The year was 2189.

Three hundred and twelve years had passed since humanity first made contact with intelligent life beyond Earth.

History books called it First Contact.

The people who survived called it the Beginning of the Endless War.

No one remembered what peace felt like anymore.

Cities no longer stood without walls. Every nation was protected by colossal energy barriers capable of withstanding orbital bombardments. Military aircraft constantly patrolled the skies while satellites watched every corner of the planet.

Children learned how to identify alien races before they learned advanced mathematics.

War had become ordinary.

The Twelve Sacred Artifacts were humanity's greatest hope.

Every citizen knew their purpose.

On their twentieth birthday, they would stand before one of the Twelve Sacred Artifacts in the Awakening Ceremony. The artifact would determine whether they possessed compatibility.

Those accepted became Awakened.

Those rejected lived as ordinary citizens.

There was no appeal.

There was no second chance.

The artifacts never made mistakes.

At least, that was what everyone believed.

...

Helios City.

The capital of the Eastern Continental Union.

Unlike most cities, Helios had never fallen to an alien invasion.

Towering buildings stretched toward the clouds while military drones quietly patrolled above the streets.

Students poured out of Helios Academy after the final bell.

Some discussed upcoming examinations.

Others talked excitedly about the Awakening Ceremony that awaited them in two years.

"I wonder which artifact will choose me."

"I'll probably get Lightning."

"My brother awakened Wind last year. He's already stationed on Mars."

"I just don't want to stay ordinary."

The conversations echoed through the campus.

One student walked past them without showing the slightest interest.

Asmo Deuz.

Eighteen years old.

Nearly two meters tall.

His black school uniform fit perfectly despite his broad frame.

Long black hair reached the middle of his back, drawing occasional glances from passing students.

His hands rested inside his pockets.

His expression remained calm.

A girl accidentally bumped into him while running.

"Oh... I'm sorry."

Asmo didn't answer.

He simply continued walking.

The girl stared at his back before sighing.

"He's as cold as ever."

"He ignores everyone," her friend whispered.

"I heard he turned down three confession letters last month."

"Maybe he doesn't like girls."

"Or maybe he just thinks he's better than everyone."

They laughed quietly.

Asmo heard every word.

He simply didn't care.

People were exhausting.

Always seeking approval.

Always comparing themselves to others.

Always desperate to be noticed.

He preferred silence.

As he reached the front gate, someone called his name.

"Asmo."

He stopped.

A middle-aged teacher approached with several papers in hand.

"You forgot your examination results."

Asmo accepted the envelope.

"Thank you."

The teacher smiled.

"As expected. First place again."

"I expected nothing less."

The teacher laughed awkwardly.

"You really are confident."

"No."

Asmo glanced at the paper before placing it inside his bag.

"I simply know my own ability."

Without waiting for another response, he walked away.

The teacher watched him disappear into the crowd.

"That boy..."

"He has talent."

"But no friends."

...

The streets were busy as usual.

Restaurants filled with workers ending their shifts.

Military convoys traveled toward the outer defense walls.

Large digital billboards displayed the latest war reports.

VICTORY AT THE ATLANTIC FRONT.

THREE ALIEN DESTROYERS ELIMINATED.

SEVENTEEN AWAKENED LOST IN ACTION.

No one stopped to read.

Deaths had become numbers.

Another ordinary day.

Asmo crossed an empty bridge overlooking the river.

The city noise slowly faded behind him.

He enjoyed this route.

Quiet.

Peaceful.

For the first time all day, he looked toward the sky.

The afternoon sun shone brightly.

Not a single cloud drifted overhead.

Then...

Something appeared.

A tiny black dot.

At first it looked like a distant bird.

Within seconds...

It became larger.

Much larger.

People nearby noticed it as well.

"What is that?"

"It isn't one of ours."

A businessman stopped walking.

A child pointed upward.

"It looks weird."

The object continued falling.

No flames.

No smoke.

No sound.

Just a perfectly black sphere descending from the heavens.

Warning sirens suddenly echoed across the city.

An artificial voice filled every street.

"Emergency Alert."

"Unknown object entering Helios airspace."

"Citizens are instructed to evacuate immediately."

Military aircraft rushed overhead.

Missiles launched from hidden batteries surrounding the city.

One after another they struck the object.

Direct hits.

Massive explosions filled the sky.

When the smoke disappeared...

The black sphere continued falling.

Untouched.

Someone screamed.

"It's another invasion."

Panic spread instantly.

Vehicles crashed into one another.

People abandoned their belongings.

