Chapter 2: Prologue (2)
"Whoa—?!"
With a gasp, I realized that I'd just been spat out of the swirling hole, tumbling onto solid ground!
Thud!
My knees scraped against the rough asphalt, and I landed hard on my stomach.
"Ugh..." I groaned, wincing as pain shot up my arm. "What the hell...?"
I lay there for a moment, trying to catch my breath and piece together what had just happened. My mind still felt like it was spinning, struggling to hold onto some semblance of sanity—
Honk! Honk!
However, the blaring horn of a car shattered my daze! I shot up, panic flooding my veins.
'Am I in the middle of a highway?!'
But as my eyes adjusted to the world around me, the first thing I saw... was an advertisement sign.
Bright, colorful, BIG.
It was affixed to the side of a building, taking up almost half of its surface. While its brightness and size were already eye-catching, the content of the advertisement sign was even more bizarre...
A wristwatch.
An advertisement image of a beautiful woman holding up her left hand—specially highlighting her wrist that was adorned with a sleek, futuristic-looking watch.
Said watch really caught my eye for some unknown reason... Something about it felt off, like it was from another time.
It was, again, sleek, shimmering with metallic hues that seemed to shift in the light... almost alive.
The woman's hand, poised perfectly to showcase the watch, had a delicate elegance to it, but there was something about that timepiece that felt... extravagant. More so than those futuristic-looking smartwatches I'd seen before.
This watch actually looked... future.
Then I squinted at the glowing words beneath the woman. "Chrono... Link? 'A New Era of Time'...?"
The slogan for it felt even bolder than the actual sign itself.
'It's not just a watch... It's your future.'
"Future...?"
That single word felt... off. It was somewhat resonating with me... as if it was telling me something.
But I did not dwell on it long because something else caught my attention.
More advertisements.
My eyes widened as more of these bright signs came into view. They continuously lined the sides of the buildings, each one more vibrant than the last. Not just digital ads, but neon signs too, their flashy, colorful lights glowing vividly.
They advertised everything from food and drinks to clothing, and even more futuristic-looking gadgets. The bright colors bounced off the slick, metal-like surfaces of the towering structures around me.
'Hold on...! Is that...?!'
One of these signs was promoting a weapon.
A sleek, futuristic handgun was displayed prominently on a digital screen, with bold text overlaying it: 'Defend Your Tomorrow—Revolutionize Your Safety.'
The fact that they even openly advertised weapons like this was baffling, as if they were just basic necessities you'd pick up on a casual shopping trip.
And then these buildings...
They weren't made of the dull gray concrete I was used to living and breathing in.
No... they gleamed under the sunlight, their metallic exteriors reflecting the light like polished steel. The architecture was sharp and angular, almost alien in its precision... yet undeniably captivating.
These structures... they felt like something I'd seen before. Fictional, yet eerily familiar, as if they were plucked straight out of sci-fi.
But then... I saw it.
A giant digital billboard mounted high on one of the tallest buildings.
The screen buzzed to life, and a woman appeared—a beautiful woman.
In fact...
She was the same woman advertising that futuristic watch.
I stared at the massive display, both baffled and mesmerized by her beauty. Before, I could only see her visage, but now... I could see her full figure.
She was breathtaking. Her movements graceful as she danced across the display. Her silvery-white, shining long hair flowed like silk, and her smile... it could've lit up the entire street.
For a moment, I was lost in her elegance... until she raised her left arm, and that's when everything changed.
All of a sudden, her skin seemed to shimmer... then peel away.
"Huh?!?"
She revealed something beneath her skin. Neither muscle nor bone, but gleaming metal. Intricate cybernetic limbs that moved with unnerving fluidity.
I stumbled back a step, my breath catching in my throat. I stared in horror at the sight that was openly displayed for the public to see.
The woman on the screen kept moving, her body transforming with every motion. Her limbs split apart, reforming into sleek mechanical joints.
"Become more than human. Transcend your limits with Zenith Dynamics's latest cybernetic enhancements." Her voice was smooth, almost hypnotic, as she gestured to her transformed body. "Strength, speed, beauty... perfection awaits."
As she spoke Her eyes' irises flashed with an unnatural blue, an ethereal glow that pierced through the screen.
Her eyes alone would have captivated me if it was just that, but instead, they felt to me like some sort of mechanical abyss, a window into something inhuman.
She wasn't just augmented—she was barely human.
A cyborg.
That was the conclusion that formed in my head.
My mouth hung wide open as I watched, horrified yet unable to tear my eyes away. The ad played on, showcasing more of her cybernetic enhancements as if they were the pinnacle of beauty and innovation.
And then finally... I was able to perceive my surroundings.
The streets felt grimy, the pavement cracked and uneven, litter scattered across the ground, and yet, the occasional glimmer of advanced technology peeked through.
While I could see the advancements, the surrounding environment didn't feel futuristic enough to be an actual advanced civilization.
There was some level of progress here, but at the same time, it felt like it was stagnant, frozen in time, as if any further progress had been halted—never to increase again.
The same bright advertising signs flashed all around me. Some belonged to what seemed to be regular stores, but others had corporate logos that flickered even brighter, towering above the rest in massive displays.
These Corporates... they seemed distant. The owners felt like they had long forgotten what it was like to walk among the people.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone