my mind, and imagined drawing energy into my body.
Tina sat cross-legged on her bed.
I sat opposite her.
"Close your eyes," I instructed. "Forget everything around you. Focus on your breathing and try to feel the energy surrounding us."
For the first ten minutes, nothing happened.
For the next twenty, Tina looked increasingly annoyed.
After forty minutes, she opened one eye.
"Michael?"
"Yes?"
"I think your cultivation technique is broken."
"It's not broken! Just keep concentrating!"
"Or maybe you're the only idiot in the universe who can cultivate."
"KEEP YOUR EYES CLOSED!"
She snickered and returned to her meditation.
Then, suddenly, the atmosphere changed.
The temperature in the room dropped.
A thin layer of frost spread across the surface of Tina's bed.
I froze.
"Tina?"
She didn't respond.
Blue light began to shimmer around her body. The frost thickened, creeping across the floor and climbing the walls.
Then she opened her eyes.
They were glowing a brilliant icy blue.
"Michael," she whispered, "I can feel it."
The next moment, a wave of cold energy exploded from her body.
CRACK!
Ice spread across the room, freezing the water in a nearby cup solid.
I scrambled backward.
"WHOA! OKAY! THAT'S ENOUGH! YOU'RE GOING TO TURN US INTO FROZEN CHICKEN!"
Tina immediately stopped.
The glowing faded from her eyes, and the temperature slowly returned to normal.
She stared at her hands in disbelief.
A tiny crystal of ice formed above her palm.
Her mouth fell open.
"Michael…"
I grinned.
"You're an awakened one."
She looked at me.
Then she smiled.
For the first time since Earth had begun dying, I felt something I hadn't felt in months.
Excitement.
Maybe our future wouldn't be as miserable as we had feared.
Maybe we wouldn't spend the rest of our lives digging minerals out of the ground for wealthy people who viewed us as disposable workers.
Maybe we could actually become strong enough to control our own destinies.
Unfortunately, our celebration didn't last long.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The warning alarm returned.
Only this time, a different message appeared on the wall screen.
[UNREGISTERED ENERGY FLUCTUATIONS DETECTED.]
[PASSENGERS MICHAEL AND TINA: REPORT TO MEDICAL EVALUATION IMMEDIATELY.]
Our smiles disappeared.
Tina slowly turned toward me.
"Michael?"
"Yes?"
"Didn't you say cultivation would be our secret?"
"I did."
"So why does the ship know?"
I stared at the screen.
Then I looked at the frost covering her floor.
Then I remembered the metal table I had cut in half.
"…In my defense, I didn't expect the spaceship to be a snitch."
Tina smacked the back of my head.
"YOU IDIOT!"
Before I could defend myself, the door slid open.
Two security officers stood outside, their black uniforms marked with the insignia of the Mars Settlement Authority.
Behind them floated a small surveillance drone.
One officer glanced at the frost-covered room.
The other examined the silver energy still flickering around my fingers.
"Michael and Tina," the first officer announced. "You are required to accompany us to the research division for examination."
Tina immediately stepped in front of me.
"Why? We haven't broken any laws."
The officer's expression remained cold.
"Because what you have demonstrated may represent a significant scientific discovery."
He paused.
"And until we understand what you've become, you will not be permitted to leave our supervision."
My heart sank.
There it was.
The rich people's favorite trick.
Find something valuable, claim ownership, and make sure nobody else benefits from it.
I clenched my fist.
The silver energy stirred beneath my skin.
For a brief moment, I considered fighting.
Then I looked at Tina.
She was frightened, even if she tried to hide it.
I couldn't risk her safety over my pride.
Not yet.
I lowered my hand.
"Fine," I said. "We'll come with you."
The officers turned and began walking.
Tina leaned closer to me and whispered, "What do we do now?"
I glanced at the silver light dancing across my fingertips.
A small smile crept onto my face.
"We cooperate."
She frowned.
"And then?"
I looked toward the enormous window at the end of the corridor.
Beyond it stretched the endless darkness of space, filled with countless stars and mysteries humanity had barely begun to understand.
Somewhere ahead lay Mars.
A new world.
A new beginning.
And perhaps, the birthplace of an entirely new civilization.
I clenched my fist.
"Then we get strong enough that nobody can order us around ever again."
Neither of us knew that, at that very moment, deep within the ship's central laboratory, an ancient-looking crystal had begun to glow.
Its surface shimmered with the same silver energy flowing through my body.
A scientist stared at the readings on his monitor, his face draining of color.
"Impossible…"
The crystal had remained dormant for over two hundred years.
Now, for the first time in human history, it was responding.
And the energy signature it detected matched one passenger aboard the ship.
Michael.