The city moved with the steady rhythm of life—cars honking, footsteps tapping on sidewalks, distant voices weaving stories into the air. On the surface, it was just another ordinary day.
But beneath that familiar bustle, the world was not the same.
Since 2019, humanity had awakened to a force beyond understanding: Via Absoluta. A power that turned belief, will, and concept into reality. It transformed ordinary people into Pathwalkers—beings capable of shaping the world with their ideals.
Some embraced this power with hope. Others with fear. And some, like Ash Gray, carried it as a burden.
Ash was no hero.
Born into poverty, his family had never known comfort or ease. Two years ago, everything changed. A sudden, brutal accident left both his parents trapped in an endless sleep—coma. The weight of that loss shattered his world.
But from the depths of that shock, something within Ash stirred.
Perfect! Here's the next part of Chapter 1, continuing from the introduction and showing Ash's awakening, his emotional turning point, a brief explanation of Via Absoluta, and ending with that quiet but powerful moment of determination.
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Chapter 1 (continued): Awakening the Storm
The accident had been sudden.
Metal screamed. Glass shattered. Tires shrieked across pavement. And then—silence.
Ash didn't remember all of it. Only the smell of smoke, the red blinking of ambulance lights, and the cold, sterile hum of the hospital room. He sat for hours—maybe days—staring at two unmoving bodies. His parents. Still breathing, but lifeless.
It was too much.
Something inside him cracked.
The world around him flickered. Time slowed. The colors of the room distorted like a painting being smeared by invisible hands. A pressure built in his chest, surging outward, wrapping around him.
And then—darkness.
It wasn't unconsciousness. It was deeper.
He stood in a void. No up, no down. No sky, no ground. Just an endless space of shifting forms and colors—twisting, swirling, formless chaos.
> "You are not light. Nor shadow."
"Not life. Nor death."
"You are possibility."
And then it was gone.
Ash woke up on the hospital floor, gasping for air. The monitors were still beeping. The world had returned to normal—except it hadn't. Something had changed.
Inside him, he could feel it now.
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Three Days Later
He hadn't spoken to anyone. Just stayed in his tiny room at the shelter near the hospital, staring at the cracked ceiling.
For three days, he didn't cry. He didn't scream. He didn't eat.
But on the third day, he stood.
Not because the pain was gone—but because he had accepted it.
He walked to the mirror. His black hair hung messily over his forehead. His purple eyes—newly changed—glowed faintly in the dark. His body trembled slightly, not from fear, but from the pressure coiled beneath his skin.
The power had a name.
> Primordius Chaos.
A concept older than time. A force without form. It responded to nothing but instinct, evolution, and emotion.
He clenched his fist. The air around his hand shimmered, vibrating with unstable energy. Sparks of color flickered—purple and black.
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Everyone in the world now had the potential to awaken it.
Via Absoluta is the power of belief turned into form. A person's Pathway is the road they walk—built from experience, loss, growth, and intent. Their Belief fuels their ability—an emotional or philosophical anchor that shapes how their power manifests.
Finally, the Concept is the pure essence of their identity—it's what defines their reality and lets them bend the world to match it. Some wield fire, light, shadows, or gravity. Others shape illusions, time, or sound.
But Ash's concept… was something no one had ever recorded before.
It was not part of any elemental order, nor moral alignment. It was chaos itself. Unpredictable, limitless, and unstable.
The type of power that gets people feared. Or hunted.
Which meant, for now… it had to stay secret.
Ash stood on the rooftop of the old shelter, the city lights glowing faintly beneath a cloudy sky. He had wrapped his fists in tape. His breath was steady, his eyes locked forward.
His body still felt unfamiliar—thin, tired, weak. But he knew what he had to do.
He didn't have the luxury of being normal anymore. Or afraid.
He would get stronger.
Not for glory. Not for revenge.
For survival.
For his parents.
And for himself.
Ash cracked his neck, stepped forward, and threw his first punch into the cold night air.
"No one's coming to save me."
"So I will become strong enough to save them."
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