Parents carried children while soldiers forced civilians toward underground shelters.

Only one person remained standing on the bridge.

Asmo.

His golden-brown eyes followed the descending object without emotion.

"It survived anti-orbital missiles."

He tilted his head slightly.

"Interesting."

The sphere suddenly changed direction.

Instead of falling toward the military district...

It descended directly toward him.

The ground shook.

A deafening impact shattered the bridge windows.

Dust exploded into the air.

The shockwave knocked dozens of people off their feet.

When the dust finally settled...

A crater nearly sixty meters wide had appeared in the middle of the riverside park.

Military forces surrounded it within minutes.

Armed soldiers formed defensive lines.

Scientists wearing protective suits rushed forward.

Drones hovered above the crater.

Asmo quietly walked closer.

No one paid attention to him.

Everyone stared at the center.

Resting there...

Wasn't a meteor.

It was a crystal.

Perfectly smooth.

Completely black.

Floating several centimeters above the ground.

"It doesn't match any known artifact," one scientist whispered.

"No radiation."

"No heat."

"No biological activity."

Another scientist adjusted his scanner.

"Impossible..."

"It isn't made from any material we've discovered."

A military commander stepped forward.

"Send in a drone."

A small machine approached the crystal.

The mechanical arm slowly reached forward.

The instant it touched the surface...

The drone disappeared.

Not exploded.

Not destroyed.

It simply ceased to exist.

Every record.

Every signal.

Gone.

Silence filled the crater.

Even experienced soldiers instinctively stepped backward.

The commander frowned.

"No one approaches it."

Before another order could be given...

The crystal moved.

It slowly turned.

Not toward the commander.

Not toward the scientists.

Toward Asmo.

Everyone noticed.

"Who's that student?"

"Stop him."

"Get him out of here."

Several soldiers ran toward Asmo.

Before they reached him...

The crystal shot forward.

It stopped less than a meter from his face.

The world became strangely quiet.

The wind disappeared.

The distant sirens faded.

Even the sounds of frightened civilians vanished.

Only silence remained.

Asmo looked directly into the crystal.

For the first time in his life...

He felt something looking back.

Then a voice echoed inside his mind.

Compatibility confirmed.

Initiating succession.

Asmo frowned.

"What are you?"

The crystal answered.

The last Crown has found its bearer.

A crack appeared across its surface.

Then another.

And another.

Golden light burst from within the darkness.

The crystal shattered into thousands of glowing fragments.

Every piece rushed toward Asmo.

They entered his chest without resistance.

Pain unlike anything imaginable spread throughout his body.

He couldn't breathe.

He couldn't move.

Countless unfamiliar memories flooded his mind.

Alien languages.

Galaxies.

Ancient civilizations.

Wars fought before humanity existed.

Technology beyond imagination.

Knowledge.

Endless knowledge.

Millions of years poured into his consciousness in a single instant.

The soldiers watched helplessly.

Asmo's body slowly rose from the ground.

Ten centimeters.

Half a meter.

One meter.

His black hair grew longer.

Each strand transformed into radiant gold.

His eyes opened.

Brilliant golden irises reflected the sky itself.

An invisible pressure erupted from his body.

Every soldier dropped to one knee.

Weapons slipped from trembling hands.

Scientists collapsed.

Military drones fell lifeless from the sky.

The commander struggled just to breathe.

"What..."

"What is happening?"

Above Helios City...

The clouds split apart.

Every satellite orbiting Earth simultaneously transmitted the same unidentified signal.

Across every continent...

The Twelve Sacred Artifacts began to resonate.

For the first time in over three hundred years...

They reacted in fear.

High above the crater, Asmo slowly opened his eyes.

He looked at his hands.

Then at the frightened people below.

He could hear every heartbeat in the city.

Every radio transmission.

Every satellite.

Every voice across the planet.

The knowledge inside his mind felt endless.

And yet...

It felt as though it had always belonged to him.

A calm voice echoed one final time.

The Crown has awakened.

The Omniarch has been born.

Asmo looked toward the endless sky.

His expression remained unchanged.

"So..."

"This is power."

Dark clouds gathered above Helios City.

Not because of the weather.

Every satellite orbiting Earth had detected an unknown energy pulse originating from the crater.

Within three minutes, every military base on the planet entered the highest state of emergency.

Inside the World Union Headquarters, a massive circular conference room filled with silence.

Twelve leaders from the strongest nations stared at the holographic projection hovering above the table.

It showed a single young man floating in the center of a crater.

Golden hair.

Golden eyes.

