Being Awakened

A few hours passed, and the car passed many neighborhoods as Hendrix lay unconscious, and the vehicle arrived at Headquarters.

The building was a giant one-story building made of wood, cement, and steel covered in blue paint.

After the vehicle stopped at the headquarters parking lot, the group left the car and took Hendrix with them before clothing him and placing him in a bed. Afterward, they went to report.

"Ugh, where am I?" Hendrix asked out loud as he woke up. Before stopping, remembering what had happened earlier, his eyes widened.

"No, no, where am I?!" Hendrix thought while opening his eyes and looking at his surroundings. His face turned pale while his body shivered.

As Hendrix surveyed the room, he identified a few things around him. First, a door at the far right corner, a dresser to his left side, and the bed he lay in currently. Meanwhile, up above, a single dim light flickered on and off.

"What should I do now?" Hendrix thought while trying to walk but failing miserably. While frantically inspecting his surroundings for anything amiss and blinking his eyes rapidly.

Hendrix spent a long time trying to move his arms at least, and after a few hours, he succeeded.

"I guess I just have to wait." Hendrix sighed, realizing he had no choice but to continue to stay here. He continued trying to move his limbs in the meantime.

After an unknown amount of time, the door opened, revealing a middle-aged man standing in the doorway with a brown wheelchair in front of him.

"Good morning Hendrix. That's your name, isn't it?" The man asked with an eyebrow raised as he rolled the wheelchair inside before stopping right next to Hendrix's bed.

"Why couldn't you just let me be?" Hendrix quietly asked as his shivering intensified and his heart rate doubled. His lips trembled while cold sweat formed on his back.

"Well, you are a new awakened, Hendrix." The man stated while staring at him, without changing his expression or tone.

"What do you mean by awakened? I have no clue what that is." Hendrix asked while having his guard up, taking precautions. He was ready to snap his neck if the man tried to torture him.

"Well, anyone releases a signal we can detect when they awaken. Everyone awakens once they turn sixteen years of age." The middle-aged man slowly explained while standing still like a statue.

"Well, why was I taken here? Even If I have awoken, then why me?" Hendrix asked carefully, not wanting to sound above his age, remembering Alagdalla said his body was sixteen.

"Every awakened has value no matter their background. Do you need help getting into the wheelchair?" The middle-aged man asked while sighing.

"No, I do not. Please don't touch me." Hendrix asked while moving his arms and sitting up awkwardly.

"Fine, I won't, Hendrix." The middle-aged man replied.

Hendrix crawled to the wheelchair and eventually sat down in it after putting in an immense effort.

"Let's go, and today will be a busy night." The middle-aged man stated before beginning to push Hendrix out of the room.

"Why is it busy? I'm perplexed about that." Hendrix asked while narrowing his eyes and assessing his surroundings, and gripping the arms of the wheelchair tightly.

"Well, you'll see other recently awakened brought here and given an explanation. Once that ends, you will experience your first Tribulation." The middle-aged man said as he continued to push Hendrix.

"I see. If that's the case, I will wait and listen." Hendrix said as he shut his mouth.

The duo eventually passed many halls and corridors before reaching a door. Many others crowded here, and they looked excited.

"Welcome awakened, come inside. We don't have much time." A voice said on the intercom.

The door opened, and everyone outside entered in an orderly manner. Eventually, Hendrix and the middle-aged man joined when their turn came. Inside the auditorium, unique green pods took place where the seats should be. They all were six feet tall.

"I am Carl, and I'm here to congratulate you for awakening." An older man spoke while holding a microphone as he walked inside. He then stopped and stood on a podium at the center of the room.

"Please, everyone, find a pod and go inside. There is a green button you can push on each one's right side. Please press it, it will open, and you can enter inside." Carl said as he looked at all the newly awoken.

The middle-aged man rolled Hendrix to one of the pods. Afterward, he attempted to help Hendrix into it, and the man pushed the button. However, Hendrix declined further help and entered the pod with great effort.

The other awakened had already entered their pods as they all awaited Carl's explanation.

"Now, everyone, you will soon enter your first Tribulation. Your bodies will remain here as your souls enter an alternate past of the crown world. You will have a task to complete inside it. Though for most, it will be to kill someone without hesitation." Carl urgently stated knowing this information is a lot to take in for teenagers.

Hendrix pondered if he was willing to do that. The answer almost instantly came to him. Yes, he would. Anything to allow him to acquire eternal rest. No matter the price.

"You will take on a person's identity in the crown world's past while being able to control and use their bodies. But beware, if you die in this Tribulation, you'll have to start all over with your progress restarted. So it's best to be careful until you complete your main objective. You can leave the Tribulation, but there is an option to continue staying. For those who don't, you will get a talent based on your luck and performance while also acquiring a curse." Carl said as he chuckled, seeing all the reactions of the newly awakened.

'I will earn the maximum reward possible no matter how long it takes or how much pain it will bring. I need my eternal rest.' Hendrix thought, steeling himself to do everything he could to do so.

"For those who decide to stay in, well, good luck, as it's sporadic to occur. So we don't know what tips to give you. Though no matter how long you spend in the Tribulation, only an hour will pass here. Also, a perk for this Tribulation is that you will have unlimited retries." Carl explained as he knew time was almost up. "Now, everyone, good luck with your Tribulation."

[Welcome, Hendrix Alford. Tribulation transfer commencing]

"Ugh..." Hendrix grunted as his soul left his body and entered a different dimension through an ethereal portal. Time and space warped in this strange place. As he traveled, his surroundings resembled an optical illusion.

The area around them didn't follow the same rules of reality. Time, space, and gravity seemed to fold, contort, and flow like water falling down a waterfall. Strange, long, and ethereal wormlike creatures swam through the madness. They had the texture of a mirage and were clear in color, while their bodies followed Trilateral symmetry. Their heads had three pointed beak-like parts, in a triangle shape, that opened and closed like pincers.

[Congratulations Hendrix. You can view this strange dimension and its inhabitants. Due to your willpower.]

'Huh? So It's hard to view this?' Hendrix asked, confused as he looked around, not sure how he was special, while shocked about seeing the message. He had read web novels before, but experiencing this In person was baffling.

[Yes, you have an abnormal willpower stat. Typically newly awoken individuals have their consciousness in stasis to prevent damage to them]

'Are consciousness and the soul the same?' Hendrix asked, wanting to know more.

[No, they are not. They work together in unity. Your willpower is part of your consciousness, while your existence is by your soul.]

While Hendrix was communicating with the guide, one of the worms swam next to his soul and brushed against him as an infinitesimal part broke off and attached before sinking into his soul without knowing.

'Okay, um, who are you?' Hendrix asked, bewildered.

[I am a tool created for all awakened earthlings by Oculus.]

'Are you a system?' Hendrix asked, even more clueless.

[No, I am not. No other information is available]

Hendrix became suspicious of Guide but put that back in his mind as he looked around at the enigmatic surroundings before wondering how long until he reached his Tribulation before pondering why he didn't suffer trauma from his past life.

[Your abnormal willpower stat is keeping you from experiencing trauma.]

Hendrix's mind blanked for a moment, shocked he got an answer despite not asking the question. 'Um, what would happen if my willpower was average?' He asked, hoping to know more.

[You would be overwhelmed by the trauma, and your body will lock it away.]

Hendrix understood as he felt his consciousness stop.