Awakening
If someone had asked Kai whether he believed in gods, he probably would have said, “Depends.”
But that morning, gods were the last thing on his mind.
His alarm clock read 7:03 a.m. and was ringing so loudly by now that it seemed to have something against him personally. A hand emerged from beneath the blanket and swung at it.
Missed.
The alarm clock fell off the nightstand.
“Kai!”
No reaction.
“KAI!”
Under the blanket, Kai opened one eye.
“I’m awake.”
The eye closed again.
“YOU HAVE TO LEAVE IN TWENTY MINUTES!”
Now both eyes were open.
“WHAT?!”
A few seconds later, chaos had taken over Kai’s room. He was trying to put on his pants, pull his hoodie over his head, and find his backpack all at the same time.
The result was predictable.
He tripped and landed on the floor.
“Everything okay?” came a voice from the hallway.
Kai lay between his bed and his backpack.
“Yep.”
A short pause.
“Planned it.”
A little later, he came downstairs. His backpack hung half-open over one shoulder. Several books about Greek mythology lay on the kitchen table, next to a large rolled-up sheet of paper.
Kai walked right past it.
“Kai.”
He stopped.
Slowly, he turned around.
His eyes fell on the roll of paper.
PRESENTATION – THE GREEK GODS
“I was just testing whether you were paying attention.”
He grabbed the presentation and ran to the front door.
“See you later!”
The door slammed shut.
Two seconds later, it opened again.
Kai stuck his head inside.
“My breakfast.”
A hand passed him a slice of toast.
“Thanks!”
The door slammed shut again.
With the toast between his teeth, his backpack on his back, and his presentation tucked under one arm, Kai ran through the city.
7:39 a.m.
“Crap.”
He sped up.
On his way, he passed a small antique shop. Old books, clocks, coins, figurines, and objects whose purpose Kai couldn’t even begin to guess filled the display window.
Among them stood a dark stone tablet.
An unusual symbol had been carved into its surface. Several lines and shapes seemed to converge toward a single central point. Part of the tablet had broken off.
Kai noticed it as he ran past.
But he didn’t have time to stop.
Not yet.
---
A few hours later, Kai stood in front of his class.
Behind him hung his presentation about the Greek gods.
“…and that’s why Mount Olympus wasn’t just a mountain to the ancient Greeks. It was believed to be the home of the gods.”
Kai pointed to an image of Zeus.
A voice came from the class.
“And Hades was the bad guy.”
Kai looked at his classmate.
“Not really.”
“He lives in the Underworld.”
“Yeah.”
Kai shrugged.
“Well, he has to live somewhere.”
A few students laughed.
Kai pointed at Hades.
“He was the ruler of the Underworld. That doesn’t automatically make him evil. A lot of these stories are told much more simply today. There’s a hero, a villain, and a monster.”
He pointed to another image.
“But when you look at the original stories, things are sometimes a lot more complicated.”
One of his classmates grinned.
“You do know they’re not real, right?”
Kai looked at him.
“Were you there?”
The class laughed.
Even the teacher had to grin.
“Okay. Before we start a discussion about whether Zeus actually exists: good job, Kai.”
“Thanks.”
As Kai walked back to his seat, his friend whispered:
“Were you there?”
Kai sat down.
“Good argument.”
“Brilliant.”
For Kai, it was just a completely normal school day.
---
The bell rang that afternoon.
Students poured outside.
Kai and his friend walked part of the way home together.
“You coming online later?”
“Yeah.”
His friend stopped and gave him a suspicious look.
“Really?”
“Probably.”
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The ‘probably.’”
At an intersection, they went their separate ways.
“See you later.”
“See you.”
Kai continued on alone.
And then he passed the antique shop again.
This time, he wasn’t in a hurry.
His gaze wandered toward the display window.
The stone tablet was still there.
Kai slowed down.
Eventually, he stopped.
He studied the strange symbol on its surface.
Then he looked at his watch.
Back at the tablet.
“Just five minutes.”
He opened the door.
A small bell jingled above his head.
The shop looked much larger on the inside than Kai had expected.
Tall shelves were filled with old books. Globes, masks, statues, clocks, pieces of jewelry, old maps, and objects from different countries and different eras stood everywhere.
“Wow.”
“That’s what most people say.”
Kai turned around.
An elderly man stepped out from behind one of the shelves.
“Until they see the prices.”
Kai grinned.
Then he went straight to the stone tablet.
“Where did this come from?”
The old man stood beside him.
“If you find out, let me know.”
Kai looked at him in surprise.
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
“How old is it?”
