Back to the time when James first appeared in this world.
During that split second when he had yet to come to, a tremor occurred. Not in the physical realm, nor in the spirit realm. No, this tremor occurred in a realm far removed from reality yet, it still heavily connected to it.
Within this realm of wonder, nothing but streams of energy exist.
Few know of this realm, even the most powerful sorcerers in the universe couldn't see the truth that occurs within this conceptual realm.
But there are beings that know of this realm, they could feel it and the tremor within the realm had caught their attention… albeit, for a mere moment.
It was a faint tremor, much like one experienced by the realm when a reality is destroyed. This tremor was not something that was abnormal, in fact, tremors like this occur multiple times a day and realities shatter, sometimes, it's not the shattering of realities but the occurrence of various extraordinary events or phenomena.
Yet- none of these beings still care.
They have seen countless extraordinary happenings over their entire existence, realities shattering are but everyday occurrences. So long as these occurrences don't happen en masse or in a coordinated manner, these beings could care less of what had happened.
Of course they have omniscience to see through it all, yet they choose to "close their eyes" on these scenes.
For even beings such as them could not spend all eternity watching over every single matter in this realm.
Though this nature of theirs may soon prove fatal as the minor tremor, one that seemed almost inconsequential, actually came with a whisper.
The source of this whisper was not some other being, nor was it a joke of a playful existence.
No-
This whisper came from the tremor, the tiny worthless tremor.
With Eyes closed and ears deafened, none bore witness to the whisper that said-
"The era of Mystery has come"
Unknown to anyone, the tremor had brought with it a surge of power.
Alien as it was, the power had melded into the conceptual space. Unseen and unknown, the power, like a virus, enveloped the whole space.
Without anyone knowing, this alien power had quickly become a part of this realm, a local, native to this world.
Without anyone knowing, a bond had been formed, one that created another stream in the endless river of Fate.
Without knowing what had happened, change had erupted across all existence-
— BREAK —
China, Wuyi Mountains
A famous UNESCO World Heritage Site, this is a region famous for its vast dramatic river valleys. With mountains that looked as if they were carved by the God's, the mountains bring an aura of unnatural yet natural air. A mystique that made one question if nature is truly capable of creating such dramatic scenery.
Along the valleys lay an abundance of important temples and archeological sites, a mark of history, a proof of existence for ancient peoples.
Walking through this land would make one question if the sources of the many mystical tales in Chinese history and Myth came from sages exploring this region.
Alas, this site had now become a tourist attraction, many tourist spots have been set and various hotels and establishments had tainted the once majestic region.
Though it still carries the mystique of the past, only a few areas truly show off the grandeur of such scale. Most locations have already been affected by the rapid expansion of the tourism industry. Now, few areas could make one feel like they were in another realm but these areas still do exist- albeit, they are much harder to reach than normal.
Despite this, some were not hampered by the difficulty of reaching such a sight, instead they took it as a challenge as they ascended the peaks in search for the perfect spot to truly soak in the mysteries of the land.
Lei Ling, a young entrepreneur, a maverick. At 19 years of age, she had barely started college when she took her inheritance and started her own business. She was strong and smart, using all her connections, she spent countless hours turning the small change she had obtained from her parents and turned it into a huge business.
She had become a real estate mogul, a financial genius and a legend among the people of Shanghai.
Yet, despite her countless achievements and the billions she had earned, the problems she had to go through had piled up.
Family drama, inheritance rites, shares, equity…
Everything started crashing down when her parents learned of her private ownership, the companies and businesses were all under her name.
When her parents came to her, she promised to support them but they weren't satisfied.
They wanted more, they wanted partial ownership of her properties and assets, after all-
That was how the family worked.
That was how their culture had dictated things to be.
It even went as far as extended families rushing in trying to take a piece of the pie.
Lei Ling, the bright and shiny jewel of Shanghai had to use "forceful" methods.
Her hard work was done by herself, the support of her parents is what started it but everything else was her own. Even when she struggled, her parents simply watched on the side waiting for her to fail, even trying to wed her to a random young man who had a bit more money than them at the time.
She would never forget those times.
Instead of help they tried to keep her down, even then, she remained filial and worked to care for them yet-
Betrayal, conflict and greed…
It was easy to face such matters when your opponents are strangers, but to face your own blood, desperately trying to devour your flesh…
The pressure had nearly broken Lei Ling had taken a vacation to the Wuyi mountains in order to calm her troubled spirit. She wanted to have some peace, away from everything, from the evil and darkness of society.
But the trip was not as "enlightening" as she had hoped it to be.
The mystique that surrounded the Wuyi Mountains had slowly disappeared over the years.
She came to this region in order to escape the concrete jungle but the first thing she saw upon exiting her vehicle was the familiar sight of luxury.
Marbled floors, luxurious lights and décor, the smell of Shangri-La…
Disillusioned, she had hired a rather expensive guide to take her to the most beautiful and "peaceful" area in the region.
She spent a lot but ultimately it was all worth it, the moment she found herself surrounded by greenery her face lit up.
Walking through the animal trail, devoid of human touch, it was a footpath made by people and animals passing through, their steps still visible on the soil.
Around Lei Ling were grasses, shrubs, wildflowers and all manner of insects and small critters.
This area was, of course, maintained in one way or the other. Large and dangerous creatures were shooed away while smaller poisonous reptiles and snakes were captured and sent to other locations.
Rescue area's were spread out in order to rescue any unfortunate visitor and both Lei Ling and the guide had with them a tracker that could be activated to call for rescue.
Despite all this though, the area still had the natural air, the untouched beauty of nature was still present and this alone was enough to calm Lei Ling's troubled heart and mind.
But, whether it was due to her sudden relaxed mood or just the inherent dangers within the area. As Lei Ling stood at the side of a cliff, looking at the magnificent scene of the calm river below had created a picture of absolute elegance and grace that she wished she could imprint in her mind for eternity.
It was at this time that a gust of wind had forced Lei Ling to close her eyes, she staggered as she was suddenly awoken from her dream and that short moment was when it happened-
"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Lei Ling did not know what had happened, awoken from her revelry, her body felt unsteady. She moved to regain her balance but as she did her foot slipped and her body lost control.
She raised her hands forward trying to catch herself but what she saw was not brown color of the earth but instead it was a sea of green.
Weightless her mind spun rapidly as she faced her death-
Yet-
She did not want to go-
The memories of her life flooded her mind, the fate of her family, the fate of her friends.
What would happen if she were to die right now?
Lei Ling could only see despair and sorrow, pain, not from her family but from those that were always around her. Those that always supported her-
The people who had been with her through thick and thin, they were bound to suffer greatly.
A hostile takeover-
Abusing the rights provided by blood ties-
A lack of a proper will-
It was the perfect storm, a storm that would engulf all that Lei Ling had considered important in her life…
In that moment, she had a wish, a very faint wish-
'I want to live'
And in that moment she did not know how or why, but she felt a powerful force push her away. It was as if she was being carried and in the next second-
*SPLASH*
Near the banks of the river, at a depth that was enough to catch her from her fall, Lei Ling emerged from the water.
Before her was a rescue station, placed in the area to watch over anyone who would be found falling off the boats that passed by the river-
Though no one probably expected to see someone cliff dive-
After all, the distance of the cliff's edge from the river bank was quite far. Forget about the river bank that was barely a meter in depth, jumping off the cliff would make one plunge straight down into the sea of trees.
Yet, here they were, the rescuers staring at Lei Ling who was also just as puzzled as they were.
On the other side of the world, at a small rented apartment in New York City, a young teen sporting a head of white hair with pink streaks wearing a loose white shirt and pair of black hot pants.
This young girl was holding a mic as she sang into the karaoke machine.
It was midday but she was singing like it was the fourth of July.
No one complained though as noise resounded all around her. From above, the sound of drums echoed, from the room opposite theirs, loud arguing, somewhere the sound of a drill and in another place the sound of hammers banging on something.
It was chaos and that was only from the apartment's residents.
Couple it with the loud noise coming from the streets, the food stands, the drivers and some crazies. Screaming on the streets for various reasons, the noise caused a pollution that was hard to escape from and the teen?
She decided to join in, practicing her singing, she wore a pair of old noise cancelling wireless headsets. A gift she had received from her brother for Christmas- two years ago.
Although it would cut off from time to time, it was still useful as long as she did not stray too far from the device it was connected to.
