Alexia stood still, feeling something strange, as though time was moving at a slower pace. Her eyes scanned the familiar streets in front of her, the streets she had known all her life. But now, they felt foreign. Something had changed, yet there was no time to analyze this change. The city seemed calm, but she knew that the peace surrounding her wouldn't last long.
She knew very well that the rift opening right now could not be delayed. It had to close before it dragged the city into chaos, one that would be impossible to recover from. She had to get to the rift location as fast as possible, but her way was long and filled with challenges. The air around her felt heavy, full of repressed memories and emotions.
As she moved through the narrow alleys, the sound of her footsteps was the only thing disturbing the silence of the city. She thought about everything she had been through. The countless battles she had fought. The strange system that had granted her an unfamiliar power.
The elements were the foundation of the system that everything in this world was measured by. Every person had the ability to absorb a specific element based on their innate talent. However, the powers derived from these elements could vary drastically. Some elements were considered common, and anyone could control them, while others were rare to absorb and difficult to control. There were even people capable of wielding more than one element.
Alexia was one of the few who had absorbed Gravity (SSS). This element was one of the most powerful elements in history, and she was the only one who had been able to absorb it, despite its difficulty to control. Gravity (SSS) was not just a power to move objects; it was a force that manipulated the very fabric of time and space. She could affect her surroundings, pulling or pushing things around her in a chaotic manner.
The orbits were the stages that every individual went through in mastering their powers:
1. The First Orbit: A person can only use their element in simple ways, like moving small objects or creating minimal effects.
2. The Second Orbit: A person becomes capable of affecting a larger area, like moving large objects or altering certain environmental conditions.
3. The Third Orbit: At this stage, a person can use their element in combat, or manipulate other senses, such as distorting gravity around an enemy.
4. The Fourth Orbit: A person can execute complex offensive and defensive techniques with their element, and even modify the environment in innovative ways.
5. The Fifth Orbit: This is the final orbit, where a person can fully control their element and manipulate it across multiple dimensions.
Alexia was still in the First Orbit, but her innate talent made her exceptional. She could affect the elements more powerfully than anyone else in her orbit, but she still couldn't fully control Gravity (SSS). However, she was on the verge of entering the second orbit, which would grant her greater control.
As she walked through the familiar streets, painful memories resurfaced. This wasn't just a stroll through her usual streets; it was a long corridor filled with difficult memories.
She remembered her days in the lab. How she had been just a simple soldier, unaware that those experiments would change her life forever. Life in the lab had been full of mystery and tension, but there was one thing she couldn't escape: the system imposed upon her by the researchers.
She had been part of an experiment designed to merge people with unknown elements and test their ability to handle them. There had been only one element: Gravity (SSS). And despite not understanding it back then, Alexia was the only one who could absorb it, though it wasn't easy.
The problem was, even though she had absorbed it, she couldn't control it at first. In the beginning, she had been able to wield it only in a chaotic manner, destroying things around her by accident, or losing her balance while trying to control its flow. But over time, she learned to resist that chaos, though she was still in the first orbit.
Every time she tried to warn others about the impending danger, no one listened. She repeatedly told them the city was on the verge of collapse, that a rift was opening and that monsters would soon emerge from it. But they treated her as if she were insane. It seemed like everyone in Nexus lived in a world of illusion, where no one could believe what she was saying. And when she mentioned coming from the future, they just thought she was causing unnecessary panic.
But now, she didn't have time to waste. She needed to get to the rift, knowing it wouldn't stop until it started attacking the city.
As time passed, the unsettling sound grew closer. It was like the earth itself was trembling, with energy flowing from deep within. Alexia had finally reached the point of the rift.
Before she could catch her breath, the rift suddenly exploded in front of her, releasing monstrous creatures that began to emerge.
At that moment, Alexia knew exactly what she had to do. It was time to unleash the power she had tried to suppress for so long.