“Don’t know that either.”
Kai studied him.
“You know surprisingly little about the things you sell.”
The old man smiled.
“That’s why I sell them.”
Kai laughed.
He turned back to the tablet. Something about the symbol fascinated him.
“How much is it?”
“Three hundred and fifty.”
Kai looked at the man.
Then at the tablet.
Then back at the man.
“Euros?”
“Euros.”
Kai nodded slowly.
“Well, good luck with that.”
He turned away.
If he couldn’t buy the tablet, he could at least look around the shop for a while.
He examined a few old coins, a small Greek statue, and a yellowed map.
Then he stopped.
Inside a small glass display case lay an old golden bracelet.
There was really nothing special about it.
It wasn’t set with gemstones, and it didn’t look particularly valuable. Still, Kai couldn’t take his eyes off it.
He kept walking.
After two steps, he stopped again.
He looked back.
Why was he so interested in this bracelet of all things?
Kai didn’t know.
The old man watched him from a short distance away.
“How much is the bracelet?” Kai asked.
The antiquarian looked toward the display case.
For a brief moment, he seemed surprised.
“That?”
He walked over and opened the case.
“Twelve euros.”
Kai looked at the stone tablet.
Then at the bracelet.
“Why does the tablet cost three hundred and fifty, but this is only twelve?”
“Because the tablet costs three hundred and fifty.”
Kai looked at him.
The old man grinned.
“You’re really good at your job.”
The antiquarian took the bracelet from the display case and handed it to him.
Kai took it.
For a moment, he paused.
Nothing happened.
No light.
No sound.
Still, Kai had the strange feeling that he didn’t want to put it back.
“You like it?” the old man asked.
“Yeah.”
Kai studied it.
“No idea why.”
The antiquarian watched him for a moment.
Kai took out his money.
“Don’t you want to try it on first?”
“Right.”
Kai placed the bracelet around his right wrist and fastened the clasp.
Click.
“Fits.”
Kai turned his wrist and looked at his new purchase.
What he didn’t see was happening only a few feet behind him.
One of the carved lines on the ancient stone tablet began to glow faintly.
Then a second.
For a single moment, the entire symbol shimmered with a faint golden light.
The antiquarian saw it.
His smile disappeared.
Then it was over.
The tablet looked exactly as it had before.
Kai hadn’t noticed a thing.
He pocketed his change.
“Thanks.”
The small bell above the door jingled.
Kai left the shop.
The antiquarian remained behind.
He watched through the display window as Kai walked down the street.
Then he looked at the tablet.
Dark.
Finally, his eyes moved to the empty spot in the display case where the bracelet had been.
“That’s impossible.”
---
Far away from Kai, enormous white columns rose from an endless sea of clouds.
Above them, temples and palaces towered into the sky.
Olympus.
Deep within it lay a chamber whose massive doors had barely been opened for a very long time.
Inside stood an enormous golden crystal.
Almost as tall as a man.
Silent.
Motionless.
Then a faint light appeared deep within it.
PULSE.
A nearby guard spun around.
The crystal went dark again.
The guard approached cautiously.
PULSE.
This time, the light was stronger.
“No…”
The guard ran from the chamber.
“Athena!”
Athena turned around.
“What is it?”
The guard stopped in front of her, out of breath.
“The chamber.”
“Which chamber?”
The guard looked at her.
“The golden one.”
Athena’s expression changed.
Moments later, the massive doors opened.
Athena entered the chamber.
The Gold Crystal stood completely dark before her.
“What exactly did you see?”
“It lit up.”
“Lit up?”
“Several times.”
Athena slowly approached the crystal.
Nothing happened.
She stepped closer.
Still nothing.
Finally, she raised her hand.
Just before her fingers reached the surface:
PULSE.
Golden light flooded the entire chamber.
Athena stepped back.
Seconds later, it vanished.
The guard stared at her.
“What does it mean?”
Athena didn’t answer.
Her eyes remained fixed on the crystal.
“Get Zeus.”
---
Far south of Olympus lay an endless desert.
Beneath the sand, deeper than any ordinary human would ever think to search, ancient corridors stretched through the earth.
Hieroglyphs covered the walls.
Stone guardians had stood motionless in their places for centuries.
At the end of the complex was a sealed chamber.
Inside stood an enormous silver crystal.
Dust covered the floor.
Nothing here had moved for an eternity.
Until now.
A thin vein of silver light appeared within the crystal.
PULSE.
The light disappeared.
Beside the crystal stood a stone guardian.
Its eyes began to glow.
Sand trickled from its face.