An expression completely devoid of fear.

One of the generals broke the silence.

"Status."

"The energy reading has exceeded the limits of every known Awakening Artifact."

"What about the Thirteen-Class scale?"

"It surpassed the scale."

The room became quiet again.

That scale had never failed.

Not once in three centuries.

Yet the machine had displayed only one message before shutting down.

UNKNOWN

The Supreme Commander slowly stood.

"Evacuate every civilian within fifty kilometers."

"What about the boy?"

"No one approaches him."

...

Helios City.

The pressure surrounding the crater slowly faded.

Soldiers were finally able to stand.

Some immediately aimed their weapons at Asmo.

Others hesitated.

None of them had ever witnessed anything like this.

Asmo remained suspended in the air.

He looked at his own hand.

Without thinking, he slowly closed his fingers.

The air around him distorted for an instant.

A nearby armored military vehicle suddenly rose into the sky.

The soldiers gasped.

The fifty-ton vehicle floated effortlessly as though it weighed nothing.

Asmo frowned.

"I didn't touch it."

The vehicle remained suspended.

He opened his hand.

It gently returned to the ground.

No explosion.

No destruction.

Just complete control.

A scientist stepped forward despite everyone trying to stop him.

"Young man..."

"My name is Professor Adrian Wells."

"Can you hear me?"

Asmo looked at him.

"Yes."

"What happened to you?"

"I don't know."

"Do you remember touching the object?"

"Yes."

"How do you feel?"

Asmo paused.

He searched for the answer.

Then countless streams of information flooded his thoughts.

Planetary gravity.

Quantum energy.

Alien languages.

Orbital trajectories.

Every answer appeared before he even finished thinking.

"I know everything."

Professor Wells blinked.

"...Excuse me?"

"I understand every language currently spoken on Earth."

"I understand two hundred and forty-three alien languages."

"I know the composition of every weapon you're carrying."

"I know the serial number of every aircraft flying above this city."

The professor stared in disbelief.

No one had spoken.

No one had given him that information.

Yet...

Everything he said was correct.

Another scientist hurriedly checked a tablet.

"He..."

"He's right."

Asmo slowly looked toward the sky.

"I can hear your satellites."

Several officers instinctively looked upward.

Impossible.

"They're attempting to analyze me."

The commander froze.

Only the highest military satellites were observing the crater.

No civilian should have known.

Asmo looked directly into the clouds.

"Your equipment is outdated."

Thousands of kilometers above Earth...

Every observation satellite suddenly shut down.

Not destroyed.

Simply turned off.

Control rooms across the world erupted into panic.

"We lost every feed."

"What happened?"

"They all shut themselves down."

"No..."

One operator looked pale.

"They received a command."

"From where?"

No one answered.

...

Back in Helios.

The commander finally stepped forward.

"My name is General Marcus Hale."

"I represent the World Union."

"I request that you come with us."

"Why?"

"So we can understand what happened."

Asmo looked at him for several seconds.

"You want to study me."

Marcus remained silent.

"You fear me."

Still silence.

"You also know you cannot force me."

The general slowly lowered his head.

"Yes."

Asmo descended until his feet were only a few centimeters above the ground.

They still never touched it.

He glanced around the crater.

Broken vehicles.

Terrified soldiers.

Scientists unable to hide their excitement.

It all seemed strangely distant.

As if none of it mattered.

A memory surfaced inside his mind.

Not his own.

A memory belonging to the Crown.

Civilizations rising.

Stars dying.

Entire empires disappearing over millions of years.

Compared to that...

Earth felt incredibly small.

Asmo looked back at the general.

"I have no interest in your laboratories."

"I won't become your weapon."

"We never intended..."

"You did."

The general fell silent.

Asmo wasn't guessing.

He already knew.

Every movement.

Every heartbeat.

Every expression.

His senses read them effortlessly.

He slowly turned away.

"Wait."

Professor Wells hurried after him.

"If you leave now, humanity will panic."

"And?"

"You possess power beyond anything we've recorded."

"People deserve answers."

Asmo stopped.

He looked at the professor.

"No."

"They deserve survival."

Before anyone could react...

His body floated higher.

One meter.

Five meters.

Twenty.

The soldiers instinctively aimed upward.

Marcus immediately raised his hand.

"Don't fire."

No one argued.

Every instinct screamed the same warning.

Do not attack.

Asmo looked down upon the city.

Cars stood motionless.

Thousands of civilians stared toward the crater.

Some had already begun recording him.

Children pointed toward the sky.