Holding the mic close to her lips, the teen sang with passion as she reached the final line-
🎶 Hit me baby one more time~🎶
As she sang the final line, the loud sound of shattering echoed. Despite wearing headsets, due to the music coming to an end, the teen, Melissa Gold had heard the noise.
She quickly turned her head around only to see the windows and a few glasses shattered.
Fragments of glass were scattered all over the room and she could even hear the angry shouts from the neighboring apartments.
When she realized what had happened even she got annoyed but unlike the rest she simply called her mom and brother.
On a beach in Florida, a young man named Roberto Da Costa was relaxing under the sun.
Unlike others who had to struggle hard in order to live, Roberto could spend the rest of his life playing around.
After all, he was the son of a mob boss, a powerful figure in the underworld of LA. Right now he was relaxing under the pleasant sun, to his left and right are two beautiful women, tanning, but their gazes were directed at Roberto.
"Is it too hot? Wanna cool down inside?"
The blonde to his right asked, her voice carrying a seductive tune, one that Roberto wanted to test out. Whether it would still be able to give out that calm seduction or if it would turn into chaotic moans. His mind was racing but he shook his head as he closed his eyes.
Just a moment ago he felt the heat of the sun- change, he did not know what happened but for some reason his body felt a bit stronger and there was a weird feeling inside him…
Opening his eyes, Robert saw two fair hands near his crotch, he smiled-
"Yeah, I wanna cool down"
As he said that, he took the two beauties in his arms as he walked with them towards the nearest hotel.
Gulmira, Afghanistan, inside a rather large house.
A small girl, barely ten years old, laughed as she played around with a small toy. As she was playing around, her eyes seem to have caught sight of something as she paused.
Her head tilted as if trying to copy something, but moments later she pouted.
Then her attention was once again drawn to her toy. She laughed as she ran around once more playing her toy.
Her parents watched with warm gazes as they continued to do chores, unbeknownst to them, the small toy in her hands moved ever so slightly from time to time, a function that should not have been possible for a mere wooden puppet.
In New York, in a small Japanese grocery store, a woman, twenty one years of age, stood frozen. She stared at the empty space before her, her eyes wide in disbelief and horror. No one could see what was happening but the woman stayed frozen in shock staring at empty space before speaking-
"Onii-san?"
New York Police Department, John Tensen, one of the top detectives of the NYPD sat in the toilet, his mind racing as he stared dumble at the gun in his hands.
Some may call him out for having such a reaction to guns, especially since he was a detective, an experienced one at that, a man who should be used to it. But if others were to see the "gun" in his hands then they would probably have the same reaction.
The gun in his hands glowed, not only did it glow, it was made entirely of a weird blue substance,
John did not know how the gun appeared but when he thought of a gun it appeared on his hands and then he pondered-
Sword-
Dagger-
Rifle-
He thought of various weapons and as he did the weapon on his hands continuously changed shape. It took him a few minutes to get the hang of it and as he did he was able to learn the limitations of this mysterious "ability" of his.
"Creating weapons… now to test them"
A fierce light shone in John's eyes, a certain desire had manifested in his mind as he made the magical weapon in his hand disappear before he left the bathroom as if nothing happened.
Such situations occurred continuously around the world, people awakening to various abilities yet- none of them were detected.
In this world, mutants exists but all these people who had awakened abilities were not detected as mutants simply because they did not have X-genes. Their abilities come from a different source, one that none in this world had yet to understand… until that moment…
A tremor within the spiritual world, one that shook many, especially two people who sported the same haircut.
A man on a wheelchair sat within a completely white room, he wore a helmet on his head that hid his head lacking with hair. After a few minutes, the man opened his eyes before he spoke-
"I scanned the earth dozens of times and yet no new awakenings of the X-gen were found…"
Inside a temple, a woman with a similar haircut as the previous man noticed the emergence of mystical powers within the population. This surge caused her to quickly look for invaders from other dimensions as only such beings could cause such an event yet-
None, there were no invasions, in fact, it was as if the earth, not the universe itself had caused such anomalies.
When she realized this, the woman could only sigh helplessly, her powers, borrowed from her ancestors, were also borrowed from the universe. Their power was external, manipulating universal energies, but now- the universe itself had caused something…
What could she do?
In the end nothing, all she could do was forget about it ever happening, after all, as people in the east would say-
"It is the will of the Heavens… truly an appropriate phrase for such an event"