One finger moved.
Then its eyes opened fully.
PULSE.
The guardian slowly raised its head.
---
Thousands of miles away, snow lashed against an enormous mountain range.
Between the mountains stood an ancient hall almost completely swallowed by ice.
Frozen pillars filled its interior.
Runes covered the walls.
At the end of the hall stood an enormous bronze crystal.
Part of its surface lay beneath centuries-old ice.
PULSE.
A thin crack appeared.
Crack.
Silence again.
Then:
PULSE.
The crack grew larger.
---
On Olympus, Zeus entered the golden chamber.
Athena was already waiting for him.
Zeus studied the crystal.
“How long?”
“Three pulses since I got here.”
Zeus looked at her.
“That’s not what I asked.”
Athena understood.
Zeus turned his gaze back to the Gold Crystal.
“How long has it been since Gold reacted like this?”
Athena was silent for a moment.
“Longer than humans can remember.”
Zeus’ expression grew serious.
“And the others?”
“As far as we know, still silent.”
PULSE.
Golden light filled the chamber once again.
Zeus watched the crystal.
“Then we won’t wait for them to do the same.”
“What do you want to do?”
Zeus stared into the golden light.
“Find out what woke Gold.”
---
Meanwhile, Kai walked down his street toward home.
Cars passed him. People were coming home from work. Somewhere, a dog barked.
To him, the world was still exactly the same as it had been that morning.
He raised his arm and looked at the golden bracelet.
“Twelve euros.”
He turned his wrist.
A grin appeared on his face.
“Not bad.”
Then he put his hands in his pockets and kept walking.
Kai knew nothing about the Gold Crystal.
Nothing about the Silver Crystal.
Nothing about the Bronze Crystal.
He didn’t know that, at that very moment, beings whose stories he had been telling his class only a few hours earlier were searching for an answer.
And most of all, he didn’t know that his perfectly normal day had just stopped being normal.
---
The golden light faded.
For several seconds, neither Zeus nor Athena said anything.
Then Zeus turned to the guard.
“Seal the chamber.”
The guard hesitated.
“And if it reacts again?”
“Then I want to know.”
Zeus walked toward the door.
“Every single pulse.”
Athena followed him.
“So you don’t believe it’s a coincidence.”
Zeus stopped and looked back at her.
“A crystal that has been silent for longer than humans can remember suddenly starts reacting again.”
Athena said nothing.
“No,” Zeus said. “I’m not relying on coincidence.”
---
A short while later, a deep horn echoed across Olympus.
Once.
Then a second time.
Everywhere, people stopped.
Guards on the walls looked toward the great towers. Heavy gates that had stood open for years began to slowly close.
Warriors emerged from their quarters.
Armor was put on.
Spears were taken from ancient armories.
Not frantically.
Not chaotically.
But everyone on Olympus understood that this signal meant something out of the ordinary.
Athena stepped beside Zeus onto a balcony high above the clouds.
Below them, Olympus was awakening.
“There will be questions,” she said.
“Then let them ask.”
“And what do we tell them?”
Zeus watched the gates closing.
“That we are watching.”
Athena looked at him.
“Nothing more?”
“We don’t know anything more.”
Even Athena seemed surprised by that.
“You admit that?”
Zeus glanced at her.
“I am a god, Athena.”
Then he looked out over Olympus again.
“Not all-knowing.”
---
Later that same evening, a hall that had stood empty for a long time was opened.
It lay away from the great palaces of Olympus.
There was no throne inside.
No statue of Zeus.
No markings belonging to a single realm.
Instead, an enormous round table stood at its center.
Stone seats surrounded it.
Many were empty.
Symbols had been carved into the stone above some of them.
Kai would have recognized some of the signs.
An eye.
A hammer.
A lightning bolt.
Others would have meant nothing to him.
And some looked as though they belonged to stories that had long been forgotten in his world.
Athena entered the hall first.
Zeus followed her.
“When was this room last used?” Athena asked.
“A long time ago.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting today.”
Athena rolled her eyes slightly.
Then they heard footsteps.
A figure emerged from one of the great passageways.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
One eye.
A long gray beard.
A spear in his hand.
Odin.
His gaze fell on Zeus.
“You called.”
Zeus nodded.
“You came.”
“Bronze reacted twice.”
Odin walked toward the table.
“On the third pulse, the ice in the hall cracked.”
Athena looked at him.
“Then the intervals are getting shorter.”
Odin sat down.
“Or we have less time.”
Before Zeus could answer, light flickered at the opposite end of the hall.
Sand swirled across the floor.