For reasons he couldn't explain...

He felt nothing.

No excitement.

No fear.

No joy.

Only curiosity.

What would humanity become?

Would they survive?

Would they destroy themselves?

He wanted to know.

Without another word, Asmo disappeared.

A sonic boom echoed across the sky.

By the time the sound reached the city...

He was already gone.

...

Nearly eight hundred kilometers away.

Above a quiet mountain range.

Asmo slowed to a stop.

He looked back toward the distant horizon.

"I crossed the continent..."

"In less than a second."

His voice remained calm.

There was no pride.

Only observation.

He descended onto the peak of the mountain.

His feet still hovered above the rock.

The wind blew through his golden hair.

For the first time since awakening...

The voice of the Crown spoke again.

Bearer.

Your awakening has been detected.

The war has entered a new era.

Asmo looked toward the stars.

"Who are you?"

I am the Crown.

The first artifact.

The last authority.

Your predecessor no longer exists.

You alone inherit the throne.

Asmo closed his eyes.

"What throne?"

The answer came after several moments of silence.

The throne before which every civilization once bowed.

Then the voice disappeared.

Leaving Asmo alone beneath the evening sky.

Far beyond Earth's atmosphere, hidden behind the dark side of the moon, an enormous alien vessel slowly awakened from centuries of silence.

Ancient systems came online one after another.

A crimson symbol appeared across its bridge.

CROWN SIGNAL DETECTED

AUTHORITY LEVEL

ABSOLUTE

For the first time in three hundred years...

Something in the darkness smiled.

The World Moves

The disappearance of Asmo Deuz became the biggest story in human history.

Less than an hour after the incident in Helios City, every military base on Earth received classified reports describing the same impossible event.

An unidentified young man had merged with an unknown artifact.

Every observation satellite had lost control simultaneously.

The Twelve Sacred Artifacts had resonated for the first time since humanity discovered them.

No explanation existed.

Only one conclusion remained.

Something beyond human understanding had appeared.

Inside the World Union Headquarters, hundreds of officers worked without rest.

Screens covered every wall, displaying live footage from military satellites, drones, and defense stations across Earth.

General Marcus Hale stood silently in front of the main display.

"Any sign of him?"

A young officer shook his head.

"No, sir."

"No energy readings?"

"Nothing."

"It is as though he vanished."

Marcus looked toward Professor Adrian Wells.

"You've been studying the artifacts for forty years."

"Tell me honestly."

"What are we dealing with?"

The professor removed his glasses and sighed.

"I don't know."

Marcus frowned.

"You don't know?"

"I've spent my entire career believing humanity understood the Sacred Artifacts."

He looked toward the twelve glowing symbols displayed on the hologram.

"Now I'm beginning to think we never understood them at all."

The room fell silent.

For centuries, the Twelve Sacred Artifacts had never changed.

They chose their hosts.

Granted abilities.

Waited for the next generation.

Simple.

Predictable.

Reliable.

Yesterday.

Every one of them had reacted at the exact same moment.

Not with excitement.

With fear.

Professor Wells slowly spoke.

"I believe..."

"The object that chose Asmo existed before the Twelve."

Another officer laughed nervously.

"That's impossible."

"The Twelve are the oldest alien relics ever discovered."

Professor Wells looked at him.

"Then explain why every artifact reacted like frightened children."

No one answered.

...

Several thousand kilometers away, Asmo stood alone on the peak of a snow-covered mountain.

The cold wind pushed against his long golden hair.

He felt nothing.

The freezing temperature no longer affected him.

He slowly looked across the horizon.

His vision extended beyond ordinary sight.

He could see cities hundreds of kilometers away.

Aircraft crossing continents.

Ships sailing across oceans.

His senses continued expanding.

Eventually...

He heard voices.

Millions of them.

People laughing.

Children crying.

Military commanders issuing orders.

Alien communications traveling through space.

The amount of information became overwhelming.

Asmo closed his eyes.

"Silence."

Instantly...

The voices disappeared.

Only the wind remained.

He opened his eyes again.

"So that's better."

Without warning, several unfamiliar memories surfaced inside his mind.

Not memories.

Knowledge.

He instinctively raised one hand toward the sky.

Golden light gathered above his palm.

The energy twisted into countless geometric patterns before disappearing.

"So this is how it's done."

He had never practiced.

He simply knew.

It was no different from breathing.

...

Deep beneath the Arctic Ocean.

Far below the reach of human technology.

A massive alien fortress slowly awakened.

Its metallic walls stretched for hundreds of kilometers beneath the seabed.