Another figure appeared between the pillars.
A representative of the Egyptian gods stepped out of the swirling sand.
His clothing was decorated with gold, his expression serious.
“Silver has awakened.”
Zeus looked at him.
“How many times?”
“Four.”
Silence.
“And one of the guardians?” Athena asked.
“Awake.”
Odin leaned back.
“Then at least we agree that something is wrong.”
The Egyptian god looked at him.
“I didn’t need a conference to know that.”
“Then you can leave again.”
“Odin,” Zeus said.
The Norse god fell silent.
The Egyptian representative turned toward Zeus.
“Why did you call us?”
Zeus placed both hands on the round table.
“Because three things have happened that haven’t happened at the same time for a very long time.”
“And the others?” Odin asked.
Athena answered.
“Silent.”
Odin looked at her.
“All of them?”
“As far as we know.”
The Egyptian god looked across the many empty seats around the table.
“As far as we know.”
He repeated the words more slowly.
“That’s the part I don’t like.”
Athena walked a few steps around the table.
“Maybe it means nothing.”
Odin gave a short laugh.
No one else did.
Athena stopped.
“Or it means something has begun.”
“What?” asked the Egyptian representative.
No one answered.
Finally, Zeus spoke.
“We don’t know.”
Silence again.
This time, no one made a remark.
Because when Zeus, Odin, and the ancient powers of Egypt stood together in one room and none of them had an answer, that was more unsettling than any answer they could have given.
Odin looked at Zeus.
“What do you suggest?”
Zeus straightened.
“We don’t wait.”
Athena watched him.
“The gates of Olympus will be guarded. No one enters the crystal chamber without my permission.”
He looked toward the Egyptian representative.
“You secure your entrances.”
The other god nodded.
Then Zeus turned to Odin.
“The same in the North.”
Odin folded his arms.
“I’ve already ordered it.”
“Of course you have.”
Odin grinned.
Only for a moment.
Then Zeus became serious again.
“Every unusual pulse. Every change. Every movement from the ancient guardians. I want to know about it.”
Athena frowned.
“You want to put the realms on alert.”
“Yes.”
“What level?”
Zeus looked around the table.
“Red.”
Odin raised his head slightly.
The Egyptian representative reacted as well.
Athena said nothing.
Apparently, she had expected a different answer.
Zeus continued.
“No attacks. No crossing borders. No troops entering other realms.”
His voice hardened.
“We don’t know what we’re looking for. So no one treats a stranger as an enemy simply because they’re unknown.”
Odin looked at him.
“Since when are you so cautious?”
“Since I learned what happens when gods act before they understand.”
Athena studied Zeus for a moment longer.
Behind him were the many empty seats.
“And the others?” she asked.
Zeus immediately knew what she meant.
His gaze moved across the table as well.
“Not yet.”
“If Gold, Silver, and Bronze keep reacting, they’ll find out anyway.”
“Then let them find out.”
Zeus turned toward the exit.
“But not from us.”
---
That same night, three worlds changed.
On Olympus, additional guards took their positions along the walls.
Ancient armories were opened.
Patrols moved through areas that had barely been guarded for years.
In Egypt, torches along an underground corridor ignited one after another, though no one touched them.
Stone guardians opened their eyes.
Heavy gates rose from the sand.
In the North, horns echoed between the mountains.
Warriors crossed a vast hall.
Runes on ancient gates began to glow.
Everywhere, preparations were being made.
But no one knew what for.
---
Kai knew nothing about any of it.
For him, the next day began almost exactly as the previous one had ended.
Normal.
School.
Homework.
Messages from friends.
And a golden bracelet that he now wore so naturally that it felt as though it had always belonged to him.
He had looked at it several times.
It was still just an old bracelet.
No secret buttons.
No engraving that had suddenly appeared.
Nothing.
Kai laughed at himself.
What had he expected?
He placed his school things on the table and reached for his phone.
A message from his friend was already waiting.
You coming on today?
Kai typed:
Yeah.
He looked at the message.
Then added:
Probably.
The reply came immediately.
I KNEW IT.
Kai grinned.
Then he heard a sound outside.
A low rumble.
Not particularly loud.
But deep.
Kai walked to the window.
There was nothing to see outside.
No thunderstorm.
No construction work.
People walked along the sidewalk as usual.
Kai waited.
Nothing.
“Okay…”
He went back.
---
Later that afternoon, Kai was out.
The sky was clear.
He had long since forgotten about the rumbling from that morning.
His route took him toward the edge of the city.
There were fewer houses here.
Streets gave way to smaller paths.
Beyond them began a wooded area Kai knew.
Nothing special.
A few trails.
An old stream.
Places where kids played or people walked their dogs.
Kai took a shortcut.
After a few minutes, he stopped.
There it was again.
That deep sound.
BOOM.
Kai looked around.
“What was that?”
No answer.
He kept walking.
Then he heard something else.
Stones.
Somewhere ahead of him, small rocks had slid down a slope.
Kai left the path.
Just a few yards.
Between trees and thick undergrowth, a narrow trail led downward.
Kai didn’t know it.
He pushed a few branches aside.
Behind them was a small embankment.
And there was something there that couldn’t have been there yesterday.
Part of the earth had collapsed.
Roots stuck out from the soil.
Stone was visible underneath.
But not just any rock.
A straight edge.
Kai knelt down and brushed some dirt away.
Beneath it was a worked stone surface.
“What the…”
He cleared away a little more dirt.
One carved line became visible.
Then another.
Kai froze.
He knew this pattern.
Not exactly.
But he had seen something similar.
In the antique shop.
On the tablet.
Kai pulled out his phone and took a picture.
Then he examined the exposed area more closely.
Between two large stones was a narrow, dark opening.
Cool air flowed from it.
Kai stood up.
Every sensible thought in his head told him to go home and tell someone about it.
Kai stared into the opening.
“Just five minutes.”
He paused.
“I said that yesterday.”
Still, he moved closer.
The entrance was just wide enough.
Kai switched on his phone’s flashlight.
Beyond the opening, an ancient stone corridor led downward.
The walls were covered with dirt.
Symbols could be seen in places.
Kai slowly continued.
His footsteps echoed.
After a few yards, he looked back.
The entrance was still visible.
“Okay.”
He continued.
The corridor descended deeper.
Then it split.
Kai raised his phone.
The passage on the left had partially collapsed.
The one on the right continued.
That sound again.
BOOM.
This time, Kai felt it beneath his feet.
He froze.
“That wasn’t construction.”
For a moment, he thought about turning back.
Then he noticed a faint light.
Far ahead.
Red.
Kai walked toward it.
Slowly.
The light disappeared.
He stopped.
Then it appeared again.
PULSE.
Kai looked at his golden bracelet.
Nothing.
It looked exactly the same as before.
So he kept going.
The corridor grew wider.
The walls grew higher.
The carved symbols became more numerous.
Some looked ancient.
Others looked unfamiliar.
Kai couldn’t read any of them.
Then the corridor ended.
Before him stood an enormous stone door.
Or at least what remained of one.
Part of it had broken away long ago.
A faint red light shone through the opening beyond.
Kai stepped closer.
His heart beat faster.
He squeezed through the gap.
On the other side, it was dark at first.
Kai raised his phone.
The beam of his flashlight swept across an enormous room.
Pillars.
Broken stone slabs.
Roots that had grown through the ceiling.
Parts of an ancient structure hidden deep beneath the forest.
Kai took a few steps inside.
Then his phone’s flashlight went out.
“No, no, no…”
He tapped the screen.
Nothing.
Darkness.
Kai stood completely still.
Then:
PULSE.
The entire room was illuminated in red for a moment.
Kai saw something.
Something large.
Then darkness again.
Kai didn’t move.
PULSE.
This time, it lasted longer.
And now he could see it.
At the other end of the chamber stood a crystal.
Not small.
Not a gemstone.
Not something you could put in your pocket.
An enormous red crystal rose from a stone pedestal.
Almost as tall as an adult.
Veins of red light moved deep within it.
Kai stared at it.
For a moment, he even forgot to breathe.
“What…”
PULSE.
The red light reflected in Kai’s eyes.
Without realizing it, he took a step forward.
The crystal reacted.
PULSE.
Stronger.
Kai stopped.
For a moment, everything was silent again.
Then a light appeared deep inside the crystal.
This time, it didn’t disappear.
Kai stood alone in the ancient chamber.
Before something that might have been waiting there since before the city above him even existed.
And for the first time since Kai had entered the antiquarian’s shop, the golden bracelet on his right wrist changed.
Only slightly.
A single thin golden line appeared on its surface.
Kai didn’t notice.
His eyes were fixed entirely on the enormous red crystal.
PULSE.
Far away, on Olympus, Gold answered.
PULSE.
Zeus turned toward the crystal chamber.
Athena looked at him.
They both understood the same thing.
This time, something was different.
Back beneath the forest.
Kai and the red crystal faced each other.
PULSE.
Then:
BLACK.
CONTINUED IN PART 2