Thousands of dormant machines activated simultaneously.

Inside the central chamber, dozens of towering figures opened their eyes.

Their armor resembled black crystal.

Each stood over three meters tall.

One of them stepped forward.

"The signal..."

"It has returned."

Another lowered his head.

"It cannot be."

"The Crown disappeared before our civilization was born."

"It was only legend."

The oldest among them slowly stood from a massive throne.

"No."

"It was never a legend."

He looked toward a holographic image of Earth.

"The Crown has chosen another bearer."

The chamber fell silent.

One warrior asked quietly,

"Should we attack?"

The old leader immediately answered.

"No."

"We observe."

"If the new bearer possesses even a fraction of the original authority..."

He paused.

"Our entire species could disappear in a single day."

Fear spread throughout the chamber.

Not one of them questioned his words.

...

Helios City.

The streets remained crowded with reporters.

Military vehicles blocked every road leading toward yesterday's crater.

Thousands of civilians gathered behind security barriers.

Everyone wanted answers.

Rumors spread faster than official announcements.

Some believed a new alien weapon had appeared.

Others claimed humanity had created a biological super soldier.

Videos of the floating young man had already spread across the internet.

Most were quickly deleted by the government.

It didn't matter.

Millions had already seen them.

One short clip showed only a single moment.

A young man with long golden hair floating above the ground.

Looking down.

Completely expressionless.

That ten-second recording became the most viewed video in human history.

No one knew his name.

Not yet.

...

Meanwhile, Asmo had reached another city.

He floated several meters above a quiet rooftop.

No one looked upward.

Humans rarely did.

He observed them without speaking.

Workers hurried home.

Students laughed together.

Restaurants filled with customers.

Normal lives continued.

Even after yesterday's incident.

"They adapt quickly."

His voice was almost disappointed.

The sound of an explosion suddenly echoed across the eastern district.

Several buildings shook.

Emergency sirens activated.

People began running.

Above the city, a massive tear appeared in the sky.

A dimensional gate.

Black smoke poured from its center.

Then something emerged.

A creature nearly twenty meters tall landed in the middle of the street.

Its body resembled living stone covered in crimson crystals.

Citizens screamed.

Military drones immediately responded.

Energy cannons opened fire.

The creature ignored every attack.

Within seconds, armored vehicles arrived.

Awakened soldiers jumped onto the battlefield.

One controlled fire.

Another manipulated steel.

A third wielded enormous blades made from ice.

They fought with perfect teamwork.

The monster roared and smashed an entire building with one arm.

People continued evacuating.

Asmo watched everything from above.

The battle lasted nearly ten minutes.

One by one, the Awakened soldiers were thrown aside.

Several lay unconscious.

One failed to stand again.

The commander shouted into his communicator.

"We need reinforcements."

"It ranks above Class Seven."

"No nearby units available."

The creature raised both arms.

Crimson energy gathered around its body.

The commander realized what was about to happen.

His face turned pale.

"No..."

"If that attack lands..."

"It'll destroy half the district."

People below continued running in panic.

Some fell.

Parents shielded their children.

The monster released its attack.

A massive beam of crimson light surged toward the city.

The commander closed his eyes.

Then...

Nothing happened.

He slowly looked upward.

The beam had stopped.

Frozen in midair.

The entire attack remained suspended as though time itself had halted.

Every soldier stared in disbelief.

Above the battlefield stood a lone figure.

Long golden hair flowed behind him.

His feet never touched the air.

One hand remained inside his pocket.

The other was raised casually toward the monster.

Asmo looked down without emotion.

"So..."

"This is what humanity has struggled against for centuries."

The monster roared and charged toward him.

Asmo didn't move.

He simply lowered one finger.

The creature instantly collapsed.

Its enormous body hit the ground with enough force to crack the street.

It tried to stand.

It couldn't.

An invisible force pressed it deeper into the earth.

The surrounding buildings shook.

Roads split apart.

The commander couldn't believe what he was seeing.

One finger.

The unknown young man had stopped a Class Seven monster with one finger.

Asmo looked at the struggling creature.

"Boring."

The monster suddenly disappeared.

Not exploded.

Not torn apart.

Simply erased.

Silence covered the battlefield.

Thousands of people stared toward the sky.

Asmo slowly looked over the crowd.

No fear.

No excitement.

No satisfaction.

Only indifference.

Without saying another word...

He turned away and disappeared beyond the clouds.

Leaving behind a city that would never forget the day a golden-haired stranger ended a battle with a single movement of his hand.